Customer Reviews

999 Officer Down

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Never have I read a story which truly focuses in on the emotions and reality that an officer of the law must endure while in the line of duty. The corruption and crime on the streets never embraced me until I read this book. One can not imagine what it must feel like to be humiliated, harassed , and even hurt, while your main objective is to uphold the law and protect the people we live with. Think about the oath they take, the intense training, the Risk???? Always having to look over their shoulders. They all have families and lives just like you and I and yet their main objective is to protect the people, uphold the law no matter what it takes. Officer Reiker was a devoted Officer of the Law, a true inspiration to mankind, a leader. He not only enforced law and order, he took the time to educate children who were not as priviledged as some. Never did predujice play a part. In Officer Reikers career, he endured more than any average human could, and survived by only a miracle. Officer Reiker can be proud ,he can hold his head up high knowing in his heart that he always did the right thing, no matter what the risk. . Yes I highly reccomend this book to the people we live with, the people we talk to every day. Take a Walk in Officer Reikers shoes and see what it feels like. Hats Off to Officer Reiker........

I found this book to be very interesting, as it was my first experience reading of an Officers life. I found it intriguing the way the chain of command is initiated and followed through. There are rules and codes of procedures when even talking to your superiors. I thought that in itself had to be stressful for the officer, always having to know what to say and how you have to say it to your superiors, as not to ruffle any feathers. I find the officers are a close knit group, they look after their own, no matter what.I would recommend this book to all people in the field of law enforcement, their families and friends.

999 Officer Down transports the reader behind the scenes into the life of Phoenix cop Russ Reiker. Written by his wife, Catherine Marfino-Reiker, the narrative is heartfelt and poignant, describing great triumphs and losses in this man's life.

Unfortunately, Mrs. Reiker is not skilled in the craft of writing. She gets her story across, but without the help of a good editor. I frequently stumbled over mid-sentence tense or point-of-view changes. I was also left feeling unsatisfied at the end because she provided few details about the cause of Russ's accident.

For the story, this is great book. If you also read to enjoy creative language and vividly painted images, you're likely to be sorely disappointed.

I found this book to be the most compelling "Cop" story read to date. The book delved behind the scenes issues of life - and all that goes with it. I felt his story was at first hard to read due to emotional understanding of just how real it all became to me. My first thoughts were that we don't pay our law enforcement enough for what they must sacrifice for the rest of us. My second thought was how did he emotionally get through his tour of duty - I know that I could never had done it. Great book and a must read!

999 Officer Down: The Russ Reiker Story is the true tale of Russ Reiker, an heroic street cop of Phoenix, Arizona who served for twenty-one years before suffering a life-threatening injury while on duty. Against all odds, he survived, but shortly thereafter one of his closest friends and fellow officers lost his life. 999 Officer Down vivdly recounts the career of this dedicated policeman and how his job was to change his life forever. Superbly written by Catherine Marfino-Reiker, 999 Officer Down is compelling and highly recommended reading.