Lieutenant Randy Sutton’s fascinating collection of stories and memories, solicited from law enforcement officers across the country, offers a broad and insightful look at the many facets of police life: courage, exhilaration, frustration, loss, and even humor—from the everyday to the career-defining moments on the job. Told by the cops who lived them, the stories in True Blue show what it truly means to protect and serve. Readers will come to recognize the faces behind the badge, as they witness officers charge into the unknown on The Beat, honor and mourn friends in The Fallen, hear the War Stories spread in police locker rooms and bars, discover the unbreakable line between civilian and cop in the Line of Duty, and feel the blood-boiling adrenaline during those life-altering moments when a cop must use Deadly Force. “These vivid, dramatic, and moving stories are far more gripping and inspiring than any novelist could invent.”—David Morrell, New York Times bestselling author of First Blood and The Brotherhood of the Rose “[Sutton] brings to vivid reality the real stories of cops whose guts and glory are seldom seen and rarely heard.”—John Langley, creator of COPS “They all come right from the heart that beats beneath the badge.”—New York Daily News on True Blue (vol. I) Lieutenant Randy Sutton’s fascinating collection of stories and memories, solicited from law enforcement officers across the country, offers a broad and insightful look at the many facets of police life: courage, exhilaration, frustration, loss, and even humor—from the everyday to the career-defining moments on the job. Told by the cops who lived them, the stories in True Blue show what it truly means to protect and serve. “[Sutton] brings to vivid reality the real stories of cops whose guts and glory are seldom seen and rarely heard.”—John Langley, creator of COPS Readers will come to recognize the faces behind the badge, as they witness officers charge into the unknown on The Beat, honor and mourn friends in The Fallen, hear the War Stories spread in police locker rooms and bars, discover the unbreakable line between civilian and cop in the Line of Duty, and feel the blood-boiling adrenaline during those life-altering moments when a cop must use Deadly Force. “They all come right from the heart that beats beneath the badge.”—New York Daily News on True Blue (vol. I) A portion of the royalties for this book will be donated to The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. Randy Sutton is a lieutenant in the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Nevada, and a thirty-two-year police veteran. Serving as a law enforcement commentator for Fox News, The Maury Povich Show , and other news broadcasts, he has also appeared in several television episodes of COPS , America’s Most Wanted , and Las Vegas and in such films as Casino and Fools Rush In . Visit him on the Web at www.truebluestories.com and www.policingwithhonor.com. Chapter One The Fallen A Senseless Act By Randy Sutton Lieutenant, Las Vegas Metropolitan PD, twenty- two years; Princeton Borough PD, New Jersey, ten years. The man who killed Sergeant Henry Prendes did not hate him. He couldn’t have; they had never met prior to the moment the killer dumped three 7.62mm bullets into his chest, leaving Sergeant Prendes lying mortally wounded on the cold concrete walk leading up to a nondescript family home in suburban southwest Las Vegas. "Why?" is always the question in the depressing aftermath. The reply we’ve come to expect answers nothing at all: "It was a senseless act." Can we make sense out of something meaningless? Maybe for the sake of Sergeant Prendes’s memory we should try. 2:20 P.M.: I had been having coffee with an old friend, another cop from a neighboring department, when his cell phone rang. He listened for a moment and then his eyes sought mine; I caught the briefest hint of despair before his expression hardened and his jaw set. I felt the clenching in my gut as I set my coffee cup back down on the table and waited for him to finish the call. "Sorry, brother, there’s been a shooting," he said. "It’s one of yours." "How bad? Dead?" He nodded. "Another officer wounded. He’s en route to the hospital." "The suspect?" "Your guys returned fire at the scene. Put him down." My friend’s gaze turned steely, but his knuckles were white where he gripped his coffee mug. "That takes care of that complication." We seemed frozen there for those few seconds, each staring down at the table, distracted, enveloped in the normalcy and fragrant warmth of the small diner. I looked around; everyone was enjoying their meal, their afternoon, their life. In here you could almost imagine that nothing bad ever happened. But it had. "I’ve got to get over to the hospital," I said, standing up. He nodded and grabbed his coat. I threw down a twenty- dollar tip for our two cups of coffee; maybe it was guilt money for sitting snug