Laura Vanderpool has helped with all of our books over the years. Once again, she reviewed the draft manuscript, gave us insightful feedback, and helped shore up our sometimes overt grammatical shortcomings. Her keen insight and ongoing assistance is, quite simply, invaluable. Without her, we would be grunting cavemen not knowing if we should eat the paper or write on it.
We are also enormously grateful to Loren Christensen who has always been very supportive of our work. For this book, he graciously shared his first-hand experience and in-depth research on gang culture and crowd violence. Great stuff man, thanks! We sincerely appreciate Marc MacYoung’s insight into the brutal realities of violence; he has probably forgotten more than most people will ever know about the subject. Not only was his hard-won wisdom invaluable on this project, but he also donated some great photographs as well. Sergeant Rory Miller helped us benefit from the vast experience at the sharp end of conflict. His discerning feedback has been tremendously helpful and very much appreciated. Lt. Colonel John R. Finch (ret.) graciously shared his unique insight and personal experience with the “cost” and aftermath of violence. Tracy Getty and Jeffrey-Peter Hauck contributed some outstanding photographs. Finally, a big thank you goes to David Organ for sharing his amusing drunk wrangling experience. Thanks guys, you rock!
Posed photos in this book feature Frank Getty, Tracy Getty, Lawrence Kane, Joey Kane, Sophal Keo, Lance Kilgore, Lou Kings, Andy Orose, Joyce Walters, and Kris Wilder. These pictures were taken by Joey Kane, Lawrence Kane, and Kris Wilder. This book also contains several gruesome visuals that graphically illustrate the effects of real-life violence. While some of these pictures were taken by Lawrence Kane, who carried a camera around with him for several months while keeping an eye out for trouble, many were provided by Al Arsenault.
Al is the Executive Director of the famed Odd Squad, a cadre of Vancouver police officers who worked, fought, and filmed in the seedy underbelly of Canada’s infamous Skid Road. This blighted area is infested with drugs, crime, mental illness, and every possible social problem imaginable. These pictures capture but a bit of the human degradation and suffering Al has witnessed in his 27 years as a street cop with the Vancouver Police Department.
A more poignant rendition of the essence of drug Hell can be found in Tears for April: Beyond the Blue Lens (2007), a gut-wrenching feature-length documentary film about the lives, deaths, and the horrible suffering in between, of a handful of addicts who live in what Al calls the “Chemical Gulag” (www.oddsquad.com).
Al is currently in Thailand on a sabbatical from the Vancouver Police Judo Club and Odd Squad to write a book about his experiences with Odd Squad, drug abuse, and policing. He is also starting on two more practical martial arts books for civilians and police. For a sample of his work, see his book Chin Na in Ground Fighting published in 2003.