The Blue Line Voice-Blood, Sand & Smoke

This episode of The Blue Line Voice — Blood, Sand, & Smoke brings the heat with retired Broward County Sheriff’s Office Sergeant Marty Katz — 34 years on the job, SWAT, undercover narcotics, street crimes, training, use of force, ethics, martial arts, and the kind of old-school law enforcement wisdom you don’t get from a PowerPoint. Marty takes us from Brooklyn to New Jersey, then straight int...

The Blue Line Voice — Blood, Sand & Smoke: Honoring Officer Safety and Family Resilience In this episode of The Blue Line Voice — Blood, Sand & Smoke, host Josh Weddell speaks with Courtney Candies, the widow of Sergeant Grant Candies, who tragically lost his life in the line of duty. Courtney shares her journey through grief, resilience, and her mission to advocate for officer safety thro...

The order that should have kept her safe is the one she walked away from — and it nearly cost her everything. In this episode of The Blue Line Voice: Blood, Sand & Smoke, retired Santa Monica Police Officer Cristina Coria walks through the day of the Pier shooting in unflinching detail. Two murder suspects. A sergeant who pulled her off the line to guard evidence. A partner who asked her to co...

"I don't want those kids to be our problem in the future." In this episode of The Blue Line Voice: Blood, Sand & Smoke, retired Santa Monica Police Officer Cristina Coria talks about why she speaks to kids about violence, gangs, and trafficking — and why she believes it's on all of us, not just police. Her point is simple: it doesn't hurt to tell a kid to be safe, to stay off drugs, to ask wha...

Doctors told Cristina Coria she might lose her arm — and that it might never work again. In this episode of The Blue Line Voice: Blood, Sand & Smoke, the retired Santa Monica Police Officer and Pier shooting survivor opens up about the part of the recovery nobody sees. She talks about the brutal daily rehab — a best friend massaging a locked arm at 90 degrees, fingers that wouldn't open becaus...

In this episode of The Blue Line Voice: Blood, Sand & Smoke, host Josh Weddell sits down with retired Santa Monica Police Officer Cristina Coria for a powerful conversation about survival, faith, line-of-duty trauma, and the fight injured first responders are still facing long after the headlines disappear. Cristina was born and raised in Santa Monica, California, in a law enforcement family....

The Truth About Becoming a Cop Jeff Pike gives the kind of advice new cops need to hear before they ever pin on a badge. In this clip, Jeff breaks down the reality of entering law enforcement today — choosing the right department, understanding agency politics, doing ride-alongs, and realizing that police work is not what TV makes it look like. The job can be exciting. It can be rewarding. But it...

Inmate’s Brutal Death in Prison In this clip, Jeff Pike discusses the Charles Gibbons case — a disturbing prison death involving serious allegations of abuse, unanswered questions, and a family searching for the truth. Jeff breaks down how he became involved as a private investigator, what witnesses reportedly described, what the autopsy revealed, and why this case still raises hard questions abou...

The Changing Face of Police Recruitment Police recruitment does not look the way it used to. In this clip, Jeff Pike breaks down how law enforcement hiring has changed over the years — from small newspaper ads and word of mouth to billboards, take-home cars, big benefits, and massive sign-on bonuses. But Jeff also gets into the harder truth: money alone will not fix the deeper issue. Public percep...

In this episode of The Blue Line Voice: Blood, Sand & Smoke , host Josh Weddell sits down with Jeff Pike , founder and CEO of Complete Surveillance & Investigative Services , for a hard-hitting conversation about a life spent on every side of law enforcement and investigations. Jeff brings 40 years of experience across law enforcement and the private sector, including 16 years in law enfor...

Law Enforcement: Serve Others, Not Yourself Retired law enforcement officer and former police academy director Larry Lawson gives straight advice to anyone thinking about putting on the badge. In this clip, Larry breaks down what matters most when starting a law enforcement career: come into the profession for the right reasons. It is not about the uniform, the car, the badge, the adrenaline, or c...

Paranormal Evidence Collection & Preservation Paranormal investigation is not just walking into an old building and hoping something happens. In this clip, retired law enforcement officer and paranormal investigator Larry Lawson explains how he treats paranormal evidence the same way he treated evidence on the job: document it, preserve it, protect it, and verify it. Larry breaks down how his...

Near-Death Experiences: Unexplained Phenomenon What really happens during a near-death experience? In this clip, retired law enforcement officer and paranormal investigator Larry Lawson breaks down the mystery of NDEs from the mind of a cop: stay skeptical, follow the evidence, and admit when something cannot be easily explained. Josh and Larry talk about the common stories people report during ne...

Cops & Ghosts: A Lighthouse Mystery Retired law enforcement officer Larry Lawson spent his career trusting evidence, instinct, and experience — but one night at the St. Augustine Lighthouse challenged everything he thought he knew. In this clip, Larry talks about taking his son on the Dark of the Moon tour, getting private time inside the lighthouse, and hearing the unmistakable sound of child...

In this episode of The Blue Line Voice: Blood, Sand & Smoke, host Josh Weddell sits down with retired law enforcement officer, investigator, academy director, author, and paranormal researcher Larry Lawson for a conversation that walks the line between police work, history, evidence, and the unexplained. Larry brings more than 40 years of law enforcement experience, including patrol, correctio...

First responders are trained to recognize danger on the job — but sometimes the warning signs show up at home first. In this clip from The Blue Line Voice: Blood, Sand & Smoke Podcast , retired Sgt. Mark DiBona talks about the early warning signs that a first responder may be struggling mentally or emotionally. Irritability. Personality changes. Pulling away from family. Losing interest in the...

After stepping away from another nonprofit that no longer felt right, retired Sgt. Mark DiBona and three others came together with one goal: create something real, mission-driven, and focused on helping first responders. That mission became Protecting The Guardian . In this clip from The Blue Line Voice: Blood, Sand & Smoke Podcast , Mark talks about the beginning of Protecting The Guardian, t...

Law enforcement agencies talk a lot about taking care of their people — but when an officer is in a mental health crisis, too many departments still fall short. In this powerful clip from The Blue Line Voice: Blood, Sand & Smoke Podcast , retired Sgt. Mark DiBona breaks down why officer mental health needs to be treated with the same seriousness as any other line-of-duty injury. If an officer...

In this short clip from The Blue Line Voice: Blood, Sand & Smoke Podcast, retired Sgt. Mark DiBona explains why empathy and compassion are not weaknesses in law enforcement — they are essential parts of the job. Mark shares a powerful story from his 33-year career about a troubled 16-year-old girl who had been arrested repeatedly. Instead of simply making another arrest and moving on, he took...

In this powerful episode of The Blue Line Voice: Blood, Sand & Smoke Podcast , retired Sgt. Mark DiBona joins the show for a raw, honest, and necessary conversation about law enforcement, trauma, suicide prevention, leadership, family, and survival. Mark served 33 years in law enforcement , beginning in Massachusetts before continuing his career in Florida with the Avon Park Police Department...

This official trailer for the upcoming episode of The Blue Line Voice: Blood, Sand & Smoke Podcast gives a hard-hitting look at law enforcement, leadership, empathy, and first responder mental health. Retired Sgt. Mark DiBona joins the show for a real conversation about what it means to lead from the front, why good sergeants and FTOs matter, and why officers can never afford to lose empathy o...

In this powerful episode of The Blue Line Voice: Blood, Sand, and Smoke Podcast , we sit down with Frank Docimo , a retired firefighter with 38 years in the fire service, a nationally recognized hazmat instructor, FEMA National Fire Academy subject matter expert, and fierce advocate for first responder mental health. Frank started in the fire service as a volunteer in Connecticut before going paid...

Retired firefighter and hazmat expert Frank Docimo Sr. shares how he saw the need for stronger hazmat preparation before many departments were ready to listen. In this clip, Frank talks about building out hazmat capability, warning leadership that chemical emergencies were coming, and the incident that pushed him deeper into the hazmat world after four firefighters were burned at a chemical plant....

Retired firefighter Frank Docimo Sr. opens up about the mental health toll of nearly four decades in the fire service, the struggle to find help, and the frustration of being pushed out instead of supported. In this clip, Frank talks about EAP, recovery, medication, anger, leadership failures, and the hard reality many first responders face when they finally admit they need help. This is an honest...

Retired firefighter and hazmat expert Frank Docimo Sr. breaks down the different levels of hazmat response, from awareness and operations to technician, specialist, and incident command. In this clip, Frank explains why proper training matters, how fire departments prepare for chemical emergencies, and why the right people, tools, and knowledge can make the difference when the situation turns dang...