Michael W. Quinn’s new book, Walking With the Devil: The Police Code of Silence, is a must-read for every ethical person involved with the legal system. Quinn writes in vivid street-cop language, compelling police recuits’—and our—attention with gritty adrenaline-laced descriptions of the life-and-death, “slippery with blood and sweat” survival-mode situations in which gut instincts—“amygdala hijackings”—propel even the most ethical cops into difficult battles with the Code of Silence, the implicit rule that a cop never ‘snitches’ on another cop. When he has our attention, he leads us through the “terrible internal struggles” of honesty and ethics. Quinn is bluntly honest about “cop culture” and institutional pressures toward corruption, including “creative report writing” and “testilying.” Quinn guides his readers into a gut-level understanding of real-life ethics. He addresses the criminally-serious problems detailed in his book, describing outstanding successes of two police units he supervised, “that refused to use the Code,” and debunks the ‘top ten’ “Myths of Policing.” The Police Code of Silence is a profoundly power- ful text book. When studied with the dedicated seriousness of a police recruit at the Academy, Michael Quinn’s teaching builds and strengthens ethics beyond abstract intellectual knowledge, into the very fibers of one’s being. Even in those of us who believe ourselves to deeply ethical, Quinn’s book can awaken and nurture a deeper understanding of ethics as a vital part of life in every moment.
Michael W. Quinn is a retired Minneapolis Police Sergeant and sole proprietor of Booksbyquinn, also doing business as Quinn and Associates, Publishing and Consulting. He served with the Minneapolis Police Department in a variety of assignments that included uniformed patrol as an officer and Supervisor, investigations, plain clothes and undercover work, including two years in Internal Affairs. During Quinn s last 4 years on the department he was the Supervisor of the Minneapolis Police Academy. From September 2000 till February 2002 Quinn was the Deputy Director of Minnesota Police Corps Program. Later, he also served as a Special Deputy U.S. Marshal contract guard. He is an active member of the Hibbing Community College Law Enforcement Advisory Board, adjunct faculty at Fond du Lac Community college, Community faculty at Metropolitan State University, the editorial board of the Law Enforcement Journal, and a member of the International Association of Police Ethics Trainers. He is proud to be called husband, father, and grandfather.