In a time when police officers are often vilified in the press, Traffic Stop details a year in the life of Arizona Trooper James Casey and serves as a poignant and often terrifying reminder that cops are human beings doing a difficult and dangerous job, one that can lead to catastrophic results.

Traffic Stop: A Most Dangerous Year In the Life of a Cop, takes readers on an unprecedented journey into the real world, day-to-day personal and professional life of a dedicated veteran police officer who nearly gave his life in the line of duty.

Yet all is not excitement and deadly drama; car chases and shootouts are rare, punctuating hours of tedium and occasionally relieved by encounters with colorful characters in bizarre situations that can in turns horrify or amuse.

Forget what you’ve seen on slick television cop shows. Traffic Stop will take you through twelve months in the life of a heroic police officer as he writes traffic tickets, grapples with drug-crazed suspects, laughs with quirky citizens he encounters on the highway, cries at the terrible human toll that crime takes on our nation, and is gravely wounded when he is shot down in the line of duty.

Ride alongside Trooper Casey for the year 2014, and take an unforgettable journey inside the world of a working police officer.

James Casey was born in Connecticut and grew up in Massachusetts and Texas. After high school, he joined the United States Air Force, serving at Griffiss Air Force Base in New York before separating with the rank of Sergeant. James attended the Massachusetts College of Liberal arts after his military service. He graduated with a BA in sociology and a BA in history.

James joined the Pittsfield MA Police department in 2000 and worked in both the patrol division and the detective division. He was awarded a MA in Criminal Justice from Anna Maria College in 2003.

In 2008 James laterally transferred to the Arizona Department of Public Safety. He was critically injured on October 8, 2014, during a traffic stop when a passenger in a car he had stopped shot him in the face with a .357 magnum handgun.

After 17 surgeries to save his life and reconstruct his face, James returned to work in 2015. Soon after resuming his patrol duties, James was asked to join the reality television program LivePD for the 2016 season. James retired from the ADPS in 2018, following another officer-involved shooting incident.

James Casey lives in Gilbert, AZ with his wife, Nancy, and two dogs and two cats. The Casey’s share five grown children between them.