Brave Hearts by Cynthia Brown captivated me from the very first pages. I received my copy late on a Friday after a long week dealing with law enforcement issues on my job. I built a cocktail, as is my usual habit, and settled down on the lanai to relax. Many hours later I stumbled off to bed having read the entire first half of the book. By Sunday, I had finished it after devouring every page.
What an outstanding piece of work!
The author has done my brothers and sisters in law enforcement proud and she has done herself proud. With more than twenty years of representing law enforcement officers around the country since leaving the job in 1990, I consider this book to be a must read by law enforcement officers and civilians alike.
The stories of fourteen exemplary officers will instill pride in both rookies and veterans. Perhaps, more importantly, it will set standards for rookies and justify the sacrifices so many veterans have made in the course of their careers. The subtitle, “Extraordinary Stories of Pride, Pain, and Courage” truly describes this book.
The author found the perfect balance between the modest first person narration of the officers with her own deep understanding of how their actions were of great importance to the citizens they protect. Every bit as important is what those actions did to the officers and their families. Brave Hearts should be required reading by every police academy recruit.
For civilians not intimately familiar with police work, or inured to the realities of the job by often hopelessly inaccurate fictitious depictions on television or in film will finally see the true cost of commitment. Those readers will see the true courage and commitment required of these men and women and those they love and those they too often lose through toll the job takes on marriages and families.
The impact the job had on all fourteen families brought back numerous memories and experiences of colleagues and officers I have been proud to work with over the years. There were moments while reading the book that my wife would ask me a question only to look over at me realizing that I couldn’t look up from the book or even speak because of the emotions that the book generated. Given my long reputation for objective discipline, my silence took her by surprise.
I urge everyone to immediately go directly to www.braveheartsbook.com and order Brave Hearts on line by clicking the "Buy Now" button or calling 1-800-270-5317 listed below the button.
Rich Roberts
Director of Special Operations & PIO
International Union of Police Unions, AFL-CIO
Monday, December 27, 2010
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Police Pay and Benefits Under Siege
Ron DeLord, the special counsel to the 18,000 member Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas, has been warning about this problem for years. Now the rubber is hitting the road, people may take notice. – Cynthia Brown
Police Pay and Benefits Under Siege
by RON DeLORD
American Police Beat
December 2010
In this election the Republicans and Tea Party candidates were successful in campaigning to “get the government out of our lives.” If you thought the current media and public outcry to stop the excess debt on the tax payers caused by unfunded liabilities of public employee retiree health and defined benefit pensions was loud, the volume has just been turned up. For officers voting for this mantra, what part of “less government/more private business practices” does not include the police?
The conservative political surge will accelerate the paradigm shift in policing toward cheaper labor costs, i.e., civilianization, privatization, 401K plans instead of defined benefit pensions, ceasing public subsidies of retiree health insurance, and raising the retirement age. Governments now realize that they can contract out virtually every aspect of public employment at great savings to the tax payer, including contract employees and civilians in the police service.
A paradigm shift is driven by change agents and we just witnessed one big change. Police union rallies and emotional arguments about the risks police take to serve and protect the public are falling on deaf ears. The private sector is 91 percent non-union, they may have a 401K, or health insurance partly subsidized by the employer, but these tax payers have no job security and they are afraid to retire until age 65 or even later.
No one is entitled to anything in this world. Wise police leaders have recognized the paradigm shift and they are seeking alternative wage and benefit schemes that keep their members ahead of other public employees and create an incentive for qualified people to join the police force. Refusing to bend or recognize the new political reality is a plan, but one guaranteed to fail. We always get the government we vote for, and this government wants to cut the size of government.
Ron DeLord is Special Counsel to the 18,000 member Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas. He was a police officer for 10 years and President of CLEAT for 30 years. He has published numerous books and articles on police unionism and political action.
Police Pay and Benefits Under Siege
by RON DeLORD
American Police Beat
December 2010
In this election the Republicans and Tea Party candidates were successful in campaigning to “get the government out of our lives.” If you thought the current media and public outcry to stop the excess debt on the tax payers caused by unfunded liabilities of public employee retiree health and defined benefit pensions was loud, the volume has just been turned up. For officers voting for this mantra, what part of “less government/more private business practices” does not include the police?
The conservative political surge will accelerate the paradigm shift in policing toward cheaper labor costs, i.e., civilianization, privatization, 401K plans instead of defined benefit pensions, ceasing public subsidies of retiree health insurance, and raising the retirement age. Governments now realize that they can contract out virtually every aspect of public employment at great savings to the tax payer, including contract employees and civilians in the police service.
A paradigm shift is driven by change agents and we just witnessed one big change. Police union rallies and emotional arguments about the risks police take to serve and protect the public are falling on deaf ears. The private sector is 91 percent non-union, they may have a 401K, or health insurance partly subsidized by the employer, but these tax payers have no job security and they are afraid to retire until age 65 or even later.
No one is entitled to anything in this world. Wise police leaders have recognized the paradigm shift and they are seeking alternative wage and benefit schemes that keep their members ahead of other public employees and create an incentive for qualified people to join the police force. Refusing to bend or recognize the new political reality is a plan, but one guaranteed to fail. We always get the government we vote for, and this government wants to cut the size of government.
Ron DeLord is Special Counsel to the 18,000 member Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas. He was a police officer for 10 years and President of CLEAT for 30 years. He has published numerous books and articles on police unionism and political action.
Friday, December 17, 2010
Cops and teachers targeted as new welfare queens
When crime-ridden cities like Camden New Jersey are cutting their police department’s numbers by half you know the winds of change are moving at hurricane speed.
The wealthiest Americans and their emissaries in the mainstream media have set the terms for any discussions about the public sector- civil servants like cops and teachers are the new welfare queens.
Forget any debate about the cost of lost revenue resulting from decades long tax-cuts for the top one percent- any financial difficulty faced by a city, county or state is routinely blamed on the “bloated salaries and pensions,” of the men and women that keep our communities safe and educate our children.
Groups representing the interests of public sector workers whether they are unions or other associations are now in damage control mode. Collective bargaining is only advantageous when there’s money to bargain for. And there’s no more money. This reality has led to calls for less hiring and more overtime- an approach that puts a huge smile on the faces of guys like Governors Chris Christie and Tim Pawlenty. They can tell their supporters, “I told you so. These greedy unions are just out for themselves! They obviously don’t care about public safety.”
When the federal government runs short of cash they can adjust interest rates and employ other tricks to cook the books. When cities and counties run out of money that’s it- they’re broke.
When major cuts are made at the Illinois State Police, the Oakland Police Department and countless others, the media always asks the union prez for a quote about what might happen crime-wise as a result. The answer is frequently something like, “all hell will break loose.”
Hopefully that will be the case and people will wake up to the short-sided nature of plans to balance budgets by risking public safety.
But what if crime continues to drop as it has for the last 30 years even with the cuts?
I wise man once said, “hope for the best but prepare for the worst.” As odd as it might sound the best thing that could happen in terms of mitigating the layoffs and budget cuts to public safety agencies would be a massive spike in crime.
But here’s “the worst,” hypothetical- Camden has fewer murders in 2011 than 2010 or 2009. Other rates of crime are lower than or similar to previous years. Chris Christie says, “I hate to say I told you so but it turns out we’ve been paying for at least twice as many cops as we actually need for years. The union bosses cried wolf about crime waves and blood in the streets if we made good on reform.”
“Well I’ve got news for the unions. We’ve only just begun!” – Cynthia Brown
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Why I wrote Brave Hearts - about 15 extraordinary police officers
I have spent the last 35 years of my life working with and advocating for law enforcement officers. During that time I’ve developed a profound appreciation for the work that they do for all of us - work that is dangerous, stressful and for the most part extremely unpleasant. Because of my unusual access to the people who work in this inaccessible profession and the fact that most people’s experiences with police officers are negative (either they are a victim of a crime and the cops didn’t show up or they were arrested for something they don’t think is warranted) perception of cops among most Americans is not a positive one. Because I was fortunate to work with them closely over three decades and saw the remarkable work that they do, I feel I have an special obligation to share that information.
In my twenties, I accepted a part time job working on an early community policing project with the Boston Police Department. Bill Bratton who would go on to become the chief in Boston, New York City and Los Angeles, was my boss. It was the mid-70’s and the relationship between the Department and the residents of the city was tense. A federal court ruled Boston schools were unconstitutionally segregated and ordered students bused to schools outside their neighborhoods to correct the situation. Anger, particularly, in the white neighborhoods, resulted in near-riots and numerous incidents of violence.
My job was in a busy police station (I had never known a cop or stepped foot in a police station) in one of the city’s most crime-ridden areas. At that time there were very few women or minorities on the force. There were 200 cops assigned to the station where I worked most of whom were Irish, Catholic and very outspoken about their conservative views on everything from the Vietnam War, to women’s rights (one cop didn’t think “girls” should have driver’s licenses) to homosexuality. It was quite a culture shock for a liberal-minded young woman who came of age in the 60’s to find herself plopped down in the middle of this strange world.
I worked there for three years, facilitating meetings, cajoling cops to attend and hear the concerns of the residents, buying coffee cakes, and making coffee. During that time I had an opportunity to see first hand what police officers do for us day in and day out, an experience that left me with a profound admiration and respect for the difficult job they do and the restraint, humor and humanity I saw them show day after day as they dealt with the homeless, the mentally ill, rapists, armed assailants, drug dealers, gangs and a whole range of garden variety crooks.
Despite the right wing rhetoric, I saw more acts of human kindness and sacrifice than I had ever witnessed among my liberal, Volvo-driving, wine sipping neighbors in my exclusive Cambridge neighborhood near to the Harvard campus where my husband Jim was a professor of economics at the Harvard Kennedy School. I will never forget the time I came back to the station and an older officer was sobbing – the kind where your whole body heaves – after returning from a call where he found a three month old baby dead in a bathtub. The day of Christmas eve the first year I worked there I saw one officer take home a particularly violent 11 year old (boy was black officer was white) so he wouldn’t have to spend Christmas eve in a cell. This cop had six children of his own. Then there was the policeman who was reading the book, Against Our Will, Men, Women and Rape, Susan Brownmiller’s seminal history of the crime of rape, after he responded to a brutal sexual assault of an older woman near a church. When I asked him about it, he seemed a little embarrassed. He told me, “I’m just trying to figure out why it would happen. My daughter told me to read this book.”
Along with getting to know these wonderful people, most of whom became close friends, I loved the action. Every day some disaster was occurring whether it was a particularly bad crime, political meddling in their work, a brouhaha with the media, outrage over something that happened in court, or frustration with an investigation. In between there’s also the funny stuff, things that happen that are so hilarious you laugh until you cry.
Another thing I wanted to share was the disconnect between what was reported in the media and what was really going on, particularly if the incident had racial overtones. A watershed experience for me occurred when we had to hold a meeting in a neighborhood that was almost all African-American just a week after two white Boston cops shot and killed a 12 year old African-American boy. The news reports indicated a race riot was imminent. The department sent more than the usual contingent of uniformed officers expecting there might be trouble. As we entered the church basement, the crowd stood and applauded. As we stood there dumbfounded, they presented a list of four other kids who were making life intolerable for them and asked the cops if they could get them “off the street” too. The officers spent the rest of the meeting explaining why that was not an option.
After three years working in that police station I knew I was going to spend my life advocating for cops. I especially felt I had an obligation to introduce Americans to these wonderful people and let them know about the incredible work they do so we can live free of fear and protected from the evil and violence that is such a constant in American life.
That’s why I wrote this book.
In my twenties, I accepted a part time job working on an early community policing project with the Boston Police Department. Bill Bratton who would go on to become the chief in Boston, New York City and Los Angeles, was my boss. It was the mid-70’s and the relationship between the Department and the residents of the city was tense. A federal court ruled Boston schools were unconstitutionally segregated and ordered students bused to schools outside their neighborhoods to correct the situation. Anger, particularly, in the white neighborhoods, resulted in near-riots and numerous incidents of violence.
My job was in a busy police station (I had never known a cop or stepped foot in a police station) in one of the city’s most crime-ridden areas. At that time there were very few women or minorities on the force. There were 200 cops assigned to the station where I worked most of whom were Irish, Catholic and very outspoken about their conservative views on everything from the Vietnam War, to women’s rights (one cop didn’t think “girls” should have driver’s licenses) to homosexuality. It was quite a culture shock for a liberal-minded young woman who came of age in the 60’s to find herself plopped down in the middle of this strange world.
I worked there for three years, facilitating meetings, cajoling cops to attend and hear the concerns of the residents, buying coffee cakes, and making coffee. During that time I had an opportunity to see first hand what police officers do for us day in and day out, an experience that left me with a profound admiration and respect for the difficult job they do and the restraint, humor and humanity I saw them show day after day as they dealt with the homeless, the mentally ill, rapists, armed assailants, drug dealers, gangs and a whole range of garden variety crooks.
Despite the right wing rhetoric, I saw more acts of human kindness and sacrifice than I had ever witnessed among my liberal, Volvo-driving, wine sipping neighbors in my exclusive Cambridge neighborhood near to the Harvard campus where my husband Jim was a professor of economics at the Harvard Kennedy School. I will never forget the time I came back to the station and an older officer was sobbing – the kind where your whole body heaves – after returning from a call where he found a three month old baby dead in a bathtub. The day of Christmas eve the first year I worked there I saw one officer take home a particularly violent 11 year old (boy was black officer was white) so he wouldn’t have to spend Christmas eve in a cell. This cop had six children of his own. Then there was the policeman who was reading the book, Against Our Will, Men, Women and Rape, Susan Brownmiller’s seminal history of the crime of rape, after he responded to a brutal sexual assault of an older woman near a church. When I asked him about it, he seemed a little embarrassed. He told me, “I’m just trying to figure out why it would happen. My daughter told me to read this book.”
Along with getting to know these wonderful people, most of whom became close friends, I loved the action. Every day some disaster was occurring whether it was a particularly bad crime, political meddling in their work, a brouhaha with the media, outrage over something that happened in court, or frustration with an investigation. In between there’s also the funny stuff, things that happen that are so hilarious you laugh until you cry.
Another thing I wanted to share was the disconnect between what was reported in the media and what was really going on, particularly if the incident had racial overtones. A watershed experience for me occurred when we had to hold a meeting in a neighborhood that was almost all African-American just a week after two white Boston cops shot and killed a 12 year old African-American boy. The news reports indicated a race riot was imminent. The department sent more than the usual contingent of uniformed officers expecting there might be trouble. As we entered the church basement, the crowd stood and applauded. As we stood there dumbfounded, they presented a list of four other kids who were making life intolerable for them and asked the cops if they could get them “off the street” too. The officers spent the rest of the meeting explaining why that was not an option.
After three years working in that police station I knew I was going to spend my life advocating for cops. I especially felt I had an obligation to introduce Americans to these wonderful people and let them know about the incredible work they do so we can live free of fear and protected from the evil and violence that is such a constant in American life.
That’s why I wrote this book.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Some comments from readers of Brave Hearts by Cynthia Brown
Comments on my book Brave Hearts . . .
I recently finished reading the new book Brave Hearts and wanted to thank Cynthia Brown for documenting the careers and heroic actions of some of New York's Finest. As an NYPD Police Officer working in Brooklyn, I believe the stories featured in your book about fellow members of the service were portrayed accurately and respectfully, particularly the chapter about ESU Detective Rich Miller and his actions following 9/11 and during the shootout in Brooklyn in 2000. I believe the stories in Brave Hearts serve as excellent examples of the dedication and courage of NYPD Officers which go largely unnoticed by the public. Thanks to Cynthia for bringing them to a wider audience. I have recommended this book to several of my friends and colleagues.
— Jesse Dray
I got home from work on a recent Friday evening to find Brave Hearts in my mail. I built a cocktail, as is my usual habit, and settled down on the lanai to relax. Many hours later I stumbled off to bed having read the entire first half of the book.
What an outstanding piece of work. Once done, I’ll undoubtedly read it several more times. Cynthia Brown found the perfect balance between the modest first person narration of the fifteen officers, her own deep understanding of how their actions were of such value to the citizens they protect, and every bit as importantly what those actions did and meant to them and their families.
She has done my brothers and sisters proud.
In many circles, I am perceived as unemotional and often cold. Time and again as I followed police officers while they were working, I found myself choked up and unable, or unwilling to speak.
It is a superb book.
— Rich Roberts
International Union of Police Associations
Great job with Brave Hearts. I was reading/skimming over the chapters and a dispatcher asked to read it so I gave it to her. I hope this book sells and makes the public realize that the heroes of the NYPD are not on TV but exist in really life. The NYPD should make cynthia their official historian and publicist. This is a profile in courage homage. Hats off to the officers .
— Michael J Gorham
Deputy Sheriff WI
NREMT-Basic, TEMS
US Coast Guard Auxiliary
Brave Hearts is a wonderful book. My brother has served with the Emergency Service Unit at the NYPD. I wanted to thank Cynthia for writing this wonderful book. Thanks to her for taking the time to write such a beautiful tribute to the brave men and women who give some much each day.
— Judith Ryan
I recently finished reading the new book Brave Hearts and wanted to thank Cynthia Brown for documenting the careers and heroic actions of some of New York's Finest. As an NYPD Police Officer working in Brooklyn, I believe the stories featured in your book about fellow members of the service were portrayed accurately and respectfully, particularly the chapter about ESU Detective Rich Miller and his actions following 9/11 and during the shootout in Brooklyn in 2000. I believe the stories in Brave Hearts serve as excellent examples of the dedication and courage of NYPD Officers which go largely unnoticed by the public. Thanks to Cynthia for bringing them to a wider audience. I have recommended this book to several of my friends and colleagues.
— Jesse Dray
I got home from work on a recent Friday evening to find Brave Hearts in my mail. I built a cocktail, as is my usual habit, and settled down on the lanai to relax. Many hours later I stumbled off to bed having read the entire first half of the book.
What an outstanding piece of work. Once done, I’ll undoubtedly read it several more times. Cynthia Brown found the perfect balance between the modest first person narration of the fifteen officers, her own deep understanding of how their actions were of such value to the citizens they protect, and every bit as importantly what those actions did and meant to them and their families.
She has done my brothers and sisters proud.
In many circles, I am perceived as unemotional and often cold. Time and again as I followed police officers while they were working, I found myself choked up and unable, or unwilling to speak.
It is a superb book.
— Rich Roberts
International Union of Police Associations
Great job with Brave Hearts. I was reading/skimming over the chapters and a dispatcher asked to read it so I gave it to her. I hope this book sells and makes the public realize that the heroes of the NYPD are not on TV but exist in really life. The NYPD should make cynthia their official historian and publicist. This is a profile in courage homage. Hats off to the officers .
— Michael J Gorham
Deputy Sheriff WI
NREMT-Basic, TEMS
US Coast Guard Auxiliary
Brave Hearts is a wonderful book. My brother has served with the Emergency Service Unit at the NYPD. I wanted to thank Cynthia for writing this wonderful book. Thanks to her for taking the time to write such a beautiful tribute to the brave men and women who give some much each day.
— Judith Ryan
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