The Night Police: Beyond the Line of Duty Volume 1

This first book in THE NIGHT POLICE series is a no-holds-barred, unflinching fictionalized version of real events the authors experienced firsthand during their time in law enforcement. A gritty, true-crime-inspired collection of thematically linked short stories where you'll meet the dangerous men that are The Night Police. Listen in as real-life urban policing is exposed amongst a union of hardened lawmen. Written by two who have been there, The Night Police will uncover the true lives that few could imagine, let alone choose to live.

Meet the rebel trooper Max Golden, the common thread in a dark journey from which not one of these men will escape unscathed. Max isn't content to spend his career as a humble, rule-following civil servant. Refusing to seek danger isn't his style. And in the squalid, crime-ridden streets of Bristol City, he finds danger in spades. Dope deals gone bad, street brawls, murder and more keep him and the other members of The Night Police bonded tightly together in their self-made fraternity. Escape, when it's needed, is found in the dark and nondescript Solly's Tavern, where on one particularly damp, cold evening in 1991, this down-at-the-heels saloon hosts four of the Night Police for a cathartic night of drinking. The plan is to let loose and forget for a few hours, but the swapping of increasingly graphic tales leads to the unfolding of a stunning revelation. Will it change the course of their lives and careers?

This is a chronicle of the camaraderie that helped shield them from the intense pressures of urban policing. It tells the real stories, with the authentic voice of those who lived to reveal the truth. In true ripped-from-the-headlines fashion, the stories related in this book may seem improbable but are all based on true events.

The Night Police provides truth and insight into the demons behind the badge. And for those of you in law enforcement, The Night Police will have special meaning for anyone who has ever worked the streets, dealt with informants and lived the life on that razor's edge.

Except for a short stint living in New York City, Chris Berg has lived on the left coast all his life. After graduating with his B.S. from San Jose State University, he found his true calling and in 1977, he became the third generation of his family to sign on as a lawman.

The graveyard shift suited him just fine, and it was there he joined the ranks of the Night Police. He worked as an evidence technician, long before CSI was a thing, and as a detective, his assignments included Vice and Intelligence. But it was his posting as an undercover narcotics agent that fit him best. With hundreds of narcotics investigations under his belt, he became a field training officer for up-and-coming undercover detectives. He filled in the career gaps testifying as a court-certified "expert witness" in narcotics and dangerous drug investigations throughout the west.

After an injury forced his early retirement, his new corporate job routinely took him to places like Malaysia, Dubai, Moscow, Rio de Janiero, and Beijing. It led him to associations with the UK's MI5 and MI6 intelligence services and work with most of America's alphabet agencies. He even spent a frigid All Saint's Day in a very eastern European city "drinking well" with a couple of mysterious ex-Stasi operatives.

In 2017 he teamed with his real-life Night Police partner Paul James Smith, lighting the fuse for the next big challenge. The Night Police, the first novel in the series, is the result.

He and his wife Janet now call northern California and Boston home. Their daughter, currently in grad school, is likely the fourth generation of law enforcement in the family―not counting Finnegan, her first horse, who retired from the United States Park Police! He also keeps up with his passions: baseball, fishing, and all things cooking and BBQ, not necessarily in that order.
Paul James Smith served community and country in a variety of pursuits from age 19 to age 59. After completely flunking out at San Diego State, a Marine Corps recruiter handily outsmarted him, and he fell for the old "aviation guarantee". This launched a long and checkered career of service as enlisted marine, a local lawman, Federal Agent, and reserve Coast Guard officer.

His time in the Marines never got him any closer to aviation than riding in the back of a helicopter as an infantryman. After several years in civilian law enforcement, he joined the Coast Guard reserve in 1991. He fared somewhat better there, working his way up the officer ranks. Assignments included command of two expeditionary units, Commander, Maritime Security Force, Guantanamo Bay, and four wartime deployments to the Persian Gulf. On his last deployment, he was a senior maritime advisor to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

His 31 years of cop experiences ran the gamut―patrolman, field training officer, SWAT, detective, federal agent, Special Response Team member, sniper and sniper instructor, National Tactical Team Leader, and Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Program Manager. He investigated high-tech crimes, crimes against children, bombings, arson, the seizing of meth labs, outlaw motorcycle gangsters, and special operations at Ruby Ridge and Waco.

After retiring from law enforcement and military duty he and his wife ran a gun shop in Alaska for a few years. He built custom rifles, and they collectively lost their minds to boredom. They now live at the edge of Puget Sound in the Pacific Northwest. He writes, she gardens, and together they go Dungeness crabbing from their kayak. They are enjoying life to the fullest.