The Wounded Blue | America Out Loud News

Every Law Enforcement Officer has within him - stories that can touch countless lives. Stories of courage, hope, fear; stories that not only make up an interesting life, but also a rewarding career. Stories like these is what POLICE RADIO is all about. This weeks show features an interview with a highly decorated police officer who became a writer in his retirement and has churned out 11 books in the process of that retirement. My guest today, Ernie Lijoi lived the life of a deep undercover cop in Boston during the days of The French Connection. He was a legend, inspiring Hollywood to bring him to the silver screen which he turned down because of his undercover career.

Ernie Lijoi Sr. is "a retired detective from the Quincy Police Department, Massachusetts. He was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY and enlisted in the US Air Force, and was honorably discharged in 1964. He later graduated from Northeastern University in Boston, MA with a degree in the Science of Law Enforcement. Detective Ernie Lijoi Sr., under the guise of Eddie Pannoni, challenged illicit dealers, killers and illegal operations stretching throughout the New England, The United States and Mexico." Ernie Lijoi is the author of Meth or Myth, The Cash Mule, Destructive Obsession, The Butcher of Boston, The Tunnel and The Preyers. He is a co-author of Street Business II.

For Further Insight:

Find out more at Police Writers

The Preyers Website

The Preyers on Amazon

Follow Ernie on Twitter

Friends on Facebook

If you are active duty, retired or former law enforcement, submit your story to host Randy Sutton and perhaps he will read it on the air.

Also during this episode, Randy takes on the Sheriff of Santa Clara County, California for bowing to political correctness and not allowing her Deputies access to "Officer Survival" training because of objections form community organizations.

Their children, their parents, siblings, friends - their is a human toll of the War on Cops that is far too often silent. Families are broken apart, loved ones are lost, and lives drastically changed forever - and not by choice!

Host Lt Randy Sutton dedicates this episode of Police Radio The Voice of American Law Enforcement to the Survivors of police Line of Duty deaths. With a powerful interview with the Executive Director of COPS, Concerns Of Police Survivors, Dianne Bernhard.  Also in this segment Randy gives his View From the Blue about the tragedy of loss by police families when their loved one is taken, a moving Police Story taken from Randy's powerful book 'A Cops Life'.

Dianne Bernhard is the Executive Director of Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.). She retired from the Columbia Missouri Police Department as the Deputy Chief after 21 years of service. During her tenure she spent time in Patrol, Investigations, Bike Patrol, the Mounted Team and the Community Action Team, eventually working her way through the ranks of the department. She concluded her career being responsible for overseeing all operations of the Police Department and the budget of the department. Director Bernhard became familiar with C.O.P.S. after one of her co-workers was killed in the line of duty. C.O.P.S. provided excellent support to the officer’s family and the police department and Director Bernhard was honored to become a part of this organization dedicated to the survivors of officers who die in the line of duty.

For Further Insight:

Website for C.O.P.S. NationalCops.org

Follow on Twitter @nationalcops

Their children, their parents, siblings, friends - their is a human toll of the War on Cops that is far too often silent. Families are broken apart, loved ones are lost, and lives drastically changed forever - and not by choice!

Host Lt Randy Sutton dedicates this episode of Police Radio The Voice of American Law Enforcement to the Survivors of police Line of Duty deaths. With a powerful interview with the Executive Director of COPS, Concerns Of Police Survivors, Dianne Bernhard.  Also in this segment Randy gives his View From the Blue about the tragedy of loss by police families when their loved one is taken, a moving Police Story taken from Randy's powerful book 'A Cops Life'.

Dianne Bernhard is the Executive Director of Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.). She retired from the Columbia Missouri Police Department as the Deputy Chief after 21 years of service. During her tenure she spent time in Patrol, Investigations, Bike Patrol, the Mounted Team and the Community Action Team, eventually working her way through the ranks of the department. She concluded her career being responsible for overseeing all operations of the Police Department and the budget of the department. Director Bernhard became familiar with C.O.P.S. after one of her co-workers was killed in the line of duty. C.O.P.S. provided excellent support to the officer’s family and the police department and Director Bernhard was honored to become a part of this organization dedicated to the survivors of officers who die in the line of duty.

For Further Insight:

Website for C.O.P.S. NationalCops.org

Follow on Twitter @nationalcops

"Violent crime has been rising sharply in many American cities after two decades of decline. Homicides jumped nearly 17 percent in 2015 in the largest 50 cities, the biggest one-year increase since 1993. Since the 2014 police shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, officers have been backing off of proactive policing, and criminals are becoming emboldened," says Heather Mac Donald. The reason is what Mac Donald first identified nationally as:

"the Ferguson effect”

During this episode of POLICE RADIO THE VOICE OF AMERICAN LAW ENFORCEMENT Host Randy Sutton interviews Award winning author and journalist Heather Mac Donald whose newly released book "THE WAR ON COPS" is tearing the lid off of the myths associated with the race based myths being spewed out by hate groups and pandering politicians.

Heather Mac Donald is the Thomas W. Smith Fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a contributing editor of City Journal. She is a recipient of the 2005 Bradley Prize. Mac Donald’s work at City Journal has canvassed a range of topics, including higher education, immigration, policing and “racial” profiling, homelessness and homeless advocacy, criminal-justice reform, and race relations. Her writing has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The New Republic, and The New Criterion. Mac Donald's newest book, The War on Cops (2016), warns that raced-based attacks on the criminal-justice system, from the White House on down, are eroding the authority of law and putting lives at risk.

For Further Insight:

Follow Heather on Twitter @HeatherMacDona

The Book: The War on Cops: How the New Attack on Law and Order Makes Everyone Less Safe

Columns of interest from Heather Mac Donald

The Ferguson Effect

Academic Research on Police Shootings and Race

Police Shootings and Race

Also on the show today, Host Lt. Sutton gives his "View From The Blue" about the murders of Law Enforcement Officers and to lighten the mood, an amusing story by a former Federal Agent is read by Randy during the "Police Story" segment.

"Violent crime has been rising sharply in many American cities after two decades of decline. Homicides jumped nearly 17 percent in 2015 in the largest 50 cities, the biggest one-year increase since 1993. Since the 2014 police shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, officers have been backing off of proactive policing, and criminals are becoming emboldened," says Heather Mac Donald. The reason is what Mac Donald first identified nationally as:

"the Ferguson effect”

During this episode of POLICE RADIO THE VOICE OF AMERICAN LAW ENFORCEMENT Host Randy Sutton interviews Award winning author and journalist Heather Mac Donald whose newly released book "THE WAR ON COPS" is tearing the lid off of the myths associated with the race based myths being spewed out by hate groups and pandering politicians.

Heather Mac Donald is the Thomas W. Smith Fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a contributing editor of City Journal. She is a recipient of the 2005 Bradley Prize. Mac Donald’s work at City Journal has canvassed a range of topics, including higher education, immigration, policing and “racial” profiling, homelessness and homeless advocacy, criminal-justice reform, and race relations. Her writing has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The New Republic, and The New Criterion. Mac Donald's newest book, The War on Cops (2016), warns that raced-based attacks on the criminal-justice system, from the White House on down, are eroding the authority of law and putting lives at risk.

For Further Insight:

Follow Heather on Twitter @HeatherMacDona

The Book: The War on Cops: How the New Attack on Law and Order Makes Everyone Less Safe

Columns of interest from Heather Mac Donald

The Ferguson Effect

Academic Research on Police Shootings and Race

Police Shootings and Race

Also on the show today, Host Lt. Sutton gives his "View From The Blue" about the murders of Law Enforcement Officers and to lighten the mood, an amusing story by a former Federal Agent is read by Randy during the "Police Story" segment.

The most tragic stat in all of this is that there is a more than 75% increase in the murders of police officers killed in the line of duty over last year. One word describes this episode of Police Radio - POWERFUL. Listen in to the interview as you read the letter below from Officer Jay Stalien.

“I was raised that all lives are equal, and that you have to have love for humanity,” says

Officer Stalien.

This is the article that was submitted by Officer Jay Stalien, an African American Hero and a member of the Blue family at Blue Lives Matter. 

From one Black Cop to America -They call me Uncle Tom

I have come to realize something that is still hard for me to understand to this day. The following may be a shock to some coming from an African American, but the mere fact that it may be shocking to some is prima facie evidence of the sad state of affairs that we are in as Humans.

I used to be so torn inside growing up. Here I am, a young African-American born and raised in Brooklyn, NY wanting to be a cop. I watched and lived through the crime that took place in the hood. My own black people killing others over nothing. Crack heads and heroin addicts lined the lobby of my building as I shuffled around them to make my way to our 1 bedroom apartment with 6 of us living inside. I used to be woken up in the middle of the night by the sound of gun fire, only to look outside and see that it was 2 African Americans shooting at each other.

It never sat right with me. I wanted to help my community and stop watching the blood of African Americans spilled on the street at the hands of a fellow black man. I became a cop because black lives in my community, along with ALL lives, mattered to me, and wanted to help stop the bloodshed.

As time went by in my law enforcement career, I quickly began to realize something. I remember the countless times I stood 2 inches from a young black man, around my age, laying on his back, gasping for air as blood filled his lungs. I remember them bleeding profusely with the unforgettable smell of deoxygenated dark red blood in the air, as it leaked from the bullet holes in his body on to the hot sidewalk on a summer day. I remember the countless family members who attacked me, spit on me, cursed me out, as I put up crime scene tape to cordon off the crime scene, yelling and screaming out of pain and anger at the sight of their loved ones taking their last breath. I never took it personally, I knew they were hurting. I remember the countless times I had to order new uniforms, because the ones I had on, were bloody from the blood of another black victim…of black on black crime. I remember the countless times I got back in my patrol car, distraught after having watched another black male die in front me, having to start my preliminary report something like this:

Suspect- Black/ Male, Victim-Black /Male.

I remember the countless times I canvassed the area afterwards, and asked everyone “did you see who did it”, and the popular response from the very same family members was always, “F@#$ the Police, I aint no snitch, I'm gonna take care of this myself. This happened every single time, every single homicide, black on black, and then my realization became clearer.

I woke up every morning, put my freshly pressed uniform on, shined my badge, functioned checked my weapon, kissed my wife and kid, and waited for my wife to say the same thing she always does before I leave, “Make sure you come back home to us”. I always replied, “I will”, but the truth was I was never sure if I would. I almost lost my life on this job, and every call, every stop, every moment that I had this uniform on, was another possibility for me to almost lose my life again. I was a target in the very community I swore to protect, the very community I wanted to help.

The most tragic stat in all of this is that there is a more than 75% increase in the murders of police officers killed in the line of duty over last year. One word describes this episode of Police Radio - POWERFUL. Listen in to the interview as you read the letter below from Officer Jay Stalien.

“I was raised that all lives are equal, and that you have to have love for humanity,” says

Officer Stalien.

This is the article that was submitted by Officer Jay Stalien, an African American Hero and a member of the Blue family at Blue Lives Matter. 

From one Black Cop to America -They call me Uncle Tom

I have come to realize something that is still hard for me to understand to this day. The following may be a shock to some coming from an African American, but the mere fact that it may be shocking to some is prima facie evidence of the sad state of affairs that we are in as Humans.

I used to be so torn inside growing up. Here I am, a young African-American born and raised in Brooklyn, NY wanting to be a cop. I watched and lived through the crime that took place in the hood. My own black people killing others over nothing. Crack heads and heroin addicts lined the lobby of my building as I shuffled around them to make my way to our 1 bedroom apartment with 6 of us living inside. I used to be woken up in the middle of the night by the sound of gun fire, only to look outside and see that it was 2 African Americans shooting at each other.

It never sat right with me. I wanted to help my community and stop watching the blood of African Americans spilled on the street at the hands of a fellow black man. I became a cop because black lives in my community, along with ALL lives, mattered to me, and wanted to help stop the bloodshed.

As time went by in my law enforcement career, I quickly began to realize something. I remember the countless times I stood 2 inches from a young black man, around my age, laying on his back, gasping for air as blood filled his lungs. I remember them bleeding profusely with the unforgettable smell of deoxygenated dark red blood in the air, as it leaked from the bullet holes in his body on to the hot sidewalk on a summer day. I remember the countless family members who attacked me, spit on me, cursed me out, as I put up crime scene tape to cordon off the crime scene, yelling and screaming out of pain and anger at the sight of their loved ones taking their last breath. I never took it personally, I knew they were hurting. I remember the countless times I had to order new uniforms, because the ones I had on, were bloody from the blood of another black victim…of black on black crime. I remember the countless times I got back in my patrol car, distraught after having watched another black male die in front me, having to start my preliminary report something like this:

Suspect- Black/ Male, Victim-Black /Male.

I remember the countless times I canvassed the area afterwards, and asked everyone “did you see who did it”, and the popular response from the very same family members was always, “F@#$ the Police, I aint no snitch, I'm gonna take care of this myself. This happened every single time, every single homicide, black on black, and then my realization became clearer.

I woke up every morning, put my freshly pressed uniform on, shined my badge, functioned checked my weapon, kissed my wife and kid, and waited for my wife to say the same thing she always does before I leave, “Make sure you come back home to us”. I always replied, “I will”, but the truth was I was never sure if I would. I almost lost my life on this job, and every call, every stop, every moment that I had this uniform on, was another possibility for me to almost lose my life again. I was a target in the very community I swore to protect, the very community I wanted to help.

Policing in America has become more complex than ever before. Police officers are expected to fight crime, act as social workers, troubleshoot challenging situations, deal with mental health issues and most importantly they need to keep citizens safe. Decisions are made in split seconds that can and will impact lives. More than ever before in the history of law enforcement - the industry is under attack. Recruitments are far off the pace, in some cases 25 to 50% off. There are PTSD issues and suicide rates are climbing. Today on Police Radio, we're going to tackle the key importance of LEADERSHIP IN POLICING with one of the best in the business - Chief Shelley Zimmerman of the SDPD.

San Diego Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman talks Police Leadership with host Randy Sutton. Coming up through the ranks in San Diego PD, Shelley Zimmerman is one of the few female top cops of a major United States city. In this riveting interview she talks about how her department handled the unrest at a recent Trump rally, how her department copes with crime, social problems and her personal leadership values. Also during this segment - Randy Sutton gives his "View From The Blue" about the FBI decision not to bring charges against Hillary Clinton and in our "Police Story" segment, the heartbreaking story of being helpless to save a man from a burning car.

"The one thing that is so critical to LEADERSHIP is RESPECT, and the only way that you can have respect is by leading thru INTEGRITY and HONOR," says Lt. Sutton.

Chief Zimmerman was promoted to Chief of Police on March 4, 2014, and was hired on October 21, 1982, by the San Diego Police Department. She was born in Cleveland, Ohio and is a graduate of The Ohio State University, with a degree in Criminal Justice. She is also a graduate of the FBI National Academy, FBINA #241. Chief Zimmerman has worked many of the San Diego Police Department's patrol commands, with extensive investigative experience. Some of Chief Zimmerman's prior assignments have included Vice, Narcotics, Internal Affairs, Multi-Cultural Community Relations Office, the Mayor's Executive Protection Detail, the Narcotics Task Force and the Field Lieutenant position.

For Further Insight:

San Diego Police Department

Policing in America has become more complex than ever before. Police officers are expected to fight crime, act as social workers, troubleshoot challenging situations, deal with mental health issues and most importantly they need to keep citizens safe. Decisions are made in split seconds that can and will impact lives. More than ever before in the history of law enforcement - the industry is under attack. Recruitments are far off the pace, in some cases 25 to 50% off. There are PTSD issues and suicide rates are climbing. Today on Police Radio, we're going to tackle the key importance of LEADERSHIP IN POLICING with one of the best in the business - Chief Shelley Zimmerman of the SDPD.

San Diego Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman talks Police Leadership with host Randy Sutton. Coming up through the ranks in San Diego PD, Shelley Zimmerman is one of the few female top cops of a major United States city. In this riveting interview she talks about how her department handled the unrest at a recent Trump rally, how her department copes with crime, social problems and her personal leadership values. Also during this segment - Randy Sutton gives his "View From The Blue" about the FBI decision not to bring charges against Hillary Clinton and in our "Police Story" segment, the heartbreaking story of being helpless to save a man from a burning car.

"The one thing that is so critical to LEADERSHIP is RESPECT, and the only way that you can have respect is by leading thru INTEGRITY and HONOR," says Lt. Sutton.

Chief Zimmerman was promoted to Chief of Police on March 4, 2014, and was hired on October 21, 1982, by the San Diego Police Department. She was born in Cleveland, Ohio and is a graduate of The Ohio State University, with a degree in Criminal Justice. She is also a graduate of the FBI National Academy, FBINA #241. Chief Zimmerman has worked many of the San Diego Police Department's patrol commands, with extensive investigative experience. Some of Chief Zimmerman's prior assignments have included Vice, Narcotics, Internal Affairs, Multi-Cultural Community Relations Office, the Mayor's Executive Protection Detail, the Narcotics Task Force and the Field Lieutenant position.

For Further Insight:

San Diego Police Department

When you think of Jihadist Extremism, you immediately think of the Middle East or North Africa. Yet if recent developments are any indication, it could be coming to a town near you. All of this signifies the importance of training and preparedness for local and state law enforcement. Local law enforcement truly are the front lines on the global war on terror. For this reason I invited a man with a very unique background and one who is in the position to set the record straight!

Muslim Iraqi War Veteran and Police Officer Dr. Noor Razzaq talks about the Law Enforcement Response to Jihadist Extremism. American cops are on the front lines of Muslim Terrorism but how can our police combat it? Dr. Razzaq spent ten years as a Police Officer, SWAT Operator, Police Trainer, Deputy U.S. Marshal and many other law enforcement positions. His views on how law enforcement can reach the Muslim community and use time tested Community Policing methods to advance the law enforcement mission are eye opening. Tune in as Host Randy Sutton interviews him and discusses this incredibly important topic as well as Police Officers "Duty To Survive."

Dr. Noor Razzaq is a university professor with varied experience across the military and law enforcement spectrum. He has served as Special Deputy U.S. Marshal, SWAT team operator/commander/instructor, training supervisor, patrolman, investigator, and protective services officer. He is currently an adjunct Associate Professor of Advanced National Security Studies at Morgan State University and serves as faculty in American Military University's Homeland Security Program. His professional experience consists of work in counterterrorism, force protection, anti-terrorism, and law enforcement to include joint operations with multiple federal and local law enforcement agencies.

For further insight:

Follow Dr. Noor Razzaq on Twitter

Connect also on Linkedin

He has served in the U.S. Air Force in roles ranging from police supervisor to Presidential Security and serving in Operation Iraq Freedom during the invasion of Iraq. He has since served as a city police officer (Chesapeake, VA), Spec. Deputy U.S. Marshal, SWAT commander/ instructor, and investigator to include a background in advanced interrogation and Forensic Behavior Analysis with an emphasis on offender profiling in serial rape and serial homicide cases.

Dr. Razzaq earned his Masters of Science in Criminal Justice from the University of Cincinnati with an emphasis on biosocial criminology to include the study of the relationship between neurology, genetics, and environment on criminal behavior. He earned his Doctor of Management in Homeland Security while studying under Dr. Nadav Morag, former Israeli President Ariel Sharon's Senior Director for Domestic Policy and subsequently for Foreign Policy, at Israel’s National Security Council, Prime Minister’s Office. His doctoral dissertation was titled “Is there such thing as a Muslim World? Quantitative Answers and Implications for Countering Violent Extremism”. Dr. Razzaq's own previous publications cover topics ranging in scope from counterterrorism, behavioral analysis, interview and interrogation, and law enforcement to intelligence reform and his current scholarly pursuits include quantitative cross-cultural studies, counter-radicalization, and the political psychology of terrorism. He is currently affiliated with the Naval Postgraduate School's Center for Homeland Defense and Security (NPS/CHDS) and the Defense Intelligence Agency's (DIA) Mid-Atlantic Consortium-Center for Academic Excellence (MAC-CAE). He is also a born-and-raised American Muslim and has a unique perspective on techniques for law enforcement to interact with a variety of predominately Muslim populat...