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

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...

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.