Officers Down

A pair of highly regarded New York City police officers - one male, one female, both white - accidentally kill an innocent Black teen in a poverty-stricken, minority neighborhood and face the consequences of an enraged community, a racially divided city, and their own emotional unraveling. This powerful and timely novel, based on a composite of real-life events, explores the sensitive and divisive issue of race relations in America within the context of a tragic police shooting that becomes a lightning rod for racial tension and the focus of a landmark civil rights case, while profoundly reshaping the lives of those most closely impacted by the incident. As the riveting drama unfolds amidst controversy, false charges, racial bias, and political maneuverings that threaten to overwhelm the facts of the case, both the officers and the family of the slain teen become immersed in intense inner crises as they struggle to come to terms with the tragedy. In the process, they come to experience the stereotypes, antipathy, and misunderstanding that often divide our communities - as well as the wisdom and emotions that can ultimately bind them and help them heal.