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At age 13, Pegues knew they were poor; he “was going around
with holes in my shoes…” when he was taken under the wing of
an older boy who was well-regarded in the neighborhood, and
who taught Pegues to peddle “loosies.”
“Selling weed was easy,” Pegues says.
The next step was even easier: he sold crack and joined a
larger group of dealers, some “serious players” who made
crazy money but thought little of killing someone for small
reason. It didn’t take long for Pegues to know that he
“needed an exit plan, and I needed to move on it fast.”
For him, the army “was perfect,” so he contacted a
recruiter. Three weeks after he left for basic training, his
old dealing grounds were raided.
The army, however, was a means to an end: Pegues knew that
what he really wanted was to work for the NYPD. He tested,
was approved, left the military and tested again. He was a
father twice over by that time, and he was determined to be
a cop, though many departments then oozed with racism.
Still, Pegues persevered. He took on the worst assignments,
so he could study for higher positions. He climbed in the
ranks, paying his dues and finding mentors to help him be
the best policeman he could, to “protect and serve” the
people in various precincts.
He made history, until the day he spoke “against the wrong
people.”
Once a Cop seems like two books that were
accidentally glued together in the same cover. One good, one
meh.
In the beginning, you’ve got author Corey Pegues’ story of
life in poverty and crime, which is wild, violent and almost
movie-like. That ultimately segues into Pegues-as-policeman,
and is filled with names, numbers, and an undercurrent of
anger.
It’s perhaps because of the rage in the latter half that the
books’ first half is more readable and, though filled with
harshness and profanity, more accessible. It feels engaged,
while the story’s final part seems to be, surprisingly or
not, more like a police report. This may leave readers with
a sense of disappointment; it’s as if our race horse is
taken away and replaced by a bad-tempered Shetland pony.
And yet, fans of this genre still might enjoy seeing both
sides of the streets, as told by one man who’s lived them.
Try Once a Cop and see what you think.
You can always change your mind. |
