Every day, police officers around the world throw their lives into danger, all in the name of duty and serving their communities. In this memoir, the author tells his own story, starting out as a patrolman and working his way to captain, always preferring hands-on fieldwork in the community over any kind of desk job. The title refers to the police code for an officer in danger, and there are certainly plenty of stories and memories here that will take the reader into frightening situations that they could scarcely imagine but were lived by the author. Covering thirty years, the author’s career began in Atlanta as the civil rights movement was building steam and leading to frustration and unrest around the country. From dangerous criminals to frustrating bureaucratic hurdles, no punches are pulled in this memoir of dangerous, true police work.

Readers of true crime books get all the action and danger that is portrayed here, but rarely does one get the human perspective of the officer on the scene. Between moments of fear and resolve are the very real camaraderie and duty that the author experiences where the lives of people that he has sworn to protect are in danger. The book is broken into each of the ranks that Goldhagen held, and within those ranks are colorful stories both within the workplace and out on call. The personal memories and the historical significance of the location and the era of the earlier chapters, in particular, create a powerful backdrop that allows the author to share his feelings and the circumstances that shaped and challenged them. Surprising and fascinating in its frankness, these tales of thirty years on the force grab the reader again and again with real stories of the people behind the badges.

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