rich bar

“To become a skilled detective takes a lot of experience. You have to learn to master your evidence and document everything. It takes a lot of time to learn the rules of evidence. You have to talk to the District Attorneys and do what they tell you to do. They are the ones in charge of prosecutions. If you don’t have your paperwork done right, and the evidence is weak, you won’t get permission to make the arrest. I tell the younger detectives to write everything down and when you’re called to testify, study that report so you don’t contradict yourself. It’s laborious, time consuming work.”— Joe Herbert 


Widely considered one of the most skilled homicide investigators in the NYC Police Department, Joe Herbert was tapped just days after September 11th, 2001, to join twenty-five other top detectives to begin the painstaking work of finding out who was behind the attacks. While the fires burn and the dust swirls, Joe spends his days combing the rubble for clues. He begins a monumental research project so he can better understand Al Qaeda and formulate a plan to bring whoever committed the crime to justice.

Joe was destined to become a detective, a job he says he loves more now than when he started. His older brother John, a legendary investigator with the Brooklyn North Detective Squad, showed him the importance of accuracy and detail: that everything in the report had to be right and that you had to memorize the details so they became part of your brain.

Joe hits the streets as a rookie in the 77th Precinct in Brooklyn, one of the most dangerous areas of New York. There are lows and highs. He’s forced to shoot and kill a man with a knife who stabbed his partner in the face. A simple gun collar results in the arrest of a man wanted for a number of brutal rapes.

Joe solves the Zodiac murder case – a six year investigation that resulted in the arrest of a man who shot nine people and killed three before he was caught. Joe’s interrogation skills combine compassion and respect which results in confession after confession. His hard work and determination to bring justice to the people who inflict harm on others is what makes him a great cop.