Blue Grit Radio: the Police Performance Podcast: Mindset, Wellness, Leadership

Great trainers will recognize that every significant action police take, or don't take, gets reviewed and evaluated in the eyes of the court.  We do a lot, risk a lot, and have to write a lot of our experience, insight, evidence, and perceptions... to make sure our arrests get prosecutable, and/or our actions don't get us sued.. or worse.   Back in the day we heard about the "red pe...

Police have a range of challenges.  They are short-staffed and many issues compete for their attention.  Tools and technology can be force-multipliers, not only helping officers deploy effectively (to specific areas) for gunfire, but also vet the likelihood that the illegal discharge call that came in was not just fireworks or a car backfire.   Joining me in this dynamic topic is former police off...

Who gets to decide who a leader is?  (Clue: it's not the leader).   In this episode, I feature a conversation with a local executive police leader, who got the best compliment from another regional police leader.  I asked on my socials who I needed to have on that exhibited genuine leadership.. who did it humbly for their people. (You could not self-nominate).  I had a local sarge say I NEEDE...

In a rut?  Feel like you're going through the motions?  If it's more than 3 years til your retirement, it's too early to be counting down the days! Even those with strong sense of purpose and drive can find themselves in moments or periods of lost momentum or creeping cynicism.  Trust me, I've been there SEVERAL times, and so have so many leaders and mentors who have shared wit...

FDR said "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself."  Relevant in this conversation, as Fear itself is not the enemy, it's not bad, it's just a thing.  However, making sure that THING doesn't paralyze us, prevent and stall us, or get us hurt or killed is very much critical. Tony Blauer an internationally renowned expert on all things defensive tactics, martial arts, a...

Positivity in Policing.. but not that toxic force-a-smile, everything is sunshine and rainbows.  I loved connecting with Matthew and Austin, two active cops who blend constructive energy, playful banter, and recognition of this critical purpose we share in first responder work.  We talk brass tacks of patrol work, career advice, prevailing negativity, gossip culture, training, what new generations...

There are hardly words for the loss of a loved one. Hardly words for the tragedy of a line of duty death of a partner - a friend.  For the catastrophe and heart-break of an accidental "Blue on Blue" OIS.  What about all those things combined... where an officer responds and finds her own fiancee as the gunshot victim in such an incident, and is there by his side as he passes? I can barel...

Relationships. Does that word make you go.. "Oh!" (endearing tone and heart eyes) or "Oh.." (cautious tone with pause) or "Ugh.." (you know...) Unfortunately, all responses are valid as relationships and marriages are complex, difficult, and often catabolic and draining. But is it relationships themselves - or not having the right guardrails, systems, lessons, and tip...

Good leadership concepts aren't difficult to identify, but it's hard to find them in practice due to a host of issues.  Culture, egos, habits..  In this conversation, I'm proud to feature the author of multiple impactful Police 1 articles, Chief Michael Assad.  Reading his thoughts and hearing his tone will resonate with leaders of all levels, as he shares his experience going from...

Wellness and Leadership are major pillars that Blue Grit is built to explore, and in this episode, they intersect in significant ways.  Steve Strachan (retired top cop for King County Sheriff’s Office, Bremerton, and Kent Police) is the executive director of WASPC (Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs).  He helps us explore what didn’t work in police wellness in the past, where we...

Our police profession has come a long way in the realms of wellness and support, but we have a long way to go.  Still, many officers are not given appropriate care, time, resources, or even a means to recover from the emotional, mental, and physical gut punches we get dealt. Some, with categorical on-duty injuries are cast out by agencies and L&I.   In this episode, ret. Lt. Randy Sutton and r...

All things Blue Grit talk about how to show up your best - day to day.  Much of the origin of the podcast was to help applicants prep and elevate, but what about active law enforcement and first responders?  The original idea for this episode was to talk about SWAT selection, but the themes developed much more high-level and adaptable for anyone who wants to be their best. This conversation with c...

Recorded after the anniversary of Officer Diego Moreno's death, 7 years later, I reflect on his mentorship, the range of emotions we face in loss, and a recall and discussion of purpose and morale in police work.   I explored what we can do about morale following the hardship of 2020, sharing 5 things we can do to promote positive morale in ourselves and our teams.  Lastly, in a nod to the de...

A career in policing can bring you your highest highs (epic arrests, life-shifting moments, hilarious hijinks) and your lowest loss (tragedy, trauma, death and devastation).  In this episode, I connect with veteran and former officer, Eric Tansey.  Eric and I connected on social media due to his work with the Failure to Stop podcast.   We talk about LIFE: his military experience, ups and downs and...

First responder work isn't just work... it's a way of life.  It is demanding, it is challenging.  It goes long and pops up unexpectedly.  Add in a marriage, family with kids, household duties, and now we are in a full-fledged circus.  What about an additional vocation or business?  Are things coming off the rails? Enter my guests, Matt Porter and Tim Fasnacht.  These are two dudes in the...

We talk about the stress, the real talk: how do we combat the bad stuff with wellness, training, and leadership mindset.. but what about the REAL GOOD stuff?  Prompted from a listener question, I assembled this positivity panel with help from YOU, with the goal of solely focusing on the positive, good attitude and mentality that we can CHOOSE to foster daily. Easier said than done, but my guests w...

Retreat. Rejuvenate. Reflect. Refresh. Reorient. Rebirth. There are many RE words that focus on positive shifts we can do as individuals and couples.  Often, we get stuck in the swirl of routines, stressors, obligations - from work to kids... where we don't make much time for ourselves and each other. In this episode, I connect with profoundly insightful doctors and spouses Jim and Lisa.  The...

Are you strong? No doubt, cops and first responders SHOULD be strong, but how strong? What is "strength"?  Is it being able to bench 300 lbs on a good day, all wrapped up, but gassing out when you have to carry a shield and ram up a flight of stairs?   In this discussion, my guests Anthony Shefferly (active SWAT cop and tactical strength coach) and Paige Arnone (founder of Firstgevity) d...

Many first responder, military veterans and people of ACTION have a gripe about therapy... they don't feel like it moves to ACTION.  Many recognize the power of reflecting, talking, sharing, but after that - what then? Veteran and therapist Matt Donnelly has an answer to this "so what, now what" that resonates with many in our community. In this conversation, we talk about his backg...

The police testing and hiring process is long. It's tedious, arduous, even.  This is all for a good reason - we put a huge amount of trust and responsibility in the hands of anyone who works in the criminal justice, policing, and law enforcement fields. The biggest impact for those interested, applying, and trying to enter the arena is to DO THE SIMPLE THINGS RIGHT, and beware, navigate and a...

Over-worked, understaffed and resourced.  This isn't just sworn officers, deputies, troopers, and detectives - but our invaluable support staff. Everyone has to manage review of statements, jail calls, data and records compilation.  How do we streamline getting all this audio to text for quicker review and ultimately, what the prosecution will likely require? Ben Walker joins us to talk about...

Have you had a leader/boss/manager who had confidence, but nothing to back it.. or the converse- someone that had the experience and insight but struggled to show and step up to direct and share the vision? Confidence and competence are so crucial and we need to help develop them in all of our leaders- emerging and those who already hold the rank.  Joining me in this discussion are three dynamic v...

What gets us into the most trouble?  What causes the most fear in officers? There is no doubt that safety and tactics are paramount, but how even those battles are ultimately fought in the legal arena..  Proper action and proper articulation come with proper education and proper training.  Bad headlines, bad outcomes, cops getting sued and charged result from these trends. In this discussion with...

We always go home.  We never quit. We finish our fights. We do our best, we train mentally and physically.  We tell ourselves mind over matter... but as we also learn, the suspect gets a vote.  Danger gets a vote.  Fate gets a vote.  And in this life, we can plan, practice, strategize to play our best hand... but we don't hold all the cards.  Our bodies can break. We can get shot in the face....

Ok, I study for the test... but what ELSE do I do to prep for this dream job? This dream unit selection? This dream promotion I have been grinding my whole career for? For years before Blue Grit or my stint in hiring, people in my circles would ask about what they should be focusing on or working toward for their upcoming interviews and selection process. This this episode, I share about some of t...