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The Blue Grit team has on Austin City Councilwoman Mackenzie Kelly to discuss the consequences defunding the police has on the city of Austin, which occurred prior to her being elected. Kelly discusses how she is trying to RE-FUND the Austin Police Department, and the challenges she faces daily in dealing with a somewhat "anti-police" city government culture.   

Councilwoman Kelly's Bio-
District 6 is the largest district in Austin, about fifty square miles from the area around Steiner Ranch on the southwestern end, to southern Williamson County to the north, located in far northwest Austin. Councilmember Kelly hopes her varied experiences, deep community connections, and neighborly Texan tone will help her well represent this diverse and growing area.

Before being elected to City Council, Kelly served at the Round Rock Fire Department Training Division, Williamson County Emergency Management and with the City of Austin Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). In 2019, Kelly was elected president of the 100th class of Austin Police Department's Citizen Police Academy. Her close working relationship with APD gives her a rare perspective on local law enforcement and why it must be passionately supported and fully funded. Kelly volunteered with the Jollyville Fire Department from 2005-13, where she gained a profound respect for those who protect life and property in our capital city. While there, she completed a year-long fellowship through the Disaster Science Academy.

Serving Austin's elderly population is another passion of Kelly's, having worked in the home health care for several years, and has been an appointee by then-Governor Rick Perry to the Governor’s Committee on People with Disabilities. Kelly is an advocate of good geographic representation, having run in the first city council election under the 10-1 plan in 2014.  

As for her greatest accomplishment, Kelly is mother of an inquisitive daughter, Rebekah, a student in the Round Rock ISD, and is happily married. She is a 2005 graduate of Westwood High School (Go Warriors!).

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It could have been a North Texas massacre with up to 150 victims, if not for a Garland Police officer who became the first lawman in the country to engage ISIS-inspired terrorists on Texas soil.

Greg Stevens, now 70, has lived for seven years on terrorist hit lists and shadowed by national intelligence. He joins the Blue Grit Podcast team to discuss the incident. 

Stevens has also received the nation's highest law enforcement honor and is revealing himself publicly for the first time.

"They kept me out of the media and kept my name and so on anonymous for a long, long time," said Stevens. 

Seven years ago, on May 3, 2015, he singlehandedly stopped an ISIS terrorist attack as a Garland Police officer.

Stevens was one of 40 officers assigned to a security detail at the Curtis Culwell Center that Sunday in Garland.

It's where a conservative group hosted a Muhammad cartoon contest that authorities knew would likely anger some Muslims.
"This had a lot of potential for bad things happening," said Stevens.

Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi drove from Arizona with guns on an ISIS inspired mission authorities say to kill the 150 people attending the event.

"This little black car came from my left as I'm facing out on the street," said Stevens.

Stevens believes the two attackers chose to pull up at the entrance monitored by him and an unarmed Garland ISD officer.

"They probably looked over there, look there are two guys, one of them is not even armed, and the other guy is 100 years old how hard can this be? The next thing I see is somebody dressed in all black stepping out of the car and the barrel of a rifle coming up in my direction."

Stevens fired 14 rounds from a handgun while the two men with rifles fired 35, one of them, striking unarmed security guard Bruce Joiner in the leg.

Within seconds, the veteran officer took down the gunmen from more than 30 feet away.
"This whole event probably didn't take no more than 10 and probably 15 seconds," said Stevens. "I'm a pretty good shooter. I'm not a great shooter. My training kicked in. I wasn't formulating a plan."

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The Blue Grit team meets with Tyler Police Detective/TMPA 2nd Vice President Ken Gardner who shares his story when he nearly lost his life in 2003. Ken discusses the entire incident and how his faith helped him through the event. 

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In this episode, Clint and Tyler sit down with Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar to discuss his history with TMPA, his job duties, and his continued support for law enforcement.

Glenn Hegar is Texas' chief financial officer — the state's treasurer, check writer, tax collector, procurement officer, and revenue estimator – a job that is particularly important as the state continues its strong recovery amidst ongoing global economic and geopolitical instability. His commitment to responsible fiscal management is highlighted recently in his efforts address the issues such as pension reform and managing federal relief dollars. He conducted a broadband development listening tour in the spring. And his Texas Broadband Plan released in June supports his efforts to bridge the digital divide in Texas and highlights his support for infrastructure investment. Along those lines he will soon embark on his latest Good for Texas Tour focused on ensuring we continue to address water management issues facing our growing state.

As the CFO of the world's 9th largest economy, Hegar is charged with maintaining the state's fiscal health. Having served in both the Texas House and Senate, Hegar has gained a reputation for customer service, transparency in government, and conservative fiscal management.

Hegar is a 1993 graduate of Texas A&M University and a graduate of St. Mary's University, where he earned a Master of Arts and his law degree. At the University of Arkansas, he earned his Masters of Law.
Hegar is a sixth-generation Texan who grew up farming land that has been in his family since the mid-1800s. When not in Austin or traveling the state, Glenn lives in Katy with his wife Dara and his now TEENAGE children Claire, Julia and Jonah (He asks for your prayers as his oldest is now driving).

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The Blue Grit team meets with FOP 1st Vice President Joe Gamaldi and TMPA Executive Director Kevin Lawrence. This episode explains the FOP and TMPA relationship and the continued struggles the law enforcement community face across the country!

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Retired California Deputy and now TMPA Field Rep. David Kurylowicz discusses how a "low priority call for service" turned deadly, nearly costing him and his partner their lives. 
*Actual Radio footage in the beginning*

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Clint, Tyler and guest host  "The man the myth...the legend" TMPA Field Services Director John Sierega discuss the birth of Blue Grit Podcast. The team also discusses how they each became involved in the best police association in Texas, TMPA.

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Chris Cabrera is a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent in the Rio Grande Valley Sector in Texas who concurrently works as the Vice President and spokesman of the National Border Patrol Council (NBPC), the labor union representing border agents. Chris joins the Blue Grit Podcast team to discuss the ongoing issues and share personal/professional stories about the border crisis!

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Not long after the horrific mass murder of 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School, the finger-pointing began.  While grief-stricken parents and a community searched for answers, public figures started immediately pointing fingers, namely at law enforcement.  The Texas Department of Public Safety wasted no time blaming their own, namely, longtime Highway Patrol Sergeant Juan Maldonado.  Juan joins Blue Grit today to tell, for the first time, his side of the story and the events of that fateful day in May 2022.

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Former Balcones Heights Police Sergeant and now a current TMPA Field Representative Joey Sepulveda discusses his shooting that occurred in February of 2021. Although shot multiple times and left for dead, Joey refused to give up. This episode is his story of survival and the long road of both mental and physical recovery. 

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