Ep. 40 Joining me is Nate Silvester, known as The Officer Nate and the guy who took on LeBron James' anti-police rhetoric via TikTok. Nate was in law enforcement just over 12 years, first with the Twin Falls, Idaho Police Department from 2006 to 2018, and then with the Bellevue, Idaho Marshal's Office which he joined in December, 2020. Just a few months later on April 24, 2021, Nate posted a TikTok in which he is pretending to seek advice from LeBron James on how to handle an imaginary disturbance involving two men wielding knives. To say the video went viral would be an understatement. Shared around the world, the TikTok resulted in Nate’s losing his job and a firestorm of social media backlash including threats against his and his family’s lives. 

Nate's TikTok was in reaction to LeBron’s tweet at Columbus, Ohio Police Officer Nicholas Reardon. On April 20, 2021 Officer Reardon responded to a chaotic scene in which he used deadly force to stop 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant from stabbing another girl.

LeBron's tweet included a photo of Officer Reardon and the text, "YOU'RE NEXT #ACCOUNTABILITY." Some considered this a reference to Dereck Chauvin; others viewed it as calling for the murder of Officer Reardon. James later deleted the tweet. In March 2022, Officer Reardon was cleared of any wrongdoing. A Franklin County Ohio Grand jury decided the shooting was justifiable and that no crime and been committed.

While the blowback for Officer Nate was fierce, the support he received from friends, fellow officers, and civilians from around the country sustained him. He has since written a memoir, “Never Off Duty” which covers not only the TikTok and its impact, but also Nate’s work as a police officer and detective, and insights on law enforcement as a profession including dispelling widely-held myths. We talk about why he became a police officer, what the job gave and took from him, his struggle with PTSD and the lonely journey to get counseling, all of which he details in the book. Nate also has a podcast, website, several social media channels and is opening a Chiropractic and Wellness Center (links below). 

Nate’s “LeBron James” TikTok via YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdzC8sW9MzA

Nate's Website:

https://www.bluelivesfoundation.org/

To order “Never Off Duty”

https://www.bluelivesfoundation.org/product-page/never-off-duty

Nate's Social Media handles:

TikTok: officernate1.3

Instagram: theofficernate

YouTube and Facebook: Officer Nate

The Officer Nate Podcast

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-officer-nate-podcast/id1596866601

Nate’s new wellness center: Atmosphere Chiropractic and Wellness

https://www.atmospherewellness.com/

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©Abby Ellsworth. All interviews, editing, production done by Abby Ellsworth. Music courtesy of freesound.org