During his 25 years with the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department, Dean Scoville advanced from nervous recruit to silver-tongued spokesperson to seasoned patrol sergeant. His candid memoir chronicles the personal experiences of police work--the tedium of guarding jail inmates, the consternation of shoot/dont-shoot scenarios, the trauma of being wounded in the line of duty--and offers an insiders view of iconic moments in law enforcement, including the capture of Night Stalker Richard Ramirez and the 1992 L.A. Riots. Along the way he examines a profession increasingly beleaguered by inimical agendas, administrative cowardice and fiscal restraints.
