CONVICT LAKE:
Behind the Badge
Humor, murder, tenderness, decapitation, fire, sadness, indifference, anger, thievery, family disputes, stabbings, shootings, riots, serial killers, and human stupidity is the world behind the badge.
Journey with five LAPD veteran officers to California’s High Sierra as they discuss the politics, cases, and eccentric personalities of the Los Angeles Police Department.
Often heartbreakingly blunt and gruesome, you’ll live and feel the gamut of police work during the height of the 60s hippie movement to present day.
Every cop wants to write a book and tell his story. Well, Mike actually did it. Every part of this book was riveting to this old cop. Set in the scene I know so well in the High Sierra, every chapter, every paragraph rings true. He refers to Crazy Ed, our Chief of Police, later a well-respected California State Senator. Smart as a whip, he would regularly utter “crazy” quotable quotes to the LA Times. Coopers Doughnuts, long gone; Club Dev; I even knew the Hollywood restaurant hostess he refers to. An accurate rendition of police work of the time, a time I lived and a time I worked with Mike at Hollywood Vice and at Club Dev. Mike’s stories about police incidents from University Division, 77th, and Newton are all true. These cops on their fishing trip getaway, true to form can’t tell their families every story, probably out of a sense of protection, but they can vent and share with each other. Outstanding book! I recommend it to anyone. Easy to read, fun, and insightful.
Tim McBride, Commander, Los Angeles Police Department Retired
Reading Mike Krecioch’s Convict Lake: Behind the Badge is like opening up a time capsule from a colorful and historically significant period in the history of the Los Angeles Police Department. It literally puts you 'in the car' during a very different time to be part of the personal and professional experiences of some fascinating officers in a visceral way that no television show or movie can do.
The Police Officers in Convict Lake are not perfect, because Police Officers will never be perfect as long as they are hired from the human gene pool. But even with all the frailties of other human beings, at the end of the day, the LAPD Officers in Convict Lake are compelling figures who put service and sacrifice before self. They are also a breed of unique people who were thrust into many events that will probably never recur, so having the chance to sit next to them at the campfire, attend their roll calls, joke in the locker room, and share other aspects of their lives and careers, is a special gift.
Alan Skobin, Police Commissioner, Los Angeles Police Department (2003-2012)
Amazon Reviews:
*He doesn’t sugar coat anything and tells it like it really was.
*Convict Lake is a treat for anyone who loves historical fiction and the Los Angeles Police Department.
*For those of you who have been a police officer or wondered what life was like for officers who worked the busy streets of Los Angeles
*Be a guest on a policeman's camping and fishing trip as one of the boys!
*Compelling and Powerful!
*Great read, the stories made me feel as if I was there!
*An honest look at inner feelings and thoughts behind those who are sworn to Protect & Serve.
