Code 33: : True California Cop Stories from the 1970s - Softcover

Wamsley, Thomas C

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0998591009 ISBN 13: 9780998591001

Publisher: Semper Vigilo Publications, 2017

Synopsis

Code 33: True California Cop Stories from the 1970s has won three CIPA - EVVY Awards, a national and international book competition, for Literary Non-Fiction, Memoir - Autobiography, and Inspirational. It has also received a positive book review and posted in the San Francisco Police Officers Association Journal by Dennis Bianchi, retired SFPD officer and lecturer of literature and criminal justice at San Francisco State University.

Author Thomas Wamsley shares his memories as a San Francisco police officer and a Santa Cruz County deputy sheriff and detective during the turbulent decade of the 1970s. During the late 1960s, San Francisco and the Haight Ashbury became know as the epicenter for the new counter culture in America. By 1970, much of the idealism of peace, love, and joy had given way to drug abuse, crime, violent protests against the Viet Nam war, bombings, and terrorism. During the four years Officer Wamsley served in San Francisco, nine SFPD officers were killed in the line of duty.

Although Officer Wamsley worked some of his times early in his training in the Haight Ashbury District, most of his police stories took place in the Central Police District.. That district covered one of the primary business and financial districts in the Western U.S., Fisherman's Wharf, and other tourist and nightlife attractions, Chinatown, North Beach, and the notorious high crime Tenderloin District.

The author provides some graphic detail of a wide variety of experiences he encountered, some violent, some humorous, but all interesting. He also confesses to some errors and bad decisions he made, including how he came very close to losing his life. These stories show his human side, but he also learned from those errors.

Mr. Wamsley gives a good and rational reason for taking a lateral transfer from the SFPD to move his family to the beautiful seaside and mountainous community of Santa Crua County wher he joined the sheriff's department there. Some readers might think that Santa Cruz County would be an easy place for cops to work. Not quite! Unbeknown to Mr. Wamsley at that time, Santa Cruz County was soon to become known back in those days as the serial murder capital of the country.

Deputy Wamsley found that among the many changes he would find in his new job, some of the patrol sectors he would be assigned to would be larger that the city of San Francisco and he would be driving solo. Back up assistance could be as far away as 20 to 30 minutes as compared to a couple minutes or less in the big city. One of the chapters describes an incident that took place while he was a field training officer. In that situation, he relied on his experience and intuition and probably saved his life and the life of his trainee one night during a traffic stop. There are also several chapters in the book that recount some of the major crimes that then Detective Wamsley investigated and which resulted in some interesting outcomes.

Code 33 is a book that is easy to read and keeps the reader's attention from start to finish. Because of some of the graphic and harsh language, the book is not recommended for children.

About this title

Review:

Tom Wamsley has written an utterly original, thoroughly engaging memoir about his experiences as a police officer during the colorful, turbulent era of 1970s California. His intense curiousity and youthful fearlessness---- bur above all, his humanity, humor, and sicere desire to be of service to others shine from every page. This book has radically expanded my appreciation for what it truly means to be a cop! Code 33 was so enjoyable that I could not put it down.

Frank Berliner, MA, author of Bravery: The Living Buddsa Within You

Code 33 is written in an open, almost folksy manner that comes from the author's heart. Readers with a law enforcement background will have own experiences revived. Those without a background in law enforcement will have the opprtunity to visit a world that is not generally available to them.

Al Casciato, Captain San Francisco Police Department ( retired)

Code 33 readily draws you into a world of law enforcement, from career start to patrolling the streets, The author's daily ride along experiences take you into the murky depths of investigations and the intricacies of prosecuting horrendous crimes. Wamsley was confronted with the comples worlds of good and evil on a daily basis, and he gives the reader a glimpse of what it was like. Being a police officer is not easy; being a motivated professional ia even hsrder. This well written book is a glowing testiment to our nation's community and the ongoing need for restraining evil in our society.

Grady T. Birdsong, USMC Combat Veteran and author of A Fortunate Passage and The Miracle Workers of South Boulder Road: Healing the Wounds of War

Best cop book I have ever read and it was hadr to put down. Author Tom Wamsley gives us an exciting behind the scenes view of what it was like to be a police officer and detective ib the San Francisco area during the 1970s. He neither glamorizes nor routinizes his gritty work with murders, prostitutes, drug dealers, and fellow police officers, but presents it in a matter-of-fact and heartfelt manner. This book gave me a glimpse into the seedy underbelly of society and a new perspective of the job of bringing criminal to justice.

Charles Horowitz, PhD

There are hundreds of thousands of stories that thousands of police officers have stored away in their minds. Some have become books, both fiction and non fiction. Some have been well received, others not so much. Mr. Wamsley has written one that should be well received and read by citizens who have not been directly involved in police work or had family members who are or were officers. It will also be a facinating reminder to many officers who worked the streets during the 1970s.

Dennis Bianchi, San Francisco Police Department (retired) and Literature and Criminal Justice lecturer at San Francisco State University.

About the Author:

Thomas Wamsley was privileged to serve as a law enforcement officer with the San Francisco Police Department and the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Department throughout the 1970s. He also served six years in the US Marine Corps Reserve. He graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in sociology/ criminology. After leaving law enforcement, he had a successful career in business. He retired from business in 2015 and began his new adventure as an author. He is an active member of the Colorado Independent Publishers Association.

About this edition

• Publisher: Semper Vigilo Publications
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 0998591009
• ISBN 13: 9780998591001
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 238
• Editor: Mulhall Melanie