Everything went fine and we arrested everyone involved that afternoon. When I knocked on the door, the suspect opened it and I ran forward and knocked him down, yelling, "police.” My arrest team was right there on my heels. My heart was pounding and my adrenaline was amped up. I couldn't tell if my team was near or not. I grabbed the bag and walked back to the hotel room. When I walked out to my car I gave one of my arrest team members the "bust signal" and asked for the bag that was supposed to contain the cash. I instructed him to wait there and I'd return with $78,000. Right after I saw the 2 kilos I told the suspect that the cash was in my car and I was going to go and retrieve it. One, we didn't intend to pay then lose the money for these drugs two, I had moved to another hotel room and didn't know if my surveillance team knew where I was and three, I wasn't even sure that my body transmitter was functioning. He showed me the two kilos (roughly 4.5 pounds) and my heart pounded for a number of reasons. The remaining suspect trusted me enough that he showed me his gun. I told them I would not be outnumbered and that two of them would have to wait in an adjacent bar. One time, early in my career, I was in a hotel room with armed suspects negotiating a 2 kilo cocaine deal. Teamwork was the biggest element I learned while working undercover. His brothers lived in the same house where I met him. The next day I discovered that another agency was investigating this dealer's family for a bombing that had just occurred at a car dealership. The small time dealer thought he recognized me and even knew my true name, my personal vehicle and my wife's name. I drove the CI to the address but we were met by a brother of the guy I was supposed to meet. I wasn't aware that my partner lost sight of me within five minutes or that the body wire wasn't transmitting. My cover team consisted of one person following us to another town. I remember the first time a CI took me to buy some crank (methamphetamine powder). It is best to have the UC make the buys or the CI will have to testify in open court. CIs will either purchase drugs or guns for you or they will introduce an undercover (UC) officer/agent to the drug or firearms dealer. Informants are either working for money or because they have a case pending against them and they want to mitigate their sentence. ![]() Usually that was accomplished with the assistance of a confidential informant (CI). What mattered was how I could get close to someone involved in illegal activities. ![]() I let my hair and beard grow out so that I wouldn't look so much like a cop.Īfter a while I realized that the facial hair and longer hair didn't matter. That meant wearing clothes and a hair style that was more contemporary. I needed self-confidence for the role of an undercover cop (UC). I had to change my perception in order to blend in and work undercover. ![]() I was used to walking into a room and when people looked at me they knew I was a cop, whether on-duty or off-duty. My arrest stats looked good and I was an aggressive pursuer of the suppliers in the drug and violence trade. I was picked because I arrested hundreds of dope fiends and PCP users. I had never used any drugs as a civilian or when I was in school. I identified with cops and the style of clothing they wore both on-duty and off-duty. ![]() I looked, acted, walked and talked like a cop pretty much since the time I was sixteen and became a police cadet. When I was first selected to work undercover I had to buy an entire new wardrobe. Those are vitally important roles that require other skill-sets. A lot of great cops enjoy working in uniform or other investigations. It just isn't suited for everyone who wears the police uniform. Most police officers never get to work undercover during their careers. Sometimes it was also the most boring – long hours, days, weeks or months of surveillance. I'd have to describe working undercover as the most thrilling job I've ever had. Check it out and add your thoughts in the comments. A question posted recently on Quora asked, “What does it feel like to be an undercover cop?” Retired Special Agent Bob Cooke gave his opinion on the topic, below.
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