Introducing S.W.A.T., Blue Knights in Black Armor, a novel of and for police survival

S.W.A.T. Officer with Lt. Dan Marcou

“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.”

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!

Lt. Dan Marcou is an active, nationally-recognized, police trainer, who was a highly-decorated police officer with 33 years of full time law enforcement experience. In November 2006, Lt. Dan Marcou retired from the La Crosse, Wisconsin Police Department, where he had achieved the rank of Lieutenant, Director of Training. He served in the capacity of patrol his entire career, insisting on personally assisting in the field training of all new recruits. "Lt. Dan" served as a Tactical Operator, Team Leader, and Officer in Charge of the La Crosse Police Department Emergency Response Team. He was also commander of the nationally recognized La Crosse Police Department Emergency Response Team, which developed what some call the “La Crosse Method,” of Crowd Control. He also is a trained negotiator and served in this capacity, which led him to be presented with the Distinguished Service Award from the City of Oak Creek, for assisting them effectively with an Active Shooter on November 5, 2004. This episode has been documented in Charles Remsberg’s Book Blood Lessons. Highly-decorated by the La Crosse Police Department, Dan proudly served there for 29 and one half years, receiving 15 departmental citations, three Chief’s Superior Achievement Awards, Police Officer of the Year, SWAT Officer of the Year, and Domestic Abuse Law Enforcement Officer of the year as well as Humanitarian of the Year. Dan has achieved national recognition as a trainer for his innovations in Crowd Control, Defensive Tactics, Live Interactive Firearms Training, and his Five Phases of the Active Shooter. Marcou is a Master Trainer for the State of Wisconsin and he trains all levels of police officers from entry level to upper management in Defensive Tactics, Firearms, SWAT, Ethics, Supervisory Excellence and many other topics. Dan is also a graduate of the 175 FBI National Academy. His first novel, The Calling the Making of a Veteran Cop was published by Thunder Bay Press in 2007 and is being lauded as not only an excellent training aid for Criminal Justice Classes and Academies, but a good read. It is being read by cops world wide and made the best seller list at Barnes and Noble as well as achieving a five star rating. Lt. Marcou’s second novel, S.W.A.T. Blue Knights in Black Armor has just been released and has been acclaimed for its depiction of police as they really are, modern knights. The reality he breathes into his police novels comes from having lived the life. Both of Dan's novels are are available through Barnes and Noble and Amazon.com. For additional information check out Dan's website and for an copy autographed copy dedicated to an “honorable modern knight,” contact Dan Marcou by email at marcoudj@charter.net.