Introducing S.W.A.T., Blue Knights in Black Armor, a novel of and for police survival
“You were there with me," said the seasoned veteran as a tear welled up in his eye. "I heard your voice. If not for you I would not be standing here right now. Thank you.”
To every police survival trainer, the most memorable moment as a trainer comes when an officer contacts them to relate a story that takes place in an alley, in a tavern, in a living room, in a convenience store, or on the shoulder of an Interstate Highway. The storyteller’s eyes will be ablaze as they gaze into the distance, while they relate how they found themselves stepping to the precipice between life and death, but fought their way back and survived. Then the warrior will look the trainer in the eyes and say the words that will cause a chill to spiral down the trainer’s spine. The officer will say, “It may sound strange, but you were there with me. I heard your voice. You shouted ‘If you are shot you will survive. Finish the fight! Get up and finish the fight…….’ Then the officer-survivor says “Thank you. I wasn’t always your best student, but you kept training me and getting me ready for that moment. You were more enthusiastic about my survival than I was. You prepared me well. You saved my life.” Then the officer will shake the trainer’s hand until it hurts and a tear will well up in the survivor’s eyes and it will be quickly wiped away with unnecessary embarrassment. For every trainer that has had this happen to them the moment is “priceless.” For every officer who has made it through the life changing experience of personal survival, no one has to convince them again about the value of survival training. Most police trainers, who are (or were) street officers have their own stories of survival and those make them even better trainers, but nothing reignites in them their passion for training like the realization that they have helped so many others survive. They are driven to come up with better approaches that reach more and more officers with even greater effect. That drive to save lives inspired Charles Remsberg to bring us “Street Survival,” the book series, and then the seminars. It inspired Tony Blauer to bring to us the concept of “presumed compliance.” It inspired Neal Trautman to bring out the “better angels of our nature.” It drives Massad Ayoob and Dr. Bill Lewinski to help us survive and understand the dynamics of deadly force incidents. It led Colonel David Grossman to bring us what Colonel Grossman brings us……Colonel Grossman. In an effort to teach lessons of survival to more officers than I can reach in a classroom, in a gym, or on a range I, too, have tried a different approach. My initial intent was to write one novel and publish a hundred copies to hand out in the academies at which I teach. I hoped to help those who have never experienced law enforcement to understand what real law enforcement was like. I wrote “The Calling. The Making of a Veteran Cop.” Charles Remsberg of PoliceOne read the book and saw value in my “novel idea for training,” and wrote an article on my little book. Instead of reaching one hundred officers, now people are reading the book all over the world. This story of Officer Dan McCarthy has helped officers young and old in different ways. I’m told that the story has “inspired,” “inoculated,” “entertained,” and “renewed” its readers. One officer who read the book was recovering from a gun fight, during which he was wounded and had to shoot the suspect that had shot him. The suspect died and the officer lived. The officer said, “I don’t know why, but I was feeling badly and reading your book made me feel better. Thanks for writing it.” Since I owe the success of "The Calling" totally to PoliceOne, I felt I should announce on PoliceOne that due to many requests, I have written a second book in what will now be the McCarthy series. PoliceOne will publish several chapters for you to enjoy, beginning with "No Prisoners" which you can read by clicking here. Readers of "The Calling" will note that Dan McCarthy, David Compton, Gary Carpenter, Dooley and the incorrigible Stanley Brockman are back. The second book in the McCarthy series is “S.W.A.T.: Blue Knights in Black Armor.” In this book Dan McCarthy will be a veteran officer, who is still working patrol on night shift. He is also a member of his department’s on-call S.W.A.T. Team. McCarthy and his teammates will be faced with adversaries on the street, in court, within the agency and in the media. McCarthy, the eternal optimist, will find himself in a personal struggle with every officer’s greatest foe, cynicism. The reader will meet many of the same officers, but this book will introduce the reader to a female warrior by the name of Madison “Maddy” Brown, who will find herself being seduced by death and she will be called upon to draw strength from the warrior within. The S.W.A.T. team will find themselves fighting for their lives on two pivotal battlefields. One of these battlefields will be in “the war on drugs” and other in “the war on crime.” The first place trophy for the winners will be life. What about the second place trophy? Well, we all know there is no second place trophy on the street. The book will keep the police reader on the edge of their seats and will at the same time reinforce officer survival themes that help officers make it to the end of their careers physically, and emotionally whole, with their honor intact. It is written so that one does not have to have read the first book to follow the second. The book will also be a good read for civilians who have no clue what happens everywhere in America 24/7. It is a fictional story of real American Heroes. The other thing this book will do will remind every cop in every jurisdiction that they are American Heroes. They should never forget that and should always be proud of what they do. Enjoy the book. Enjoy your career. Stay safe, stay strong, stay positive!
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