Gun to the Head: Keith Banks

27 July 1987: My journey to this point had been a path not trodden by many
cops. At the age of twenty-one I went into deep undercover. After, I returned
to the world of normal policing, but I’d needed to find that addictive rush of
adrenaline again. The next logical step for me was to seek out the world of
special weapons and tactical operations.

Fear and exhilaration are blood brothers; that’s what drives risk. I should
have been careful what I’d wished for….

This is the true story of Keith Banks, one of Queensland’s most decorated police
officers and his experience as a Tactical Operations Specialist Officer in the
eighties. After Keith left deep undercover duty (as told in his bestselling first book –
Drugs, Guns and Lies), he continued to seek the adrenaline and rush of the sharp end of policing.

Gun to the Head is a retelling of Keith’s high-risk operations as part of the Tactical
Response Group, to his move into the shadowy world of Criminal Intelligence (where
he spent years pursuing outlaw motorcycle gangs). Keith later changed to the Major
Crime Squad, again searching for the rush and excitement he continually craved. But
life in the fast lane takes a toll, and through Gun to the Head we see all that led to
Keith’s years of suffering from PTSD.

Gun to the Head facts:
• To date Keith is the only police officer to have received the prestigious
Queensland Police Valour Award medal twice in his career. Both occasions
are explored within this book.

• This tactical work is what leads to Keith’s PTSD. He is now a volunteer Peer
Support Officer for Police Veterans Victoria and continues to recover. His
goal is to help first responders realise they aren’t alone and that recovery is
very possible.

“My addiction to adrenaline had a lasting and profound effect on my
emotional and mental wellbeing. It was like having a gun to my own head,
but one of a psychological danger, not just a physical one.” – Keith Banks