Pop Rock Cop (English)
- This story is inspired by a true story how a very talented young Portuguese/Canadian performer, with an international fan base dealt with and overcame significant adversity that threatened to end her music career. Before Amalia’s rise to musical success she naively decides to become a police officer at 22 to help fund her musical career and to make a positive difference in the world. As she is at the pinacle of her musical career she becomes unknowingly entangled with corrupt police officers in her department who make false accusations against her in an attempt to frame and arrest her for something she did not do. This is a story of inspiration – how perseverance, patience, hard work, a strong belief in oneself and the love and support of family and friends will always win out over deceit and deception.
Furtado initially started writing Pop Rock Cop as a screenplay-treatment and it took two years. It was registered with the Writers Guild of America and Canada in 2011. At the International Beijing Book Exhibition it was nominated by the Portuguese Embassy for the Camoes prize in literature in 2013. At the same time she completed the book but decided to sit on it for personal reasons. Due to a dream she had that involved her vavo ( grandmother) she knew she had to publish this book.
This story required thousands of hours of research by pulling out the best gems from heaps of first-hand accounts, court case reviews, video and audio files and one-on-one interviews with the family in their home in eastern Canada. Furtado wanted the story to remain entertaining, yet feel real and authentic. The book is essentially a work of fiction.
At only 22, Amalia was both a successful singer and the youngest police officer in Canada. On television, she received a government award for her accomplishments for being the youngest and most driven member in the force in Canada.
Shortly after, a couple of disorderly police officers falsely accused Amalia of several charges in an attempt to have her be a part of their plan to have a detested female sergeant, Luana, fired from the police department.
Amalia’s court case continued for 6 years. The police department spent over 1 million in taxpayer money to try and have Luana fired through Amalia’s “testimony”. Amalia and her family never quit, and instead fought for the truth and did not give into their threats. In fact, she continued to entertain and inspire the public through her successful, international, live performances and original songs! Her story is incredibly inspiring and demonstrates the strength of her family, her strong morals and her desire to make the world a better place regardless of the amount of self-sacrifice. This story makes us feel we can get through anything!
Amalia’s family nearly lost their home and spent over $200,000CDN in an attempt to win the case and fight corruption.