William J. Caunitz
William J. Caunitz was a notable American writer and former police officer, born in New York in 1933. He served in the United States Marine Corps from 1949 to 1953 before joining the New York Police Department in 1955. Over the years, Caunitz advanced to the ranks of detective sergeant and later lieutenant, working on various challenging assignments, including protecting diplomats and investigating serious crimes. His experiences on the force, especially during a period marked by corruption and reform, influenced his writing, particularly in his acclaimed work *One Police Plaza*. This urban police procedural, which gained popularity and inspired a CBS television series, is recognized for its authentic depiction of police work and incorporation of street slang. Caunitz also explored darker themes in his 1986 novel *Suspects*, which addressed issues of sexual predation, including within law enforcement. Despite the challenges faced by many former officers in transitioning to successful writing careers, Caunitz's unique blend of realism and engaging fiction resonated with readers. He continued to write until his passing in 1996 at the age of 63.
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William J. Caunitz
Writer
- Born: January 25, 1933
- Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York
- Died: July 20, 1996
- Place of death: Longboat Key, Florida
Biography
A native New Yorker, William J. Caunitz was born in 1933, during the Depression era. After serving in the United States Marine Corps from 1949 to 1953, he worked at Pacific Bankers, an insurance company, but soon joined the New YorkPolice Department in 1955. At first, Caunitz was a patrol officer, but he worked his way up to detective sergeant in 1967 and lieutenant in 1971. Even though the job bored him from early on (he sometimes beat himself with a nightstick to stay awake), eventually Caunitz received more challenging assignments protecting diplomats and solving murder, rape, and robbery cases.
During his stint on the police force, Caunitz worked closely with revolutionary famed officer Frank Serpico, who helped rid the police force of corruption in the 1960’s and 1970’s. While lieutenant, Caunitz also served as detective squad commander from 1974 until his retirement from the force in 1984, the year he became a full-time writer. Caunitz married but divorced Patricia Reddington, with whom he had two children, Beth Budofsky and Katherine Herer.
Caunitz was best known for his for his work One Police Plaza, an urban police procedural that was based on his own experiences as a police officer. This work was praised for its descriptions of day-to-day police work and later became the basis for a CBS television series even though its culmination of a racial shootout on the freeway was implausible. Suspects, made in 1986, dared to deal with sexual predators, including some within the fictional police department. Unlike many former police officers who were denied critical success when they attempted to write their experiences, Caunitz proved to be popular because of his realistic writing style and the street jargon and slang he included within his work. He also succeeded because he blended his real-life experiences with more interesting fictional plots that readers respond better to than the realities of simple daily police work. Caunitz died in 1996 in Florida at sixty-three years old, but wrote up until the very end.