Old School

About the Book

This is a book that tells the true story of a career police officer as he advances through the ranks of the Oakland California, Police Department from a patrolman working a one man car to the Commander of the Homicide Detail. The author gives the reader an inside look at what goes on in a metropolitan police department. The time period covered is 1959 through 1985 a period in American law enforcement best characterized by the popular bumper sticker of the day DEFY AUTHORITY. This book is about a man who started out a kid on Fair Oaks Street in San Francisco and later spent 29 years learning his trade, working toward his goal; Homicide investigation, the best job in police work. It’s about being a young rookie police officer learning his way in an often violent urban community. It’s about working the Patrol Division, then the Traffic Division then Juvenile leading to assignments with the Fraud-Bunco Unit and Special Operations; about car chases, riots, and hostage situations. It’s about the bad guys and the victims as seen through the eye of a policeman. The author lived these stories. Most importantly it’s about the people he came to know and care about. The stories are told with humor and respect for his colleagues. While these incidents happened in Oakland California, they could have happened in any metropolitan community in America.

About the Author

The author is a career law enforcement officer. He spent twenty-nine years in local law enforcement. He worked the Patrol Division, Traffic Division, Juvenile Division and the Criminal Investigation Division all line positions. He worked as a uniformed officer in riots and later as a commander leading troops in riot control and crime suppression. As a detective he worked crimes that ranged from pigeon drops to computer fraud to homicide. He retired at age 50 from the Oakland Police Department recruited by the FBI to work in the Behavioral Science Unit in Quantico, Virginia and track serial murderers. He worked eleven years with the FBI.