The PennZone

NEW YORK & WILMINGTON, N.C. - PennZone -- Few would argue that race relations is an issue that has challenged communities throughout America for decades. Police officers are often the focal point of racially charged controversies due to the very nature of their job. But what happens when officers are forced to make split-second, gut-wrenching, life-and-death decisions that end in unwonted tragedies? And what happens when line-of-duty shootings lead to charges of bigotry, brutality, racism, and coverup? And what if those charges, blind to the truth, are fueled by racial stereotypes, hysteria, mistrust, and political agendas?

Eliot Sefrin's novel, Officers Down, blends a composite of real-life incidents into an illuminating, timely and powerful story teeming with thought-provoking insights into many of the most sensitive issues facing law enforcement professionals and the communities they serve.

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A Gold Medal Winner in the Reader Views 2022-2023 Literary Awards Competition, Officers Down follows the story of two highly regarded, white police officers involved in the fatal shooting of an innocent Black teen in a poverty-stricken New York City neighborhood. The tragic shooting immediately becomes a lightning rod for a bitter racial confrontation that ravages a city, results in lengthy, politically charged investigations, and becomes the focus of a landmark civil rights case. As the riveting drama unfolds, 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 shooting and its impact on their lives. In the process, they're exposed first-hand to the stereotypes, hatred, and mistrust that can divide us as a society. as well as the actions and emotions that can bond us and help us heal.

"Officers Down addresses issues that I believe are timely and important," Sefrin says. "They're timely because the kind of incident depicted in the novel continues to create headlines, given the volatile chemistry of race relations. And they're important because we can learn from them in a way that can help us recover from tragedies and build stronger communities."

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"With Officers Down," Sefrin adds, "I try to go beyond the 'symbols' or 'cardboard cutouts' that police officers and victims typically become in police-shooting cases and make this a human story that takes readers on a journey into the hearts and minds of people closest to these tragedies. I hope the novel provides readers with a glimpse of who we are as a people – and who we're capable of becoming."

Sefrin has been a newspaper and magazine reporter, columnist, editor, and publisher for more than forty years. He currently resides in North Carolina.

Officers Down (ISBN 978-1667822372, BookBaby 2022) can be purchased from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and most major online book retailers.

Review copies available upon request. For more information about Officers Down, visit https://www.eliotsefrin.com/. Publicity contact: Reader Views at admin@readerviews.com or EAS Publishing Associates at esefrin@yahoo.com.