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Today we're talking to Sheriff Sonny Byerley and his wife Mikaela.  I met Sonny and Mikaela because they have begun traveling to police wellness conferences to share their experiences about PTSD.  Sonny is a cop's cop: strong, independent, and self-reliant, but he's also a cop who has survived being shot and stabbed on multiple occasions and has endured all kinds of other traumas that a lot of officers can relate to.  

In today's interview we're going to focus on Sonny's story and a few of the traumatic incidents he's experienced.  But then I'm going to produce a part two episode for next week that will look at the effects that thirty years of trauma began to have on Sonny and Mikaela.  So part one will be all the gruesome stories, part two will be the impact it had on the Sheriff.  You're really going to want to hear both sides.

Music is by Wes Hutchinson

Hey Chaplain Podcast Episode 127, Part One

Tags:

PTSD, Career, Injuries, Police, Rural Policing, Sheriff, Shooting, Stabbing, Trauma, Branson, Ferguson, Missouri

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• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hey-chaplain/id1570155168
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In the summer of 2025, one of my patrol officers, Hunter Simoncic, was struck by a car and killed in the line of duty. As part of the grieving process, we are sharing our experiences with you that you might be better prepared for the impossible tasks that immediately follow a line of duty death.

One of the most difficult is that of family liaison officer.  A family liaison is assigned to the family of a fallen officer, to advocate for the family's needs, to communicate to them about police traditions and the departments needs, and be the point of contact for the countless questions that arise when everyone has just had their worst possible day.

Our guest for this interview is friend of the show Captain Gregg Dorsett.  Captain Dorsett was asked to be a family liaison officer for the Simoncic family and he agreed to let me debrief him and share his experience with you.  To go from police commander and decision maker to family advocate in the midst of strongest possible emotions… well, that's a journey I think everyone can gain from hearing about.

Concerns of Police Survivors can help families and coworkers.  Their website is https://www.concernsofpolicesurvivors.org

Music is by the Westerlies

Hey Chaplain Podcast Episode 126 Part 2

Tags:

Family Liaison, Coroner, Family, Funeral Homes, Hospital, Memorials, Morgue, Murder, Paperwork, Planning, Police, Post-Mortem, Processions, Sympathy, Kansas City, Kansas

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• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hey-chaplain/id1570155168
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In the summer of 2025 my hometown of Kansas City, Kansas, lost two officers murdered in the line of duty: Deputy Elijah Ming and Officer Hunter Simoncic.  Because they were killed just 30 days apart, we had two large, complex, line of duty death funerals at the local major league soccer stadium, one funeral just a few weeks after the other.  We are still grieving and trying to process these losses, and as part of that process I wanted to offer our experiences as a resource to other agencies.

The guest for this interview Captain Shenee Davis-Kross from the police department.  She was involved in the logistics and planning for both funerals, starting with the motorcycle escorts for the fallen and extending to an almost endless list of other responsibilities in the Op Plan.  Though Captain Davis was just one part of a much larger team, I felt she represented the group's experience really well and I think you'll learn a lot from what she went through.

Music is by the Westerlies

Hey Chaplain Podcast Episode 126

Tags:

Line of Duty Death, Ceremonies, Family, Funeral, Helicopters, Liaisons, Logistics, Motorcycles, Murder, Police, Sheriff, Snipers, Sporting KC, SWAT, Taps, Kansas City, Kansas

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• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hey-chaplain/id1570155168
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2CGK9A3BmbFEUEnx3fYZOY

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It's that time of year again to talk about those spooky stories and things that go bump in the night.  This time we're looking at San Francisco and talking to friend of the show, JIm Dudley.  Jim has been on the show multiple times and just to remind you he's a retired deputy chief from the San Francisco PD with over 30 years experience, he teaches at San Francisco State University, and hosts the Policing Matters podcast.  Even though Jim and I both share the opinion that most spooky things can be easily explained by natural causes, that doesn't mean we haven't had a few moments that give you pause as you sort out what this means.

Music is by Brian Bolger

Hey Chaplain Podcast Bonus Episode 46

Tags:

Halloween, Aliens, CIT, Chainsaws, Community Policing, Costumes, Drugs, Ghosts, Hauntings, Holidays, Kidnapping, Patrol, Police, Spooky, Superstitions, Warlocks, San Francisco, California

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• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hey-chaplain/id1570155168
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So a few years back I was at a police department promotion ceremony and began chatting with a guest who was an ATF civilian analyst.  Every gun story he told was fascinating.  Every insight he had on firearms was spot on.  He was good humored and friendly, so I asked him right there, would you ever consider coming on the Hey Chaplain podcast?  We can talk guns, we can talk the ATF, I just want to get you on the show.  He was very agreeable, but he said, we'll have to run it by legal first.  

Three years later…

We now have Mark Brock here to talk about crime scenes, firearms and ammunition, working for the ATF as a retirement job, and which sidearm is best for police officers.

Music is by Wes Hutchinsona

Hey Chaplain Podcast Episode 125

Tags:

ATF, 1911, Ammunition, Armorer, CSI, Crime Scenes, Cold Cases, Deputy, Firearms, Forensics, Glock, Guns, Sidearms, Sheriff, Shooting, Sights, Buchanan County, Kansas City, St. Joseph, Missouri 

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• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hey-chaplain/id1570155168
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Medina Baumgart, Psy.D., ABPP is back to answer more questions from cops.  She and I put our heads together to make a list of common issues that cops have and I've compiled those concerns and questions (and a few surprise questions the doc hasn't seen yet) and we're going to have her give us her answers and she and I will banter back and forth about them.  She's a psychologist, I've been a church pastor for 30 years.  She's married to a retired cop, I'm a police chaplain.  I think you'll really like the conversation we have!

This is part two of our conversation, if you haven't listened to part one, go back and listen to episode 124 right now!

Music is by Chris Haugen

Hey Chaplain Podcast Episode 124.5 (Part 2)

Tags:

Counseling, Appointments, Communication, Injury, Mandated Reporting, Marriage, Police, Privacy, Psychology, Questions, Relationships, Sabotage, Self-harm, Suicide, Treatment, California

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• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hey-chaplain/id1570155168
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On today's episode we're talking doing something a bit different, something new to Hey Chaplain.  I found a cop psychologist who is married to a retired police officer and her name is Medina Baumgart, Psy.D., ABPP.  We put our heads together to make a list of common issues that cops have and I've compiled those concerns and questions (and a few surprise questions the doc hasn't seen yet) and we're going to have her give us her answers and she and I will banter back and forth about them.  I'm a chaplain and church pastor, she's a psychologist and a cop wife… I think you're really going to like the conversation we have here for you.

I'm splitting this into two parts; each half will have two big topics and two rapid-fire quick questions.  My hope is that not only will you enjoy the episode but that you'll share both halves with as many cops and first responders as you can.

Music is by Wes Hutchinson

Hey Chaplain Podcast Episode 124 (Part 1)

Tags:

Counseling, Appointments, Communication, Divorce, Expectations, Finances, Marriage, Police, Prenups, Psychology, Questions, Relationships, Treatment

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• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hey-chaplain/id1570155168
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On today's episode we're talking to Kevin Hardy about artificial intelligence, specifically in how and where it will fit in between the police officer and the chaplain… and can it replace a chaplain, or other helpers, entirely?  And I promise that both Kevin and I are actual flesh and blood humans.  Really.

Kevin's website: https://mwcn.online/   You can request an access link to his zoom meetings on the Events page.

Music is by the Whole Other and by LesFM

Hey Chaplain Podcast Episode 123

Tags:

AI, Artificial Intelligence, Chaplaincy, Chatbots, Computers, Empathy, Fire, Future, Genuineness, Human Contact, Police, Technology, Tools

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• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hey-chaplain/id1570155168
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2CGK9A3BmbFEUEnx3fYZOY

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In the early days of this podcast, I began by bringing in patrol officers and asking them a series of about 25 questions, covering all aspects of their patrol experience.  From that initial batch of interviews I would pick a topic, stitch together the responses of several officers, and create compilation bonus episodes I called "Firsthand Accounts."  It's been three years since I've produced any of those firsthand account episodes and I've been promising that I would interview a batch of detectives and do the whole process over again.  That project has been delayed several times but it is finally starting to come together and I wanted to give you a small downpayment on what is developing.  Specifically, one of the questions I'm asking these detectives is "what is your big story."  Here are a couple samples.  Contributing to the episode are detectives V. Garner and A. Turnage.

The previous Firsthand Account episodes about Patrol Officers were Bonus Episodes 2, 3, 5, 9, and 11.  The same concept was used with police sergeants on Bonus Episodes 38 and 39.

Music is by TrackTribe

Hey Chaplain Bonus Episode 45

Tags:

Detectives, Assaults, Cold Cases, Firsthand Accounts, Interviews, Investigations, Murder, Police, Independence, Missouri, Oregon

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• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hey-chaplain/id1570155168
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On today's episode we're talking to Gregg Lanzen, he's a police and fire chaplain from Indiana who was a firefighter, a medic, church pastor, and a counselor with a doctorate in Psychology.  Gregg has all kinds of good things to tell you about building resiliency and some great tips for first responder families.

Music is by the Mini Vandals, by Chris Haugen, and by National Sweetheart

Hey Chaplain Podcast Episode 122

Tags:

Fire, Ambulances, Career, Church, Counseling, Faith, Family, Health, Ministry, Psychology, Resilience, Goshen, Illinois, Indiana

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• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hey-chaplain/id1570155168
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2CGK9A3BmbFEUEnx3fYZOY

Email us at: [email protected]

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