Way Down in the Hole: The Meteoric Rise, Tragic Fall and Ultimate Redemption of America's Most Promising Cop

by Ed Norris, Kevin Cowherd, David Simon (Foreword)

Ed Norris' career arc was dazzling. He spent 20 years as a crime-fighting savant with the New York Police Department, rising from beat cop to deputy commissioner of operations at age 36. As police commissioner of Baltimore, he breathed life into a demoralized force that lowered the city's infamous homicide count for the first time in a decade. After the 911 attacks, he took over the Maryland State Police and pushed innovative anti-terrorism strategies that made him a national leader in the field. At the University of Virginia, they taught a graduate course about how his leadership techniques transformed one of the most violent cities in the country. He was the golden boy of law enforcement, a brash, larger-than-life figure with a taste for fine restaurants, bespoke clothing and fast motorcycles. Then it all came crashing down. An investigation into a little-known police expense account morphed into what many felt was a politically-motivated hit job by federal prosecutors. Corruption charges were spiced with lurid allegations of pricey dinners with women and gifts purchased at Victoria's Secret. Ed Norris protested his innocence, but landed in federal prison. Thus began the hellish ordeal that ultimately cost him his livelihood, reputation, health and marriage. This is the incredible story of America's most promising cop, the dark forces that brought him down and his long, emotional journey back from the abyss.

Genres: Nonfiction

256 pages, Hardcover

Published May 2, 2017

Reviews

[Jef · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't generally take the time to write reviews because there are so many folks who already do, and do a far better job than I. I'm just taking a moment to say I liked it.
I, like I'd presume MOST Goodreads folks, have a LONG list of books I want to read. When my wife brought this one home, loaned to me from her friend who has a Father who was a Baltimore detective, I didn't stop at rolling my eyes. I daresay I may have actually verbally objected. I feel a sense of obligation when someone loans me a book, so I hate it when an unsolicited book gets dropped in my lap. I don't want to risk the social awkwardness of "uh, here's your book...uh, no, I just don't have time to read it right now, blah, blah, blah." I don't want to deceive or lie, pretend or say I read it if I didn't. I do want to show them that I respect their friendship and give it due consideration.
Anyway, she and my wife are the kind of friends that talk daily, see each other nearly as much, and well...I put it at the top of the list, opened it, read a paragraph or something, then went after it. If you look at my read dates for this book, that's FAST for me! I was pleasantly surprised that it is written in a conversational tone, is very accessible, and is the proverbial "easy" read from that aspect. Norris is a New Yorker, and a former "cop" so that too is evident in his presentation and verbiage. I am a big fan of The Wire, so I enjoyed his commentary on his interactions with that. I also LIVE in the People's Republik of Maryland. FORTUNATELY, NOT Baltimore, but I do know many of the politicos and others he mentions by name. I found his story very interesting, almost want to say "enthralling." He comes across as honest, giving his recounting credibility, especially when I don't know any other sides of his tale. If his account of his dealings with the Federal Government are accurate, and I fully believe them to be, then I am most pleased to see that the wool has been pulled from his eyes, and hope that his rather libertarian conclusions at the end reach a very large audience.
I certainly recommend this book for most adult readers.

[Kenneth Jr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Way Down in The Hole" is a tale of redemption and triumph, one in which Ed Norris climbed the rungs of policing’s power ladder to reach the upper echelons of law enforcement only to have it pulled out from under him. This is a riveting, candid portrait of an ambitious civil servant whose DNA was NYPD Blue, who exerted a positive influence throughout the ranks of NYPD, made a difference in other police forces and was a visionary to Islamic Jihad’s unfinished work in the United States in 1993 and beyond. Ed Norris was also a “cop’s cop” whose story can be likened to a Greek tragedy--one which takes the reader on a page-turning journey from his humble beginnings in New York City to the pinnacle of success to the depths of despair and depression. This book goes to show, however, “there is light after the storm.”

[Steven Jones · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was disappointing because it was so general and average. Ed tries to portray himself as a common sense cop who had the odds stacked against him by politicians and others who weren't invested in doing as good of a job as him, but he comes off just like they do. While he says off-hand that there is a lot of policing which isn't working, he never really addresses those things and comes up with ways to be different or even show how he was a different person.

Of course you're reading this if you know him to lead up to his downfall and see how his life was after that but the story of his time in jail and after wasn't very eventful. I don't think that it was mailed in, but it wasn't particularly insightful or interesting after all.

[Dianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was fantastic and I couldn't put it down... I read it in 1 sitting. Ed's life as an officer in New York and Baltimore was fascinating and his stories were captivating. The way he was screwed over is awful but true to how these vile people operate.

[Edward Gorwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read of war stories of a Cops Cop. His rise and fall. A tale of bureaucracy and B.S. and how it impacts the lives of so many people.

[Andrew Watkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book by a true cop’s cop. I would’ve given it 5 stars, but the publishers left a few too many typos in it.

[Kirk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hard to imagine someone in such a high profile case getting railroaded like this and destroying a hard earned life without someone in authority stepping in.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

After watching the Wire many times, this book is a just read. Take it with a grain of salt but enjoy the perspective.

[Carol Irvin · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want to read a memoir about the former Commish of the Baltimore Police Dept and head the Maryland State Police tells it like it was, then this is a book for you!! And he is my friend and neighbor. Highly recommend!!