A local man has recently published a memoir titled “They Paid Me For This?: Stories From Over Three Decades in Law Enforcement.”
David Coppage and his family have lived in the Peachtree City/Senoia area since 1999. His book is a memoir of his more than 30 years in law enforcement, including five years as a local police officer in Montgomery, Ala., followed by 28 years at the federal level (16 as a special agent with the U.S. Customs Service and 12 years as a federal air marshal) before retiring in 2014.
The book is a compilation of stories documenting many of the things he saw during his career, including casework, arrests and seizures, as well as a “behind the scenes” look at the three law enforcement agencies for which he worked. Most people who have not served in law enforcement positions have a view of the job developed through watching movies and cop shows on television. “They Paid Me For This?” is David’s attempt to give the reader a realistic look at what it’s like to be a cop and/or federal agent in the world of law enforcement, absent the dramatization and lack of realism found in most Hollywood depictions.
David’s motivation in writing this book was to leave a written legacy of his career for his children about what he dedicated his entire adult life to, by way of vocation. By consulting years of daily journals kept throughout his career (and thankfully saved), he is able to recount the many individual stories that make up the crux of the book. The book also allowed David the opportunity to share personal feelings about policing and how it was never simply about doing a job. For David, his career in law enforcement was a true calling, doing what he had a passion for and what he believes God put him on this earth to do.
“They Paid Me For This?: Stories From Over Three Decades in Law Enforcement” is self-published and can be found at amazon.com (search author’s name) or at davidcoppage.com.
Following the completion of his memoir, Coppage wrote his first novel entitled “Barbaric Justice,” a political thriller set in the nation’s capital. Murder, conspiracy and intrigue directly impact the race for the presidency, as a secret cabal of former military heroes take it upon themselves to act as judge, jury and executioner, attempting to cure the ills inflicted on their great country by those inside and outside of government trying to turn America into a socialist utopia.
The Gavin Literary Agency (Mary Ellen Gavin, literary agent) is currently representing the “Barbaric Justice” manuscript, soliciting various publishing houses in an attempt to get it published. David is presently writing the sequel to “Barbaric Justice,” a novel that will be entitled “Barbaric Retribution.”
David and his wife Melissa reside in Senoia where he is a real estate agent with Keller Williams of Newnan. Their two grown children, Casey and Kyle, also reside in the area.
