Ep. 46 The LT’s Daughter Katherine Boyle joins me to talk about her mission to help police officers who want more connection with their families. Katherine is the first law enforcement family member I’ve interviewed on this podcast. It’s important to me to do so as I have learned law enforcement is a family job, one that requires sacrifice and commitment from all. 

Katherine’s story is unusual in that her childhood was not unusual. She shares all the ways in which her father partnered with her mother to keep the job from negatively affecting their family life as the job of a first responder can do. Her experience is the inspiration behind the program Katherine has created and is launching this month titled “Beyond the Uniform.” The program will offer events designed to help police officers better connect with their families, in particular with their spouses, by identifying priorities and values outside of the job. 

To put Katherine’s childhood in perspective, we look back at the career of her dad, Retired Philadelphia Police Lieutenant Michael Boyle, who spent much of his career on the Special Victim’s Unit. Among his cases was the Delimar Vera case of a kidnapped infant who at the age of eight was reunited with her mother. The story made national news.

It also is important to note that Katherine comes from an extended law enforcement family with many relatives who serve or have served in the profession.  As a result, she has long wanted to give back and to support officers. It was, in part, her experience while living in NYC during the 2020 riots and seeing the abuses of officers who were quite literally "family" to her that led to her “light bulb” moment that she had to do something active, something tangible to help LE families. That light bulb moment has become “Beyond the Uniform.”

Here is the link to the Event Sign-Up List for “Beyond the Uniform”

https://view.flodesk.com/pages/647f698cdfd04634e9976771

Katherine’s IG: TheLTsDaughter:

https://www.instagram.com/theltsdaughter/

Sadly, the Boyle family suffered a Line of Duty Death in February, 1991 of Katherine’s cousin, Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Boyle at the age of 21 after only nine months on the job. The family established a scholarship foundation in his name that raises funds to send underprivileged children to Catholic schools across Philadelphia. Here are the links for more information: 

Officer Daniel Boyle Scholarship Fund website:

http://www.officerdanielboyle.com/

Officer Daniel Boyle Scholarship Fund Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/daniel.boyle.52090

Officer Daniel Boyle

E.O.W. February 6, 1991

https://www.odmp.org/officer/176-police-officer-daniel-robert-boyle

Officer Boyle, we honor you and thank you for your service.

Thanks for listening to On Being a Police Officer. YOU are what keeps me going.

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