According to the book description of Bed-Stuy The Way it Was, “This is a documentary of an officer, someone unprepared and untrained to achieve his ambition of being a police officer in the New York City Police Department (NYPD). I am that officer, Alfonso (Al) Yevoli, an American of Italian descent, a Brooklyn born boy (East New York) who benefited from being raised in the City that was called the "Melting Pot". When I entered the Police Academy, I had great expectations! I thought that with the training I would receive, I would be ready to face the world. Not so, as shortly after reporting to the 79th Precinct and after being assigned to patrol, I found that there was little acceptance and a lot of mistrust. I would learn patrol by trial and error and a process I refer to as learning the ABCs.”