Officer Down Code Three by Pierce R. Brooks by Pierce R. Brooks

by Pierce R. Brooks

"...officer down, code three." by Pierce R Brooks.

Genres: Crime

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

Pierce Brooks joined the Los Angeles Police Department in 1948 and served in vice, narcotics, patrol and homicide divisions. In 1973, he became nationally known when his role as the lead investigator was featured in The Onion Field, Joseph Wambaugh's best-seller about the kidnapping and murder of a Los Angeles police officer near Bakersfield.

Mr. Brooks retired from the Los Angeles Police Department in 1969 as a captain and later was police chief in Springfield, Ore., Lakewood, Colo., and, finally, in Eugene, Ore., where he held the position from 1977 to 1980.

Mr. Brooks was credited in 1985 by then-FBI Director William Webster with helping create the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime and supervising the development of the Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (ViCAP), a modern, computerized method for tracking serial killers by analyzing crime scenes, behavior patterns and personality traits, and putting all the information into a database that can show nationwide patterns of similarity between crimes.

Mr. Brooks spent his retirement years in Vida, Oregon. He was a consultant on the Atlanta child murders and the Green River slayings in Washington, among other high-profile cases.

Reviews

[Checkman · Rating 5 out of 5]

By the early seventies American police officers were being killed in the line of duty in unprecedented numbers. Not all of the deaths were from violence, but the numbers were high enough to warrant attention. There were many different reasons for this rise, but one of the biggest reasons cited was that the majority of officers across the country didn't have enough training or the right type of training.

After the infamous "Newhall Massacre" (Newhall,California)in April of 1970 ,in which two suspects killed four police officers in a gunfight, there began the Officer Survival Movement. New training was introduced, existing training was reevaluated and either jettisoned or reinforced. In addition new tactics, equipment and so forth were brought into use over the next decade.

Pierce Brooks was a career police officer (he was involved with the Onion Field investigation in 1963 which saw two officers kidnapped and one of the officers murdered) who was at the forefront of the movement.After he retired from the Los Angeles Police Department he went around the United States conducting training seminars for law enforcement personnel and in 1975 he wrote "...Officer Down,Code Three". It's a fast and easy read consisting of short chapters that are fictionalized scenarios addressing what Brooks called The Ten Deadly Errors.

1)Apathy
2)Preoccupation
3)Failure to watch the hands
4)Bad Positioning
5)Missing the danger signs
6)Relaxing to soon
7)Sleepy or sleeping!(like many officers this one is a problem for me at times)
8)Improper search,improper use of handcuffs
9)Failure to maintain equipment and failure to maintain proficiency
10)Tombstone Courage - not waiting for backup (a popular one in fiction)

I've been a police officer for thirteen years now. I found this book in a secondhand store. I got it mainly out of historical interest, but after reading it I found myself having to admit that I've been guilty of committing some of those ten deadly errors, and I know I'm not alone.

Over the past few years in the United States we've seen multiple incidents where officers have been murdered and in several cases one or more of the ten errors have played a role in those officers deaths. Now as a police officer I don't enjoy critiquing other officers who have gone down in the line of duty, but it has to be done. It has to be done in order to prevent more deaths and ensure that those officers who are still alive will be able to keep doing their job and then go home in one piece. To paraphrase Sean Connery as Malone in "The Untouchables"; "The first rule of law enforcement: make sure when your shift is over you go home alive. Here endeth the lesson."

So ,much to my surprise, a book that I purchased out of historical interest has ended up helping to reinforce my training and "tune-up" my mental awareness. For this reason I give Mr. Brooks thirty-eight year old professional primer five stars.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must read for all police officers. The book was written in the 70s but most of the facts are still relevant in 2020. The majority of police officers are a lot better trained than 45 years ago and tactics have greatly improved. But the mistakes made back then are unfortunately still mistakes we still see today.

[Priscilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was gifted this book by a family friend who was an officer in the 70’s. A must read for any police officer or deputy. This book was written in the 70’s and times have definitely changed but, the fundamentals of the job are the same. Brooks covers so many important topics in this book. Stay alert, stay safe, come home.

[Mary Ram · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’re a cop with one day on the job, or 20 years on the job, you should read this book. It’s slightly dated, but the concepts are still relevant.

[Mohab]

"...officer down, code three."10

[Susan]

From Joanna Brady (& JP Beaumont) series

[Stacey · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was written in the 70s, but the lessons still apply today. It's basically past situations revisited and looking at the mistakes made. I'd say it's a good refresher, but nothing earth shattering. It's a quick read.

[Melody Dodd · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pierce Brooks was my boss at the Eugene Police Department, so I bought it for him to autograph.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

#
CompNtBk
Borrowed from library.

FS: "It is not an easy thing to do, to go to a police officer's funeral."

LS: "Stay alert, stay alive."

[Michael Guzman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written in the early 70s but still very relevant to policing today.

[Julie [Kaskade] · Rating 5 out of 5]

Old stories, contemporary lessons. This is required reading if you are going to work the streets.