Book Review: “It’s Not About The Badge”
Real Rural, Local Police Stories
What It Is Like to Be a Cop in the Rockies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

by George Gramlich
We received an email a few weeks ago from a guy up in Chaffee County by the name of John DiGirolamo. He is a retired CPA and is currently a columnist for the Winter Park Times. He said he wrote a book about local, rural policing, called, “It’s Not About the Badge” and was wondering if we would review the book for our readers. We said no problem and we received the book in a few days.
I can flat out tell you, this is one of the best, and I mean best, books that portray the life and work of rural, mountain law enforcement officers. John features real life, local LEO’s from the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office, the Salida Police Department, the Buena Vista Police Department, and a few other mountain locals (plus a few flatland places) in this outstanding portrayal of the day-to-day issues and problems that these officers face.
The locales are mostly in Chaffee and Park Counties and they run the gamut from burglaries, drugs, domestics, to suicide and murder. What is fascinating for local readers is that John does a great job describing the physical locations and the actions around them which bring the stories to life for us that know the area. The geographical challenges that mountain policing can have is clearly shown. The book also highlights the personal issues of the various LEO’s featured which, at times, is simply heartbreaking at times where you can see the hand of God making things right.
My grandfather was a city cop and I was around cops a lot growing up. It is not just a job. It is a 24/7 lifestyle that you either embrace or it will get you in the end. The stress that this line of work brings to marriages and relationships is very, very high. This book delves into many of the issues in a clear and compassionate way that shows you that a cop’s day is not done when he gets off duty.
What also is so refreshing about the book, is that John writes in detail about why and how these men and women decided to be cops. Many of them were a bit bad or a little wild in their younger days and someone, or something, turned them around into deciding to be a cop. When you read what motivated these folks to be LEO you can see where they are coming from in how they act as a cop. A lot of the cops in the book grew up locally and then later in life changed careers to be LEO where they grew up. The writing clearly shows that institutional local knowledge is a great asset in policing with a lot of crimes being solved because the cops knew the guy, the family or the locale.
John writes from a Christian perspective. In the short biographies that he provides before each new cop is introduced, John always mentions first that the man or women is a Christian. This is a beautiful way to say that this person has a set of values that will aid and enhance him or her in their police work. A set of standards and morals that guides their actions in their daily work.
Very refreshing.
The book is directly related to the conditions that our own Custer County Sheriff’s Office encounters every day. I encourage everyone to purchase this book as it will give you some great insight on how our deputies work their jobs and interact with us civilians. The book will make you look a little different on how an LEO feels about a traffic stop or an auto accident.
This book should be required reading for every high school student in the Rocky Mountains.
Rural, mountain policing is a tough job. We are lucky we have such fine officers here in the southern Rockies. God Bless them.
(It’s Not About the Badge  is available at amazon.com. Buy it.)