Michael began his law enforcement career as an undercover officer in the Intelligence Unit, specializing in “subversive group” activity working with State and Federal Agencies needing his expertise. His first uniformed assignment was to the largest Patrol District and most diverse area of the City. After ten years of working the streets, he was transferred to the Police Academy was promoted to Corporal and served in an administrative and teaching capacity. When promoted to sergeant he was first assigned to the Patrol Bureau as a squad supervisor, then to the Audio Visual Unit as a Platoon Supervisor, and later to the Prisoner Detention Unit as a Platoon Leader.

As a Lieutenant he was assigned to a patrol district in West Philadelphia as a Platoon Commander. A section of the City made infamous by two violent confrontations with the so called, “Back to Nature” group, MOVE. Also as a lieutenant he was a Platoon Commander and administrative assistant to the Captain in Central Detective Division covering all of Center City Philadelphia.

As Captain Michael was asked to oversee two squads of Internal Affairs Investigators, one dealt with all levels of complaints against police and another plain clothes surveillance squad dealt with all alleged City employee misconduct. Also as Captain he served as the Commanding Officer of a Patrol District in South Philadelphia, managing a large portion of the City’s entertainment district, including the Avenue of the Arts and the celebrated South Street corridor.

When promoted to Inspector he was transferred to the Command Inspection Bureau where he managed a squad of captains who supervised over night patrol and investigative functions for the entire Police Department. Additionally, as an Inspector he was asked to join the Commissioner’s inner circle as, Special Assistant for Education and Training, then appointed Commanding Officer for Advanced Training. For the last two years of his law enforcement career, the Police Commissioner asked him to take command of the Education and Training Bureau, and Police College. In that position, he was appointed to serve as Commissioner on the State Law Enforcement Education and Training Commission. He retired from the Police Department with the pension benefits of a Chief Inspector.

After retiring from the Philadelphia Police Department in 2002, Michael took a position as Manager of Public Services Training and Director of the Municipal Police Academy in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. In that position, he was appointed as President of the Directors Association on the State Law Enforcement Education and Training Commission. He also worked as a Criminal Justice Instructor and Evening Campus Manager for CHI Institute in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Michael has also volunteered as a Constitutional Law Instructor at the Philadelphia Police Academy.  Michael has authored articles, and initiated numerous training materials for recruit and veteran officers, in the Philadelphia Police Department and around the State. Trojan Horse 4 was Michael’s first completed work of fiction. It was followed quickly by Children of the Clan and Dublin Odyssey. His next novel, Imperfect Contrition is due out in early 2012.

Trojan Horse 4 Michael P. Cooney  More Info Children of the Clan Michael P. Cooney  More Info Dublin Odyssey Michael P. Cooney  More Info

According to the book description of Trojan Horse 4, “It took twenty years, but Chief Inspector Odysseus is now positioned to settle his score with the Philly PD. On Constitution Day 1991, the anarchy begins. Only one thing stands in his way, Sergeant Mickey Devlin.”

According to the book description Children of the Clan, “In 1993, the Philly PD all but lost the war on drugs to violent street gangs. The DA’s DIVA Task Force, lead by Lieutenant Mickey Devlin detailed from Homicide, was the only barrier between order and chaos.”

According to the book description Dublin Odyssey, “In 1996, Police Captain Mickey Devlin gets to follow his hunch on the whereabouts of “The Greek,” convicted cop-killer, terrorist and ex-Chief Inspector, to Dublin, Ireland. While the Greek plans something historic, he doesn’t factor in Mickey, his Academy classmate.”

Today, Philadelphia, with approximately 6,900 uniformed police, has the fourth largest police department in the country. Philadelphia is also the fourth largest per capita among the twenty largest cities in America. Department sizes among major cities vary greatly, from Indianapolis with 1,030 to New York City with 36,800. Philadelphia’s own department has fluctuated in size over the years, from a peak of 8,500 in 1979 to just over 6,000 in the early 1990s.

Source:ppdonline.org