Once a Cop : The Street, the Law, Two Worlds, One Man

New York City Book Awards Hornblower Award Winner African American Literary Award Winner for Best Biography/Memoir As a youth, Corey Pegues was a criminal. As an adult, he became a high-ranking police officer. In this fascinating look at life on both sides of the law, Corey Pegues opens up about why he joined the New York Police Department after years as a drug dealer. Pegues speaks honestly about the poor choices he made while coming of age in New York City during the height of the crack epidemic. He's equally candid about why he turned his life around, and takes you inside the NYPD, where he becomes a decorated officer despite bureaucratic pitfalls and discriminatory practices. Written with the voice and panache of someone who knows the streets, Once a Cop is a credible and informative look at the forces that lead some into a life of crime and what it means to make good on a second chance. "New Jack City meets Serpico in this provocative memoir of a crack dealer-turned-decorated NYPD officer--a timely reflection on the complex relationship between the police and the communities they are meant to protect. Corey Pegues has lived on both sides of the law. At the height of the 1980s crack epidemic, he was a teenager hugging the street corner, selling dope for the notorious Supreme Team gang and watching drugs decimate his stable, working-class neighborhood almost overnight. After a botched murder attempt on a rival gang member, Corey, the only member of his family to graduate from high school, knew he had to get out. Barely eighteen, with two kids by two different women, Corey left under cover of night to enlist in the US Army. After several years in the military, the police academy was a breeze. In this riveting memoir, Corey takes us into his rise from the rough streets of Queens through the ranks of the NYPD, living and working in the nation's most violent neighborhoods. What is daily life truly like for urban youth in America? What is the one problem endemic in law enforcement that's even more dangerous than rampant racism? There aren't many people who understand both sides of the story the way Corey does. As war rages throughout our nation between police and communities of color, Pegues tears down the blue wall to discuss the discriminatory practices he faced within the NYPD and talks candidly about the distrust between law enforcement and the people. Corey doesn't hate the police. He loves the badge. And, he believes, it's his duty to challenge the culture of racism, silence, and arrogance in the NYPD today"-- "Former cop sets the record straight in this controversial memoir about his youth selling crack in the 80s with one of NYC's toughest gangs and later rise through the ranks of the NYPD to become a community leader"-- New Jack City meets Serpico in this provocative memoir of a crack dealer-turned-decorated NYPD officer—a timely reflection on the complex relationship between the police and the communities they are meant to protect. Corey Pegues has lived on both sides of the law. At the height of the 1980s crack epidemic, he was a teenager hugging the street corner, selling dope for the notorious Supreme Team gang and watching drugs decimate his stable, working-class neighborhood almost overnight. After a botched murder attempt on a rival gang member, Corey, the only member of his family to graduate from high school, knew he had to get out. Barely eighteen, with two kids by two different women, Corey left under cover of night to enlist in the US Army. After several years in the military, the police academy was a breeze. In this riveting memoir, Corey takes us into his rise from the rough streets of Queens through the ranks of the NYPD, living and working in the nation’s most violent neighborhoods. What is daily life truly like for urban youth in America? What is the one problem endemic in law enforcement that’s even more dangerous than rampant racism? There aren’t many people who understand both sides of the story the way Corey does. As war rages throughout our nation between police and communities of color, Pegues tears down the blue wall to discuss the discriminatory practices he faced within the NYPD and talks candidly about the distrust between law enforcement and the people. Corey doesn’t hate the police. He loves the badge. And, he believes, it’s his duty to challenge the culture of racism, silence, and arrogance in the NYPD today. "New Jack City meets Serpico in this provocative memoir of a crack dealer-turned-decorated NYPD officer -- a timely reflection on the complex relationship between the police and the communities they are meant to protect. Corey Pegues has lived on both sides of the law. At the height of the 1980s crack epidemic, he was a teenager hugging the street corner, selling dope for the notorious Supreme Team gang and watching drugs decimate his stable, working-class neighborhood almost overnight. After a botched murder attempt on a rival gang member, Corey, the only member of his family to graduate from high school, knew he had to get out. Barely eighteen, with two kids by two different women, Corey left under cover of night to enlist in the US Army. After several years in the military, the police academy was a breeze. In this riveting memoir, Corey takes us into his rise from the rough streets of Queens through the ranks of the NYPD, living and working in the nation's most violent neighborhoods. What is daily life truly like for urban youth in America? What is the one problem endemic in law enforcement that's even more dangerous than rampant racism? There aren't many people who understand both sides of the story the way Corey does. As war rages throughout our nation between police and communities of color, Pegues tears down the blue wall to discuss the discriminatory practices he faced within the NYPD and talks candidly about the distrust between law enforcement and the people. Corey doesn't hate the police. He loves the badge. And, he believes, it's his duty to challenge the culture of racism, silence, and arrogance in the NYPD today"-- Provided by publisher Part One · Hustler 1. Suburban Sugar Hill 2. Loosies 3. The Golden Age 4. Life 5. The Perfect Drug 6. In Full Effect 7. The Block Gets Hot 8. Welcome to the Supreme Team 9. Safety Transfer 10. Prince 11. Cracked Out 12. Dog Years 13. I Decided I Would Kill Him Myself 14. Please, Please, God, Please 15. I Have to Do Right. I Have to Do Good. Part Two · Cop 16. Old Habits 17. TNT 18. #900570 19. The Most RAcist Thing I've Ever Seen in My Life 20. Not Exactly Starsky & Hutch 21. The Biggest Gang in New York 22. That Cool Cop 23. Doing Something 24. Climbing the Ladder 25. The Worst Thing I Ever Did as a Cop 26. Yo, I'm the New Sergeant 27. Theft of Service Part Three · Executive 28. Across 110th Street 29. Thug Life 30. Black Friday 31. Everybody Is Looking for You to Fail 32. Broken Windows 33. Daybreak 34. Leadership 35. The Blue Wall of Silence Insult to Injury. "Former cop sets the record straight in this controversial memoir about his youth selling crack in the 80s with one of NYC's toughest gangs and later rise through the ranks of the NYPD to become a community leader"-- Provided by publisher