On Being a Police Officer

Ep. 54 Det. Matt Pitcher (Ret.) on working long-term deep undercover: creating and maintaining an identity; going years without spending time with family knowing that one slip could cost him the case – or his life.    Matt and I connected on Instagram when he posted photos from his two long-term deep undercover cases. The visual instantly conveyed, more than words ever could, what it was like to risk his life for years as those two people. The stories are both fascinating and haunting, and they show the commitment and sacrifice that officers and agents like Matt make doing this work. Matt started his 22-year law enforcement career with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) and later lateraled to the Monroe County Sheriff's Office in Florida. We talk about working patrol and the devastating line-of-duty ambush murders of his friends and squad mates, Officers Sean Clark and Jeff Shelton. We also look at how Matt went from street level undercover to the two long-term cases which involved drug trafficking, organized crime and terrorism. He received the Medal of Valor for his work on the second case during which he infiltrated a dangerous criminal network to expose and thwart their plans. In addition to his undercover work, Matt handled numerous investigations including rape, human trafficking and homicide and helped crack the case of a serial killer.  Due to complications from a lung infection, Matt was forced to medically retire in late 2022. He is however actively sharing his story and is in fact now working on a book. Follow Matt on his Instagtram @ret_det_mattpitcher  to see the photos from Matt’s time in deep undercover and to get updates on his book.  Also tune in! Matt will be featured in the season finale of A&E’s “Undercover: Caught On Tape,” a true crime series featuring the real stories of undercover agents and detectives. His episode will air Thurs. March 14, 2024 at 10 pm ET. Based our conversation, I am sure it will be riveting.Thank you, Matt! I want to honor the officers from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department who were shot and killed in an ambush attack. Officer Sean Robert ClarkOfficer Jeff SheltonDate of Incident: Saturday, March 31, 2007E.O.W. Sunday, April 1, 2007Thanks for listening to On Being a Police Officer. YOU are what keeps me going.Find me on my socials or email me your thoughts:Instagram: on_being_a_police_officerFacebook: On Being a Police OfficerYouTube: Abby Ellsworth ChannelX: @AbbyEllsworth13Abby@Ellsworthproductions.comwww.onbeingapoliceofficer.com©Abby Ellsworth. All booking, interviews, editing, and production by Abby Ellsworth. Music courtesy of freesound.org

Ep. 53 Officer Mike from a mid-sized agency in the Mid-Atlantic has been in law enforcement for seven years. He wrote to me saying, “I want to discuss the mental health aspect of the job and juggling it with family life. I've been married for about five years. We have two daughters who are four and almost two. I've gone through times when I see things at work that hit me in a way that I can't keep bottled up. Calls with children are what hit home the most. I tend to be pretty open with my family about what I experience, which helps a lot.”Mike’s goal in coming on the podcast is to share these challenges so that other officers know they are not alone in experiencing the stress of the job and the impact on family. He wants to encourage all LEOs to have someone they can talk to and not be afraid to ask for help.Our conversation includes what it’s like coming home with adrenaline coursing through your veins; wanting to talk about some things and not others; wanting to be present for your family, but not always being able to; and the challenge of shift schedules that leave little time for family – or sleep.We revisit hitting the streets after field training, those first calls where he felt a level of uncertainty. We talk about the critical incidents that “shook” him and how even the “smaller” incidents come back to haunt him. He says there were times early on when he wished someone would have asked how he was doing after a call – not just minutes after, but days or weeks later. He also says he unaware of the Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM ) team in his area, a team he has since joined to help other officers following a critical incident.   Recently, I’ve interviewed officers who are newly retired reflecting back on this very part of their lives and career. I thought it was important to talk to someone who's relatively new on the job and working patrol. The message from all is the same: don’t be reluctant to speak up. Whether you’re two years on or 22, you’ll relate to Mike’s experiences on and off the job.Thanks for being on the show, Mike!In the episode, I mention The LT’s Daughter Katherine Boyle and the programs she is creating for officers looking to connect or reconnect with family. You can learn more in the interview I did with her in episode 46 and through this link on her programs.Event List Sign Up:https://view.flodesk.com/pages/647f698cdfd04634e9976771Katherine’s IG:https://www.instagram.com/theltsdaughter/I also mention NYPD Cold Case Detective Jason Palamara (Ret.) from Ep. 50. He works as a crisis counselor, keynote speaker and life coach. He recently published a book with coauthor Barbara Rubel available on Amazon called “Living Blue: Helping Law Enforcement Officers and Their Families Survive and Thrive from Recruitment to Retirement.”  You can find him on his website https://jasonpalamara.org/ and on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.Thanks for listening to On Being a Police Officer. YOU are what keeps me going.Follow me on Spotify and Apple; leave a five-star review! Find me on my social or email me your thoughts:Instagram: on_being_a_police_officerFacebook: On Being a Police OfficerX: @AbbyEllsworth13Abby@Ellsworthproductions.com©Abby Ellsworth. All booking, interviews, editing, and production by Abby Ellsworth. Music courtesy of freesound.org 

Ep. 52  Lt. Jared Ross of the Arlington TX Police Department contacted me to discuss the public's misperceptions of police ethics, training, accountability, use of force and more. Jared has been with the department for 18 years and is currently Patrol Commander. He also is the department’s primary instructor for Ethics & Professionalism.He says, “whenever I hear the media or members of the public allude to the fact that we're undertrained or that we don't care about training, we don't value education or professional development, it's completely not true. And that's one of the things I wanted to be able to shed some light on, because that's one of my passions in my career.”  We do exactly that and talk about the remarkable feats of interpersonal communication, negotiation, de-escalation, and problem solving that officers do every day, a critical part of the narrative that gets lost.We also cover Jared’s professional journey including his work as a field training supervisor, a hostage negotiator, a detective in the Domestic Violence Unit, and an Internal Affairs investigator. We discuss why he got into law enforcement and the passion he continues to have for the profession. I want to honor the life, service, commitment and sacrifice of Officer Darrin McMichael of the Arlington Police Department whose line of duty death occurred shortly before I interviewed Jared and which he mentions in the episode.Officer Darrin McMichaelE.O.W Thursday, September 21, 2023https://www.odmp.org/officer/26786-police-officer-darrin-mcmichaelThanks for listening to On Being a Police Officer. YOU are what keeps me going.Find me on my social or email me your thoughts:Instagram: on_being_a_police_officerFacebook: On Being a Police OfficerX: @AbbyEllsworth13Abby@Ellsworthproductions.com©Abby Ellsworth. All booking, interviews, editing, and production by Abby Ellsworth. Music courtesy of freesound.org

Ep. 51 Joining me is Eric Hofstein who was in law enforcement for 27 years and recently retired in 2021. After working as an EMT, he made the switch to law enforcement working with agencies in CA and FL before becoming a transit officer for BART, The Bay Area Rapid Transit System. We cover two of the most defining moments in his career. The first as a deputy with the Contra Costa Sheriff’s Office, responding to the line-of-duty shooting death of California Highway Patrol Officer Kenyon Youngstrom, an incident that, as Eric says, was the final straw for him emotionally and forever changed his desire to be a street cop.The second was his resulting decision to join BART thinking he’d be leaving the stress and trauma of traditional law enforcement behind. That was not at all the case. The job presented unique challenges including reacting to thousands of commuters filling the train platform as often as every three minutes during rush hour, fights and open drug use on subway cars, and more.On top of that, Eric found a world he’d never seen before – people who were homeless, drug addicted, and mentally ill – strewn about and suffering in the subway halls and trains. He could not understand or make sense of it. Why was it happening? We talk about how his thinking gradually shifted from one of judgement to one of empathy; how he became the person who would give everything of himself to try to save every single one of these people – at his own expense and the expense of his family. And how he learned what true “harm reduction” is. It’s a story he tells in his book, “What Doesn't Kill You. One Cop's Perspective on Homelessness, Mental Illness and Addiction” which he co-authored with his wife, Mary Beth Haile.We do cover his time in law enforcement working for San Jose PD, Palm Beach Sheriff's Office in Florida, then the Contra Costa Sheriff's Office in California including several very close calls, and that traffic stop, the one where he trusted his sixth sense, that inner voice that saved his life.Also unique to Eric’s career was working the jails for five years as a deputy with Contra Costa. He says it was one of the best training grounds for working patrol.We also get into his post-law enforcement career and the challenges of retirement which he writes about in the book. “Everything bubbles up,” as he says. It wasn't until after he was retired that he was diagnosed with complex PTSD.  He shares his learnings and insights for others experiencing the same feelings.You can find the book on Amazon both in paperback and Kindle and on Audible. Here is a link to Amazon. “What Doesn't Kill You. One Cop's Perspective on Homelessness, Mental Illness and Addiction.”  I want to honor the life, service, commitment and sacrifice of California Highway Patrol Officer Kenyon Youngstrom.E.O.W. Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2012https://www.odmp.org/officer/21381-officer-kenyon-marc-youngstromThanks for listening to On Being a Police Officer. YOU are what keeps me going.Find me on my social or email me your thoughts:Instagram: on_being_a_police_officerFacebook: On Being a Police OfficerX: @AbbyEllsworth13Abby@Ellsworthproductions.com©Abby Ellsworth. All booking, interviews, editing, production done by Abby Ellsworth. Music courtesy of freesound.org

Ep. 50 – NYPD Cold Case Det. Jason Palamara (Ret.) was with the department for 20 years and recently retired in 2020. Prior, he served in the U.S. Navy for three years. I've long wanted to interview a homicide or cold case detective about the challenges of their work and because of what I see as the public’s misperceptions of their commitment.We start with the inauspicious beginning to his law enforcement career. He writes on his LinkedIn page, “I became a cop on July 2, 2001. Two months later, I would respond to Ground Zero.” We discuss his memories of that day and of his time deployed as a recruit. I also lived in New York during 9/11, so we discuss that shared experience. I once again get to thank an NYPD officer as I did in Ep. 45 with Det. Knocko Nolan for his service during that difficult time.In 2006, Jason joined the Detective Bureau with the 84th Precinct Detective Squad in downtown Brooklyn and then in 2015, was assigned to the Cold Case Homicide Squad. As stated, I've long wanted to show how dedicated homicide and cold case detectives are they are to solving their cases. You will hear in our conversation how deeply personal these cases were to Jason, and the impact the investigations had on him, both the rewards and the challenges.During his time with Cold Case, Jason became a peer support member with the NYPD Health and Wellness section. Since retiring, he has remained committed to health and wellness for veterans and law enforcement. He works as a crisis counselor, keynote speaker and life coach. He has an upcoming book with coauthor Barbara Rubel called “Living Blue: Helping Law Enforcement Officers and Their Families Survive and Thrive from Recruitment to Retirement.” We take the time to talk about the emotional challenges of retirement for LEOs, a subject I don’t often hear discussed. I close with my favorite line from his website:“I find there to be no greater mission than of giving your fellow human being the hope that tomorrow is worthwhile destination.”Here is the link to his website:https://jasonpalamara.org/You can also find him on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.Thank you, Jason. Thanks for listening to On Being a Police Officer. YOU are what keeps me going.Find me on my social or email me your thoughts:Instagram: on_being_a_police_officerFacebook: On Being a Police OfficerX: @AbbyEllsworth13Abby@Ellsworthproductions.com©Abby Ellsworth. All booking, interviews, editing, and production by Abby Ellsworth. Music courtesy of freesound.org

Ep. 49 I am welcoming 14-year-old Tyler from the Midwest.  He emailed me with a very important message about his hope to be a police officer. We recorded this interview a week before he started high school. And I did get permission from his mom!In his email Tyler wrote, “Dear Abby, I'm a 14-year-old-boy from the Midwest. I absolutely love listening to your podcast. I plan one day to be a police officer. I was hoping you could share my story on your podcast. Last year, in eighth grade, we had a mandatory project. All of the eighth graders had to job shadow a profession that they were interested in. I ended up doing a ride-along with the nearby police department. I shadowed Patrol Officer Mullinex and I absolutely loved it.”The result of our correspondence is this interview which I promise you will find heart warming and uplifting. We talk about the ride-along as well as the reasons he was drawn to law enforcement for his job shadow – as well as his initial interest in 911/Dispatch.Tyler has insights that far exceed his 14 years. We agree on the value and importance of civilians doing ride-alongs to better understand the profession and to better appreciate the person behind the badge. He shares his frustration with the national negative environment for law enforcement and the impact that has on officers’ ability to do their jobs. He is not afraid to question others’ misconceptions and seek his own answers with an open mind. In talking with Tyler, I realized that most of my guests are already sworn officers. The perspective of someone considering the profession is a new topic and brings with it a host of questions, especially for someone this young. He talks about his concern over how people will react when he says he wants to be a police officer given the negative environment and wonders how to prepare for these interactions. Tyler also is interested in guidance from LEOs on decisions he will make moving forward including whether to go to college and what major to choose. And he shares his concerns about being hearing impaired and whether that will affect his ability to be in law enforcement.Tyler welcomes your feedback. Here is an email he created for this episode tylerep.49@gmail.com. (That’s for Ep. 49). Also feel free to email or message me on Instagram if you’d like to share your thoughts with me. Abby@ellsworthproductions.com.I thought it would be meaningful to close the episode with a chat with Officer Mullenix about the ride-along, his admiration for Tyler and his hope that Tyler will pursue his dreams of law enforcement.  As always thank you for listening to On Being a Police Officer. YOU are what keeps me going.Find me on my social or email me your thoughts:Facebook: On Being a Police OfficerInstagram: on_being_a_police_officerX: @AbbyEllsworth13Abby@Ellsworthproductions.com

Ep. 48 Joining me is Lt. Brandon James who has 24 years with the Seattle Police Department. Much of our conversation focuses on his role supervising the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force and the dedication of these detectives to saving our children from predators. I interviewed a detective in this unit more than a decade ago and that conversation has never left me. Brandon and I review the challenges for ICAC detectives in maintaining wellness considering what they are exposed to in these investigations.We begin the interview with a subject that I feel strongly about: the role of School Resource Officer which has come under attack and in some markets been fully eliminated. We look back at Brandon’s work as a school officer in Seattle middle and high schools and discuss the positive impact officers in this role can have in helping students one on one, as well as educating them about the true nature of police work.We then delve into Brandon’s work as an undercover detective in narcotics investigating both street-level drug dealing with SPD and high-level narcotics investigations with the FBI with whom he was a task force officer for ten years. We also cover the difficult subject of police corruption and the challenges for law enforcement when having to investigate and arrest one of their own, and how that can be done with sensitivity and compassion. As I always do, I ask what drew him to the profession, what the rewards have been and continue to be.Since being promoted to lieutenant, Brandon has become the commander of the Relational Policing Innovation team. Congratulations, Brandon! Your ongoing leadership will continue to be a great asset to SPD.I mention the Seattle Police Foundation’s fundraising for the ICAC yearly educational conference. Here is a link to get more information and if you so choose, to make a donation.https://seattlepolicefoundation.org/internet-crimes-against-children-conference/Thank you to ato bridging the divide and Eric2247 for your five-star reviews on Apple podcasts!And as always thank you for listening to On Being a Police Officer. YOU are what keeps me going.Find me on my social or email me your thoughts:Facebook: On Being a Police OfficerTwitter: @AbbyEllsworth13Instagram: on_being_a_police_officerAbby@Ellsworthproductions.com©Abby Ellsworth. All interviews, editing, production done by Abby Ellsworth. Music courtesy of freesound.org

Ep. 47 Kent (WA) Police Department’s Sgt. Eric Tung, known to many of you through his Blue Grit Wellness platform, joins me today to look back on his 16 years in law enforcement, and to look toward the future not just for him and his department, but for all law enforcement with what I call “relentless optimism.” First, we take a look back at Eric's career which started in 2007, just two years before the 2009 ambush murders of Seattle PD Officer Timothy Brenton and of the Lakewood Four, as they are known. We discuss our shared experience of that difficult time and what was to me, the surprising connection between the Lakewood officers and Kent PD. We also reflect on the Line of Duty Death of one of Eric’s closest friends, Kent Police Officer Diego Moreno whose E.O.W. was five years ago this month. Eric also was in two critical incidents with his K9 Officer Kato, both times nearly losing Kato and his own life. As Designated Departmental Team Leader for Regional Valley Civil Disturbance Unit, Eric responded with this team to provide mutual aid to Seattle PD in response to years of annual May Day protests and ultimately to the 2020 riots. Eric used his passion for health and fitness to develop the Kent Police Department’s Wellness and Peer Support programs and as I mentioned, his own platform Blue Grit Wellness. He creates his own content online, writes articles for Police One and hosts his own podcast Blue Grit Radio. He currently is the Department’s Recruiting and Hiring Unit Supervisor.  I ask what drew him to law enforcement. His “why” has evolved over the years, but he reflects on several reasons including the influence of a strained, and later repaired, relationship with his dad. Now a father himself, he discusses being in a dangerous profession when you have a two-year-old at home, yet knowing there is a two-year-old out there who needs you, as I learn, quite literally.While we talk about the big incidents, the hard and heavy moments, we end with that “relentless optimism,” reflecting on how sometimes it’s in those small moments when you know as an LEO you have made a difference.  Thanks, Eric!You can find Eric on his website:https://www.bluegritwellness.com/On Instagram, Facebook, and Tik Tok @bluegritwellness. On LinkedIn as Eric Tung. His podcast Blue Grit Radio is available on all podcast platforms.Eric has several articles on Police One. Here is the article I referenced:https://www.police1.com/rookie/articles/a-word-to-the-rookies-stay-humble-stay-hungry-1zsfEMTwoRREV3j1/Eric mentions the Blue Bridge Alliance which provides local law enforcement agencies with resources to render aid during interactions with community members in need. For more info:https://bluebridgealliance.org/As noted, this month marks the five-year anniversary of the Line of Duty Death of Kent Police Officer Diego Moreno. Officer Moreno, we thank for your service.E.O.W. Sunday, July 22, 2018https://www.odmp.org/officer/23727-police-officer-diego-morenoThanks for listening to On Being a Police Officer. YOU are what keeps me going.Find me on my social or email me your thoughts:Facebook: On Being a Police OfficerTwitter: @AbbyEllsworth13Instagram: on_being_a_police_officerAbby@Ellsworthproductions.com©Abby Ellsworth. All interviews, editing, production done by Abby Ellsworth. Music courtesy of freesound.org

Ep. 46 The LT’s Daughter Katherine Boyle joins me to talk about her mission to help police officers who want more connection with their families. Katherine is the first law enforcement family member I’ve interviewed on this podcast. It’s important to me to do so as I have learned law enforcement is a family job, one that requires sacrifice and commitment from all. Katherine’s story is unusual in that her childhood was not unusual. She shares all the ways in which her father partnered with her mother to keep the job from negatively affecting their family life as the job of a first responder can do. Her experience is the inspiration behind the program Katherine has created and is launching this month titled “Beyond the Uniform.” The program will offer events designed to help police officers better connect with their families, in particular with their spouses, by identifying priorities and values outside of the job. To put Katherine’s childhood in perspective, we look back at the career of her dad, Retired Philadelphia Police Lieutenant Michael Boyle, who spent much of his career on the Special Victim’s Unit. Among his cases was the Delimar Vera case of a kidnapped infant who at the age of eight was reunited with her mother. The story made national news.It also is important to note that Katherine comes from an extended law enforcement family with many relatives who serve or have served in the profession.  As a result, she has long wanted to give back and to support officers. It was, in part, her experience while living in NYC during the 2020 riots and seeing the abuses of officers who were quite literally "family" to her that led to her “light bulb” moment that she had to do something active, something tangible to help LE families. That light bulb moment has become “Beyond the Uniform.”Here is the link to the Event Sign-Up List for “Beyond the Uniform”https://view.flodesk.com/pages/647f698cdfd04634e9976771Katherine’s IG: TheLTsDaughter:https://www.instagram.com/theltsdaughter/Sadly, the Boyle family suffered a Line of Duty Death in February, 1991 of Katherine’s cousin, Philadelphia Police Officer Daniel Boyle at the age of 21 after only nine months on the job. The family established a scholarship foundation in his name that raises funds to send underprivileged children to Catholic schools across Philadelphia. Here are the links for more information: Officer Daniel Boyle Scholarship Fund website:http://www.officerdanielboyle.com/Officer Daniel Boyle Scholarship Fund Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/daniel.boyle.52090Officer Daniel BoyleE.O.W. February 6, 1991https://www.odmp.org/officer/176-police-officer-daniel-robert-boyleOfficer Boyle, we honor you and thank you for your service.Thanks for listening to On Being a Police Officer. YOU are what keeps me going.Find me on my social or email me your thoughts:Facebook: On Being a Police OfficerTwitter: @AbbyEllsworth13Instagram: on_being_a_police_officerAbby@Ellsworthproductions.com©Abby Ellsworth. All interviews, editing, production done by Abby Ellsworth. Music courtesy of freesound.org

Ep. 45 Knocko Nolan has served on two of the country’s largest and finest police departments, NYPD and LAPD where he is now currently a detective sergeant. While on patrol, Knocko worked Brooklyn and Manhattan, as well Hollywood and downtown Los Angeles including Skid Row.In his nearly three decades of service, Knocko has been on a wide range of units including Narcotics, Vice, the Career Criminal Unit where he tracked and investigated violent repeat offenders; the infamous anti-gang unit CRASH where he collected intelligence on street and prison gangs and participated in undercover, reverse-sting operations; a Special Victims squad that investigated assaults and sex crimes perpetrated against children; and the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force in which he held a Top Secret government clearance and investigated international terrorist groups, a role he chose after 9/11. A New York native, Knocko first joined LAPD in 1996, then returned to NY in 2000 to serve with NYPD for four years which included 9/11. He was one of the many of New York’s finest who worked tirelessly with fellow first responders for a year at Ground Zero. He later returned to LAPD in 2004.This interview is particularly meaningful to me because I lived in LA during the Rodney King riots and later in New York during 9/11. We discuss our shared experiences of Los Angeles and of course of that fateful day for our country. For the first time, I get to thank an NYPD officer for his service during that tragic time.You can connect with Knocko on social media:Instagram: Knocko_Twitter: @KnockoNolan https://linktr.ee/KnockoNolanThanks for listening to On Being a Police Officer. YOU are what keeps me going.Find me on my social or email me your thoughts:Facebook: On Being a Police OfficerTwitter: @AbbyEllsworth13Instagram: on_being_a_police_officerAbby@Ellsworthproductions.com©Abby Ellsworth. All interviews, editing, production done by Abby Ellsworth. Music courtesy of freesound.org