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About the New York Police Department
(NYPD):
The first law-enforcement officer began
to patrol the trails and paths of New York City when it was known as New Amsterdam, and was a Dutch settlement and fort in
the year 1625. This lawman was known as a "Schout – fiscal" (sheriff – attorney) and was charged with keeping
the peace, settling minor disputes, and warning colonists if fires broke out at night. The first Schout was a man named Johann
Lampo.
The Rattle Watch was a group of colonists
during the Dutch era (1609 - 1664) who patrolled from sunset until dawn. They carried weapons, lanterns and wooden rattles
(that are similar to the ratchet noisemakers used during New Year celebrations). The rattles made a very loud, distinctive
sound and were used to warn farmers and colonists of threatening situations. Upon hearing this sound, the colonists would
rally to defend themselves or form bucket-brigades to put out fires. The rattles were used because whistles had not yet been
invented. The Rattle Watchmen also are believed to have carried lanterns that had green glass inserts. This was to help identify
them while they were on patrol at night (as there were no streetlights at that time). When they returned to their Watch House
from patrol, they hung their lantern on a hook by the front door to show that the Watchman was present in the Watch House.
Today, green lights are still hung outside the entrances of Police Precincts as a symbol that the "Watch" is present and vigilant.
When the High Constable of New York City,
Jacob Hays retired from service in 1844, permission was granted by the Governor of the state to the Mayor of the City to create
a Police Department. A force of approximately 800 men under the first Chief of Police, George W. Matsell, began to patrol
the City in July of 1845. They wore badges that had an eight-pointed star (representing the first 8 paid members of the old
Watch during Dutch times). The badges had the seal of the City in their center and were made of stamped copper.
Source:
nycpolicemuseum.org
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Robert Cea, Randy Jurgensen's co-author, is also a former NYPD detective. As
a new recruit Cea learned of Jurgensen's heroism, and the tales of this case are told to this day to each and every recruit
at the Police Academy. When Robert Cea retired from the NYPD, he was the fifth-most-decorated officer in the department's
history. And he was still only in his early thirties.
David Pitt of the American Library Association asks, “So why would an
ambitious, aggressive, highly respected detective end his career so early? Because, like others before him, Cea had fought
bitter battles with his own conscience over the way he did his job. The book explores one of a police officer's toughest dilemmas:
When and how much is it necessary to bend the rules in order to catch the bad guys? This isn't a story of police corruption
in the manner of Serpico or Prince of the City. This one is about moral corruption, about one man's personal descent into
dishonesty.” “No Lights, No Sirens : The Corruption and
Redemption of an Inner City Cop” is Robert Cea’s “sometimes shocking memoir, which is written
in honest, gritty prose.”
In addition to his book writing, Robert Cea has developed a television series
on Court TV entitled "Under Fire." The program airs on Sundays from 10PM to 10:30PM. He is currently working on 12 new episodes for the Spring of 2007. The show features in-depth interviews of police officers as the recount dramatic events filmed by their
own police car cameras.
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