This is #9 in our BTD Revisited series with the Great Matt Banes. We chose his second episode, Episode 6 Facing the Dragon, but we detail the several episodes Matt has been on for his own or as a cohost.

Facing the Dragon 

Critical Incident discussed: July 7th 2016, El Centro College, Dallas, Texas.

The City lost 5 officers from this ambush attack. 

Acronyms/Phrases:

Tag Beats- Targeted areas within the city that, through crime stats, are deemed to drive the city's crime rate.

On the X, Pushing to the X- Refers to being in direct line of fire and also rushing to the gunfire. 

This is our first release, #10, in the reloaded series as we give the listener a behind the curtain peek at some of our older episode’s stories. Every episode has its own unique story that goes beyond the final cut of the show we release and these reloaded episodes will tell some of these stories. Enjoy………

Former Dallas Police Homicide Detective Elmer “Sonny” Boyd badge #840.  Sonny started DPD in 1952 and eventually joined Captain Will Fritz’s elite Dallas Homicide unit. On November 22nd, 1963, he lost a friend, and the nation lost a President as he found himself immersed into one of the most controversial dates in world history.  Sonny reflects on handling Lee Harvey Oswald and his role in the Dallas PD before and after tragic day in our nation’s history.

Sonny Boyd passed away on May 24th, 2024, at age 96. He will be buried in his Dallas PD uniform and return home to his wife, Yvonne.

Dallas Officer J.D. Tippit

End of Watch 11/22/1963

 “ If you’re not willing to fail, you’ll never succeed.”

We are very honored to sit with today’s guest with a message from a true innovator, leader, and inspiring figure. Salim Asrawi, the co-founder and President of Texas de Brazil, immigrated to the United States at the age of 14. He left Lebanon to come to America in search of the American Dream and after years of working his way through hospitality school and forming an unmatched work ethic that he still practices to this day.

Salim is not just a successful and inspiring businessman but also has an enormous and giving heart as he gives to various charities, notably ones that support veterans and the first responder community.

Today we will hear from this very inspiring Dallasite as he walks us through his life and tells us his life mission and “why”.

For this special holiday episode, we have a special guest cohost in the Dallas Chief of Police, and Salim’s friend, Daniel C Comeaux.

 “If you’re not willing to fail, you’ll never succeed.”

As we finish out the year and are in the holiday season, we felt it was fitting to release a unique story of one of our own, Chris Langlois.  Chris is a veteran member of the Dallas Police Department and serves the citizens of Dallas but also has a life mission in honoring his grandfather and those who sacrificed so much to give this country the many liberties we all enjoy today.

In 2001 HBO, Spielberg, and Tom Hanks released an epic story that told the story of the 506th Infantry Regiment in World War II that known as Easy Company. The show was inspired by historical author Stephen Ambrose and was made into a ten part mini series that has become legendary. The real life characters that showed extreme courage, leadership, and sacrifice are what made this story so successful. Chris’s Grandfather, Medic “Doc” Eugene Roe was a central figure in this story that spanned from the D-Day invasion to taking over Hitler’s Eagle Nest in Germany.

This episode will highlight how Chris keeps the memory of his grandfather and these “band of brothers” alive through his amazing work at Doc Roe Publishing and the children books he has written. If you are a history buff or just appreciate those who work to keep memories alive you will love this episode.

The Dallas Police Department has so many talented and unique people and this show is grateful to be in a position to highlight their stories.

Enjoy!

Chri’s books and info can be found out https://docroepublishing.com

Books:

How Easy Company Became a Band of Brothers

Patrick the Paratrooper

Draftee Marches with the Band of Brothers

What a gift it is for this show to be able to sit down, again, with Crystal to update the listener on her growth and her journey. We presented her episode in 2022, and we learned about her life, joining the Dallas Police Department, and about that horrific day in April of 2018.

A lot has happened since that episode, and our mics will always be open for this incredible warrior to continue her inspiring story.

The ATO stage now belongs to Crystal Almeida.

The Assist the Officer Foundation welcomes Dallas Police Chief Daniel Comeaux back to the mic to remind everyone that Dallas PD is the most proactive Department in the nation.

Chief updates us on some new projects and initiatives and wanted to touch on some recent decisions he made and why he will always make his Department and the community they serve the top priority.

We Are Dallas!

#operationjusticetrail

#leadership

It is an honor to sit down with retired Phoenix PD Detective Janicik EdD to discuss her life, career and a topic we cannot have enough education on, crimes against women. We will talk about how she turned personal tragedy into protecting women by raising awareness and educating on how these predators work and target women.

Through her work in research, academia, and professional training, Cindy supports police agencies throughout the nation and internationally. A selection of collaborations she finds the most meaningful include: training the delegation of leaders from the Indonesian National Police Force on developing an effective, distance learning training model; serving as an expert on the 30x30 Initiative; supporting the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives through academic writing, educational pathways, and research; and assessing police agency practices in the areas of recruitment, hiring, and retention of sworn and professional staff personnel.

Today we chat with the great Mike Wagers, Chief Customer Officer of Axon, to talk about the history of the global leader in public safety technology…the every growing company known as Axon.

Mike walks us through the company’s history, from its roots in 1993, to now becoming the standard in law enforcement technology.

In 1993, Founder Rick Smith, had a vision to reduce gun violence and prevent crimes through technology to honor the murders of two of his high school football teammates.

Like all great stories, there was early struggle, and resiliency was financially tested before the energy weapon, TASER, was introduced to the world.

Mike gives us a unique sneak peek of what’s on the horizon with the new tech and mission expansion to wellness, AI tech and community partnerships that will save lives and solve crimes.

This message will tell this story of how a tragedy turned into a global phenomenon in ever evolving tech to subdue suspects, enhance accountability and boldly go where no man has gone before to make the world, the first responder world, a better and safer place.

"Tough Times Don't Last, Tough People Do"

We are honored to sit down with recently retired DFD Lt John Hampton as he wrapped up an amazing 25-year career.

Growing up in Maryland, the son of a fireman, Lt Hampton knew he would go into a life of service as he entered the Army and joined the historic 82ndABN. After seeing combat action and developing his unique, hard-nosed leadership style he decided it was time to answer his calling by joining the Dallas Fire Department.

Johnny was literally thrown into the fire as he joined one of the busiest stations in South Dallas, Station 44 off Lagow.

Johnny is very candid in telling the story of his life and career and we are honored he trusted us at the caretaker of his journey.

On July 21st, 2024, Lt Hampton entered Station 11 like any other morning and made a last minute decision to ride the engine to a structure fire call near downtown Dallas. The light rain coated the roadways, causing the rig’s tail to begin to swerve and the entire engine collided with the short wall went over several feet below onto the train tracks.

The race began to save LT Hampton from the wreckage as he was pinned for 45 minutes as he teammates and firefighting family worked.

This is the story of the life and career of an amazing man, leader, husband, father, and servant.

Thank you, Lt John Hampton, for your service to the country and to the city of Dallas.