One Time : The Story of a South Central Los Angeles Police Officer [Paperback]

Brian S. Bentley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1997

A hardcore look into the mind of a patrol officer working in South Central Los Angeles. The author uses personal testimony to illustrate how "Da Hood" changed him from a "community base" police officer into an aggressive predator of gang members.

The LAPD recruitment posters forgot to mention that he would be shot at, called an "Uncle Tom," and treated like an outsiders by his partners because he grew up and lived in the neighborhood he patrolled. The employment pamphlets failed to describe the helplessness he would feel while handling rape investigations or the sadness he would have to block out at homicide scenes.

Nothing prepared him for what he would experience. His Bachelors degree did not prepare him for a career with the LAPD. Growing up with gang members did not prepare him for the streets as a cop. The only adequate preparation he had was his religious beliefs. He was prepared to die.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Crash" Oscar award winning Director Paul Haggis: "One Time" was one of the most inspirational books I've ever read. -- Variety Weekend Magazine Jan 12, 2006

From the Author

One Time is more than a book. It is my soul. The publishing of this book changed my life in that I was forced to give up my career, friends and a culture that I was a part of for ten years.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 234 pages
• Publisher: Cool Jack Pub; 1 edition (December 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1890632007
• ISBN-13: 978-1890632007
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,266,227 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I am a former Los Angeles Police Department patrol officer. I worked for the LAPD for 10 years.

I became a police officer because I sincerely wanted to change the community where I lived.

I write about the culture of violence in the Los Angeles Police Department, not about racial issues.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars One Time, January 6, 2009

By 

Jeff Fain - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: One Time : The Story of a South Central Los Angeles Police Officer (Paperback)

This book was very dissapointing. It is full of spelling errors and is generally a badly planned and written book. One interesting error is when the author talks about his gun sites (sights.) Being a police officer myself I find this to be an amusing error. I think I would not suggest spending money on it unless you need some bathroom reading.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The book is very revealing and informative., November 19, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: One Time : The Story of a South Central Los Angeles Police Officer (Paperback)

I read the book One Time with great appreciation and admiration for the young officer who worked in the inner city and for minority officers. The book depicts the inner most feelings of what it is like being an officer in Los Angeles. Law enforcement is sometimes frustrating, demamding, stressful and rewarding, which Mr. Bentley sucessfully displayed. The book also gave us a sample of how they are precieved and treated by the commnity and each other. It is unfortunate that this young, eager, and educated man was not allowed to be the kind of officer that he initally wanted to be, and to make a differnce in his commnity. Because of the prejudices, bureaucracy, politics and unethnical behaviors within the department,there will be many officers like Mr. Bentley who will be burned out by the system.

I recommend this book to all potental police officers and their families. A must read book!

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and easy to read., July 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: One Time : The Story of a South Central Los Angeles Police Officer (Paperback)

I very much enjoyed reading this book. It was very easy reading and went very quickly. While the author had some very interesting stories to tell, however, I think the publisher did him wrong for publishing it as is. There are a lot of editing mistakes and typos within the context that at times can make it somewhat difficult to follow. However, despite these mistakes, I highly recommend the book to anyone who is interested in law enforcement, especially in L.A. I'm sure it would be an eye opener. I never realized how violent a city L.A. could be.