Patrolman William Crook still gets emotional when he thinks about that rainy night in January 2000. He responded to a call about a 32-year-old man who was unconscious and not breathing. When Crook arrived, paramedics were already working on the father of five. The officer encountered the children on his way out of the house. The 13-year-old daughter, clutching her baby brother, asked about their father.

"I am not going to lie to you," Crook said. "It does not look good." In fact, the father, who had been suffering seizures for some time, died soon after.

Crook, then a third year cop on the Orem, Utah, force, questioned his career choice that night. Wouldn't it be easier to sit behind a desk where he wouldn't have to tell children their father was dying? Overcome with emotion, he went home and did what he had been doing almost every night for the past year: he wrote an e-mail about his shift to the 1,500 e-mail subscribers who regularly visit his Web site, lifeonthebeat.com.

Before he joined the force, everything Crook knew about police work came from movies and TV. As he started to see what the job was really like, he wanted to share that insight, and in 1998 launched lifeonthebeat.com, which now has up to 500 visitors a day. Writing about his work also helped him relieve stress.

But how much police action can there be in a Utah city of 100,000 people?

"That is what I thought too," said Crook. "But I talked to an officer in Baltimore and he said its amazing to him to read the stuff I go through because so much of it is similar in the big city."

Crook, 30, has seen his fair share of car accidents and robbery shootouts, but in his writing he tends toward the outlandish, bizarre or just plain funny.

One night Crook got a call about a burglary at a flea market. He arrived on the scene with the store's owner and a police dog unit. They found a broken window but no suspects. The owner boarded up the window and reset the alarm, and everyone left.

Later that night, Crook got another burglary call from the same market. There were no search dogs this time and Crook realized that he and the other officer on the scene could not search the large building alone.

"Sound off or I am sending in the dog!" he yelled through the broken window, mimicking the command used by K-9 units.

To Crook's surprise, one suspect appeared at the window with his hands up. Two others still in the building, however, held back.

Crook let out a few loud dog barks, and the two remaining suspects surrendered. The other officer fought back laughter as the arrests were made.

Though it might surprise anyone who has tried to joke his way out of a speeding ticket from a stone-faced highway patrol officer, some cops do have a sense of humor. It's hard to be an officer named Crook without one. His site features a number of embarrassing war stories, like the one about the cop who got tangled in his seatbelt when trying to chase a fleeing suspect and the officer who accidentally let a prisoner get away while taking a smoke break.

One-liners also abound: "In God we trust, all others are suspects" and "Take your hands off the car and I'll make your birth certificate a worthless document."

Now that he has a little more experience on the beat, Crook can poke fun at rookies and veterans alike. If you see a cop who "shines his whistle daily and loves to direct traffic" or "has yet to develop a sense of injustice" then you may be dealing with a so-called "hotdog, gopher or young warrior," according to the "Police Poems & Sayings" section of his Web site. Likewise, the "old man" or "John Law" is easy to spot if you are familiar with the 22 traits provided for force veterans.

Crook, who takes all the photos for the site himself, also adds his comedic touch to captions. A stolen car is labeled "rollin' stolen" and a pair of confiscated brass knuckles is called "paperweight my a##!"

About 40 cops and civilians come together each day on Crook's "Ask-A-Cop" message board to discuss everything from bulletproof armor to how to beat a ticket.

According to Crook, curious high school students and crime writers alike frequently contact him personally with questions. He has also become something of a minor celebrity among his colleagues in the Orem stationhouse.

"If I make an arrest they ask me, 'Will this make it on Last Night's Shift?'" said Crook. "Or if it was a slow day they say, 'You might have to make something up.'"

The success of the "Last Night's Shift" e-mail list prompted him to start a sister list called "Crimestories," in which officers from around the country share their experiences. There are a number of young cops eager to contribute, including one who admits what many frustrated motorists have long suspected.

"I have a hard time sitting still and will make traffic stops for minor violations in order to have something to do," wrote rookie Deputy Robert Cox.

There are no professional writers or designers here, but it is the amateur look and voice that attracts regular visitors like 21-year-old military police officer Tom Anez, who visits the site three times a day even when he is posted as far away as Bosnia.

"This site has more of a personal meaning to me," said Anez, who plans to enter civilian law enforcement after he finishes his military duty. "It seems more personal to me knowing it's real police officers with real lives and real problems."

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