#32 After Dark - Getting Shot In The Face, Death On The Job & Becoming A K9 Police Handler with Retired Cop Nicholas McCarthy

Welcome back to Iron Sights After Dark! In this episode, I sat down with recently retired cop Nicholas McCarthy who stopped by the studio to share his story for the first time since he took medical leave back in 2021. McCarthy talks about growing up in a Law Enforcement family and befriending his uncle who spent most of his life behind bars. There were two options for Nick: Join Law Enforcement or run the other way. Nick shares that the desire to be a K9 handler motivated him to be a standout cop and after 5 years on the job he was in a position to do exactly that. Without any McCarthy family handouts, Nick put in the work and established himself patrolling the streets of the Bay Area. We've all heard it...If you're looking for trouble - chances are you're going to find it. Nick's relentlessness and passion for catching "The Bad Guy" got him in quite a few really bad situations that he talks about on this show. After leaving his agency over a year ago after an officer involved shooting, McCarthy wasn't able to openly share his career and/or side of the story until now. His retirement papers have been signed and he chose to share his side of the story with the world. Regardless of what the media and/or news has covered, Nick has been: sued, investigated & interviewed by Law Enforcement countless times and his actions and that of his fellow officers have been justified by the law. The goal of this podcast was to listen and share his story publicly for the first time - what can we as a community learn from his life and choices so that we can get better and improve as a whole?

Timestamps:

00:00 Welcoming Nick To The Show
01:44 The Law Enforcement Family
03:53 School vs.  The Work Force
05:36 The Goal of Being A K9 Handler
14:43 Policing Under The Shadow of Legends
20:37 Dope, Guns & Working The Streets
22:45 The Proactive Cop
26:43 Examples of Leadership in Law Enforcement
34:40 Fast Forward 5 Years
36:55 Going All In On K9 Training
44:26 Being A Successful K9 Handler
46:37 The Full Story of Getting A K9 Dog
54:04 How Tike (The K9) Got His Name
57:51 Working The Streets As A K9 Handler
1:08:27 Shit That Went Bad...Really Bad
1:17:37 Saving A Woman's Life
1:23:45 Leading Up To The Event That Changed Everything
1:26:30 The Shooting That Ended Nick's Career
1:56:43 The Aftermath of Being Shot & Being Involved
2:05:31 The Media Went Crazy
2:10:50 Being Put On Administrative Leave
2:21:37 The Investigation That Follows
2:30:21 Battling Retirement & CA Workers Comp
2:45:14 Surviving Depression & Darkness
2:49:50 What's Next For Nick

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