I’ve Finally Lost It

The book Red Wings Through the Forest details my 40- year hike through the Missouri Ozarks as a Forester and subsequently every state west of Missouri as a Wildland Fire Fighter. My monthly activity reports detailed the stories of me wading through creeks and stomping out fires. I chose the most interesting stories over that period of time compiling this book. I let my boots do the talking and I take the reader along on this hike as we travel through the woods, fight fire, and meet some amazing folks along the way.

Dominick Izzo has been a thorn in the side of Police Command since his first Police Department when he refused to accept the status quo of allowing village officials and police commanding officers to operate with the falsehood that they were above the same law he swore to uphold.

Having served as a police officer from 2001 until 2016. He served with full distinction and full disobedience for corruption.

Izzo took on the challenges of the command of all three of the departments he was sworn to serve, never sitting by and watching the politics of the system work against the citizens or the officers who were subject to such corrupt members.

From refusing to sleep with a village official, to exposing the abuses of power of a village mayor and his father to the sacrificing of his career to take on the most corrupt police chief and his actions, Dominick Izzo honored his oath to the Constitution and those he swore to protect.

Before the Badge is all about just that. Doing what is right, no matter the cost to you personally or professionally. Your name and integrity are what matters the most in a profession of sharks who’ll eat their own, proving that the Thin Blue Line is stuff movies are made of when it comes to any officer who challenges those who threaten the ideals law enforcement is held to.

Considered an emotional “how-to” for the street cop, Before the Badge is a must-read for anyone who is a cop, knows a cop or has dreams of becoming a cop and wants their badge to shield and protect their own heart.

Being ambushed and shot changed me. The event and the experiences after made me question some of my most tightly held beliefs about who I was and what I believed. I felt as though I was a stranger onto myself.

My motivations for this writing are as much selfish as they are altruistic. I do not promise anything more than an account of my experiences and the emotions surrounding those experiences.

I found a path I believe we all can use to find peace. I hope others can use my experiences to find their individual path to healing.

If we can reach just one…