Harold Goldhagen became a writer by accident.

Before retiring from the Atlanta Police Department, he started writing in a journal, jotting down his thoughts and memories from his time as a police officer during the Civil Rights movement. He figured that it would be for his family and friends' eyes only.

Frank Niemeir/AJC (ENLARGE)

Retired Atlanta Police Department Captain Harold Goldhagen has written a book about the APD during the Civil Rights era, and now he's working on one about Atlanta police officers who've been killed in the line of duty.

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At the suggestion of a friend, though, Goldhagen turned his journal into a book, which he self-published in August 2006.

But the former police captain hasn't gotten the writing bug out of his system; he's now busy working on a second book, this one about Atlanta police officers who have been murdered in the line of duty since 1960.

He says he got Police Chief Richard Pennington's blessing to go through the old homicide files of the 28 slain officers — 27 men and one woman — and has been tracking down relatives of the deceased.

"I think it's sort of a memorial," said Goldhagen, 74, who retired as a captain in 1992. "I know that sounds kind of hokey, but that's my motivation: to tell their story."

Goldhagen's first book is titled "'Signal 63' — Officer Needs Help!" He estimates that 600 to 700 copies have been purchased, enough to recoup one-third of the $6,000 it cost to publish the book, he said. This time, Goldhagen hopes a publisher will front the cost. If not, he'll publish the book himself again.

He's already got a title for it: "'Signal 50/48' — Killing Atlanta's Finest," referring to the two police codes that mean someone has been shot and killed. It will have 28 chapters, one for each officer, all of whom were shot to death.

"I think the stories will be in the right hands," said Atlanta police Maj. Renee Propes, who worked under Goldhagen when she was a narcotics investigator. "He lived it. He walked the walk. He talked the talk. I think he'll do a great job."

Many other officers have died while on the job, but Goldhagen is only writing about those who were victims of homicide, not officers killed in traffic wrecks or freak accidents.

"I just thought that would make more interesting reading because they were intentionally shot — they were murdered," Goldhagen said.

Born and raised in New York City, Goldhagen dropped out of high school at 16 and joined the Merchant Marine. Years later, he was drafted into the U.S. Army and discovered Atlanta while on weekend leave from Fort Benning.

Much like writing, he stumbled into police work by chance, filling out a job application after learning the Police Department was hiring. He joined the Atlanta Police Department in 1962.

In 30 years, he held a variety of positions, including homicide detective and as the first commander of the well-known Red Dog drug task force.

He knew several of the slain officers personally but said he didn't consider any of them friends. Goldhagen was the lead homicide detective on one of the cases, the shooting of Officer James R. Greene in November 1971 by two men who were allegedly members of the Black Liberation Army.

After retiring, Goldhagen did as many former officers do, and became a private investigator. But he put that aside as his focus has shifted to writing. He says he does much of it late at night, likely a side effect from so many years on the graveyard shift.

"Before you know it, it's four o'clock in the morning," Goldhagen said.

Finding relatives of the fallen officers has been his biggest hurdle. He's tracked down five or six families, some with the help of his old police contacts, including one widow who now lives in Birmingham. But there are plenty more he has yet to find.

"I'll go anywhere," he said. "If I have to go to Michigan, I'll go to Michigan."