Their intensive drug raid had the pusher cornered, barricaded behind the other side of a locked door. Mike Chitwood called on him to surrender. Suddenly a shot exploded through the door, hitting Chitwood’s partner, who fell seriously injured into his arms. Then a second shot rang out, narrowly missing Chitwood’s head. Enraged, he grabbed a sledgehammer to break down the door—as the pusher fired two more shots. Surrounded now by three narcotics officers, the pusher threw out his gun and emerged, but he was holding a baby as a shield. Suppressing the instinct to rub out the “scumbag,” Chitwood gritted his teeth and took him in. Suppose his shot had killed the child? Thinking it through changed Chitwood’s life.

 

Follow Mike Chitwood as he becomes the most decorated officer in Philadelphia police history, defying death in critical hostage negotiations and emerging as a key figure in an international high-profile case—he found the body of Ira Einhorn’s former girlfriend, Holly Maddux. Chitwood went on to a compelling career, heading police departments in three very different localities. He is still fighting crime today after half a century in law enforcement. As the legendary John Timoney has said, “Nobody does this better than Mike.”

Harold Gullan is a noted historian and the author of well-received books on a wide variety of topics, from presidential parents to sports and political campaigns. He is the coauthor of the popular View from the Booth: Four Decades with the Phillies with Chris Wheeler.