Police Heroes: True Stories of Courage About America's Brave Men, Women, and K-9 Officers

By Chuck Whitlock

Book Overview

Police Heroes honors and celebrates those members of America's police force who take the oath to protect and serve seriously. These men, women, and K-9 officers are asked to put their personal safety aside for a greater good on a daily basis, but sometimes the call of duty is above and beyond even their expectations. You're about to meet some remarkably courageous individuals, all of whom acted bravely in the most trying, life-threatening situations. Who among us can truly second guess the life-or-death decisions that police officers may be forced to make on any given day, despite the demands and frustrations of the job? The criminals want to put the officers out of action, while law-abiding people are fearful of receiving a traffic ticket. The politicians often exploit law enforcement issues for personal and professional gain, and everyone--including the media--Monday-morning quarterbacks the lightning-fast decisions that must be madein the field. But it's easy to be critical when you're not the one forced to react in seconds. What would you do if you came face-to-face with a kidnapper who's holding a twelve-year-old girl at gunpoint? Alone in the Alaska wilderness, could you arrest five armed men? Would you risk your own life to save a methamphetamine manufacturer from dying in a fire he intentionally set to avoid being served a warrant? These are just a few of the heroic acts you'll read about in Police Heroes. Following the destruction of the World Trade Center, Ron Shiftan, who served as deputy executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey from 1998 to 2002, wrote this to the author: "To those who have not come home, we say with conviction that you continue to live on in our hearts and memories." And that is the very essence of Police Heroes -it will inspire you to appreciate the everyday heroes in the law enforcement community and the amazing work they do to keep us from harm and protect our way of life.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 031228800X
• ISBN13: 9780312288006
• Release Date: November 2002
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.6" x 1.2" x 6.4"

Customer Reviews

Inspiring Stories of Policemen/women in Action!

A hero is defined as someone distinguished by exceptional courage, nobility and strength. Though heroes are often thought of in terms of the military, there have been thousands of courageous and noble men and women who have put themselves in harm's way while serving in police departments across America. Dozens of their stories are collected here in Chuck Whitlock's informative, inspiring, and sometimes sad tribute to police heroes. It could be argued that every police officer is a hero, facing the possibility of death every time they live their house for work. The people chronicled in this book found themselves in such life-and-death situations and how they responded is, at once, inspiring and thought-provoking. Some found themselves in deadly gunfights with drug dealers; others were involved in hostage situations; still others were involved in high-speed pursuits. Several died in the performance of their duties; most survived. Reading these accounts it is obvious the training these brave men and women received helped them survive those encounters. Often a super-human effort was necessary to triumph against some very deadly opponents. This begs the question: why did they persevere even after sometimes being horribly wounded? Time and again the same answer runs through these accounts - a love for family and community that motivated them to press on in the deadly situations each found themselves in. Most of the book is given over to 25 accounts of individual or team heroics, each account being 6-8 pages long. The final part of the books consists of capsule summaries of over 60 law enforcement men and women lost in the 9/11 attacks. Whitlock also includes examples of police dog heroics, which I have mixed feelings about. I feel he could have deleted the K-9 sections and fleshed out the 9/11 stories more. It is a humbling experience to read of these wonderful men and women who risked all. Greater love hath no man than...

Hard to put down...

This book has many short stories from the men and women on America's beats. Stories of lifethreatening situations that these men and women dealt with to save lives. Really puts police work into perspective and knowing that things can go bad quickly out there. At the end of the book is a tribute to the officers lost in 9/11.