PSYCHOLOGIST WITH A GUN

by Harvey & Lucy Freeman Schlossberg ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 1, 1974

Patrolman Schlossberg, Ph.D., came to public attention as a result of a 1973 incident in which twelve hostages were taken by four men in a Brooklyn sporting-goods store; Schlossberg urged restraint rather than frontal assault, and his strategy paid off. In his book, he retells the dramatic moments, and offers an account of his anomalous circumstance. While still a patrolman he displayed an unusual grasp of difficult situations (at times disarmingly so: ""Drop that gun."" ""I won't drop it . . .it's a new gun."" ""Well, then lay it down.""), and after acquiring his doctorate he brought his talents as therapist for the New York Police Department to bear on the many case histories he describes. Some of Schlossberg's opinions on law enforcement are enlightened: criminals can be helped ""not by putting them behind bars, where they live with other frightened and enraged men, but by helping them, one at a time, understand why they stole and murdered."" Yet at other times he sounds like a cop with a couch: homosexuals and women should not be assigned to patrol duty because their ""feminine"" attributes are unsuitable.

Pub Date: June 1, 1974

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Coward, McCann & Geoghegan

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1974

Categories: NONFICTION