Once a Cop: The Street, the Law, Two Worlds, One Man

New York City Book Awards Hornblower Award Winner

African American Literary Award Winner for Best Biography/Memoir

As a youth, Corey Pegues was a criminal. As an adult, he became a high-ranking police officer.

In this fascinating look at life on both sides of the law, Corey Pegues opens up about why he joined the New York Police Department after years as a drug dealer. Pegues speaks honestly about the poor choices he made while coming of age in New York City during the height of the crack epidemic. He’s equally candid about why he turned his life around, and takes you inside the NYPD, where he becomes a decorated officer despite bureaucratic pitfalls and discriminatory practices. Written with the voice and panache of someone who knows the streets, Once a Cop is a credible and informative look at the forces that lead some into a life of crime and what it means to make good on a second chance.

Corey Pegues, a native of Queens, retired from the NYPD as a deputy inspector in 2013, after twenty-one years of service.