HELD HOSTAGE

Negotiating Life And Death For The Las Vegas Police Department

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Pub Date 22 Aug 2017 | Archive Date 08 Mar 2022

Description

“As he was rising, I saw Brian raise the loaded Glock .40 pistol towards the approaching SWAT officers. I wanted to scream for him to stop; I knew he was about to fulfill his ultimate goal.”

What do you say to prevent someone from committing ‘suicide-by-cop’? Or has a gun pointed at a hostage? Or an armed man who has barricaded himself in a hotel room? Or a despondent woman who is threatening to kill herself?

Veteran police negotiator Lieutenant Dennis Flynn spent nearly two decades responding to more than a thousand of these and other high-intensity incidents with the Crisis Negotiations Team in Las Vegas, Nevada. His goal? Bring ‘em out alive! 

A behind-the-scenes view of life-and-death situations that police negotiators face and how they were resolved one way or the other under the bright lights and glitter of Sin City.

“As he was rising, I saw Brian raise the loaded Glock .40 pistol towards the approaching SWAT officers. I wanted to scream for him to stop; I knew he was about to fulfill his ultimate goal.”

What do...


A Note From the Publisher

Lt. Dennis Flynn served thirty years with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, and spent 18 of those years with the Crisis Negotiations Team, including 10 years as the team leader. He has traveled throughout the United States and Canada providing training for police negotiators. He retired in 2015 and still resides in the Las Vegas area with his wife and three sons.

Lt. Dennis Flynn served thirty years with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, and spent 18 of those years with the Crisis Negotiations Team, including 10 years as the team leader. He has...


Advance Praise

"Flynn has written in 'Held Hostage' a riveting true life account of his work as a police crisis negotiator in rough and tumble Las Vegas. From hostage takers to depressed suicidal individuals, the challenges he and his fellow negotiators faced were daunting, and usually came with life and death consequences. His candid descriptions of these critical incidents, including both successes and failures, and his acknowledgment of what went well and what didn't, is refreshingly candid. This book takes the reader into a specialized world that few will ever experience; a world of immense pressure, critical decision making, and uncertain outcomes. This is a must read for anyone interested in crisis (hostage) negotiations." - Gary W. Noesner, Chief, FBI Crisis Negotiation Unit, Author of "Stalling For Time: My Life as an FBI Hostage Negotiator."

"From a negotiator with a heart as big as the city he served, Flynn tells compelling yet humble stories of Sin City's most harrowing police standoffs. Told in crisp detail, Flynn provides an enlightening perspective of the police response to barricaded subjects, suicidal jumpers and cornered criminals. His refreshingly candid revelations of the lessons learned remind us all of the complex, emotional and sometimes heartbreaking nature of this business. The analyses alone are worth the price of the book and should be mandatory reading for every crisis negotiation and tactical team leader." - Deb McMahon, owner, Crisis Systems Management, a crisis/hostage negotiation training and consulting company as well as author of 'Into the Chaos: Crisis Negotiation Field Manual'

"'Held Hostage' is the real and raw stories of one of Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department's most experienced Hostage/Crisis Negotiators. He pulls no punches with this gritty true life collection of stories that reveal not only the hard hitting life and death tales from his incredible career, but reveals the humanity of a seasoned cop. Read it and you will step into a world that few ever experience." - Lieutenant Randy Sutton (Ret) Author of A Cops Life / True Blue and host of Blue Lives Radio, The Voice of American Law Enforcement

"In 'Held Hostage', author and retired cop, Dennis Flynn, provides gripping scenes full of life and death decisions from real police crisis negotiations in Las Vegas. Flynn takes you into the command post where you'll see the human side of cops, the moment-by-moment decisions, and teamwork negotiators use. Flynn's ability to objectively critique each operation he worked is a tribute to the pursuit of truth all cops share. 'Held Hostage' is cops trying to save lives on full tilt." - Bradley Nickell, Las Vegas Police Officer and author of Repeat Offender

"Written in a conversational style, easy to read and hard to put down, this book tells the stories of real-life incidents while pointing out effective strategies as well as mistakes made. 'Held Hostage' is filled with valuable lessons learned written in the context of the actual events. Reading it is like watching several interesting and engaging incident debriefs at a negotiation conference, and having the presenter unabashedly share lessons learned. The take-aways are priceless." - Troy King, President, Western States Hostage Negotiators' Association (WSHNA), and Sergeant/Team Leader of Portland Police Bureau's Crisis Negotiation Team

"Flynn has written in 'Held Hostage' a riveting true life account of his work as a police crisis negotiator in rough and tumble Las Vegas. From hostage takers to depressed suicidal individuals, the...


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Price discounts and standard return policies are available for bookstores through Ingram. Others wishing to order quantities of 20 or more may contact us directly at info@wildbluepress.com for...


Available Editions

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ISBN 9781947290075
PRICE $5.99 (USD)

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Featured Reviews

A matter-of-fact account by retired Las Vegas police negotiator Lieutenant Dennis Flynn of real crisis situations faced during his illustrious career.

Each chapter first sets up the crisis situation that has arisen, then the perspective of the negotiators that arrive on the scene as the crisis unfolds and concluding with the mistakes made and lessons learnt.

The photographs at the end of each chapter really drives home the heart-wrenching realness of these tragic people during the very worst time of their lives.

Read Held Hostage and step into the shoes of these crisis negotiators to get a dose of reality - as bad as life can be, for some it becomes unbearable.

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