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Lieutenant Don Whitehead is a
member of the Kokomo Police Department and a contributing author of True Blue: To Protect and Serve. Booklist said of True Blue: To Protect
and Serve, “We live in the worst twenty minutes of someone else's life," writes a cop, exemplifying
the honesty and directness that characterize this book. Sutton, a detective in the Las Vegas Police Department, invited cops
across the U.S. to write about themselves in such a way as to answer this question: "How can we show who we really are
to citizens and cops alike?" The collection that resulted houses 51 responses, roughly divided into five categories:
"Line of Duty," "The Beat," "War Stories," "Officer Down," and "Ground Zero:
Stories of 9/11." No story is longer than 10 pages. Many are heartrending, especially the accounts of 9/11. Some are
hilarious, like the way a cop convinced a nutcase that he had gotten rid of the space aliens infesting his house. All demonstrate
that cops, who have reason to reflect on their experiences, are wonderful philosophers and storytellers.”
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About the Kokomo Police
Department
According to the Kokomo Police Department, “from 1840 to 1865, area law enforcement was
a service provided by the Howard County Sheriff. In 1865, Kokomo held its first election, with John Williams being elected
Kokomo's first Town Marshal. In April 1901, the law enforcement arm of Kokomo's government formally changed to a Metropolitan
Police Department. This police department consisted of six men whose equipment consisted of only side arms and uniforms.” Today, the Kokomo Police Department is a full service
law enforcement agency that provides basic patrol, criminal investigation and specialized law enforcement to the residents
of the City of Kokomo. The Kokomo Police Department “Uniformed Patrol Section's primary responsibility
is the protection of life and property, the prevention of crime, and the apprehension of offenders through continuous
24-hour random and directed patrol by uniformed officers in marked and unmarked police vehicles. The Patrol Section is
responsible for the preservation of the public peace, to respond to calls for service, to render assistance to persons when
necessary, to conduct preliminary investigations into criminal acts and to conduct follow-up investigations as assigned.
The Uniformed Patrol Section is also responsible for providing liaison with the County Courts
and assigned Prosecutors.” The
Kokomo Police Department “Criminal Investigation Section is supervised by a Captain and its primary responsibility is
the initial and follow-up investigation of criminal offenses within the City of Kokomo and the eventual
identification, apprehension and successful prosecution of criminal offenders. The Criminal
Investigation Section shall also provide liaison with the Circuit and Superior Courts and the assigned prosecutors.” The Kokomo Police Department “SWAT Team is
called out and is responsible for high-risk and special tactical missions. The team's main focus is
reducing risk during high-risk and unusual police situations such as: Barricaded person situations, sniper
situations, hostage situations, high-risk felony warrant service operations involving potentially dangerous individuals, protecting
high value persons and property, search and rescue operations, high-risk tactical surveillance and/or narcotic enforcement
operations, covert and undercover tactical operations; hazardous material, clandestine lab, and weapons of mass destruction
situations; special circumstances such as crowd control and rural searches, special ceremonial police operations, crisis negotiations,
and decoy operations. The SWAT team will assume responsibility for inner perimeter security under the direction
of the team leader and establish a perimeter to cut off escape routes and prevent others from entering the area. When possible,
an attempt must be made to evacuate innocent persons and bystanders in the line of fire and isolate witnesses. The Kokomo
Police Department SWAT team shall engage in training and readiness exercises at least six times per year.” Source: cityofkokomo.org
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