400 Things Cops Know

Adam Plantinga holds a B.A. in English with a second major in Criminology/Law Studies from Marquette University, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude in 1995. Plantinga's short story "Untitled" was included in the anthology 25 and Under/Fiction and Washington Post book critic George Garrett called it his candidate for the best story in the book. He has written thirteen nonfiction articles on various aspects of police work for the literary magazine The Cresset, published by the Valparaiso University Press. Plantinga was a City of Milwaukee Police Officer from 2001 to 2008, including time spent as a Field Training Officer. He is currently a sergeant with the San Francisco Police Department. He lives in the Bay Area with his wife and daughters.

"How does it feel to be in a high-speed car chase? What is it like to shoot someone? What do cops really think about the citizens they serve? Nearly everyone has wondered what its like to be a police officer, but no civilian really understands what happens on the job. 400 Things Cops Know shows police work on the inside, from the viewpoint of the regular cop on the beata profession that can range from rewarding to bizarre to terrifying, all within the course of an eight-hour shift. Written by veteran police sergeant Adam Plantinga, 400 Things Cops Know brings the reader into life the way cops experience ita life of danger, frustration, occasional triumph, and plenty of grindingly hard routine work. In a laconic, no-nonsense, dryly humorous style, Plantinga tells what hes learned from 13 years as a patrolman, from the everyday to the exotichow to know at a glance when a suspect is carrying a weapon or is going to attack, how to kick a door down, how to drive in a car chase without recklessly endangering the public, why you should always carry cigarettes, even if you dont smoke (offering a smoke is the best way to lure a suicide to safety), and what to do if you find a severed limb (dont put it on iceyou need to keep it dry.) 400 Things Cops Know deglamorizes police work, showing the gritty, stressful, sometimes disgusting reality of life on patrol, from the possibility of infectioncriminals dont always practice good hygieneto the physical, psychological, and emotional toll of police work. Plantinga shows what cops experience of death, the legal system, violence, prostitution, drug use, the social causes and consequences of crime, alcoholism, and more. Sometimes heartbreaking and often hilarious, 400 Things Cops Know is an eye-opening revelation of what life on the beat is really all about."

Chapter 1: 27 Things Cops Know About Shots Fired
Chapter 2: 18 Things Cops Know About Use of Force

Chapter 3: 29 Things Cops Know About Tactics and Hazards

Chapter 4: 19 Things Cops Know About Working with the Public

Chapter 5: 17 Things Cops Know About Juveniles

Chapter 6: 13 Things Cops Know About Seasonal Policing

Chapter 7: 11 Things Cops Know About Courts and Legalities

Chapter 8: 19 Things Cops Know About Chases

Chapter 9: 28 Things Cops Know About Booze and Drugs

Chapter 10: 31 Things Cops Know About Investigations

Chapter 11: 18 Things Cops Know About Traffic

Chapter 12: 14 Things Cops Know About Being Among the Dead

Chapter 13: 16 Things Cops Know About Hookers and Johns

Chapter 14: 12 Things Cops Know About Domestic Violence

Chapter 15: 24 Things Cops Know About Their Co-workers

Chapter 16: 21 Things Cops Know About Thugs and Liars

Chapter 17: 14 Things Cops Know About Making The Arrest

Chapter 18: 15 Things Cops Know About Policing The Neighborhood

Chapter 19: 54 Things Cops Know About Being On The Job