National Police Association Podcast

What happens when the people who answer everyone else’s call for help need support themselves?

On this episode of the National Police Association Podcast, Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith welcomes Dr. Stephanie Conn, a former police officer who now helps first responders navigate the emotional demands of their profession. As the daughter and wife of police officers, Conn brings both professional expertise and personal experience to a conversation about resilience, trusted relationships, and building effective peer support programs.

Conn explains how losing two coworkers in the line of duty and witnessing the difficulty of connecting officers with counselors who understood their work helped inspire her transition into psychology. She describes why effective care requires more than experience treating trauma: clinicians must understand police culture, accommodate shift work, and reduce practical barriers to getting help.

The conversation also highlights dispatchers, corrections personnel, and other employees whose exposure to disturbing events can be overlooked. Conn discusses developing support strategies for personnel who must manage stress while remaining at their consoles or assigned posts.

In this episode:

• Peer support before a crisis: How trained, trusted coworkers can recognize changes, start difficult conversations, and help colleagues connect with additional support.
• The cumulative toll of police work: Why relationship problems, organizational frustrations, moral injury, and repeated exposure to suffering deserve attention alongside critical incidents.
• Finding the good: Conn’s approach to countering cynicism through community support, thoughtful media habits, humor, and small acts of kindness among coworkers.
• Building an effective peer support team: Selecting and training members, addressing ethical challenges, preventing burnout, and maintaining a program’s effectiveness.
• Reasons for optimism: Why greater openness about counseling and wellness gives Conn hope for the future of law enforcement.

Conn also discusses her books, Increasing Resilience in Police and Emergency Personnel and Building Effective Peer Support Teams. Her peer support book includes reproducible forms, templates, and resources to help agencies establish and sustain their programs.

Her message is practical: support should begin before someone reaches a breaking point, and caring for first responders strengthens their ability to serve their communities.

Connect and learn more:

https://firstresponderpsychology.com
https://www.amazon.com/Building-Effective-Peer-Support-Teams-ebook/dp/B0GPX5599P
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-stephanie-conn

On this episode of the National Police Association Podcast, host Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith welcomes retired Chicago Police Lieutenant Richard Rybicki for a candid conversation about his 29-year law enforcement career, the enduring importance of talking to people, and his second career as an author.

Rybicki, whose father also served as a Chicago police officer, explains why he chose a life inside the yellow tape. Beginning his career in 1977, he witnessed major changes in policing, from partners sharing a single portable radio to the arrival of automated fingerprint searches and DNA analysis. Through those advances, one principle remained constant: solving crimes requires getting out, knocking on doors, and earning people’s cooperation.

He shares a memorable lesson from his early days as a homicide detective, when changing his approach to a suspect taught him more about effective interviewing than confrontation ever could. He and Smith also discuss why strong police reports matter, what television gets wrong about investigations, and why crime shows can bring back memories that retired officers would rather leave alone.

The conversation then turns to Rybicki’s writing journey and Dead Weight, his novel featuring a detective who can communicate with the dead. Inspired by a former partner’s dark humor at homicide scenes, the premise explores both an investigator’s desire to hear directly from victims and the emotional burden of knowing their final thoughts.

In this episode:

·        Growing up in a police family and choosing a career in law enforcement.

·        Why clear, thorough reports are essential to building a criminal case.

·        How forensic technology changed investigations—and why detectives still need to knock on doors.

·        The role of rapport, listening, and persistence in successful interviews.

·        The lasting emotional impact of police work.

·        Learning to write through reading, practice, and developing an individual voice.

https://authorrichardrybicki.com
https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B01KTXTLIY
https://www.facebook.com/richardrybickiauthor

Thomas Kenniff on Defending Police Officers, Equal Justice, and the Omar Habib Case

Sergeant Betsy Brantner Smith welcomes attorney, Army veteran, and author Thomas Kenniff to the National Police Association Podcast for a conversation about service, constitutional protections, and the legal challenges facing police officers.

Kenniff shares his journey from corporate law to working as a prosecutor under Jeanine Pirro, followed by military service after September 11. Drawing on his experience on both sides of the courtroom, he explains why supporting law enforcement and providing a rigorous defense to the accused are compatible commitments.

The conversation centers on NYPD Officer Omar Habib. Kenniff, who joined Habib’s defense following his conviction, describes the encounter that led to the prosecution and explains why he believes his client received unequal treatment. He discusses the difficulties officers faced while restraining an intoxicated, combative individual inside an ambulance and challenges the prosecution’s interpretation of the incident.

At the time of recording, Kenniff reports that he had secured Habib’s transfer from Rikers Island to house arrest and was preparing for sentencing and an anticipated appeal. Smith explains NPA’s request for Department of Justice review of potential civil rights concerns in the case.

The episode also explores the years-long creative process behind his novel, Tuxedo Park.

In this episode:

• How family ties to military service and the NYPD shaped Kenniff’s career.
• Lessons learned working as a prosecutor under Jeanine Pirro.
• Why defense attorneys and juries are essential safeguards in the justice system.
• Kenniff’s reflections on campaigning and voter participation.
• The Omar Habib case, the defense’s concerns, and preparations for an anticipated appeal.
• Habib’s detention following conviction and the successful request for house arrest.
• NPA’s request for federal civil rights review.
• Turning courtroom experience into fiction with Tuxedo Park.

Featured quote:

Resources mentioned:

• Omar Habib’s legal defense fundraiser, identified by Kenniff as a Fund the First campaign.
• Tuxedo Park: book information, trailer, and retailer links.
• Raiser, Kenniff & Lonstein: Kenniff’s law firm.

On this episode of the National Police Association Podcast, host Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith (Ret.) welcomes retired NYPD Detective Marique Bartoldus, author of 20 and Out and host of Monz on the Mic. With humor and candor, Bartoldus shares stories from a career spanning transit, patrol, street narcotics, anticrime, and field intelligence.

Bartoldus explains how her daughter’s simple question, “Mommy, what’d you do at work today?” inspired a book. What began as a private account for her children became a collection of stories capturing the danger, absurdity, friendships, and unforgettable humor of police work.

The discussion turns to changing public attitudes toward officers, the challenges facing proactive policing, and Bartoldus’s concerns about policies she believes undermine public safety.

In this episode:

• Joining the NYPD after 9/11: Subway assignments, counterterrorism training, and serving alongside Ground Zero responders.
• The sacrifices behind the badge: Missed birthdays, holidays, and family milestones while protecting others, including people protesting the police.
• The humor that holds officers together: Pranks, shared experiences, and friendships that last beyond retirement.
• Writing 20 and Out: Preserving a mother’s police career for her children and giving readers a glimpse into daily police work.
• Officer safety and public safety: Bartoldus’s perspective on hesitation, scrutiny, and the importance of taking appropriate enforcement action.
• Confronting gang violence: Why she argues that identifying criminal networks and their activities is essential to protecting residents.
• Speaking out after retirement: Her podcast, interest in government accountability, and encouragement for citizens to participate in local government.

https://us.amazon.com/Twenty-Out-compilation-experienced-Department-ebook/dp/B0D8WMRPQS

https://www.facebook.com/marique.bartoldus

https://www.youtube.com/@monzonthemic4u

On this episode of the National Police Association Podcast, Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith sits down with Chief Patrick Flannelly, a veteran law enforcement leader, trainer, writer, podcaster, and longtime advocate for improving the physical health and performance of America's police officers.

Flannelly began his career in the U.S. Air Force Security Police before attending Purdue University and joining the Lafayette Police Department in 1995. Coming from a family with deep ties to law enforcement, he entered policing with a natural curiosity that would eventually help shape his career as a police chief and innovator.

Police officers work nights, lose sleep, eat irregularly, encounter trauma, experience chronic stress, and may have to transition from sitting in a patrol car to fighting for their lives in seconds. Yet the profession has historically done a poor job of treating officers as the occupational athletes they're expected to be.  Flannelly explains why officer wellness can't be separated into isolated categories. Sleep, nutrition, exercise, stress, metabolic health, mental health, and physical readiness interact with one another. Neglect one part of that system, he argues, and eventually the entire system can suffer. Flannelly challenges police leaders to look beyond responding to officers after they become sick, injured, overweight, metabolically unhealthy, or emotionally overwhelmed.

In This Episode Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith and Chief Patrick Flannelly discuss:

• Why police officers should be viewed as occupational athletes
• The physical consequences of shift work and disrupted sleep
• Why officer wellness must include nutrition, fitness, sleep, and metabolic health
• Moving police wellness programs from crisis intervention to prevention
• Why law enforcement leaders should "lead yourself first"
• Physical fitness as an officer-safety issue
• The relationship between exercise and mental well-being
• Why agencies should rethink continuing physical-fitness standards
• Blood testing and data-driven approaches to officer wellness
• Heart-rate variability and wearable health technology
• Why fitness programs must meet individual officers where they are
• How better wellness programs could become a police recruitment and retention tool
• The dangers of treating mental health, nutrition, and fitness as separate problems
• Why lifelong learning and adaptability matter in police leadership
• Flannelly's own strategy for staying physically active after a 30-year career

Learn More About Chief Patrick Flannelly

https://patrickflannelly.substack.com/s/the-coptimizer-podcast
https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-flannelly-b9591b10/
https://www.facebook.com/pjflannelly

Leonard Sipes returns to the National Police Association Podcast for a wide-ranging discussion with host Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith (Ret.) about the state of crime in America, why different government statistics can produce dramatically different pictures of public safety, the explosion of fraud and cybercrime, the decline of proactive policing, and the consequences of decarceration. Sipes has spent nearly five decades working in and around the criminal justice system and is the founder of CrimeInAmerica.net, where he analyzes crime statistics, criminal justice research, policing, corrections, and public safety.

A central issue in the conversation is the difference between FBI reported-crime statistics and the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS).

As Sipes explains, FBI statistics largely reflect crimes reported to law enforcement. But a substantial share of crime is never reported. The NCVS attempts to capture that hidden crime by surveying Americans about their experiences as victims. According to Sipes, the NCVS reported a 44% increase in violent crime in 2022, followed by no statistically significant change in 2023 and 2024. Meanwhile, FBI statistics have shown decreases in reported violent crime, with homicides and shootings also declining in many cities. That apparent contradiction helps explain why Americans can hear that "crime is down" while remaining deeply concerned about their safety.

In This Episode

• Why Americans' fear of crime remains an important measure of public safety
• FBI crime statistics vs. the National Crime Victimization Survey
• Why so much violent and property crime is never reported to police
• What declining homicide numbers do—and don't—tell us about crime
• Whether local law enforcement has the resources to investigate cybercrime
• The decline of proactive policing since 2014 and 2020
• Research on proactive policing and crime reduction
• The risks officers assume during proactive stops
• Decarceration, prison capacity, and the reality of who is incarcerated
• Violent crime and the victimization of Black Americans

About Leonard Sipes

Leonard Sipes has nearly five decades of experience with crime, criminal justice, public affairs, and government. Through CrimeInAmerica.net, he analyzes crime statistics and research involving policing, corrections, victimization, criminal justice policy, and public safety.

Listeners can visit CrimeInAmerica.net and subscribe to receive his articles by email.

Fighting Parole for the Killer of LAPD Officer Jim Pagliotti — with Glynn Martin

Nearly forty years after 28-year-old LAPD Officer Jim Pagliotti was shot and killed in the line of duty, the man convicted of his murder is once again approaching a parole hearing. For Pagliotti's family, friends, and fellow officers, that means once again reliving a loss that has never gone away.

On this episode of the National Police Association Podcast, host Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith (Ret.) speaks with Glynn Martin, a retired LAPD sergeant, longtime friend and former partner of Officer Jim Pagliotti, and Executive Director of the LAPD Memorial Foundation. Martin has been involved with the Pagliotti family since the night Jim was murdered and has participated in the decades-long effort to keep his killer behind bars.

From LAPD Partners to Lifelong Friends

Martin discusses his own path into law enforcement, following his father, a retired Glendale Police Department captain, into the profession. He joined the LAPD in 1982 and served for twenty years in assignments ranging from Hollywood's Special Problems Unit and Vice to major narcotics and patrol supervision.

It was during those early years that Martin became close friends with Officer Jim Pagliotti. They weren't simply coworkers. They worked multiple assignments together, owned a house together, and Pagliotti served as a groomsman in Martin's wedding shortly before his death.

The Murder of Officer Jim Pagliotti

Pagliotti was pursuing his goal of joining LAPD SWAT and had transferred to Metropolitan Division when he was assigned to a plainclothes surveillance operation in the San Fernando Valley.

During that operation, officers encountered armed suspects. Pagliotti confronted Louis Belvin Jr., and the two exchanged gunfire. Both were hit. Belvin survived; Pagliotti did not.

Belvin was a known gang member and cocaine dealer who was just weeks short of his 18th birthday. According to Martin, he had also previously shot another person. After a case that took approximately four and a half years to reach trial, Belvin was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 27 years and eight months in state prison.

Martin also recounts one of the most painful experiences of his career: traveling by LAPD helicopter to Santa Barbara in the early morning hours to personally tell Pagliotti's parents that their son had been killed.

A Parole Fight That Never Ends

Belvin has repeatedly sought parole, with hearings discussed in the episode occurring in 2005, 2010, 2017, 2022, and 2023. Another parole proceeding is expected in October 2026.

Martin argues that Belvin has never genuinely accepted responsibility for murdering Pagliotti. He says Belvin has continued to claim that he mistook the plainclothes officer for someone seeking retaliation over a drug dispute—an explanation Martin describes as factually false.

Martin also discusses what he says are continuing concerns about Belvin's prison conduct and gang connections, including allegations that he has been a "shot caller" associated with United Blood Nation and has repeatedly been caught possessing cell phones in prison.

For Pagliotti's loved ones, every new parole proceeding means reopening the same wound.

"The Pagliotti family is never gonna heal because every couple of years, we're picking that scab."

To oppose parole for Louis Belvin, Jr. (#H33133), letters are due by September 16, 2026.
 
Emails may be submitted to [email protected]
Emailed statements should be submitted as a Microsoft Word document, or PDF.
 
Mail a letter:
Board of Parole Hearings
Post Office Box 4036
Sacramento, CA 95812-4036
 
Typed statements should be in 10-point font or larger. Handwritten statements should be legible. The writer’s contact information (address, phone number, and email address) should not be included on the written statement.
 
Always include inmate #H33133 in all correspondence.

When the Scales of Justice Become Unbalanced

Martin argues that California's parole process has become heavily weighted toward the inmate while repeatedly forcing victims' families to revisit the worst moment of their lives.

Having represented and supported the Pagliotti family since the morning he delivered the death notification, Martin says he has watched extensive attention and resources directed toward the inmate while seeing comparatively little done for the victims.

The National Police Association has joined the effort to oppose Belvin's release and is encouraging supporters of law enforcement and concerned citizens to make their voices heard before the upcoming parole proceeding.

Because attendance at parole hearings is limited, Sgt. Smith encourages listeners to submit letters and emails opposing parole and to encourage others to become involved.

For Martin, the issue goes beyond honoring a murdered friend or supporting the law-enforcement community. He believes it is also a matter of public safety.

"If this person is released, he will kill again."

Martin says he reaches that conclusion based on his decades of law-enforcement experience, his knowledge of the case, and his work supporting the families of fallen LAPD officers.

In This Episode

• Glynn Martin's path from aspiring sportswriter to LAPD officer
• Policing Los Angeles in the 1980s
• Martin's friendship and partnership with Jim Pagliotti
• Pagliotti's ambition to become an LAPD SWAT officer
• The surveillance operation that ended in Pagliotti's murder
• Martin's emotional account of notifying Pagliotti's parents
• The prosecution and conviction of Louis Belvin Jr.
• Why Martin rejects Belvin's continuing self-defense explanation
• Belvin's repeated parole proceedings
• The impact recurring parole hearings have on victims' families
• Concerns about Belvin's alleged prison gang activity and misconduct
• Why the NPA is asking the public to oppose parole
• The October 2026 parole proceeding
• Why Martin believes keeping Belvin incarcerated remains a public-safety issue

About Glynn Martin

Glynn Martin served twenty years with the Los Angeles Police Department and is Executive Director of the LAPD Memorial Foundation, which supports the families of LAPD officers killed in the line of duty. Martin has remained involved with the Pagliotti family and the effort to oppose Belvin's parole for decades.

At the conclusion of the episode, Martin directs listeners to LAPMF.org and the Foundation's social-media channels to learn more about its work supporting the families of fallen officers.

In Part Two of her conversation with retired FBI Supervisory Special Agent John Nantz, National Police Association spokesperson Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith (Ret.) continues an inside look at Nantz’s recent sit-down with FBI Director Kash Patel at FBI Headquarters.

Nantz, a former FBI supervisory special agent and contributor to Townhall and Restoration News, discusses what he learned about Patel’s efforts to reshape the FBI—from budgets and technology to violent crime, counterterrorism, recruiting, and the Bureau’s relationship with state and local law enforcement.

Smith and Nantz discuss Patel’s emphasis on returning the FBI’s attention to its fundamental law-enforcement mission. While FBI special agents do not perform the same day-to-day functions as patrol officers, Nantz argues that the Bureau remains an integral part of the American law-enforcement community. Patel’s message of allowing “cops to be cops,” he says, translates into letting FBI agents concentrate on investigating criminals and doing the work they were hired to do.

Nantz discusses FBI violent-crime enforcement and explains how federal investigations can affect crime rates even when crimes such as homicide are primarily investigated by state and local agencies. Taking violent gang members and other dangerous offenders off the streets, he notes, can directly affect violence in communities.

The conversation also explores a part of the FBI’s mission the public may rarely see: its enormous influence on state and local law enforcement.

Smith recalls receiving FBI training as a hostage negotiator and describes how Bureau agents provided regional training and continued supporting local officers after their formal courses ended. The FBI National Academy and other training programs similarly allow federal expertise to flow directly to departments around the country. Nantz, who began his career in local law enforcement, says that relationship works in both directions because many FBI agents bring state or local policing experience with them into the Bureau. He believes the relationship between the FBI and its law-enforcement partners has strengthened under Patel.

Betsy Smith and John Nantz discuss:

• The realities of the FBI’s multibillion-dollar budget and changing congressional priorities
• How funding shifted from drug enforcement in the 1980s to counterterrorism after 9/11
• The FBI’s role in protecting the homeland while continuing traditional criminal investigations
• Patel’s modernization of the Director Strategic Information Center
• How FBI leadership receives real-time information during critical incidents
• Reducing bureaucratic layers between field agents, FBI Headquarters, and the White House
• Patel’s “let cops be cops” approach to FBI leadership
• The Bureau’s role in combating gangs and violent crime
• The FBI’s influence on state and local policing

https://x.com/TheJohnNantz

https://www.facebook.com/TheJohnNantz/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-nantz-4323451a8/

In this episode of the National Police Association Podcast, Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith (Ret.) welcomes back retired FBI Supervisory Special Agent and Townhall columnist John Nantz for Part One of a conversation about his recent opportunity to sit down with FBI Director Kash Patel.

Nantz and fellow retired FBI agent Chris Hinkle were invited to FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C., where they spent several hours with Director Patel discussing his leadership of the Bureau, his relationship with state and local law enforcement, changes inside FBI Headquarters, and his efforts to shift resources and authority back into the field. Nantz explains that the invitation grew out of his Townhall column, "The End of the Empty Suit Era," and a subsequent relationship that allowed him and Hinkle to provide Patel and his team with perspectives from retired FBI agents.

From Joint Terrorism Task Forces and local police partnerships to SWAT operations, field offices, transparency, and changing the culture at FBI Headquarters, this episode provides a retired agent's perspective on what is happening inside today's FBI.

In this episode:

• Patel's "let cops be cops" philosophy
• Rebuilding FBI partnerships with state and local law enforcement
• Expanding and streamlining Joint Terrorism Task Forces
• Nantz's impressions of the changing atmosphere at FBI Headquarters
• How FBI SWAT teams operate
• The role of the Hostage Rescue Team and Critical Incident Response Group
• Why experienced retired agents are again being invited to provide input to Bureau leadership

https://x.com/TheJohnNantz

https://www.facebook.com/TheJohnNantz/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-nantz-4323451a8/

On this episode of the National Police Association Podcast, Sergeant Betsy Brantner Smith sits down with former United States Secret Service Special Agent Hazel Cerra, a 25-year veteran of federal law enforcement who has successfully transitioned from protecting presidents and world leaders to protecting corporate executives in the digital age.

The conversation then turns to one of today's most pressing threats: cybersecurity. Hazel describes how criminal activity evolved from traditional fraud schemes to sophisticated digital attacks targeting businesses, financial systems, and critical infrastructure. She explains how hackers exploit vulnerabilities in payment systems, business networks, and personal information to gain access to sensitive data.

The episode also explores the challenges and opportunities faced by women in law enforcement. Hazel candidly discusses her experiences as one of the few women in the Secret Service when she entered the agency, the importance of authenticity in leadership, and the lessons she learned balancing a demanding federal career with family life.

Today, Hazel serves as Director of Strategic Partnerships at BlackCloak, where she helps organizations protect executives and their families from increasingly sophisticated cyber and privacy threats. She continues her lifelong mission of protecting others, this time in the digital world.

In This Episode:

• The Secret Service's dual mission of protection and investigations
• Protecting presidents and world leaders
• The evolution of cybercrime and digital fraud
• How cyber threats impact businesses and individuals
• Digital executive protection and executive security
• Women in federal law enforcement
• Leadership lessons from a 25-year Secret Service career
• Protecting executives in today's digital environment

About the Guest

Hazel Cerra is a retired United States Secret Service Special Agent with 25 years of service. During her career, she investigated financial crimes, cybercrime, and network intrusions while also serving in numerous protective assignments. Hazel led cyber fraud investigations and served as Resident Agent in Charge of the Secret Service's Atlantic City Resident Office. She currently serves as Director of Strategic Partnerships at BlackCloak, helping organizations protect executives and their families from cyber, privacy, and digital threats.

Connect with Hazel Cerra

https://www.linkedin.com/in/hazelcerra-cybergal/

https://blackcloak.io/