UC630 "Cop or Criminal" Episode 2

DOWNLOAD YOUR COPY TODAY

I'm pleased to announce the launch of the second book in this exciting series. It is available on Amazon.com  It will go live on 8/31/13 Internationally.

This is an action packed episode that will keep you absorbed for hours.

Enjoy,

WKGI

In this series we see Jamal Hudson's personality being taken over more and more by Mr. Bacardi. You'll also bear witness to a heart pounding, adrenalin packed, high speed chase down the FDR Drive in access of 100 mph when a buy op goes horribly wrong!

Reflections

I was going through some old albums and I came across this pic. I recalled a time when I was walking downtown behind an elderly white couple.  The man kept looking back at me. When they got to the corner they crossed the street. I paid them no mind until I saw a homeless man start harassing them for money. I crossed the street and asked them if the man was bothering them. Now I guess they think they are being cornered by two homeless men.  Before they could answer I took out my shield from under my shirt and told the homeless man to "get the f*ck out of the area". He took off running. Before the couple could thank me I told them to "have a nice day" and crossed back over to my side of the street.  I'm sure that incident left an indelible impact on their thoughts about racial profiling.  

The same thing happened when I was off duty and helped a uniformed cop take down a perp. He thought he had to perps to deal with until I told him I was "on the job".  Oh what a relief it is.

Published WriteSpeak interview.

Meet UC630

WriteSpeak Interview

This is a rough draft of the interview. I'm sure they'll edit it before publishing the article:

August 11, 2013

Free Summer Read: Deep Inside New York's Drug World

"Miami Vice was a joke," said retired Undercover Narcotics Officer William King Grimball. "When I was undercover, I had to walk up to drug dealers and, in 30 seconds, convince them that they had known me forever."

Grimball--who recently retired after working 15 years as both an officer and Homicide Detective for the New York Police Department—is the author of the newly released crime novel UC630 Cop or Criminal (read a free sample). Grimball sat down with Wrightspeak to tell us about why decided to detail parts of his extensive undercover career in his new crime book.

"It took me a long time to write the book because [my experience] was so traumatic," he said. In all, he estimates that it took him ten years to write the book. The novel follows a young cop who loses parts of himself while trying to save New York City from the violent crack epidemic of the 1980s. The graphic novel provides a raw, behind-the-scenes take on the tumultuous decade and the toll that the crime wave took on the cops charged to stop it. Grimball takes readers through a journey where they see undercover officers in a new way—as close-knit family members.

"I didn't start [writing the book] until I heard that two undercover officers were shot and killed in Manhattan," Grimball said. "So I decided to write this book for people who are thinking about going into the police field. Most people don't know what they're getting in to.

"When you hear news about a meth lab or a crack house getting taken down, it all looks so sanitary. So much more goes on behind the scenes," he said, adding that he's witnessed everything imaginable during his time as an undercover agent, including drug abuse and child prostitution.

"I was the first cop to buy crack from the city [during sting operation "School Days"], and at one point I was reputed to be the number one undercover agent in the state," Grimball said. "Crack dealers were vicious—they would force feed women to get them hooked on crack just so that they could get them into prostitution." He admits that he sometimes still has nightmares about his undercover past. 

"I remember a time when there were so many [orphaned] babies that the city had to pay family members to take care of the children. There was also a time when cops had to sleep at the Central Booking Station because so many people were getting locked up. Some cops were making more than the Mayor with salaries exceeding $125,000 including overtime during those years."

Grimball says that his book is unique in that it details the ripple effect that street crime can have on the community.

"I want [people] to know how drugs impact people, government and society," he said. "Readers get the chance to see how far people will go to get drug dealers off the streets."


Read a free sample of the book. Follow Grimball on his blog UC630 Cop or Criminal The Series to hear more gritty undercover stories and to see sting operation photos (like this photo of Grimball as an acid-dropping hippie). He will release two additional books in the series later this year.

Who Would I Cast as UC630?

I've often thought about who would play me if a movie was made about UC630. A young Denzel would have been perfect but he screwed up and got old. Ice Tea? Can't stand his voice! Ice Cube is too chunky.

No the person to play UC630 has to be able to be a thug and an aristocrat at the same time.

Allen Payne

He is my first choice. I liked him in New Jack City and Tyler Perry's House of Payne.  A younger Will Smith could have done it as well.

Just a thought.