A Badge a Gun an Attitude

<p> During his 25 years with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Dean Scoville advanced from nervous recruit to silver-tongued spokesperson to seasoned patrol sergeant. His candid memoir chronicles the personal experiences of police work--the tedium of guarding jail inmates the consternation of shoot/don't-shoot scenarios the trauma of being wounded in the line of duty--and offers an insider's view of iconic moments in law enforcement including the capture of Night Stalker Richard Ramirez and the 1992 L.A. Riots. Along the way he examines a profession increasingly beleaguered by inimical agendas administrative cowardice and fiscal restraints.</p>