Walking With the Devil
Wallking With the Devil is required ethics reading in law enforcement academies and college programs across the United States. It is the foundational resource for the Peer Intervention training featured in the New York Times regarding New Orleans Police Department (EPIC) and the Police Executive Research Forum.
"Not only is the book a must read for anyone in law enforcement , but I believe it contains a lot of applicability to ethical dilemmas in all sorts of other professions and life situations." Coleen Rowley, Times Magazine 2002 Woman of the Year
"This book should be mandatory reading for any police recruit. It should also be the basis for a national program to implement programs to encourage the officers to intervene, stop, and deter misconduct." Stephen C. Parker, Retired Chief of the Civil Rights and Police Misconduct Unit, U.S.Attorney’s Office, Western District of TN
"Walking With the Devil should be considered required reading for all police academia curriculums, and is highly recommended for anyone who is on the job." Midwest Book Review, July 2005
Michael Quinn
Mike Quinn is a retired Minneapolis Police Sergeant and CEO of The International Ethics and Leadership Training Bureau LLC.
He has been training police officers since 1979. In 2013 he authored and taught a program on Peer Intervention for Law Enforcement that is the framework for the New Orleans Consent Decree training named “EPIC- Ethical Policing is Courageous. ©”
Mike served his country in the USAF from 1968 to 1975 as a medic. He served the citizens of Minneapolis from 1975 to 1999 in a variety of assignments that included uniformed patrol as an officer and Supervisor, investigations, plain clothes and undercover work. He was an instructor in SWAT, Firearms, Deadly force, defensive tactics, and other specialty skills.
He was the Deputy Director of Minnesota Police Corps Program, a Court Security Officer at the Minneapolis Federal Courthouse, and a Special Deputy U.S. Marshal contract guard.
He is a community faculty member of Metropolitan State University St. Paul, MN and Chairman of the Inver Hills Community College Law Enforcement Advisory Board in Inver Hills, MN.
Mike has lectured and taught on the subject of police ethics and accountability for police managers, street officers, civilian review investigators, and college classes across the United States and Canada.
He has testified in federal court as an expert in police use of force and accountability.
Mike's departmental awards include the medal of Commendation, the FBI Outstanding Service Award, the United States Marine Corps Meritorious Mast (x2), the Association of Training Officers of Minnesota Lifetime Achievement in Law Enforcement Training, and the BCA Certificate of Appreciation for Outstanding Contributions to Law Enforcement.
- Walking With the Devil is required reading for Law Enforcement Peer Intervention training.
- Michael W. Quinn’s new book, Walking With the Devil: The Police Code of Silence, is a must-read for every ethical person involved with the legal system. Quinn writes in vivid street-cop language, compel- ling police recuits’—and our—attention with gritty adrenaline-laced descriptions of the life-and-death, “slippery with blood and sweat” survival-mode situations in which gut instincts—“amygdala hijack- ings”—propel even the most ethical cops into difficult battles with the Code of Silence, the implicit rule that a cop never ‘snitches’ on another cop. When he has our attention, he leads us through the “terrible internal struggles” of honesty and ethics. Quinn is bluntly honest about “cop culture” and institutional pressures toward cor- ruption, including “creative report writing” and “testilying.” Quinn guides his readers into a gut-level understanding of real-life ethics. He addresses the criminally-serious problems detailed in his book, describing outstanding successes of two police units he supervised, “that refused to use the Code,” and debunks the ‘top ten’ “Myths of Policing.” The Police Code of Silence is a profoundly power- ful text book. When studied with the dedicated seriousness of a police recruit at the Academy, Michael Quinn’s teaching builds and strengthens ethics beyond abstract intellectual knowledge, into the very fibers of one’s being. Even in those of us who believe ourselves to deeply ethical, Quinn’s book can awaken and nurture a deeper understanding of ethics as a vital part of life in every moment. Clara NiiSka, Guest Reviewer, National Lawyers Guild Chapter News
- In Walking With The Devil, Mike Quinn gives us a horrifying, and in your face look at the reality of the life of police officers and the culture they move in. As a police psychologist who works with law enforcement to promote and maintain good mental health, prevent suicide and train the new generation of cops, I know that what he says is true. Almost every officer I have worked with has echoed what Quinn says in his painfully honest book, "forget everything you learned in the academy." This is the gateway statement which pressures the new officer to accept the dangerous, "Code of Silence" The author gives real life instances, including his own, of how the code works and the devastation it causes, personally, professionally, within the community and nationwide. Specific examples of how the code is taught, specific legal statutes are explained and the damage to the officer and the public at large are explained in detail. He also focuses on how to stop this multigenerational practice. Every individual officer has to take a full inventory of their personal values and buck the fear of becoming an outcast or pariah amongst those he/she works with and depends on when things go south, and they will. Kudos to Mike Quinn for risking his career, future financial security and every relationship he ever developed on the job to expose this insidious cancer that thrives behind the "code." It couldn't be easy. It's hard to be brave and break the existing paradigm. I'd like to thank the author for taking this monumental risk. If you liked this book you might like a fictionalized version of this same concept and how it goes bad for all involved. In Don Wilson's, The Force, the protagonist takes us down the path of an officer who started out enthusiastic, naive and dedicated to the job of being on a specialized anti-drug force and descends into the hell of corruption on every level. Both books are great reads and expose the imperfect, fearful, weak and human parts of us all. Marla Friedman, Psy.D. PC Police Psychologist Booklight@att.net Director of Investigations Executive Board of Directors- Badge of Life Chief Psychologist-Field Training Associates
- I found your book absolutely fascinating. It was the best book on the topic I have read. The stories were riveting, the analysis and research excellent, and the relevance to policing right on target. I have passed the book on to a couple of colleagues, one of which I expect will contact you shortly. Steve Lewis, Senior Law Enforcement Consultant Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, California
- Quinn challenges ethical officers with a simple, practical strategy for confronting an unethical environment. Walking With the Devil instills a sense of hope for cracking the blue code of silence. I recently ref- erenced Quinn’s concepts as I taught police ethics to the command staff of a police agency in a developing country. Without a doubt, Quinn’s message is universal. A powerful read for those who believe in the ethical obligations of the police. Chief Frank Kaminski (ret) Evanston, Illinois Police Department
- I’ve just finished reading a great book recently written and published by retired Minneapolis Police Officer Michael W. Quinn, a brutally frank expose of the “police code of silence” entitled Walking With the Devil (subtitled “What bad cops don’t want you to know and good cops won’t tell you”). Unlike so many police chiefs who like to gloss over the strong pressures and really difficult ethical dilemmas that result all too frequently in police officers. (Even the good ones) doing the wrong thing. Quinn exposes and unravels them, through a num- ber of true stories, many of which the author participated in. Not only is the book a must read for anyone in law enforcement, but I believe it contains a lot of applicability to ethical dilemmas in all sorts of other professions and life situations. Coleen Rowley, Retired FBI Agent, Times Magazine 2002 Woman of the Year
- LAW / Ethics & Professional Responsibility (LAW036000)
- SOCIAL SCIENCE / Discrimination & Race Relations (SOC031000)
- PHILOSOPHY / Ethics & Moral Philosophy (PHI005000)
