{"product_id":"the-fence-a-police-coverup-along-bostons-racial-divide-isbn-9780060780999","title":"The Fence: A Police Cover-up Along Boston's Racial Divide","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e“\u003cem\u003eThe Fence\u003c\/em\u003e is a monumental account of an urban travesty. Dick Lehr’s depiction of one of the darkest chapters in recent Boston law enforcement history and the savage injustices perpetrated on two hero cops—one black, one white—has all the earmarks of a classic.” — Dennis Lehane, author of \u003cem\u003eMystic River\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Boston police officers who brutally beat Michael Cox at a deserted fence one icy night in 1995 knew soon after that they had made a terrible mistake. The badge and handgun under Cox's bloodied parka proved he was not a black gang member but a plainclothes cop chasing the same murder suspect his assailants were. Officer Kenny Conley, who pursued and apprehended the suspect while Cox was being beaten, was then wrongfully convicted by federal prosecutors of lying when he denied witnessing the attack on his brother officer. Both Cox and Conley were native Bostonians, each dedicating his life to service with the Boston Police Department. But when they needed its support, they were heartlessly and ruthlessly abandoned.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA remarkable work of investigative journalism, Dick Lehr's \u003cem\u003eThe Fence\u003c\/em\u003e tells the shocking true story of the attack and its aftermath—and exposes the lies and injustice hidden behind a \"blue wall of silence.\"\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003eThe Boston police officers who brutally beat Michael Cox at a deserted fence one icy night in 1995 knew soon after that they had made a terrible mistake. The badge and handgun under Cox's bloodied parka proved he was not a black gang member but a plainclothes cop chasing the same murder suspect his assailants were. Officer Kenny Conley, who pursued and apprehended the suspect while Cox was being beaten, was then wrongfully convicted by federal prosecutors of lying when he denied witnessing the attack on his brother officer. Both Cox and Conley were native Bostonians, each dedicating his life to service with the Boston Police Department. But when they needed its support, they were heartlessly and ruthlessly abandoned.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA remarkable work of investigative journalism, \u003cem\u003eThe Fence\u003c\/em\u003e tells the shocking true story of the attack and its aftermath—and exposes the lies and injustice hidden behind a \"blue wall of silence.\"\u003c\/p\u003e | \u003cp\u003e“Gripping. . . . Tackles a broad issue with the zeal of a seasoned investigative newspaper reporter.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLynet Holloway, Black Voices\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“The Fence makes a compelling case . . . [it] is more than an account of crime, punishment and the blue wall. Lehr weaves the life stories of several key characters into the book.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBay State Banner\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Weaving mini-biographies of key players into the unrelenting police coverup and Cox’s determined quest for justice, he paints a gritty portrait of urban life that reads like a crime novel—replete with plot twists and vivid, deeply flawed characters. . . . The author’s solid grounding in the history and diverse cultures of Boston, which he has covered for 25 years, adds context to the unfolding events.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eDave Holahan, Hartford Courant\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“The Fence should be required reading in . . . expanded integrity training courses for Boston Police supervisors.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBoston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Dick Lehr has written a long overdue assessment of the brutal attack by law enforcement officers on an African American plainclothes officer, Michael Cox, which illuminates a tragic example of the failure of our criminal justice system. You will not be able to put this down and hopefully it will compel you to make sure that incidents like this never happen again on our watch. Every police officer, judge, lawyer and citizen should read this book.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eCharles J. Ogletree, Jr., Harvard Law School Jesse Climenko Professor of Law, Executive Director of the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute For Race and Justice, and author of All Deliberate Speed: Reflections on the First Half-Century of Brown v. Board of Education and When Law Fails\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Like cancers that never seem to be cured, the inextricably linked ills of racism, public corruption and police misconduct continue to surface in Boston (and indeed in America). In his disturbing new book, Dick Lehr vividly presents another example of how difficult it is to face up to, let alone resolve, these conflicts.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLos Angeles Police Chief Bill Bratton\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Lehr has vividly rendered two tragic stories, exposing a police culture of silence that victimized one of its own while also showing the “by any means necessary’’ mentality of federal prosecutors that destroyed another innocent officer’s reputation. Still missing here are truth and accountability.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eChuck Leddy, The Boston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Jolting, nightmarish and potent, this true cop yarn bests any bogus reality show or overblown tabloid tale with its hardboiled spin.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly (starred review)\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Think Serpico translated to Boston. . . . A cautionary tale about the abuse of power and a timely civics lesson on the virtue of standing up to authority.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Intriguing . . . an admirable, in-depth description of police corruption.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“As gripping a tale as “The Fence” is, it should be mandatory reading for anyone looking to be a cop in Boston . . . or anyplace else.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePeter Gelzinis, Boston Herald\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“This could be a case study in the perils of profiling. It isn’t so much forgotten history, as buried. Perhaps this outstanding book can fix that.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAdrian Walker, Boston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Dick Lehr gets inside the heads of cops, criminals, prosecutors and politics better than anyone I know. The Fence is a revealing expose of the blue wall of silence that endangers us all.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eAlan Dershowitz, Harvard Law School\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“The Fence is a monumental account of an urban travesty. Dick Lehr’s depiction of one of the darkest chapters in recent Boston law enforcement history and the savage injustices perpetrated on two hero cops—one black, one white—has all the earmarks of a classic.” - \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eDennis Lehane, author of Mystic River\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Harper Perennial","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44887675732197,"sku":"NP9780060780999","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780060780999.jpg?v=1730227213","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/the-fence-a-police-coverup-along-bostons-racial-divide-isbn-9780060780999","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}