Officer: Confessions of a South Bronx Cop by Al Gonzales

The Irish American Heritage Museum is honored to host Officer: Confessions of a South Bronx Cop, one-person show by Al Gonzalez.

Officer: Confessions of a South Bronx Cop is written, produced, and directed by Al Gonzales, a retired member of the NYPD. This work offers a candid look into the experiences, challenges and realities faced by law enforcement officers in the South Bronx during the 80’s and 90’s. Drawing from firsthand encounters, it provides a personal narrative shaped by years of service on the force.

During that time, Al lived through many unique and poignant experiences, some fraught with danger and many filled with the sorrow of the human condition that a Policeman sees and feels every day. failure.

OFFICER carries you inside the world of a South Bronx cop and along with moments of hilarity, explores his own humanity along with the sting of regret and failure and is told faithfully on the stage just as it occurred.

Al Gonzales grew up in Leonia, NJ, a small yet idyllic suburb of NYC just across the George Washington Bridge. A proud Jersey boy, he entered the NYPD Police Academy in July of 1986 and his first assignment was walking a beat under the bright lights of Broadway and the Times Square area of Manhattan.

Shortly thereafter, he was transferred to his permanent command at the 40th Precinct in the South Bronx, then a desperately poor and crime besieged area where some of his own relatives had settled some 50 years earlier after arriving on a ship from Ireland.

Al worked in a radio car there for most of his career, a rigorous assignment that he enjoyed immensely. It was there he realized that being a street cop was in his blood and Al considers himself fortunate to have found what he believes was his purpose in life and the NYPD.

Al is also a well known musician who plays the Bagpipes professionally and has traveled the world in doing so.He has appeared in numerous movies, commercials and TV shows and has performed on the famous stages of Madison Square Garden, Lincoln Center and Radio City Music Hall. He is the only American Piper to have performed privately for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at Balmoral Castle, Scotland.

Al is currently writing a book titled The Wearing of the Blue, From the Boogie Down Bronx to Buckingham Palace, which details many of the interesting experiences he has had both as a Police Officer and a Musician.

He is also a member of The Irish American Writers and Artists.

Al appeared in April 2025 as part of the cast of A Cop, A Cabbie and A Crusader along with John McDonagh and Brendan Fay. The show was included in the 1st Irish Origin Theatre Festival and was performed at the famous Irish Repertory Theatre in NYC.

The Irish American Heritage Museum is grateful for the sponsors of this event: Common Roots Brewing Company, ParkAlbany, and the Flanagan Family.

ON THE DAY OF THE SHOW PRESENT YOUR TICKET AT COMMON ROOTS BREWING COMPANY AND RECEIVE A SPECIAL IAHM EVENT OFFER - "BUY ONE/GET ONE" BEVERAGE.

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Host or Publisher Irish American Heritage Museum