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Into the Kill Zone: A Cop's Eye View of Deadly Force

David Klinger

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May 15, 2018 Gwendolyn White rated it it was amazing

Into the Kill Zone by David Klinger was a great read. The author, Klinger, is a former officer who was involved in a shooting while on duty. He now teaches Criminal Justice at a collegiate level. It was a very thrilling and interesting read, as I loved hearing the side that we do not always hear, the officer’s side and how it personally impacted them instead of the suspect. It showed readers how shootings can mentally and physically impact officers. Klinger’s book provided a great insight into t Into the Kill Zone by David Klinger was a great read. The author, Klinger, is a former officer who was involved in a shooting while on duty. He now teaches Criminal Justice at a collegiate level. It was a very thrilling and interesting read, as I loved hearing the side that we do not always hear, the officer’s side and how it personally impacted them instead of the suspect. It showed readers how shootings can mentally and physically impact officers. Klinger’s book provided a great insight into the way that law enforcement is affected in the event of a shooting and what all they go through in the process before, during, and after the shooting.

This book went in different categories. It starts with how many officers feel inclined to join law enforcement and also what exactly caused them or urged them to join. It then moves into the different academy experiences that many of the officers he interviewed experienced and how that made an impact on their readiness for the actual job and the shootings they each were involved in. Next, the stories differed between the officers who were forced to shoot and those who waited to an almost dangerous level to decide to hold their fire because they believed the individual was harmless and not trying to hurt them or anyone else. Klinger also discussed how the media portrays shootings in an entirely different light than they usually happen, oftentimes affecting the officer negatively or shining law enforcement in a bad light. The book ended with the impact that occurs on the officers and their families, and how they were negatively affected by the shooting or what led up to/came from it.

Klinger’s book did a wonderful job of showing shootings from the officer’s point of view, rather than how the media portrays the shootings, focusing on why they made that decision and how it affected them personally. This book allows the reader to give those within the stories humanity, turning them into real people, people that we each know, care for, and look up to. The book did a great job of allowing the readers to get that much needed perspective. Although I know officers are not always justified within their shootings and they can do bad things and accidents can happen as well, I believe that every individual in this book did the right thing to make sure they got home to their friends and family. I believe every story in this book proved that it was either them or the suspect, or between an innocent individual or the suspect. Thus, justifying their decision to pull the trigger. I greatly enjoyed this book. Being close to many law enforcement officers, I will always hold a special place for them in my heart and it helps me to know that there are books and other media stories that do not always portray the officer in a bad light, and that justify the officer’s actions because either themselves or another individual was in immediate, fatal danger. I also really liked how the author brought into the book how officers are affected after the shooting has occurred, that many are mentally scarred for the rest of their lives because of what they had to do, and how it negatively impacts them, while some officers deal with it easier because they know they did the right thing, many of them still struggle with the knowledge that they took someone’s life and I think that needs to be addressed more as shown in this book.

In conclusion, I would most definitely recommend this book to everyone I know, even if you do not always agree with law enforcement or what they do I believe this could give a reader that has those opinions a different insight as to why many officers do what they do. I would also recommend this book to those thinking about joining the family of law enforcement as it provides a great insight into the nitty gritty of what the job actual entails, not just the fun stuff. The different short stories within the book made it very easy to stay involved and interested as it was not a single, long, drawn-out story that seemed to take forever to get to the climax, they all were relatively short and to the point with short explanations of the chapter in between the different areas for those readers who enjoy books like that.

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May 15, 2018 Kennedy Camp added it

Into The Kill Zone by David Klinger is a compelling novel about violent force in law enforcement. Klinger, a Los Angeles Police Department veteran, uses his personal experiences and those of other officers to create an informative yet slightly suspenseful novel over the use of deadly force. Readers are supposed to walk away from this book with more knowledge of police work and how actual officers view their line of duty.
Klinger begins the book interviewing officers on what made them decide law Into The Kill Zone by David Klinger is a compelling novel about violent force in law enforcement. Klinger, a Los Angeles Police Department veteran, uses his personal experiences and those of other officers to create an informative yet slightly suspenseful novel over the use of deadly force. Readers are supposed to walk away from this book with more knowledge of police work and how actual officers view their line of duty.
Klinger begins the book interviewing officers on what made them decide law enforcement was for them. Many come from a law enforcement family and feel it is their duty to carry on the tradition. Next, the book covers academy experiences each interviewee had. Each experience was different but they all shared common ground- each officer was informed on the use of violence and asked if they are aware they could lose their life on duty. Next, Klinger shares officer’s stories of holding their fire in situations and times when they had to shoot. Each officer reacted differently to the fact they took a life; some feeling nothing at all, others quitting police work all together. The officer’s post-shooting coping mechanisms were covered toward the end of the book, some were fine after following state and department required counseling and others needed greater aid.
Reading about shootings from the officer’s point of view is refreshing. Typically, we see police work as filtered through the media, but this book is a raw example of what officer’s really experience. I enjoyed seeing the different challenges each officer faced and the way they handle situations with only seconds to make a decision. Klinger also explains each officer related term within the book well, even providing a glossary at the back of the book for those of us unaware of terms specific to law enforcement. However, the vignette format made the book difficult to follow in the beginning.
I very much enjoyed this book; I do not read often but this is a book was hard to put down. The book was not interesting the entire time, but I recommend this book to anyone interested in understanding the struggles of law enforcement. I would HIGHLY recommend this novel for any in law enforcement or considering law enforcement as it is informative and relatable.
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