Cop : A True Story

by Michael Middleton

Paper Book, 2000

Status

Available

Call number

363.2

Publication

McGraw-Hill (2000), Edition: 2, Paperback, 320 pages

Description

"What's it like to sit in the front seat of a patrol car, cruising darkened city streets, when the radio crackles to life and sends you down an alley to a "robbery in progress," the outcome of which you can't possibly predict? What's it like to knock on a crack-house door, service revolver drawn, not knowing who - or what - is behind it? What's it like, heart pounding in your chest, to stare down the barrel of a gun pointed straight at you by a murderously high suspect?" "Cop shows you what it's like. It's the explosive story of Sergeant Michael Middleton, a now-retired veteran of the LAPD and survivor of what may be the most brutal urban war zone in the country. From handling the call to his first homicide as a rookie cop to making his last collar, Middleton's story is a nerve-shattering, eyewitness account of life on America's meanest streets. In his two decades on the force, he investigated more than 20,000 felony crimes, was at the scene of nearly 600 murders - including those of five officers killed in the line of duty - and made over 3,000 arrests." "In Cop, Middleton writes urgently and knowingly of those years on the streets. It's a pulse-quickening - and often heartbreaking - insider's view of life as a foot soldier in America's war on crime. With the threat of violence never far away, Middleton and his fellow officers daily faced drug dealers, desperate addicts, thieves, gun-crazy gangs, rapists, and murderers. And in telling the riveting stories of these encounters, Middleton uses them to make larger points - which will often surprise and shock you - about good, evil, heroism, racism, and more." "Gripping, poignant, and brutally honest, Cop is an unforgettable portrait of life as a police officer on urban America's mean and gritty streets."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member LyndaInOregon
Memoirs of 20-year veteran of the LAPD. Middleton's stories range from heart-warming to horrific to humorous, but he presents them unemotionally and there's really no dramatic arc to the book, in spite of each chapter following a theme. Mostly it's just a collection of anecdotes about encounters
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between the police and the civilians, both victim and aggressor.
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Language

Physical description

320 p.; 9.06 inches

ISBN

0809225409 / 9780809225408
Page: 0.6442 seconds