Reuben G. Ramirez spent nearly 30 years wearing a Dallas Police badge, rising to Assistant Chief and leading some of the department’s most demanding bureaus. He was there for the worst days—the critical incidents, the 7/7 ambush that changed the department forever, and the quiet, unseen toll those moments took on his people. After decades of watching too many officers struggle in silence—and some lose their lives to suicide—Reuben decided “reactive” help wasn’t enough.

In this conversation, Reuben joins us to talk about Checkpoints, his nationally recognized framework and book, CHECKPOINTS: The Blueprint to Emotional Health for First Responders, which calls out a hard truth: for years, wellness systems waited until officers were already broken before offering help. Drawing on his experience building the Dallas Police Department’s Wellness Unit and creating the Checkpoints program for proactive, post-incident emotional check-ins, he lays out a path to cultural change—one that treats emotional health as seriously as officer safety.