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In this Last episode of the Cops and Writers Podcast bonus series, retired Milwaukee Police Sergeant Patrick O'Donnell reads Chapter 26, "The Howells vs. Pam From The Office," from his book:

Police Stories: The Rookie Years - True Crime, Chaos, & Life as a Big City Cop

BIG NEWS: The book launched yesterday and is LIVE NOW on Amazon (Kindle + Paperback).

After weeks of heavy stories - triple homicides, kidnappings, dying declarations - tonight's different.

It's a snowy Milwaukee night. A head-on collision in the middle of an intersection. A rookie cop who barely knows what he's doing. And three very different people.

The Howells - a wealthy couple in a Jaguar XJ12 who looked like they stepped off Gilligan's Island. Thurston, in his expensive suit, Lovey in her full-length fur coat, demanding arrests.

Pam - a young woman in a little black dress with piercing green eyes and blood-red lipstick. Fresh from an office Christmas party, now with a four-inch gash on her forehead.

And a busybody nurse with a scowl for a facial covering who wanted to be a cop more than Patrick did, armed with a syringe and ready to draw blood.

Sometimes being a rookie means pretending you know what you're doing. Even when you're making the sign of the cross with a red pen and calling it a sobriety test.

All stories are real. Names and locations have been changed where necessary.

🎧 This episode includes:

• Two-car head-on collision at Lafayette and Lake Drive
• Nissan Sentra vs. Jaguar XJ12 - both totaled
• The couple who looked like Thurston and Lovey Howell from Gilligan's Island
• The young woman who looked like Pam from The Office
• Lovey: "I demand that you arrest that young girl! Obviously, she's been drinking!"
• Mrs. Howell: "Look at her! Her little party dress, her hair, and makeup. She was definitely partying tonight!"
• "If I'm going to investigate it as alcohol-related, I'll have to have your husband perform field sobriety tests."
• "My wife has had a bit too much to drink and isn't thinking clearly."
• The nurse: "I sure hope you're taking her in for drunk driving! I'll draw the blood for you!"
• "Aren't you a little helper?" Patrick thought
• The last time Patrick did an HGN test was at the police academy a year ago - he forgot how to do it properly
• Patrick winked at Pam: "Just go along with it."
• The nurse stomped her feet: "I can't believe this! I'm calling your sergeant!"

📘 About the Book:
Police Stories: The Rookie Years - True Crime, Chaos, & Life as a Big City Cop is a true crime memoir chronicling Patrick O'Donnell's early career as a big city cop during Milwaukee's crack wars in the 1990s.

Book Launch: LAUNCHED YESTERDAY - LIVE NOW!
Book Status: Available on Amazon NOW (Kindle + Paperback). Already climbing the charts.

🔗 Get your copy NOW: Search "Police Stories Patrick O'Donnell" on Amazon or check the link below.

📧 Contact Patrick:
Email: sarge@copsandwriters.com
Website: copsandwriters.com
Facebook Group: Cops and Writers

👍 If this story stuck with you:
Subscribe, leave a review, and grab your copy of the book on Amazon.

If you read it, please leave an honest review - launch week reviews make a huge difference.

🎙️ This is the FINAL bonus chapter. Next week, we're back to regular programming with guest interviews.

Thank you for riding along these past weeks.

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Today’s show will be especially helpful for you writers out there, or if you are curious to see what makes a full-time thriller author tick. On the show today, we have award-winning and bestselling author Nick Petrie, who just released his 9th book in the Peter Ash series, The Dark Time.

His first novel, The Drifter, won the ITW Thriller and Barry Awards and was nominated for Edgar, Anthony, and Hammett Awards. He won the 2016 Literary Award from the Wisconsin Library Association and was named one of Apple’s 10 Writers to Read in 2017. Apple Books named Light It Up the Best Thriller of 2018. Both Light It Up and The Wild One were shortlisted for the Barry Award.

Lee Child, author of the Jack Reacher novels, said. “Lots of characters get compared to my own Jack Reacher, but Petrie's Peter Ash is the real deal.”

Nick is the quindecennial blue-collar author. He has an impeccable work ethic forged with years of working as a carpenter and other trades, which has paved his way to becoming a full-time, bestselling author.

Please enjoy my conversation with one of the nicest guys I know in the business, Nick Petrie.

In today’s episode, we discuss:

· What has changed in the publishing business in the last two years since he released his last book?

• Luck finds people who show up for work every day.

· Artificial Intelligence and the publishing business.

· Best marketing practices for authors.

· How his former professions and life experiences have helped him in his writing career.

· Pros and cons of writing in a series.

· His advice for new or newer authors looking to break through.

All of this and more on today’s episode of the Cops and Writers podcast.

Visit Nick's website to learn more about him and his books.

Check out my newest book! Police Stories: The Rookie Years - True Crime, Chaos & Life as a Big City Cop!

My first week as a rookie cop, I had to decide whether to pull the trigger on a man running at me with a butcher knife. He'd just killed his brother over the last hot dog.

That was my introduction to policing in Milwaukee.

From Wall Street Journal-featured author Patrick O'Donnell comes a memoir of rookie years on Milwaukee's streets.

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In this episode of the Cops and Writers Podcast bonus series, retired Milwaukee Police Sergeant Patrick O'Donnell reads Chapter 14, "Scooby-Doo Where Are You?" from his upcoming book:

Police Stories: The Rookie Years - True Crime, Chaos, & Life as a Big City Cop

You've probably seen it in movies or TV shows: a cop arrives at a crime scene, a victim is barely clinging to life, and with their final breath, they reveal who killed them. Case closed. Roll credits.

Reality is messier.

This is a short chapter, but one of the most unforgettable stories in the book. It's about a dying man's last words—and how Patrick can never watch Scooby-Doo the same way again.

Jimmy T was one of the genuinely nice cops on the late shift. Five-foot-nine, built like a prizefighter, always had a smile on his face. When he shook Patrick's hand and introduced himself, nobody had ever been that nice to the FNG before. He called Patrick "Paddy" from that night on.

They were working plainclothes backup in an unmarked Crown Vic when they heard twenty gunshots ring out. They found a man lying in the middle of the street, steam rising from multiple bullet holes in his chest. The paramedic shook his head 'no'—this guy wasn't going to make it.

Patrick needed a dying declaration: "You're going to die. Who killed you?"

The man's last words: "Scooby-Doo, Scooby-Doo, shot me!"

To this day, Patrick can't watch Scooby-Doo without thinking of that night.

All stories are real. Names and locations have been changed where necessary.

🎧 This episode includes:

• Plainclothes park operation - people getting robbed after hours
• Twenty gunshots rang out.
• Steam rising from the bullet holes - "extra eerie with the streetlights and flashing red and blue lights."
• The victim to the female cop: "Am I going to die?"
• The dying man's last words: "Scooby-Doo, Scooby-Doo, shot me!"
• Scooby-Doo was a local drug dealer's street name
• Working with homicide until 4:00 p.m. - looking for Scooby
• "To this day, I can't watch Scooby-Doo without thinking of that night"

📘 About the Book:
Police Stories: The Rookie Years - True Crime, Chaos, & Life as a Big City Cop is a true crime memoir chronicling Patrick O'Donnell's early career as a big city cop during Milwaukee's crack wars in the 1990s.

Book Launch: TUESDAY, March 17, 2026 (St. Patrick's Day!)
Book Update: Pre-orders are LIVE on Amazon. The book is currently a #1 New Release in Biographies of Law Enforcement. This is the last bonus chapter episode before launch!

🔗 Pre-order now for $3.99 (price goes up after launch): Search "Police Stories Patrick O'Donnell" on Amazon or check the link below.

📧 Contact Patrick:
Email: sarge@copsandwriters.com
Website: copsandwriters.com
Facebook Group: Cops and Writers

👍 If this story stuck with you:
Subscribe, leave a review, and share with someone who thinks dying declarations are just like in the movies.

🎙️ The book launches NEXT TUESDAY, March 17th. This is the last bonus chapter before launch. Thank you for listening to these snippets from the book.

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