Intensely criticized in the wake of several high profile cases, the Los Angeles Police Department has been portrayed as sexist, racist, inept, mismanaged and unduly brutal.
In BOOT: An L.A.P.D. Officer's Rookie Year, active officer William Dunn reports first-hand from the front line of the war against crime in Los Angeles. Recounting his first twelve months as a cop, Dunn produces a thrilling narrative praised by Booklist as "thoughtful, articulate testimony" that is equal parts police procedural and personal memoir.
Upon graduating from the Los Angeles Police Academy in 1990, Dunn was assigned for his probationary "boot" period to the Southwest Division, an area infamous for its high felony rates and thriving drug trade. The police faced career offenders every day, with more than twenty-five known gangs and over three thousand ex-cons in the district. As seen through the eyes of a rookie officer, BOOT grippingly details the complex dynamic between cops, criminals and citizens in the community.
Written with intelligence, compassion and humor, BOOT uses Dunn's stint on the streets to make incisive and invaluable observations about the nation's troubled urban areas and their policing. "The LAPD's detractors and boosters should lay aside their bias and read BOOT by William Dunn," said Joseph Wambaugh, "for an honest, inside look at the world's most controversial police force."
An effective, forceful report. Publishers Weekly
