The exploits of Wyatt Earp, real or otherwise, always have overshadowed those of his brothers. Now, for the first time, Donald Chaput removes the eldest brother, Virgil Earp, from that shadow and tells in detail the story of the real leader of the Earp clan. As a peace officer in Prescott, Arizona, Virgil experienced his first street shootout, and it was there he met his future nemesis, Johnny Behan. In 1880 Virgil's brothers joined him in Tombstone, Arizona. Acting as both a town marshal of Tombstone and a U.S. deputy marshal, he led the Earp gang to the fateful gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Most records of Virgil Earp stop here, but Chaput fleshes out the rest of Virgil's life in California, Nevada, and other western states as a peace officer, gambler, miner, Republican politician, and rancher. "This book, although thoroughly documented, is written in an easy, straightforward manner that should appeal to both professional and lay historians interested in the Earps and the history of the West". -- Wild West. "Chaput's well-supported view is that many of the exploits popularly thought to be Wyatt Earp's should instead be attributed to his older brother, Virgil.... (H)e is particularly enlightening, and entertaining, on the famous Tombstone altercation, otherwise known as the shootout at the O.K. Corral. Wyatt was there, but he was working for his brother, the city marshal, and it was Virgil who ran the show". -- Booklist.

The role of the lawman in the development of the American West has been distorted by an overabundance of dime novels, pulp westerns, Hollywood films, and television programs. Myth has merged with reality, and the stereotype of the badge-packing, gun-wielding marshal has gained complete acceptance in the popular mind. Examining the legends that surround the western peace officer, Professor Prassel argues that he was no better or worse than the members of the community he served. His work was largely routine. Only after journalists and novelists glorified him beyond all recognition did he acquire the resplendent finery and flamboyant manner now common to the cinematic hero. This book describes the activities of a number of law-enforcement agencies. Each level of civil administration in the West had its own police force. Banks, railroads, and cattlemen's associations hired private detectives, and Indian police patrolled reservations. Pinkerton men, Texas rangers, Canadian mounties, and Mexican rurales all played a part in western law enforcement. Men like Dallas Stoudenmire, James Butler Hickok, and Wyatt Earp are discussed, together with more colorful but less publicized figures like Frank Wattron, one-time sheriff of Navajo County, Arizona. Wattron, who ran a drugstore and tended bar, wore a diamond-encrusted badge of solid gold. He once announced a hanging by sending invitations that promised "the latest improved methods in the art of strangulation ... to make the surroundings cheerful and the execution a success." Despite a century of effort, the peace officer failed to bring law and order to the American West. Outdated police methods and antiquated statutes may help to explain why the West is more violent and crime-ridden today than when the frontier was new. By considering such problems, Professor Prassel's book acquires a particular significance for our times.

This book is a comprehensive resource for study of virtually all areas common to the day-to-day functions of peace officers. The material in these three volumes is designed and intended to complement performance objectives for the basic peace officer course of study and is organized to follow specific functional areas of minimum peace officer competencies. The format makes them valuable as reference resources and for thoughtful review of the major concerns in law enforcement. They may be used in peace officer training academies and for self-education by officers. Written in nontechnical language, they address the peace officer as a responsible, thinking, influential individual who exercises important discretion in carrying out daily responsibilities. Study aids include a glossary of relevant terms and concepts, a comprehensive index, and extensive review questions.

Best known as the Texas Ranger captain who tracked down and killed Bonnie and Clyde, Frank Hamer was designated by Walter Prescott Webb as "one of the three most fearless men in Western history." This reprint of the 1968 edition gives the complete details of the Barrow-Parker rampage and is the only authentic account of the events leading to their deaths. With more than one hundred pages of illustrations, I'm Frank Hamer tells the amazing story of one of the greatest Texas Rangers of all time.

Before Dallas Stoudenmire accepted the position as marshal of El Paso, there existed no authority except that of the six-shooter, and very little precedent for a peace officer to follow. No one before had held the job for more than a couple of months. Yet, within two years, with the help of Jim Gillett, his young deputy, Stoudenmire had cleaned up the town, a task that earned him many enemies and, in the end, death. This is the story of Dallas Stoudenmire-auburn-haired, fiery-eyed, six-foot, two-inch gunfighter, container of laughter, liquor, and death-during the two tumultuous years in the early 1880’s when he served as almost the only law north of the Rio Grande and west of Fort Worth.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.

In a career spanning thirty-seven years both as a beach lifeguard and police officer, Mark Cleavenger gives us a look at true accounts of dealing with the public, many times on the worst day of their lives. Majoring in Western philosophy, he kept a personal journal since 1980. He chose to impart his extraordinary career through selected verses that provide the lessons and raw emotions of police work. Mark was an accomplished swimmer and flat water kayak athlete, making it as far as the 1992 Olympic trials. He has two adult children and currently lives in Camarillo, California, where he continues to supervise beaches in Malibu, California. “There is no genius without a mixture of madness” (Aristotle).

This book is intended for police officers who want to improve their communication skills in the context of implementing the goals and objectives of community policing. The first chapter discusses basic communication principles that explain how a message is sent and received. It examines the content and relational message components, communication context, verbal and nonverbal codes, channel, and feedback. Chapter 2 is designed to improve an officer's interpersonal communication, as community policing increases the number of interactions between an officer and the community. Chapter 3 considers the dynamics of work groups. Step-by-step instructions are provided for planning and leading a small, task-oriented group meeting. Chapter 4 focuses on public speaking, as it teaches officers how to prepare and deliver a talk before a group; and Chapter 5 instructs officers in how to prepare for and lead a community meeting. Topics cover selecting a presentation format, planning the details of your meeting, and dealing with a hostile audience. Remaining chapters focus on creative problem-solving techniques, ways to convince others to support a creative solution and become involved in an action plan for change, and ways to publicize a program through the media and other means.

Vols. 1 and 2 cover U.S. law enforcement. Vol. 3 contains articles on individual foreign nations, together with topical articles on international law enforcement.

nineteenth century and the first quarter of the twentieth. Western historian Robert K. DeArment has tracked down the facts of the mysterious Canton's early life and misdeeds in Texas; his participation in the Johnson County War as an agent of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association; his pursuit of the Daltons, Bill Doolin, and other outlaws in Oklahoma Territory; his experiences as a peace officer and gold prospector in Alaska; his career as a bounty hunter; and his.