ATO: BRIDGING THE DIVIDE

Today we want to honor Dallas Officer Darron Burks on the one-year anniversary of his tragic death as he was ambushed in South Central Dallas while on patrol. Darron’s brief Dallas Police service was cut short on August 29th, 2024, but after this incident we all got to know the true incredible human being Darron Burks was. He had a lifetime of service as a teacher and mentor. After his death we he...

Houstonian Alan Helfman, president of his family’s group of five  Helfman Auto Dealerships  (Dodge, Chrysler, Jeep, RAM, and Fiat), giving back is in his DNA. Today share his story with the listener and dive into his true “why” as he continually gives back to various charities and has a heavy presence in assisting the first responder community. The Helfman Family has a legacy of giving and helping...

Today we sit down with Retired Oklahoma Highway Patrol Commander Brad Shepherd and guest cohost Courtney Runnels to pull back the curtain on a life and career of service.  No stories is without a lot of highs, lows, heartbreak, and successes. This episode will cover all of the above….and then some. Captain Brad Shepherd (Ret.) is the Director of Public Safety for Chateau Health & Wellness, a n...

Today we are honored to sit down with retired DEA Agent and Founder, lead facilitator of Wake Up/Level Up Margaret Bedolla. Margaret walks us through her journey, growing up the daughter of an Agent, and living abroad and being exposed to true poverty and the excitement of the hidden dangers of her father’s work in a different country. Starting the DEA at 24 she found herself working on the tragic...

We are honored to sit with the 31st Police Chief in the Dallas Police Departments nearly 150-year history, Chief Daniel Comeaux. Chief Comeaux is a 33-year law enforcement veteran, currently serving as Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Houston Field Division, overseeing 12 offices throughout Texas, including Houston, San Antonio, and Austin. His jurisdiction co...

Today we sit with the 18th Fire Chief in the Dallas Fire Departments storied history. Chief Justin Ball immigrated to the United States from England more than thirty years ago, joining the fire department in 1997. Chief has a bachelor’s degree in Fire Administration from Texas A&M and maintains certifications as a Master Firefighter, Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF), Fire Officer II, F...

Today we sit down with three familiar voices to the show to address an ongoing problem in the Dallas Police Department and the first responder profession. Welcome back on Sgt. Gordon Fulton and newly promoted Major Andre Taylor to have a discussion on the topic of alcohol use in the first responder community. After some incidents over the last few months the Wellness Unit wanted to reiterate the D...

Today we sit down with one of the Dallas Fire Department’s true leaders in Chief Greg Stoy as he enters his 40th year of service in the City of Dallas.  Dallas Fire and Rescue has an amazing national reputation as a world class fire department as it enters into its 153rd year. DFR is one of the few municipalities in the world to achieve the highest possible IOS rating, demonstrating its high-quali...

“Change the changeable, accept the unchangeable, and remove yourself for the unacceptable” To further this show’s mission to change culture in the first responder profession in the realm of mental health maintenance, we have a roundtable with some of our highly trained ATO counselors. Conversations and education are key to normalizing and prioritizing our own mental health, especially in the very...

Today we are sitting with one of our East coast brothers in retired Braintree Massachusetts PD and founder of the KITT Foundation, Billy Cushing. Billy was a 17-year veteran of the Braintree Police Department where he served as a patrol K9 Handler for 10 of those years. He is a two-time recipient of the Geroge Hannah Award for Valor among other honors. In this episode Billy tells the story of his...

On a hot summer day in Dallas Texas, in an upscale Dallas restaurant and bar, a failure of a man would commit the largest mass murder in the City’s history by shooting seven people, killing six. Just after midnight on June 29th, 1984, Abdelkrim Belachheb took six lives at the Iannis Restaurant and Bar as he had an argument with one patron, Marcell Ford, as she turned away his advances. He then wou...

Welcome back to ATO story time with our Treasurer, Detective Justin Bowen #8522. Special guest cohost, NLLEO President, Juan Hernandez Jr. #8447 sits in to help tell this story. Juan and Justin rode together for years in the Southeast Division and continue their friendship to this day. This story will detail Detective Bowens career, their partnership and will highlight an awful night in March of 2...

Welcome back for another message from the hosts as we sit down with a BTD alum in Garland ICAC Detective Tony Godwin. Tony is here to talk about an organization that is near and dear to his heart, the National Law Enforcement Officer Hall of Fame. Detective Godwin was inducted himself and now his mission is to give back to this great organization. This message details this foundations origins and...

Today we do a podcast collaboration with our great friends at the TMPA, Clint McNear and Tyler Owen. This is a long overdue episode as we sit with two men that represent a great organization, the TMPA, to talk about our mutual mission in being there for our law enforcement brothers and sisters. We go behind the scenes in the Blue Grit podcast origins and also get to know the hosts and understand t...

Today’s episode will highlight one of this shows founding missions in truly connecting to people from all over. This guest has traveled over 1,800 miles to join us for this show to tell his story. Barnstable PD Officer Brandon Sanders has a unique story in his journey to policing as his childhood could have very well created a different path but it was a chance meeting of a young police officer th...

This episode will feature twin brothers that have dedicated their lives to the city of Dallas and to the police profession. However, their family name started here in Dallas in 1988 when their brother, Israel, joined the Dallas Police Department and immediately become a recruiter for his family. Next would be their cousin, Miguel, to join the PD and then these twin brothers. Saul and Sammy grew up...

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....