ATO: BRIDGING THE DIVIDE

Welcome back ATO Family   Today we bring you a story from a retired servant that served over three decades in Los Angeles County. Jeff Wenninger grew up in Kent Ohio and was raised in a unique blended family during a time in this country that family diversity was rare. Jeff realized that his natural physical prowess led him to dominate hockey and set him on a path to learning a new type of resilie...

Today we get to hear from a guy that joined the Dallas Police Department but also served as a soldier in the United States Army. This story begins with this guests journey from growing up as an Army brat to enlisting himself and joining the 10th Mountain Infantry Division and on a path to fighting terrorist in Afghanistan. Tyler fit in as soldier, and a leader and on July 5th, 2006 all of his skil...

Welcome back ATO Family We finally get to discuss an integral function in law enforcement and the criminal justice system, the Crime Scene Response Unit. Today’s guest has a Master’s degree in Forensic Science, currently working on Doctorate, and is a dedicated member of the Dallas Police Department’s Crime Scene Unit. It is up to the trained crime scene investigator to take advantage of every sci...

2024 marks the 40th anniversary of its Santa Cops program, which has provided toys and food to over 10,000 families since 1984. The initiative supports families who have been victims of crime and those in need during the Christmas season. Today we sat down with some of the elves behind the scenes that make this incredible program run so that so many families in need can have a merry Christmas. For...

This show will never shy away from having the difficult conversations. Thriving mental and physical health is paramount and crucial to survival and sadly, if not addressed, it could lead to a life ending. First responders are three times more likely to die by suicide than the from the job that they do. These numbers don’t include the suicide attempts or suicidal ideation of first responders that a...

Welcome back ATO Family One of this shows mission is to create a platform to educate our listeners in the very complex and layered conversation of mental health and the many modalities and treatments that are available. This episode is one of our most information based shows as we take a deep dive into EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) and ART (Accelerated Resolution Therapy). T...

Welcome back for this special goodbye to my first partner and one of my best friends, John Valdez. There are perks in being best friends with the host of a show and this is it. John served over 29 years with DPD and is leaving as a Homicide Detective. He did not want a big party or any attention as he walked out the door of DPD but I actually talked him to this. So, sit back and enjoy the roast of...

We are honored to sit down with a true piece of Dallas history in Judge Hawk. This show will take the listener back to the Dallas during the 90’s when a young talented ferocious new District Attorney walked into the Frank Crowley Court Building in downtown Dallas and her star began rising. From1995 to 2002 worked as a prosecutor and ultimately become Chief over the Child Abuse Division. In 2003 he...

Welcome back ATO Family! Today we return with a true piece of Dallas Police history with the Great Kevin Navarro as we chronicle his amazing life and servant career. Kevin hired on with the Dallas Police Department in 1981 and remained in service until September 11th2012 and he laid the foundation for future procedures and trainings that have molded young and old officers for generations to come....

"You were worth All the sacrifices....." This is a special message from Dallas Chief Eddie Garcia as he is retiring, after nearly 33 years, from the law enforcement profession. It is a sad time for the Dallas Police Department as we are losing a true innovator and a “Cop’s Cop” natural leader for the Department. Eddie Garcia started his law enforcement career, age 21, at the San Jose Police Depart...

Welcome back ATO Family  We wanted to take this opportunity to give an update on the show and tell you about the Dallas Police Department’s upcoming David Clark Superhero Health Fair. This will be the third Health Fair that was created to provide active first responders with access to key medical screenings and technology used to identify silent health conditions, as well as direct access to preve...

**** Trigger Warning Alert**** Episode 100 was always going to be a special episode for our show but when I got today’s guest to finally agree to tell his story I knew I wanted to make it extra special for the listener but also make it special for one of my best friends and one of the most impressive humans I have ever met. – Joe King.  We are honored to share this stage with Dallas SWAT Operator...

Today we sat with Dallas Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Morse to discuss the origins of the Dallas District Attorney’s Office new approach to caring for their own. Jennifer and a team at the DA’s office saw a need to create something to provide support for their staff in the world of mental wellness and to address, head on, the trauma that they are exposed to. Police and the District Attorne...

T.E.D: Tell, Explain, Describe. Today is our first episode of a training series that will be topic specific and will feature subject matter experts. Our goal is to help provide a form of training and education to other first responders as well as the community. This episode will cover the art of investigative interviews and will be presented by retired Dallas Police Homicide Detective John Palmer....

Today we sit down with the Dallas Firefighter Association President Jeff Patterson. After growing up in Plano Texas, Jeff answered the call to serve in 2008 when he applied for the Dallas Fire Department and once, he stepped into that role and into the firehouse he knew that he was where he needed to be. He then had a second family as he now was a firefighter in Dallas and was assigned to one of t...

We often hear the saying, "You are a product of your environment," and indeed, there is undeniable truth to this. Our upbringing, the values instilled in us by our families, and the communities we grow up in shape who we are and who we become. For many of us, we are born into families with long-standing traditions, passed down from generation to generation. These traditions can be cultural, religi...

Welcome back for our 15th Message From the Host! Today we will feature one of our great partners in the Carry the Load organization. This great organization started as a grass roots movement in Dallas to restore the true meaning of Memorial Day. It has since grown to a national movement as they have raised over 42 million dollars with a staggering 93% of the monies raised going to the programs for...

Today we sit down with another member of the Banes law enforcement family in Fort Worth PD’s very own Scott Banes. Scott has been a member of the FWPD since 2005 and has worked patrol, the Special Response Team, Crimes Against Children Unit, Major Case Unit, SRT, CIT, and is currently the Sgt. over the Fentanyl Overdose Team. Scott is married to a true bad in Karen as she is a six time BJJ World C...

Welcome back ATO Family Today we are sitting with one of the original members of the Dallas Police Fugitive Unit in Daniel Jamieson. Daniel hired on with the Dallas Police Department in February of 2008 and trained at the Southeast Patrol before moving to Northwest Patrol. In 2012 Dallas Police Chief David Brown created a brand-new unit called METRO that was designed to follow violent crime trends...

Welcome back for our latest message from the host with one of the Assist the Officer’s biggest supporters in the Mill Creek Ranch. We sat down with General Manager Norm Bissonnette who tells the listener about his background in serving the great state of Kansas as a law enforcement officer for thirty years before moving to Texas to serve a different way. Norm was fortunate enough to be welcomed in...

In Memory of Dallas Police Sgt. Anthony Allen #8098 Today we will tell the listener the story behind the creation of the Dallas Police Honor Guard Unit. Like all great ideas there is a unique story, and this one is no different. I knew this story would be important, so I sought out the person who had a vision that he turned, after years of planning and frustrations, into a reality for the Dallas P...

The ATO is proud and honored to welcome on the Founder of Breaking Barriers United and Chino PD Officer Ryan Tillman. This episode will cover Ryan’s journey as he hired on with the Chino Police Department in 2013 and quickly realized the need to improve relations with the police and the communities they serve. After years of working in Chino PD and being the school resource officer the Don Lugo Hi...

Call 1-800-COPLINE to access this service. YOU ARE NOT ALONE The ATO is proud to present the story of such a landmark and crucial piece of law enforcement as we tell the story of COPLINE. To tell this story is the founder, Stephanie Samuels. She is a psychotherapist that works exclusively with police officers. Ms. Samuels has lectured all over the country on PTSD and vicarious trauma, including un...

“Child Abuse casts a shadow the length of a lifetime”               -Herbert Ward  Today’s episode will hold the listeners hand as we walk you through a child abuse investigation from someone that has walked this tragic path nearly twenty years with the Dallas Police Department. Detective Corey Foreman hired on with Dallas in 1993 and graduated in Class #238 and then quickly headed to the Northeas...

Episode 90 Dallas Fire and Rescue Firefighter and Peer Support Coordinator Casey Ellsworth  Welcome back ATO family and welcome one of Dallas Fire and Rescues finest in Casey Ellsworth. Casey started in 2009 in Dallas and hit the ground running at Station 19, one of the Department’s Urban Search and Rescue stations in Dallas. He is trained in High Angle Rescue, Low angle Rescue, Trench Rescues, St...