Friendly Fire?: The Good, The Bad And The Corrupt [Paperback]

Stephen K. Peach (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 22, 2003

This is the true story of corruption in City government. It starts out with the Department targeting and attempting to kill an ex-employee where officer Peach was shot twice by his own Department and the subsequent cover up that occurred. The same officer then exposed a police officer serial rapist to the Department and they ignored him and hoped that therapist would go away. When it became apparent that he was right, the Department turned their corrupt investigative might on officer Peach in an attempt to discredit him and served an illegal warrant and conducted an illegal interrogation and then fabricated lies to cover up their illegal conduct. Officer Peach's methods and credibility were called into question, ironically the very same methods that had discovered the police officer rapist. This is a true story that exposes the seedy, dirty underside of Law Enforcement politics that the public should realize exists in all police agencies. If the officer isn't willing to ignore crimes committed by other officers then the Department has to get rid of them, by any means possible, legal or otherwise, to maintain their facade of quality police service and reduce their lawsuit liability.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Stephen Peach was born in England and emigrated to the United States and became a police officer in Southern California. He was a highly regarded SWAT and gang officer for over a decade that had a knack for developing informants that led to the discovery of a police officer serial rapist. He has received numerous commendations for outstanding police work throughout his career and is a Superior Court recognized gang expert. He lived a nightmare as a victim of a corrupt Police Department that is still ongoing and remains a resident of the City of San Bernardino with his wife and children.

Product Details

• Paperback: 548 pages
• Publisher: AuthorHouse (August 22, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1410759415
• ISBN-13: 978-1410759412
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #992,882 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow, this is an amazing and shocking story...., September 25, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Friendly Fire?: The Good, The Bad And The Corrupt (Paperback)

This book chronicles the working and corruption of San Bernardino Police dept. Scary because it's non-fiction. Very interesting as to how the police can deal with all elements that they are exposed to on a daily basis. How certain departments condone a superior attitude to the people they are suppposed to serve. This was a real wake up call to what goes on behind the Blue line. I can only hope Stephen Peach gets the justice he rightly deserves.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy This Book, July 15, 2004

By 

John Manville (Riverside, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Friendly Fire?: The Good, The Bad And The Corrupt (Paperback)

Buy This Book! I'm serious, you need to read about the corruption that the author went through. As far as I know, no other officer has ever been shot TWICE by other cops and lived to tell the tale. I'm amazed it isn't a movie yet, and what he went through after exposing more crime, the people running this California City (close to Los Angeles) need to be in Jail. If your into true crime, this book sounds like fiction, but it is true. All I can say is BUY IT, even just to learn how your government works against our interests, just to save themselves money and to protect their own rear-ends. I'm staying away from that area, and once you read this book, you will want to as well.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars To serve and Protect....Themselves, March 1, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Friendly Fire?: The Good, The Bad And The Corrupt (Paperback)

SAN BERNARDINO, California - Corruption, intimidation and rape are not words most would normally associate with members of the nation's police forces. However, power sometimes intoxicates and can make one feel like they are above the law, even if they are sworn to protect it. Stephen K. Peach tells a story of internal corruption and cover-up in the San Bernardino Police Department in his shocking and revealing new book, Friendly Fire? The Good, The Bad and The Corrupt.
Stephen Peach emigrated from England to the United States in 1986 to follow his dream of becoming a police officer. After becoming a U.S. Citizen, he began his career in 1991 with the San Bernardino Police Department and became a highly regarded gang investigator and S.W.A.T. officer. His personable style encouraged trust and confidence in the people he met, and his eye for detail helped solve numerous crimes. In 1998, things fell apart. He was shot twice in two weeks on two separate S.W.A.T. calls. The second time occurred as he was serving a warrant on a former San Bernardino detective. Peach says that his supervisor shot him in the leg to initiate a gun battle between the former detective and Peach's fellow officers. The wound nearly killed him. He fought hard to return to his post and later discovered an officer in the department was raping women.
When one of the victims named the offending officer, the department ignored it and looked to cover up his crimes. Peach was singled out as a liability and had to go. Now, he tells his story. With Friendly Fire?, he hopes to expose the corruption that he discovered in his own department and redeem some of the honor of his badge. "The pattern of corruption in San Bernardino is a disgrace to all the officers that are honest and put their lives in jeopardy every day to serve the citizens. The purpose of his book is to hold those that are corrupt accountable," Peach says. Friendly Fire? is his first book.