Policing looks very different from the outside than it does from behind the badge. In this conversation with retired Chief Frederickson, we hear what 43 years in law enforcement teaches about leadership, responsibility, loss, and the commitment officers carry long after the uniform comes off.

We begin in Massachusetts, where some of the earliest traditions of American policing took shape, and look at the family history, immigrant influence, and experiences that helped shape Chief Frederickson’s career. We also discuss how policing has changed over the decades while the fundamental responsibility to protect the community has remained the same.

The conversation then turns to the Fraternal Order of Police and the role it plays beyond labor representation. Chief Frederickson explains why the organization’s fraternal mission matters, how state lodges work with national leadership, and what happens behind the scenes when major public safety issues reach Washington, D.C.

Some of the most important discussion centers on what happens when officers and departments face loss. We talk about Law Enforcement Memorial Week, the impact of a line-of-duty death on families and agencies, and the mental health pressures chiefs often carry quietly.

We also look at practical efforts to support officers and their families, including peer support for law enforcement executives, proposed pension protections for officers seriously injured in the line of duty, and the Blue Star license plate initiative honoring families of fallen officers.

It is a candid conversation about the history of policing, the responsibility of leadership, officer wellness, and the work required to turn good ideas into meaningful support for the law enforcement community.

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A sheriff’s office isn’t just patrol cars and 911 calls. It’s jails, courts, hospital security, transportation, staffing shortages, and a relentless 24/7 mission that never pauses. We sit down with Santa Clara County Sheriff Bob Jonsen to talk about what modern public safety leadership really looks like in the middle of Silicon Valley, from the scale of his agency to the choices that shape morale and community trust.

Starting with his path from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department to leading Menlo Park and Palo Alto, we discuss how policing changes when you go from a massive system to a smaller city with fewer resources but the same urgent calls. Then we get blunt about politics: why he decided to run for elected sheriff during a period of controversy, what campaigning feels like for a career law enforcement professional, and why fundraising can create discomfort even when you’re determined to stay above reproach.

From there, we dig into corrections and the part of public safety most people never want to see. We close with what Sheriff Jonsen is best known for nationally: officer health and wellness, including mindfulness, compassion training, and a music plus neuroscience approach designed to reduce stress and improve sleep without stigma.

If you care about policing, jail reform, officer wellness, or what it takes to run a half-billion-dollar public safety organization, hit subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway.

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A housing authority with its own police department sounds unusual until you hear how it actually works. We're joined by Deputy Chief Victor McDowell Jr from the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) Police Department, one of the oldest housing authorities in the country, serving more than 55,000 residents across Cleveland and nearby suburbs. We break down how CMHA Police operates with concurrent jurisdiction, why they run their own dispatch center, and what it means to be the primary law enforcement presence on housing authority property while still working shoulder-to-shoulder with city, county, and federal partners.

We also get real about today’s calls for service: domestic violence, mental health crises, and the constant demand for de-escalation and good judgment from young officers who may be in their first professional job. Deputy Chief McDowell shares why the hardest part isn’t only what first responders see, but what they can’t solve in a single encounter and why wellness has to include everyone, especially 911 dispatchers who take the first wave of stress for hours at a time.

One of the most practical takeaways is CMHA’s police-assisted referral culture: officers connect people directly to social service partners who proactively reach out with resources, instead of handing over a list of phone numbers and hoping someone calls. We also talk CALIA accreditation, policy and training standards, and a definition of trust I won’t forget: trust is given, and distrust is earned. If you care about community policing, public housing safety, modern law enforcement training, and what legitimacy looks like on the ground, this conversation delivers.

Subscribe for more behind-the-badge stories, share this with someone who cares about public safety, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway: what builds trust fastest in your community?

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More officers die by suicide than are killed in the line of duty and that single fact should change how we talk about public safety.  Dr. Serena Liebengood, a physician and public health professional who also knows this crisis in the most personal way, talks today about her husband, Howard “Howie” Liebengood, who served with the U.S. Capitol Police and died by suicide after years of service and the intense strain that followed January 6. We talk about who Howie was, what police families live with, and why the hardest injuries are often the ones nobody can see.

We dig into the real mechanics of law enforcement mental health: cumulative trauma, understaffing, overtime, sleep loss, and the nonstop exposure to high-stress incidents that pile up across a career. We also explore why awareness isn’t enough. With about 18,000 law enforcement agencies in the United States, even excellent research and resources can fail to reach the departments that need them most, especially smaller agencies with tight budgets and limited staff.

Dr. Liebengood explains how the Howard C. Liebengood Foundation is designed to close that implementation gap through interdisciplinary collaboration, education, and research with a strong focus on systems and organizational change. We talk change management, culture, labor and management working together, and the foundation’s Washington symposium with Johns Hopkins Carey Business School aimed at helping leaders and teams bring practical improvements back to their agencies. 

If you found this conversation valuable, subscribe, share it with someone who needs to hear it, and leave a review so more people can find honest discussions about police wellness and suicide prevention.

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We talk with retired Lieutenant Frank Borelli about why police officers get flattened into stereotypes and how everyday courtesy can prevent conflict before it starts. We also dig into the family cost of the job and why honest communication matters as much as any tactical skill. Lieutenant Frank Borelli, a longtime law enforcement trainer and a leading voice at Officer Media Group and Officer.com, talks about what people miss when they only see policing through the loudest headlines. We get honest about how mainstream incentives can sensationalize police incidents, how context gets stripped away, and why that fuels stereotypes that harm community trust and public safety. 

Then we go where most conversations don’t: the impact on officer families. Policing is a lifestyle with odd hours, constant situational awareness, and the quiet fear that lands on spouses, partners, and kids who have the least control. Frank talks openly about what gets shared at home, what gets held back, and why 100% open communication is the best chance at making it work. We also point to Police Week and the importance of supporting survivors through Concerns of Police Survivors (COPS). 

If this helped you see the badge differently, subscribe, share this with someone who only knows policing from clips, and leave a review so more people can find these conversations. What’s one thing you wish the public understood about police officers and their families?

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A 911 call gets answered and, in under a minute, a drone is already overhead. That single detail forces a bigger question: can public safety technology make policing both more effective and more ethical at the same time? PepperBall CEO Bob Plaschke sits down with Captain Abram Ayana from the Brookhaven Police Department, the leader behind some of the most forward-thinking programs in American policing, to find out what’s real, what’s hard, and what other agencies can actually learn from it. 

We start with the human side. Ayana walks  through why he joined law enforcement, what the academy does and doesn’t prepare you for, and why field training officers are the backbone of good policing. He also speaks candidly about stress, burnout, and the reality of drawing a weapon, including how training and repetition are meant to create calm decision-making, not aggression. 

Then Ayana gets into innovation with guardrails: Brookhaven’s mental health co-responder program with licensed clinicians, peer support for officers, and drones and first responders paired with tools like Live 911, cameras, and license plate readers. 

The conversation then turns to  community trust, transparency, and the tension around surveillance, including why Brookhaven limits drone use to 911 calls and why sitting down with the ACLU matters. If you care about ethical policing, de-escalation, real-time crime centers, and practical public safety reform, this conversation is for you. 

If this sparked a new perspective, subscribe, share the show with a friend, and leave a review so more people can get behind the badge with us.

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Most people judge counterterrorism by what they see on TV: explosions, raids, and last-second saves. The truth is almost the opposite and that’s what makes it so hard to appreciate. When the FBI gets it right, nothing happens, and the public may never learn what was stopped or how close it came. 

We sit down with Rajiv Maan, a retired FBI leader with more than 20 years in the Bureau and 31 years in law enforcement, to talk about how prevention actually works. He explains how counterterrorism investigations balance evidence, timing, and risk, and why Joint Terrorism Task Forces matter so much when the stakes are mass casualties. We also get personal about the mission-driven mindset it takes to run toward danger, the pressure of never wanting to fail, and the professionalism that comes from training built on research, constitutional law, and repeatable tactics rather than heroics. 

Maan also walks us through major chapters of his career: the post 9-11 shift that brought him into the FBI, the reality of working state-sponsored terrorism, and what overseas assignments really look like when you’re operating openly through an embassy and coordinating with partner services. Finally, we dig into hostage recovery and the Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell, an interagency effort that pulls together intelligence, defense, diplomacy, negotiation, and family support to bring Americans home and pursue justice when possible. 

If you value clear-eyed conversations about public safety, national security, and the people doing the work in anonymity, subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review so more listeners can find the show. 

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A police cruiser door pops open, a K9 rockets out, and the “bad guy” goes from confident to panicked in seconds. That viral moment is real training, and it opens the door to a bigger question: what do police K9s actually do all day, and how are they controlled when everything is loud, fast, and dangerous?

We’re joined by Andrea Alt, one of the leading voices in police canine work, to walk through the mechanics and the judgment behind K9 deployment. We talk about why the professional term is "K9,” how working dogs learn commands in Dutch or German alongside English, and why tone and consistency matter more than any single word. Andrea also explains the difference between apprehension and detection, including how “bite and hold” is trained to target limbs under legal standards, and why that jaw pressure is the part people underestimate.

From there, we dig into the less visible side of K9 units: tracking that recovers discarded clothing and DNA, passive alerts for firearms or explosives, and barking alerts used to locate hidden people during building searches. We also cover the practical realities of running a K9 program, including how many teams might operate in one area, what it costs to equip a dog, and why ballistic and stab-resistant K9 vests can be out of reach for some departments.

Andrea closes with the mission behind her  nonprofit, the K9 Creed Armor Program, which helps fund protective vests for K9 teams in need. If you care about police transparency, K9 training, and public safety, subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find these conversations.

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You can’t understand modern American policing by looking only at headlines. The real story lives in the everyday moments: a traffic stop, a tense protest line, a hard conversation with a mayor, a decision to de-escalate instead of escalate. That’s why we sat down with Aurora CO, Chief Art Acevedo, (Ret.) one of the most decorated big-city police chiefs (Austin TX, Houston TX, Miami FL) of the last few decades, to talk about what actually builds trust and what quietly destroys it.

We start with Art’s American journey, arriving from Cuba on the Freedom Flights, and how his family’s push to assimilate and embrace diversity shaped the way he leads. From there, we get honest about the trust gap around law enforcement, why police are still judged as part of government, and what changed after George Floyd. Art explains why mass crowd tactics can backfire, why precision and restraint matter, and how leaders earn credibility by showing up and leading from the front.

The heart of the conversation is leadership and ethics. Art lays down a blunt rule for anyone chasing the top job: don’t become a police chief unless you can afford to lose the job, because integrity is the only thing you fully control. He also breaks down “relational policing” and his TREAT framework (transparency, respect, engagement to build emotional capital, accountability) as a practical blueprint for better outcomes, safer officers, and stronger community relationships. We close with why professional associations matter in a nation with 18,000 separate agencies but one Constitution.

If you got value from this, subscribe, share it with a friend who cares about public safety, and leave a review. 

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A lot of agencies are being asked to lower use of force complaints while handling more mental health calls, addiction-related incidents, and day-to-day disorder with fewer people on shift. That squeeze creates a simple operational question: how do we keep officers safe and still resolve resistance without defaulting to higher-force tools? Lieutenant Frank Borelli sits down with PepperBall CEO Bob Plaschke to dig into what command staff are asking for right now and why “non-lethal at distance” is becoming central to modern de-escalation.

We get specific about the street realities: why creating 35 to 50 feet of space can change decision-making, reduce panic, and keep officers out of the close-range danger zone. Bob explains how less-lethal launchers are being used to drive behavior change, what the effects feel like, and why shorter decontamination time matters for both subjects and officers. We also talk about the situations everyone dreads, like noncompliant vehicle occupants and barricaded subjects, and how distance-based tools can reduce the need for risky hands-on extraction or blind entries.

Along the way, we connect tactics to the bigger picture of community policing and officer wellness. Fewer injuries, clearer body-camera narratives, and less lifelong “baggage” after violent encounters aren’t abstract benefits, they shape careers and trust. If you care about police officer safety, law enforcement de-escalation, and practical less-lethal options that work in the real world, this conversation is for you. 

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