Uniform Decisions: My Life in the LAPD and the North Hollywood Shootout by John Caprarelli

Title: Uniform Decisions: My Life in the LAPD and the North Hollywood Shootout

Author: John Caprarelli with Lee Mindham

Pages: 210

Year: 2011

Publisher: End of Watch

Note: I received a free copy of this book from The Book Club Network in exchange for my honest review.

     Fantastic memoir!

     February 28, 1997, Los Angeles, California – After a botched robbery at a Bank of America branch in North Hollywood, two robbers armed with fully automatic assault rifles and wearing full body armor fired more than 1,100 rounds as they battled police.

     Eleven officers and two civilians were wounded. The two robbers, Emil Matasareanu and Larry Eugene Phillips Jr., were killed by gunfire.

     Officer John Caprarelli was one of the first at the scene. Before a national TV audience he confronted one of the robbers, provoking a gun battle and exchanging numerous shots before the gunman fell.

     In this memoir, John gives the reader a rare glimpse into his private life along with vivid recollections of events during his 27-year career with the LAPD culminating in a detailed breakdown of his thoughts and actions during the infamous bank robbery.

     I don’t read very many memoirs. I am just more interested in fiction. I decided to read this one because I remember hearing about the shootout at the Bank of America in North Hollywood on the news. I’m very glad that I did read this memoir.

     It captured my attention before I even finished the prologue. The writing style was very simple and easy to follow and understand. The cover of the book draws attention to the fact that the North Hollywood Shootout is covered in this book. Yet when I started reading it I found that over half of the book tells about John’s path to becoming a police officer, his training and the rest of his years with the LAPD. I found the entire book to be very interesting and informative. When he got to the events of February 28, 1997 it was clearly written and exciting. I was very glad that he went on to tell how that one day affected his life and his fellow officers that were there.

     This book earned a 5 star rating from me. I highly recommend this book.