An Inconvenient Cop

Praise

“I am thinking about quitting my job as a local cop. I don’t know the when but I do know the why. Many of the reasons can be found in the pages of Edwin Raymond’s An Inconvenient Cop: My Fight to Change Policing in America. . . . Raymond’s book, based on what he did and didn’t do as he rose through the ranks of the New York City Police Department, explains better than most how one cop can’t change the system — but how change can’t happen without that one cop trying.”
—The Washington Post

“In this searing memoir, 14-year NYPD veteran Raymond argues that New York City is ‘the red-hot center of the problem’ of racially motivated police brutality . . . Combining personal anecdotes and painstaking research, Raymond passionately advocates for wholesale police reform, arguing with convincing clarity that ‘when you toss out bad apples, you’re not changing a damn thing.’ This is a gutting and essential take on a hot-button issue.”
—Publishers Weekly, starred review

“Vital, timely . . . Readers will be impressed by Raymond’s courage and integrity, and he presents an inspiring story, captivatingly written and exciting to read. An urgent exposé, essential to understanding the fractured state of policing in America.”
—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“An uplifting story of perseverance and a hard, eye-opening look at policing and what it takes to make a department live up to its best potential.”
—Booklist

“Edwin Raymond is my hero. In his brilliant memoir, An Inconvenient Cop, we have the single most important book ever written on policing from inside the profession itself. It should be read and studied by students, scholars, and anyone interested in the future of America.”
—Shaun King, author of Make Change: How to Fight Injustice, Dismantle Systemic Oppression, and Own Our Future

“With illuminating, vivid, and meticulous prose, Edwin Raymond delivers an extraordinary exposé on policing in America. By taking readers behind the often-impenetrable blue wall of silence, An Inconvenient Cop highlights the damage wrought by broken-windows policing and reveals with sobering clarity how racism corrupts our criminal justice system. This rare glimpse into the realities of systemic bias in policing is an essential, exceptional work of social justice.”
—Toluse Olorunnipa, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of His Name Is George Floyd: One Man’s Life and the Struggle for Racial Justice

“Enlightening and infuriating, An Inconvenient Cop is an indictment of broken-windows policing and a compelling account of an officer who challenged the NYPD’s racism and quota system from the inside. It is essential for anyone who thinks diversifying police forces and platitudes about reform will influence the deepest structural failures that are embedded not just in police departments’ rotten apples but in the very soil. Brave, powerful, and beautifully told.”
—Joanna Schwartz, author of Shielded: How the Police Became Untouchable

“A courageous and unyielding exploration of systemic flaws within the NYPD, An Inconvenient Cop is a testament to Edwin Raymond’s unwavering commitment to truth and justice. A must-read for anyone seeking to understand the realities of American policing.”
—Light Watkins, author of Knowing Where to Look: 108 Daily Doses of Inspiration