The Warmer Side of Police Officers

by James Parks, Jan 4, 2009

For most of us, our image of a police officer is usually associated with something unpleasant.

But Scott Baker, a former New York City officer, and freelance writer Tom Philbin say most people don’t see police officers as real people with cares, worries and, most of all, concern for the people they serve.

In their book, A Warmer Shade of Blue: Stories From New York’s Finest at Their Finest, they tell the stories of New York City police officers who have gone out of their way and sometimes stretched the rules to help people.

Some of the stories are extraordinary—officers risking their jobs to help people, such as the cop who drove his patrol car out of Manhattan to Bergen County, N.J., to aid a sick child. But all the stories have one common aspect: They touch the heart and perhaps in some small way make people look at the police differently.

Other stories are quite ordinary, everything from a policeman changing an old lady’s tire in the rain—after which she hands the officer, who is dripping wet, a handkerchief to dry himself—or another officer buying a  pizza for a family who could not afford to eat.

The International Union of Police Associations (IUPA) gave the book its 2007 Quill & Badge Award for outstanding presentation of law enforcement. The union is running excerpts from the book on its website here. Each week, a new chapter of the book is uploaded, and eventually, the entire book, which has not yet been published, will be available on the site.

In a review of the book, Rich Roberts, IUPA’s public information officer, says:

I have to admit that reading it from a cop’s viewpoint, there were stories that caused me to roll my eyes and say, “Oh man!  I can’t believe he did that,” knowing the cop was in deep trouble (despite the fact it was an act of kindness) if a supervisor found out about it. Too often on our job, doing the “right thing” is in conflict with department policies and procedures. This is a whole new world of cop stories from a new perspective.

In the book’s introduction, Baker, who retired on disability, and Philbin, who comes from a family of police officers, write:

Police officers are human, and we care—deeply. We don’t come to work everyday wanting to give someone a summons or arrest people. The last thing any of us ever want to do is have to shoot somebody.

We are fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters just like you. We have families, mortgages, car payments, bills to pay and lawns to mow, Little League games and ballet recitals to go to.  

Whatever the reason, beneath all the machismo and emotional firewalls cops put up to protect their sanity is the same reason we really all became cops…to help people. To help people by putting their best interest and safety above our own. That, truly, is the engine that makes us go; that makes it all worthwhile.  

Click here and here to read the excerpts and for future information on how to order the book.

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