At the 2011 Writer's Police Academy

Off to the pokey -- well, not really

Here’s the thing about being handcuffed — it produces an irresistible urge to get out of said handcuffs. For most handcuffed people, that’s not an option. Luckily for me, it was. All I had to do was ask, which I did. Quickly and nicely.


I wrote a little about my adventures in all things Law  Enforcement over at the Poisoned Pen Press blog (see Writing at the Thin Blue Line if you're interested).


Here are some photos from that weekend. It was an invaluable opportunity to marinate in the world of cops, firefighters, and rescue personnel for a little while, and I came away with an enhanced respect for the challenges of the work and the commitment of the people who choose these professions. 

 To the right, you see Officer Stan Lawhorne demonstrating the "hog-tie" maneuver on Officer Dee Jackson. She's being sweet and non-resistance -- you can tell because he's still wearing his head.

Below is a picture of the official Writer's Police Academy t-shirt. It reminds me of the one Richard Castle wears on Castle. Maybe some of his fictional star quality will rub off on me. Who knows? Regardless, it's a fantastic shirt.

My daughter, the Writer-To-Be

Officer Stan Lawhorne participates in a mock hostage-taking.

Lt. Randy Shepherd with the Sniper Team

Above is Lt. Randy Shepherd, who led a fascinating seminar on Law Enforcement Sniper techniques and procedures. He brought actual equipment and gear (that's his big gun you see) and shared how snipers move, hide, target and train. An excellent presentation that blew me away in many ways, and enriched my author's tool kit extraordinarily (I got to hold bullets!)

An Official ALS (Alternate Light Source) kit used by some official forensic investigators. Use this equipment in a typical hotel room, and you'll be traumatized, I guarantee it.

To the left you'll see a typical sniper gear set-up

 including the official "sniper Frisbee" that bored snipers toss around between hostage situations (actually, it's a camouflaged disc of plastic that is used as a base for the gun in underbrush -- but I like the Frisbee story better).