The MTI Podcast #39: Semi-Pro Baseball Glory Days and Tribal Law Enforcement on the U.S.-Mexico Border with Steve Swingle
Semi-Pro Baseball Glory Days and Tribal Law Enforcement on the U.S.-Mexico Border with Steve Swingle
In this episode, we sit down with Steve Swingle, a seasoned tribal law enforcement officer with over six years of experience patrolling the U.S.-Mexico border as a tribal police officer. Swingle has worked closely with agencies like the U.S. Marshals, Border Patrol, and Homeland Security Investigations, tackling cartel activity, human trafficking, and violent crime.
Steve discusses encounters with cartel smugglers, reservation gang violence, tales from his days playing semi-pro baseball and being a bouncer, to the TBI-inducing rollover crash while responding to a high-risk call.
Episode Highlights:
• Tactics drug cartels and human smugglers deploy on the border.
• The distinction between smuggling and trafficking, and how some migrants become victims of exploitation en route.
• The complexities of policing sovereign land, working alongside federal agencies, and the unique challenges of tribal jurisdiction.
• The surprising presence of Bloods and Crips on tribal lands
• The most dangerous calls he’s responded to, including a confrontation with an armed suspect that nearly ended in gunfire.
• The details of his 2022 vehicle rollover accident and resulting tramatic brain injury
•Behind the scenes peak into the world of semi-pro baseball and bouncing at an "Operator" bar in Tuscon
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