Wearing the Badge with Garry McCarthy

Before CompStat and modern police discipline, the NYPD was a wild, tribal organization where officers carried guns in their back pockets and headquarters barely tracked crime. In this episode of Wearing the Badge, host Garry McCarthy reunites with fellow NYPD veteran and former Deputy Chief Edmund Hartnett to share unfiltered stories from the front lines of the 1980s and '90s. From policing "dog years" in the 46th Precinct in the Bronx to navigating the crack cocaine epidemic, they recount what it was really like to work inside controlled chaos.

The two law enforcement leaders break down how the arrival of Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Commissioner Bill Bratton transformed the department from a reactive culture into a data-driven meritocracy. They candidly discuss major policy shifts that cut police-involved shootings, the unintended consequences of political interference in modern departments, and the critical lessons learned from seismic scandals like Abner Louima and the Mollen Commission.

Beyond the historical transformation, Hartnett and McCarthy tackle an urgent, often overlooked crisis facing law enforcement today: retiree police suicide. Hartnett shares his current mission with the IACP to track and combat post-career trauma, making the case that protecting officers doesn't stop when they turn in their badge.

00:00 When the NYPD was pure wild west chaos

01:40 Surviving dog years in the bloody Bronx precincts

05:45 Plainclothes cops hitting the street raw

10:00 Headquarters had zero clue what we were doing

11:30 The crack epidemic hit and dumb rules handcuffed us

16:30 Bratton showed up and finally made performance count

21:00 Cleaning up absolute nightmares after massive precinct scandals

30:00 How clueless politicians ruin damn good police work

41:00 Fixing force policies actually saved lives overnight

47:30 Nobody is tracking retired cops taking their own lives

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Join host Garry McCarthy as he sits down with Cook County Sheriff’s Department Commander Jason Moran to explore the chilling, patient reality of high-profile cold cases. Discover how Moran reopened the infamous John Wayne Gacy investigation to bring long-awaited answers to families stuck in a cruel limbo, moving beyond the media headlines to uncover the true nature of modern forensic detective work.

The dialogue moves deeply into the psychological and procedural reality of cold case work, beginning with a candid debate on why terms like "closure" and "justice" are dangerous illusions for grieving families. Garry opens up about his own profound personal loss—losing his daughter to fentanyl—to underscore why finding definitive "answers" is the only true anchor for a family stuck in limbo. The two law enforcement veterans trade stories about what draws a person into the dark world of investigations; Moran recounts transitioning from a 22-year-old patrol cop who simply needed to know what happened after he submitted a police report, while Gary shares gripping reflections from his NYPD days, including the fallout of the Mollen Commission corruption scandal and his father’s dangerous post-WWII assignment tracking the mob on New York's riverfront docks.

Beyond the Gacy investigation, Moran details the harrowing reality of the 2009 Burr Oak Cemetery case. Dubbed part of the "Cook County X-Files," this massive investigation exposed an unbelievable institutional low where cemetery employees systematically disinterred hundreds of bodies from a historic Black cemetery, dumping the remains in an unmarked back field to resell the plots for profit. Moran describes the mass-disaster style forensic operation required to navigate the commingled remains and the delicate execution of proving desecration while managing the grief of affected families.

00:00 Why "closure" and "justice" are dangerous myths for victims' families

05:17 The exact moment a patrol cop chooses the gritty path of detective work

10:49 The brutal procedural reality of why cold cases get shelved

13:25 Hitchhikers and hippies: How the 1970s landscape bred a golden age of serial killers

20:56 Reopening Gacy: The shocking truth about the "open" status of a closed case

25:11 The DNA hit that changed human identification forever

28:43 Exhuming the pauper's field: The blind hunt for the nameless eight

31:31 An unexpected flood: How 150 families cracked open non-Gacy mysteries

35:12 The Burr Oak Scandal: Uncovering an all-new low in the death care industry

43:47 Inside the real-life Cook County X-Files

49:56 The final word on the nobility of wearing the badge

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What happens when politicians hold public safety hostage, and how are federal agents bypassing the red tape to take back the streets?

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"The number one killer of cops is heart attack." In this powerful episode of "Wearing the Badge," host Garry McCarthy welcomes Dr. John Sheinberg, a man who navigates the worlds of both high-stakes medicine and law enforcement. With a career spanning three decades as a sworn officer and a parallel journey as a board-certified cardiologist, Dr. Sheinberg brings a unique perspective to the "perfect storm" of stress, physiology, and culture that puts police officers at extreme risk.

00:00 – Episode Open: The Silent Killer

00:45 – Guest Intro: Dr. John Sheinberg’s "Triple Crown"

02:36 – From Jersey Boy to Military Medicine

07:12 – The Road Back to Law Enforcement in Texas

10:42 – The Disparity in Tactical vs. Health Training

11:53 – Presumptive Status and Line of Duty Death

15:31 – Garry McCarthy’s Personal Heart Attack Story

21:43 – Tactical Wellness: Moving from Reactive to Proactive

27:55 – Adrenaline Dumps and Physiological Changes

34:01 – The Science: Inflammatory Markers in Police

39:09 – The Sigma Wellness Screening Program

45:02 – Leadership’s Role in Officer Longevity

51:38 – Final Thoughts: The Nobility of Service

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Police work puts officers in the middle of mental illness, homelessness, addiction, and trauma, often with little training and a lot of stigma. In this episode of Wearing the Badge, Garry McCarthy sits down with Ernie Stevens, a retired San Antonio police officer and crisis-intervention trainer, to talk about what works when someone is in crisis, and why officer wellness cannot be an afterthought.

00:00 Cold open

01:40 Who is Ernie Stevens?

03:35 “Volunteered” into crisis training

05:43 The NAMI story that changed him

09:11 Training as a reward

10:29 De-escalation with a gun present

18:15 Homelessness

20:03 Partnering with NAMI

25:03 The stigma of officers getting help

29:10 Officers come forward for help

29:28 Garry’s father and the 1953 shootout

32:58 Adam Toledo and the aftermath

39:34 Building a culture of officer wellness

43:53 What trauma really is

48:22 'Crisis Cops' and why the film mattered

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A special Town Hall edition of Wearing the Badge from Chicago. Former CPD Superintendent Garry McCarthy sits down with Fox News Channel's Gianno Caldwell for a wide-ranging conversation about crime, fear, disorder, policing strategy, and community intervention.

CHAPTER MARKERS

0:00 Cold Open: What’s the solution?

1:27 What Wearing the Badge is about

2:48 McCarthy and Caldwell on urgency and unity

6:04 Town Hall Begins: Crime, fear, and what works

12:08 Disorder and deterrence: visible chaos, real consequences

20:28 Tio Hardiman: violence interruption, trauma, second chances

25:11 Policing tools and data: gangs, retaliation, ShotSpotter debate

33:50 Schools, jobs, mentorship: opportunity as prevention

43:32 Stops, stop-and-frisk, and the Terry v. Ohio framework

49:46 Accountability and partnerships: what a full strategy needs

50:09 Faith, family, and community as stabilizers

52:00 There should never be a next time: trauma and hope

58:30 Closing the room: unity, gratitude, next steps

59:00 Service, country, and a new path

1:01:19 Goodbye

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Former Secret Service Agent Tim McCarthy (no relation to host Garry McCarthy) joins Wearing the Badge with a story that puts him in an exceptionally small club: he took a bullet protecting President Ronald Reagan during the 1981 assassination attempt.

Tim breaks down what happened in those seconds outside the Washington Hilton—how training takes over, how the team moved the president, and what stays with you for life. Then he fast-forwards to the second act of his career: leaving the federal world, stepping into local policing leadership, and eventually serving as Orland Park Police Chief—where the job becomes unions, arbitration, politics, and the everyday realities of public safety.

00:00 Cold open: the coin flip, the shooting, and the images that stay

01:36 Welcome + “Are we related?”

02:48 Ireland roots, “Black and Tans,” and family stories

05:05 Name confusion + the other Tim McCarthy (MAP union)

06:25 NY politics + fear of crime + quality-of-life policing

09:52 Chicago justice politics + Cliff Lewis case discussion

12:56 Major Crimes Task Force + murder numbers and clearance rates

15:01 Tim’s background: South Side, Leo High, Illinois football

18:44 Joining the Secret Service + the entrance test + Chicago field work

24:59 Presidential detail: Carter to Reagan to Bush

26:39 The day Reagan was shot: advance, crowd scan, six shots

32:35 Recovery, the danger of a .22, and meeting Reagan in the hospital

37:17 Back to work, body armor, and the 9/11 suit story

40:36 Leaving DC + private sector detour + path to Orland Park chief

43:36 Recertifying, training requirements, and what’s “useful” in the field

46:21 SES management training + learning a union environment fast

49:32 Command decisions, community pressure, and the “why I was sent” moment

52:23 Union arbitration war story + sanctions and settlements

54:32 Fitness standards, buy-in, and culture shifts

56:33 Final thoughts: courage, service, and closing the episode

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Former NYPD/CPD leader Garry McCarthy sits down with retired CPD gang investigator Terry Almanza and former DEA Special Operations chief Derek Maltz for a blunt conversation about America’s synthetic-drug crisis. They compare “overdoses” versus poisonings, unpack cartel–China pipelines, debate border and national-security gaps, and talk plainly about loss: both Garry and Terry lost daughters. Almanza explains how she pushed Chicago to pursue drug-induced homicide cases and built a national advocacy network; Maltz brings hard numbers and a strategy for education, accountability, and data-driven enforcement. It’s tough, personal, and focused on fixes.

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Former Naperville detective turned national trainer Rich Wistocki explains how “leakage” on social media lets schools and police spot would-be shooters before they act. In a wide-open conversation, he walks through the three-phase playbook that’s stopped dozens of plots and how simple evidence steps turn red flags into real cases.

01:22 — Who is Rich Wistocki?

02:40 — Immediate Action Mindset

04:02 — Early Career

05:27 — Patrol to Juvenile Detective; Martial Arts & SWAT

09:35 — Working Cyber in the AOL Era

12:10 — Big-Tech Training

13:22 — Taking Cyber into Schools

15:30 — Data Surprise: More Education, Less Victimization

16:40 — Will County High-Tech Crimes Unit (100 Predators)

17:39 — Welcome to my TEDx Talk

18:20 — Retirement: Kiss My Ass

21:20 — Sell 'em a Real-Time Crime Center

24:07 — Kane County Build-Out; Jamie Mosser Shout-Out

27:10 — What a School Resource Officer Should Be

28:50 — The SRO vs. Counselors Debate (Park Ridge Anecdote)

31:07 — School Ticketing Fight

34:05 — School Shooters Love Showing Their Hand

34:39 — Fast Response

35:24 — The Five Evidence Pieces Schools Must Gather

37:34 — Case Study: Graduation Plot Foiled

38:45 — Case Study: Bathroom Video & Fast Intervention

40:16 — Building Cases from Reels & Stories

41:35 — Don’t Knock-and-Talk Without a Warrant

43:20 — Red-Flag/Firearm Protection Orders as a Tool

44:13 — Active Shooter Doctrine: Stop the Threat

45:19 — Common Denominators: Trauma, Research, and “How They Did It”

46:51 — FBI/Local Hand-Off Gaps; The Georgia Example

49:19 — The Three-Phase Plan to Stop 94% of Plots

51:13 — Adoption Challenges & Getting Buy-In

54:14 — The Nobility of the Job & Call to Action

56:39 — Outro / Credits

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