Real crime episode # 12 part # 3 with retired NYPD Chief Joe Herbert

Deputy Chief Herbert said he's most proud of playing a role in reducing the city's homicide rate and ultimately making New York a safer place to live. "Going out every day chasing bad guys, it came at a high cost," Herbert said. "A lot of blood, sweat and tears." Herbert said that in his time on the force, he has lost 160 comrades who were killed in the line duty and lost another 138 to 9/11-related cancers. "That's a lot of friends to lose," Herbert said. "But you've got to keep going."  At 60, Herbert said health concerns are forcing him to take a step back. "I don't want to leave, but it's time," he said. A little known secret is that Herbert almost never became a police officer. "I wasn't going to take the job," he said. "I had a job making a lot more money at the time.  It was his father, he said, who convinced him of the importance of a pension and public service.  "It turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me," Herbert said.  "The greatest compliment I can give to Joe is, if something happened to me or my family, I'd want Joe Herbert leading that investigation," NYPD Chief of Counter-terrorism James Waters said.  Waters and Herbert both started with the NYPD in 1981. Waters said Herbert has been more than a colleague.  "Joe Herbert is a friend," he said. "He is a remarkable guy."

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