Twenty-five years behind the badge in Texas — and the deepest scars didn't come from the street.

In this episode, Tom Lee walks through a career most cops wouldn't survive. He told his university police administration the truth about low morale — and got a target on his back, a bogus demotion, six internal affairs investigations, and a termination for it. He rebuilt his career at a Texas sheriff's office, where he was ambushed at point-blank range with a crossbow, alone, with backup fifteen minutes away.

Today he serves as a mental health deputy — a sergeant running a unit of one across a five-county task force — answering every suicide, homicide, and psychosis call in his region. We talk about the trauma that stacks call after call, why cops turn to the bottle instead of each other, the stigma of the "rubber gun squad," the firefighter whose rope broke, and why the administration can wound a cop deeper than anything on the street.

Tom Lee is a Texas peace officer with 25 years of service, a mental health deputy, past president of his regional peer support team, and author of Scars of the Badge — his full career, call by call. Find the book at scarsofthebadge.com or wherever books are sold online.

Follow Scars of the Badge on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

This episode discusses suicide and mental health. If you or someone you know is struggling, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) or CopLine at 1-800-267-5463 — staffed by retired officers, completely confidential. You are not alone.

https://www.scarsofthebadge.com/

Amazon.com: Scars of the Badge: Faith, Trauma, and Redemption

Behind the Thin Blue Line eBook : Lee, Tom: Kindle Store

The Blue Line Voice — Blood, Sand & Smoke. Real stories from the people who lived them.

Special thanks to @heroesmediagrp #heroesmediagrp #HMG

If this episode hit home, SUBSCRIBE, drop a comment, and share it with a brother or sister who needs to hear it. That share might be the reason someone picks up the phone.

#lawenforcement #mentalhealth #firstresponders #police #peersupport #PTSD #thinblueline #copline #heroesmediagrp #HMG

The Good, The Bad, The Corrupt: A Cop's Unfiltered Truth

In this episode of The Blue Line Voice — Blood, Sand & Smoke, host Josh Weddell sits down with Tom Carchidi — born and raised between Brooklyn and Long Island, the son of Italian immigrants, who chased a law enforcement career all the way down to Baltimore.

Tom talks about the culture shock of policing one of the toughest cities in the country, then moving on to Montgomery County, Maryland — and the very different kind of politics he found there. He's honest about what pushed him to write his book: the corruption, the nepotism, the backstabbing, and the games departments play to keep good cops trapped.

He shares what he witnessed with his own partners, why he names the people who did right and protects the identities of those who didn't, and why he's blunt about the state of the profession today.

The conversation also covers his lifelong passion for martial arts and how it shaped him, the injury that ended his career earlier than planned, his hard road through a Stage 4 cancer diagnosis tied to his time volunteering at Ground Zero after 9/11, and the law school journey he's grinding through now.

This is an honest, unfiltered look at the good, the bad, and the corrupt — from a man who refuses to stay quiet.

Guest: Tom Carchidi — author of A Life in Law Enforcement — A Police Memoir: The Good, The Bad, The Corrupt, available now on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Life-Enforcement-Police-Memoir-Corrupt/dp/B0DHJH44TT

Hosted by The Blue Line Voice — Blood, Sand & Smoke.

Special thanks to @heroesmediagrp #heroesmediagrp #HMG

▶️ If this one hit home, do one thing: SUBSCRIBE, drop a comment, and share it with a cop or first responder who needs to hear it. Their story could be next.

#TheBlueLineVoice #LawEnforcement #PoliceCorruption #ThinBlueLine #FirstResponders #PoliceMemoir #911Survivor #heroesmediagrp #HMG

From Vice Cop to Covert Blue: Rebuilding After Retirement

For 22 years, Jenn Benjamins was the Vice Chick from Las Vegas Metro — one of the rarest operators in policing. In this raw, unfiltered episode of The Blue Line Voice — Blood, Sand & Smoke, host Josh Weddell sits down with a woman who lived a career most cops only hear rumors about.

She started with a $10 prostitution bust on Las Vegas Boulevard and worked her way up into deep undercover operations most cops never touch. Jenn takes us deep inside the undercover world — building fake identities that hold up under pressure, the difference between "checkers and chess" when you're working pimps and organized crime, and what it really costs to disappear into someone else for a living.

She's blunt about the price: the fragmenting of your own identity, the 94% divorce rate for undercover and SWAT, and her own "standard-issued divorce."

But this episode isn't just war stories. Jenn ran Las Vegas Metro's entire peer support program, and she pulls no punches on the stigma that still tells cops to "man up" instead of getting help. She breaks down why only 1% of law enforcement can do undercover work, why emotional intelligence saves careers and lives, and the hard truth every cop needs to hear: they're not building a statue of you outside headquarters — so take care of yourself before you become a statistic.

Then came the hardest case of all: herself. Jenn opens up about "dying on the department on 419," the depression and lost purpose that hit after she turned in her badge, and how she clawed her way back to build Covert Blue — now training the next generation of undercover operators, men and women, across the country and around the world.

This is a story about survival, reinvention, and refusing to fade away after the badge comes off.

Guest: Jenn Benjamins — retired LVMPD Sergeant (22 years), founder of Covert Blue LLC. Find her at covertbluellc.com, on Instagram @covertblue.llc, and on LinkedIn.

Hosted by The Blue Line Voice — Blood, Sand & Smoke.

Special thanks to @heroesmediagrp #heroesmediagrp #HMG

▶️ If this hit home, do one thing: SUBSCRIBE, drop a comment, and share it with a cop, a first responder, or someone who needs to hear it. Their story could be next.

#TheBlueLineVoice #Undercover #LawEnforcement #WomenInPolicing #FirstResponders #PoliceMentalHealth #CovertBlue #heroesmediagrp #HMG

Born Into the Fire: A Family Legacy Since 1926

Some people find the fire service. James "Jimmy" Williams II was born into it. His family has answered the call in Paintsville, Kentucky since the 1940s, and by age ten he was already in the cab, learning a legacy that traces back to the department's founding in 1926.

In this episode, Jimmy walks us through 26 years on the line — the brotherhood, the fires, and the weight every first responder carries home. He opens up about the tragedy that changed everything: losing a close friend in the line of duty, a loss that pushed him out of the fire service and into 15 years inside the walls of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, rising from Senior Officer Specialist to Lieutenant to Instructor.

Then his own body forced the hardest fight of all — a battle with illness that ended in a liver transplant and medical retirement. Through faith, family, and the pen, Jimmy rebuilt, becoming a three-time published author and one of the last living historians of his department.

This is a story about legacy, loss, brotherhood, and survival — and the man determined to make sure none of it is forgotten.

About the guest:

James "Jimmy" Williams II — 26-year veteran of the Paintsville Fire Department (Johnson County, KY) and 15-year veteran of the U.S. Department of Justice / Federal Bureau of Prisons. Liver transplant survivor and three-time author. Find his books here:

📖 1926 Legacy — https://www.amazon.com/1926-Legacy-James-Williams/dp/B0GZBKBVCQ
📖 You're Just Not Sick Enough — https://www.amazon.com/Youre-Just-Not-Sick-Enough/dp/B0H159RCL5

📖 The Biography of a Small-Town Boy Who Was Born Into a Life of Public Service — available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Ingram Spark.

Hosted by The Blue Line Voice — Blood, Sand & Smoke.

Special thanks to @heroesmediagrp #heroesmediagrp #HMG

▶️ If this story hit home, SUBSCRIBE, drop a comment, and share it with a first responder who needs to hear it.

#TheBlueLineVoice #FirstResponders #Firefighter #LineOfDuty #BureauOfPrisons #OrganTransplant #Faith #heroesmediagrp #HMG

This episode of The Blue Line Voice — Blood, Sand, & Smoke brings the heat with retired Broward County Sheriff’s Office Sergeant Marty Katz — 34 years on the job, SWAT, undercover narcotics, street crimes, training, use of force, ethics, martial arts, and the kind of old-school law enforcement wisdom you don’t get from a PowerPoint.

Marty takes us from Brooklyn to New Jersey, then straight into the chaos of 1980s South Florida, where Broward County stood at ground zero of the crack epidemic. We get into undercover work, bus and train interdiction, search warrants, the early days of COPS, the reality of working dope in the streets, and what it takes to survive when backup is minutes away and the fight is already on top of you.

But this one goes way deeper than war stories.

Marty breaks down the mindset behind officer survival, weapon retention, command presence, report writing, body cameras, articulation, and why training has to be more than checking a box. From martial arts to the Tokyo Metropolitan Riot Police, from use-of-force reviews to the brutal lessons learned on the street, Marty delivers hard-earned truth with calm intensity and zero bullshit.

We also dive into his writing career, including Past the Uniform, Hot Potato, Blind Revenge, and From Another Dimension, and how life after the badge became another mission: passing on the lessons, the mindset, and the stories that still matter.

This is one of those episodes every cop, retired cop, first responder, trainer, supervisor, and supporter of law enforcement needs to hear.

Listen, share it, and take something from it.

The Blue Line Voice — Blood, Sand, & Smoke
www.thebluelinevoice.com

Find Marty Katz and his books here:

Marty Katz Books:
https://martykatzbooks.com/

Blind Revenge:
https://www.amazon.com/Blind-Revenge-Mark-Schaffer-Thriller/dp/B0FM7DYV5F/

Hot Potato:
https://www.amazon.com/Hot-Potato-novel-Marty-Katz/dp/B0CFCWW5WX/

From Another Dimension:
https://www.amazon.com/Another-Dimension-pocket-size-science-fiction/dp/B0D1MTFX83/

Past The Uniform:
https://www.amazon.com/Past-Uniform-inside-police-officer/dp/152073591X/

Marty Katz on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/marty.katz.3

Marty Katz on Police1:
https://www.police1.com/Marty-Katz/

Marty Katz on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/martinkatz1

Special thanks to @heroesmediagrp
#heroesmediagrp #HMG

Train hard. Tell the truth.

The Blue Line Voice — Blood, Sand & Smoke: Honoring Officer Safety and Family Resilience

In this episode of The Blue Line Voice — Blood, Sand & Smoke, host Josh Weddell speaks with Courtney Candies, the widow of Sergeant Grant Candies, who tragically lost his life in the line of duty. Courtney shares her journey through grief, resilience, and her mission to advocate for officer safety through the Sergeant Grant Candies Officer Safety Act.

Understanding the Sacrifice of Law Enforcement

Courtney reflects on Grant’s dedication as a law enforcement officer. He was not only a sergeant with the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office, but also a Marine Corps veteran. Grant and Courtney shared 14 years of marriage and two children, and his commitment to his family was just as strong as his commitment to the job. Courtney recalls how Grant would wake up early to spend time with their children before working night shift, showing the kind of father, husband, and public servant he was.

The Night That Changed Everything

On March 23, 2025, everything changed for Courtney and her family. After spending the day with Grant’s mother, she received the devastating news that Grant had been killed while deploying spike strips during a high-speed pursuit. Courtney recounts the moment officers arrived at her door, the emotional weight of that night, and the impossible task of telling her children that their father was not coming home.

Turning Tragedy into Action

In the wake of her loss, Courtney found purpose in advocating for officer safety. She established the Boots on the Ground Foundation, which provides scholarships for young individuals pursuing careers in law enforcement and first response. She is also championing the Sergeant Grant Candies Officer Safety Act, which is aimed at replacing outdated spike strip technology with safer alternatives.

For Courtney, this mission is deeply personal. Her advocacy is not just about policy or equipment. It is about preventing another family from experiencing the same loss. Her determination to see this legislation move forward reflects her commitment to honoring Grant’s legacy while protecting the officers still serving on the road today.

Legislative Advocacy and Community Support

Courtney discusses her efforts within the Louisiana state legislature to push for the passage of the Officer Safety Act. With support from state lawmakers and powerful testimony from her daughter, the bill has gained attention and momentum. Courtney emphasizes the importance of community support, modern technology, and meaningful action when it comes to protecting law enforcement officers during dangerous pursuits.

Support for Families of Fallen Officers

Courtney also highlights the unique challenges faced by families of fallen officers. Organizations such as C.O.P.S. — Concerns of Police Survivors — and the Gary Sinise Foundation provide essential support, including therapy, financial assistance, and resources for surviving families. These programs are vital for families trying to navigate life after unimaginable loss.

A Message to Spouses of Law Enforcement Officers

As the conversation closes, Courtney offers heartfelt advice to spouses of law enforcement officers. She encourages them to cherish every moment, support their loved ones, and understand the weight carried by families who stand behind the badge. Her words are a reminder that law enforcement service affects the entire family, not just the officer wearing the uniform.

Key Takeaways

This episode highlights the profound impact of losing a loved one in law enforcement, the importance of advocating for safer technology and practices in policing, the resources available for families of fallen officers, and the need for continued community support for law enforcement families.

The order that should have kept her safe is the one she walked away from — and it nearly cost her everything.

In this episode of The Blue Line Voice: Blood, Sand & Smoke, retired Santa Monica Police Officer Cristina Coria walks through the day of the Pier shooting in unflinching detail. Two murder suspects. A sergeant who pulled her off the line to guard evidence. A partner who asked her to cover the back — and a decision to go that put her face-to-face with an active shooter she never even saw.

She describes bullets whizzing past her head in an open arcade with nowhere to take cover, the moment she felt her arm get hit, and her partner's words: Cristina, your arm is just hanging. Both bones broken. No ambulance allowed on the pier. A police-car ride to UCLA so brutal she blocked out how much blood she lost — passing out at the hospital doors as her own cousin watched.

Then the fight didn't stop. A 15-hour surgery. Doctors ready to take the arm — and her telling them to save it. Waking up unable to open her hand. Catching the gangrene setting into her shoulder herself, after the nurses told her she was fine.

Her hardest-earned lesson: you have to be your own advocate, no matter what.

If you've ever had to fight to be heard — in a hospital bed, a claim line, or your own department — this one will hit home. Watch it, share it, and send it to the first responder or vet in your life who needs the reminder to never stop advocating for themselves. Subscribe and follow so the next story finds you.

Full Video: https://youtu.be/uB9DVBkggyM

Special thanks to @heroesmediagrp #heroesmediagrp #HMG

#TheBlueLineVoice #BloodSandAndSmoke #CristinaCoria #SantaMonicaPD #LineOfDutyInjury #ActiveShooter #PolicePodcast #FirstResponderWellness #InjuredOfficers #HMG

"I don't want those kids to be our problem in the future."

In this episode of The Blue Line Voice: Blood, Sand & Smoke, retired Santa Monica Police Officer Cristina Coria talks about why she speaks to kids about violence, gangs, and trafficking — and why she believes it's on all of us, not just police.

Her point is simple: it doesn't hurt to tell a kid to be safe, to stay off drugs, to ask what their goals are. Doesn't have to be your kid. The more they hear it, the more it sticks. She challenges the next generation to put their minds together and find solutions instead of sitting on video games.

She also talks about Code 3 Reset, the wellness center she's working to build for injured first responders.

If that hits you, watch it, share it, and put it in front of someone who needs to hear it. Subscribe and follow.

Full Video: https://youtu.be/uB9DVBkggyM

Special thanks to @heroesmediagrp #heroesmediagrp #HMG

#TheBlueLineVoice #BloodSandAndSmoke #CristinaCoria #Code3Reset #FirstResponderWellness #ProtectOurKids #PolicePodcast #BackTheBlue #InjuredOfficers #HMG

Doctors told Cristina Coria she might lose her arm — and that it might never work again. In this episode of The Blue Line Voice: Blood, Sand & Smoke, the retired Santa Monica Police Officer and Pier shooting survivor opens up about the part of the recovery nobody sees.

She talks about the brutal daily rehab — a best friend massaging a locked arm at 90 degrees, fingers that wouldn't open because the radial nerve was shot, a mind giving orders her body couldn't follow. She's honest about the dark depression that came with it, the "why me," and the gut-punch of being injured in the city she served while not a single fellow officer came to visit.

And she shares the moment that turned it: a Bible that wasn't where it usually sat, opened to Jeremiah 29:11, and a verse she's never forgotten. Then the part that stops you cold — the dream she had at 21, years before the Pier, where she was shot and heard her late father's voice say it's not your time. Her mother and best friend can vouch for it.

This is a conversation about faith, survival, the loneliness of a line-of-duty injury, and finding your own way back from the worst day of your life.

If you're a first responder, a veteran, or someone still fighting to come back from something — this one's for you. Watch it, share it, and send it to the person who needs to hear that it's not their time either. Subscribe and follow so the next story finds you too.

Full Video: https://youtu.be/uB9DVBkggyM

Special thanks to @heroesmediagrp #heroesmediagrp #HMG

#TheBlueLineVoice #BloodSandAndSmoke #CristinaCoria #SantaMonicaPD #LineOfDutyInjury #FaithAndSurvival #PolicePodcast #FirstResponderWellness #InjuredOfficers #HMG

In this episode of The Blue Line Voice: Blood, Sand & Smoke, host Josh Weddell sits down with retired Santa Monica Police Officer Cristina Coria for a powerful conversation about survival, faith, line-of-duty trauma, and the fight injured first responders are still facing long after the headlines disappear.

Cristina was born and raised in Santa Monica, California, in a law enforcement family. After losing her father at just 12 years old, she followed the path that had been placed on her heart and joined the Police Explorer program at 14. From there, she worked her way through the ranks as an explorer, cadet, community service officer, college police officer, and eventually a sworn officer with the Santa Monica Police Department.

Her career was filled with service, danger, and impact. Cristina worked patrol, bike patrol, gangs, narcotics, vice, crisis negotiation, school resource, and explorer advising. She loved the job, loved helping people, and believed deeply in being the officer who showed up when people needed help the most.

Then came July 4, 2000.

During an active shooting and hostage situation at the Santa Monica Pier, Cristina was shot in the arm while running toward danger. The injury shattered bones, left her partially paralyzed, and nearly cost her the arm. Doctors warned she may never work again. But through faith, brutal rehab, determination, and a refusal to stay down, Cristina fought her way back and returned to full-duty patrol.

This episode goes far beyond the shooting itself. Cristina opens up about the physical pain people don’t see, the emotional toll of being injured on duty, the loneliness that can follow, and the brutal reality of fighting workers’ compensation systems after giving everything to the job. She talks honestly about being treated like a number, the pressure injured officers face, and why so many first responders struggle in silence after surviving the worst days of their lives.

Cristina also shares her experience as a cast member on Survivor: Cook Islands, her work in executive protection and security consulting, her advocacy for injured officers and families of the fallen, and her mission behind Code 3 Reset — a future wellness center and sanctuary designed to help injured first responders recover, rebuild, and find support when they need it most.

This is a conversation about the badge, the bullet, the comeback, the system, faith, survival, and the forgotten men and women still fighting after the call is over.

Guest:

Cristina Coria
Retired Santa Monica Police Officer
Line-of-Duty Shooting Survivor
Survivor: Cook Islands Cast Member
Founder of Code 3 Reset Wellness Center
Advocate for Injured First Responders and Families of the Fallen

Host:
The Blue Line Voice: Blood, Sand & Smoke
Website: https://www.thebluelinevoice.com

Special thanks to @heroesmediagrp
#heroesmediagrp #HMG

Subscribe, follow, and share this episode with anyone who needs to hear a real story of survival, faith, purpose, and the fight for injured first responders who refuse to be forgotten.

#TheBlueLineVoice #BloodSandAndSmoke #CristinaCoria #SantaMonicaPD #SurvivingTheShot #LineOfDutyInjury #PolicePodcast #FirstResponderPodcast #LawEnforcement #InjuredOfficers #Code3Reset #WomenInLawEnforcement #SurvivorCookIslands #PoliceStories #FaithAndSurvival #BehindTheBadge #FirstResponderWellness