Black in Blue: Lessons on Leadership, Breaking Barriers, and Racial Reconciliation

by Carmen Best, Jackie Schlicher (Reader)

Whatever your position is on Black Lives Matter, defunding the police, and equity in law enforcement, former police chief Carmen Best shares the leadership lessons she learned as the first Black woman to lead the Seattle Police Department―a personal insider story that will challenge your assumptions on how to move the country forward. Chief Carmen Best has spent the last 28 years as a member of a big-city police force, an institution where minorities and women have historically found it especially difficult to succeed. She defied the odds and became the first Black woman to lead the Seattle Police Department. During her tenure, she was successful in bringing significantly more diversity to the force. However, when the city council cut her budget amid months of protests against police violence, she had no choice but to step aside. Without the city’s support, she felt she wouldn’t be able to continue changing the status quo of the police force from within. Throughout her career, Chief Best has learned lessons that those coming up behind her can benefit from. In this book, she will use her story to share those urgent lessons. Readers will read Carmen Best teaches readers the core qualities and mindset to persevere and rise through the ranks, even within a workplace whose culture and leadership must be challenged, and policies changed on the way to achieving that vision. Her motivating story serves as a master class in guiding principles for anyone striving to serve their community and rise to the highest echelon of success.

Genres: Nonfiction, Race

Audio CD

Published October 26, 2021

Reviews

[Randal White · Rating 5 out of 5]

Carmen Best was the police chief of Seattle. She oversaw the disastrous years of 2019-2020, what with the defund the police marches, the BLM marches, several riots, and the infamous CHOP zone.
Best served the Seattle PD for thirty years, making her way up the ranks.
The book is an autobiography of life lessons that Best has learned. Beginning with her childhood, up to today.
I found her to be an extremely well spoken person, with great insights into her life given openly.
It's a shame that the ineffective political leadership of Seattle treated Chief Best as poorly as they did. For that matter, as poorly as they treated, and continue to treat, all of Seattle. Their attempts to make Chief Best the scapegoat for all the problems they created in Seattle is dishonorable. Thank goodness (as far as I know), Chief Best left on her own terms, with her head held high. And she did not (regrettably) name names and point fingers on the way out.
This was just a sample of her entire book. The rest will be released on October 26, 2021. The sample left out the meat of 2019-2020. I am really hoping that she delves into it fully, and lets the public know of what really happened. I am eagerly awaiting the release!

UPDATE: I have been given the entire book to read now. True to form, Best comes through. She goes into detail about the events of 2020, and of the CHOP zone. Unfortunately, she doesn't come right out and name the offending city council members, but as one who lived through the events, I can read behind the lines. Hopefully, those council members will be held accountable, and Seattle will begin to recover. I hope that it realizes the disservice it did to Chief Best, who really deserved much better. And I hope that Chief Best continues her service, if not to Seattle, then to the entire United States as a spokesperson of good and effective policing!

[Ben Lobaugh · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this book. Having lived in Seattle during her reign, I had some first hand knowledge. Unfortunately all Best did in this book is show her deeply racist side. There were some leadership lessons woven into the book, however they felt like an afterthought and were very canned.

Overall, I do not recommend this book. If you are looking for insider information into what happened in 2020 a quick search online will provide you with more info than was in this book.

[Sharon Orlopp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seattle Police Chief Carmen Best does a terrific job with her memoir. She served in the police force for 28 years before facing the unexpected, unprecedented challenges in 2020 of a global pandemic, protests due to the tragic death of George Floyd which led to vacating the East Precinct building which housed the Seattle Police Department, CHOP/CHAZ---the occupied zone in Capital Hill, WA which loudly demanded the defunding of the police, to the City Council proposing a 50% budget cut of the Seattle police department.

As an African American woman, Chief Best was a supporter of the Black Lives Movement and she had been instrumental in the federally required changes to the Seattle Police Department for the previous 9 years under the Consent Decree. She was actively involved in community efforts to improve communication between police and citizens.

As a resident of the Seattle area during the years Chief Carmen Best served, I watched many of these events unfold on television and social media. Her memoir provides context and details behind the scenes.

She poignantly and authentically shares her life and leadership lessons from childhood through the challenges of 2020---as well as how to apply leadership skills during retirement and to provide mentorship and guidance to others including children and grandchildren.

Well done, Carmen Best!

[Gary Elliott · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not particularly like this book. While I thank and appreciate Chief Best for her service both in the military and as police officer, I think the book is long on contradictions and short on factual details. I don’t believe you can state emphatically that you are a strong supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement and then lament the fact that your City Council just voted to “defund” your police department by 50% when it was the very BLM organization that you say you “strongly” support that pressed for the defunding in the first place.

Also, there is really no explanation as to how one of the largest police departments in the country lost control of part of its city. She does make vague reference to having to fire an underling because she came in to work one morning at the beginning of the mass disorder and found things unorganized, and presumably she was trying not to call anyone out publicly, but to me it seemed more like defecting blame.

On the positive side, I do like her chapter summaries titled “Tactical Debrief” where she offers practical advice on various leadership issues that were described in the preceding chapter. Overall, though, the book paints a picture of law enforcement as a primarily racists industry that substantiates BLMs patently false claims that police officers across America are indiscriminately preying on unarmed Black men.

[Bertha Rachinski · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was pretty disappointing.. unclear-

[Dale Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book and didn't like it. Carmen Best is a black women who was police commissioner of Seattle Police Department. She tells excellent stories of how she overcame prejudice and gave great examples of racism and microaggression. She talks about her mentors and sponsors and gives a very accurate story of how she moved up in the chain of command. However, I found myself bored at times. She sometimes reprints memos and reports that she wrote and they don't really work in a book. Her strategy works for her specific personality, so I identified with some of what she said, but much of what she said won't work for many people.

[Kristy Schreiber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read showing wonderful leadership skills, talking about current issues and the BLM movement.

[Ramses Coly · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy to read book but lacks some important details

Carmen Best, former Seattle Police Chief, opens her first chapter with an undeniable truth: there's racism in policing. But she also rightfully points out that racism is present in other professions. "Black in Blue" is an easy read that does an acceptable job of summarizing the author’s experience while leading Washington state's largest municipal police department. With less than 200 pages, it is not the typical opus featured in the New York Times Sunday Book review.

There is a considerable amount of details left out in “Black in Blue.” The Seattle Times has a whole article about those missing key details. The author herself acknowledged the shortfall (“City Council is certainly entitled to write their own book,” she stated to the Seattle Times).

Ms. Best recounts how, while filling in as Interim Chief, she was initially bypassed and was not among the finalists for the permanent top cop position. She then proudly states how she was put back on the top three candidates list, after one dropped out. She provides no details as to who dropped out or why (news reports had previously identified former Pittsburgh Police Chief Cameron McLay as the quitter). The whole village, presumably with the powerful liberal voices, mobilized, putting her back in the running. The rest is history.

Ms. Best was a good police chief that led the department during difficult times. However, the book’s chapters are sometimes vague when recounting stories and ordeals, such as on page 100 when she stated she experienced microaggression from “the lady at the office.” “What office?” I wondered. Another example about lack of details is when, starting on page 119, she describes how she never received any kind of assistance (with the exception of one agency) from surrounding law enforcement organizations when activists occupied an area near the police department’s East Precinct. It is hard to believe that no agency offered help. “Not even the Washington State Patrol?” I once again wondered. If true, Ms. Best is right on at least the following: leadership is a lonely place!

[Jón · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed her origin story. Fascinating perspective on incredible historical events. A whirlwind story. Well written, edited and read. Accounts of events seem to have a blue tint. Feels like there is a lot more to the story and different sides. The rationale why she stepped down as chief of police is a bit puzzling. It seems reason enough that the Seattle city council was completely ignoring her. Not buying that the 50% budget cuts were really the reason. For such a strong and ambitious leader it seems contradictory to pass off the mess to the next chief. Learned after listening to the book that she manually deleted tens of thousands of messages from her work phone which hindered an investigation into critical decisions during the riots. It seems the story is still being written. Also learned that after the book was published she got passed up as chief of police in New York city. Must have been incredibly frustrating to happen yet again.

[Nelda Brangwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a Washington State resident, I was hoping for more “dirt” about the politics of being Seattle’s Chief of Police during the Black Lives Matters period of unrest. No “dirt” but an excellent guide for all people who aspire to be leaders. You believe in the change you set out to create. You learn much from your early experiences, and how a black woman managed to head a large police force dominated by white men. And how creating a team approach is important in overcoming the politics of a high-level position. Ms. Best took the high road in her book while explaining her resignation as chief of police came because she felt she no longer had the support of the city government.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book of leadership lessons from former Seattle Police Department Chief Carmen Best is fascinating for those of us familiar with the incredibly challenging period during which she served, and it is permeated with her enormous charm, personal sweetness, and strength. One star off for being a bit heavy on jargon and light on detail or explanation at points.

[Cory Wallace · Rating 2 out of 5]

While diversity is important, finding the most qualified person should be what matters most. Some points in this read is beneficial on a leadership standpoint yet I cannot support the narrative.

[Maggie Mattmiller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not what I was expecting. Was more a retelling of events in Seattle (from a perspective I hadn't heard yet) than theory/next steps/big takeaways (although those were there to an extent.)

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best has an interesting personal history, and I appreciated getting a glimpse into the Seattle protests from her perspective.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Earnest and informative, especially for people who live in this area.

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed this autobiography by Carmen Best, Seattle's past chief of police.

[Dionne Waugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanted more but loved her strength and leadership lessons

[Jeanne Blair Jandt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though I found the end of this book combersom, I'm really glad I read this book for the value in the perspective I got from reading it. The view directly from the heart of the protesting situations, was very eye opening, since the media is much to onesided, to think you're getting a clear view of any situation. It's unfortunate, but not surprising, that the Seattle City Council was complacent in their duty to act to protect the majority of their citizens and the police; but without surprise, they followed the loudest voices, (and I assume), the most politically $beneficial$ voices for themselves personally. I appreciated reading her thoughts for solutions and the dichotomy on what she supports. This book is worth reading for a different view than what you'll see from the mainstream media.

[George · Rating 5 out of 5]

Both powerful and provocative. More difficult to pause between readings than not; a page-turner for certain for individuals from all walks of life (please revisit at later date for lengthier review)