The Code 9 Foundation

14 September 2018 at 2.18 pm, a moment in time that changed the course of so many other innocent lives.

Victoria Police Detective Senior Sergeant Vic Kostiuk was taking part in the Wall to Wall ride, a charity ride to raise funds for Police Legacy. Riding with Vic was his son, Felix, who is also a Victoria Police member.

What was meant to be a joyful experience, turned into complete tragedy, when a drug and alcohol affected driver caused his car to collide with Vic, killing Vic.

This was all witnessed by Felix.

Felix talks to the events of that day, how he handles situations now and what is ahead for him with remarkable clarity and awareness of his self.

It is, a remarkable chat.

This episode is a cross post from Tiff's pod, "Roll With The Punches".

Brandon Griffith not only got a second chance at life, but also a second chance at being a guest on Tiff's podcast. Last time Tiff spoke to Brandon we heard about his 16.5-minute brush with mortality as he lingered in the space between life and death after experiencing a sudden cardiac arrest at home.

Thanks to great CPR and access to a defib he's here to tell his story and to make a difference in the world.

In this episode, Tiff and Brandon delve into various facets of Brandon's life, both as a police officer before his near-death encounter and the transformation he underwent afterward. They explore how Brandon (and law enforcement in general) navigates and equips themselves to handle high-stress critical incidents better than ever before. Moreover, they discover the purpose Brandon is pursuing with this second chance he's been granted – oh and not to mention the moment he intentionally subjected himself to a taser, just to ensure it wouldn't pose a risk to his life while on duty.

This is a great listen.

Website: www.griffithblueheart.com

Website: www.rollwiththepunches.com.au

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/tiffaneecook/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/rollwiththepunchespodcast/

Instagram: www.instagram.com/rollwiththepunches_podcast/

Instagram: www.instagram.com/tiffaneeandco

On 23 September 2014, Officer B, and his colleague, Officer A, attended outside of the Endeavour Hills Police Station to speak to Numan Haider. A young man who was influenced by radical Islam.

What happened next, literally in a matter of seconds, resulted in both Officer B and Officer A receiving serious stab wound injuries and Haider deceased, shot and killed by Officer A.

Officer B takes us through the events of that day.

Louise Lowe, husband of John and mother to two young boys was tragically taken from this world in 2014. This is her story, as told by John.

John takes us through the sudden and unexpected death of Louise and the days after where organ donorship was discussed and agreed to, because that what Louise wanted.

Whatever we write here will not do this episode justice, it is just an incredible conversation.

This episode is cross share from Tiff’s “Roll With The Punches” podcast.

Dr Sandy MacQuarrie offered up a hearty conversation on his PhD research into the physiological health status of paramedics and the correlation between health status, job performance and of course mental health. A subject that is very close to our hearts here at the foundation.

A career paramedic (ground and flight) since 1992 along with senior management positions in EMS in Canada, Sandy's research stemmed from his own lived experience and a challenging decline in his own wellbeing. Once he got on top of that he has spent six years stepping into the world of academia (not his natural habitat, but thank #%@$ he did because this area of research is crucial to us first responders) researching the cause and effect of a paramedic's health status on their job performance and likewise, the effect of the job itself on a paramedic's health status. Sandy's findings are crucial to understanding, supporting and creating a better system for paramedics and first responders. And likely the rest of us too.

Thanks for an awesome chat Tiff and Sandy.

In this episode of the series, Tiff chats to police veteran Cam Hardiman. Cam authored the book, "Ten foot tall and not quite bulletproof" where he talks of his experiences in Victoria Police and the Australian Federal Police.

Cam is diagnosed PTSD which largely stemmed from his time spent at the Victoria Police Air Wing over several years.

Cam talks in incredible detail about his experiences when PTSD really set in and the effects it had on him.

In the latest episode of the podcast series, Tiff chats to Victoria Police veteran, Deb Richardson. It is difficult to fully explain the incredible life Deb has had so far but a few points:

- Deb was in the Russell Street Police Building when on 27 March 1986 a bomb was detonated that tragically took the life of Constable Angela Taylor. Deb was incredibly lucky to not lose her life in this event as well.

- Deb played an integral role in the changing of legislation that ensured that the person responsible for that act will never be released from prison.

- Years ago, Deb fostered a young Ukrainian lad, Yuri, which in short has now resulted Deb organising (as in getting them all knitted) a boat load of "Yuri Bears" being shipped to Poland and Ukraine to be given to Ukrainian children. What a brilliant effort and thing to do. What's more, Deb is heading over there to help distribute and to again, meet up with Yuri.

Deb is so more than this though and is just one remarkable human being who defied the odds and refused to be a victim. This is an amazing listen.

Lisa Hardeman is a Commander with Victoria Police and a pioneer and leader in women's football, as in a significant leader. Lisa has challenged and succeeded in two male dominated industries and in the process has influenced and caused significant positive change.

Some of Lisa's achievements:

- Victoria Police Sporting Hall of Fame in 2017

- Australia Police Medal in 2018

- Victorian Honour Role of Women in 2019

- AFL Life Member in 2023 (one of only four women to do so)

- A swag of football premierships

22 April 2020.

It is a day that Victoria Police suffered their greatest ever single day loss of life from a single incident in their history.

Senior Constable Lynette Taylor, Constable Glen Humphris, Senior Constable Kevin King and Constable Josh Prestney were all taken from us in an instant on the Eastern Freeway.

The grief was substantial, the families of Lynette, Glen, Kevin and Josh faced a circumstance they should never have had to face and the blue family was hurt.

In this pod, Tiff chat to Alex Prestney, the brother of Josh. Alex is also a member of Victoria Police but this conversation is not about his police career, it is about the loss that he felt and how he has handled it since.

It is quite the remarkable conversation and one that we are deeply appreciative of.

Incredibly proud of Alex and how he talked Tiff through his life after Josh was taken from him.

Alex has also written songs about Josh, check them out at Spotify (search Alex Prestney).

In the latest episode of Conversations with The Code 9 Foundation, Tiff has a chat to Pat Stuart and Jas Whiting.

Both Pat and Jas were members of the Australian Defence Force and both suffered physical injuries that saw their ADF careers cut short.

What is traditionally a very dangerous period of time, transitioning out of the military, (same with first responders), Pat and Jas transformed themselves into elite dog trainers.

The chat covers a whole stack of information including a fair bit about our passion, assistance dogs.

Well worth a listen to these two awesome people and their passion for our four legged friends is clear.

To find out more about Pat and Jas, see the links below.

Pat:

Website - https://www.operantcanine.com.au/

Podcast - https://thecanineparadigm.com/

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@PatStuart

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/pat.stuart.33

Instagram - @patstuart_

Jas:

Website - https://www.prime-canine.com/

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PrimeCanineTraining

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@primecanine8683

Insta - @primecaninetraining