The CopDoc Podcast: Aiming for Excellence in Leadership

The CopDoc Podcast - Season 10 - Episode 174 Unlock the secret to transforming police leadership from the front lines. Dr. Robin Engel shares how dedicated research and real-world experience are reshaping police training and community trust—yet the journey is anything but easy. In this powerful conversation, Robin reveals how her personal history fuels her relentless drive to improve policing—high...

The CopDoc Podcast - Season 10 -  Episode 173 Guest: Chief Ryan Johansen, Apex Police Department, Apex, North Carolina Most police chiefs walk into a new department and tell people their vision. Ryan Johansen asked questions and took notes for 90 minutes with every single one of his 200 employees. One-on-one. No agenda. Just listening. EPISODE DESCRIPTION Chief Ryan Johansen of the Apex Police Dep...

The CopDoc Podcast - Season 10 - Episode 171 In this episode of The CopDoc Podcast, Dr. Steve Morreale sits down with Christian Quinn, retired Fairfax County Police executive and founder of Fulcrum Innovations. Christian traces his path from Massachusetts summer police officer to one of the technology leaders in one of the nation's largest county police departments. The conversation then dive...

The CopDoc Podcast - Season 10 - Episode 170 EPISODE SUMMARY What happens when a police chief walks into his first department meeting and tells the staff, "I'm here to serve you — not the other way around"? For Chief Tom Wetzel of the University Circle Police Department in Cleveland, Ohio, that statement was not a slogan. It was a commitment he has carried through three decades of p...

The CopDoc Podcast - Season 9 - Episode 169 EPISODE SUMMARY: Steve Morreale sits down with Captain Dr. Heather Glogolich of the NJIT Police Department in Newark, New Jersey, for a candid, deeply personal, and professionally rich conversation about what it means to lead in policing today. Heather brings more than 22 years of law enforcement experience, an EdD focusing on domestic violence and highe...

The CopDoc Podcast - Season 9 - Episode 168 What does it take to go from a dirt road in Northeast Texas to leading one of the most progressive police departments in the country? In this episode of The CopDoc Podcast, Dr. Steve Morreale sits down with Dr. Lance Arnold, Chief of Police in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. Lance calls his journey "dirt road to doctorate," and that phrase captures som...

The CopDoc Podcast - Season 9 - Episode 167 What does it take to walk into four different agencies, each with its own culture and expectations, and lead effectively in all of them? Gina Hawkins has done exactly that — from the Atlanta Police Department where she came of age as a young officer, to Sandy Springs, Clayton County, Fayetteville, North Carolina, and now Cobb County's Sheriff's...

Season 9 - Episode 166 - The CopDoc Podcast Hey there! Send us a message. Who else should we be talking to? What topics are important? Use FanMail to connect! Let us know! Contact us: copdoc.podcast@gmail.com  Website: www.copdocpodcast.com If you'd like to arrange for facilitated training, or consulting, or talk about steps you might take to improve your leadership and help in your quest for...

Season 9 - Episode 166 - The CopDoc Podcast What does it take to lead a police department through tragedy, transformation, and tremendous change? Chief Jeremy Story of the Las Cruces Police Department in New Mexico knows firsthand. A Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq, Jeremy joined policing in 2007 after choosing family over a military career. He rose through the ranks touching nearly every...

The CopDoc Podcast - Season 9 - Episode 165 There's a consistent problem in American law enforcement that rarely makes headlines but shapes everything: what we do with people when they get promoted to lieutenant. Traditionally, they get a rank, a schedule, sometimes a handshake, and they're told to run the night shift. Nobody teaches them they've fundamentally changed jobs. They sti...

The CopDoc Podcast - Season 9 - Episode 164 AI Advocate: Joanne Sweeney on Leadership in the Age of Artificial Intelligence This week on The CopDoc Podcast, we're back with Joanne Sweeney from Galway, Ireland, reconnecting for our second conversation about one of the most transformative forces in modern organizations: artificial intelligence. She is the host of AI6 Podcast.  About AI in six m...

The CopDoc Podcast - Season 9 - Episode 163 What happens when a former DEA executive takes the helm of a major city police department with a promise to be the most proactive force in America? We invited Dallas Police Chief Danny Comeaux to walk us through his playbook—why leadership starts with empower, inspire, motivate, how quick wins build trust, and why showing up unannounced at stations can c...

The CopDoc Podcast - Season 9 - Episode 162 Policing changes fastest when leaders listen first and translate ideas into real work. That’s the throughline in our conversation with Jim Burch, president of the National Policing Institute, who shares a candid view of how a small team amplifies big impact: distilling research into actionable guidance, helping agencies adapt—not copy—what works elsewher...

The CopDoc Podcast - Season 9 - Episode 161 In an interesting conversation from Chandler, Arizona, Assistant Chief Jason Sieczkowski reveals the innovative leadership approaches transforming his department into what he calls "the Silicon Valley of the desert." As an IACP 40 Under 40 honoree who's spent his entire 19-year career with Chandler PD, Jason shares the philosophy that&apos...

The CopDoc Podcast - Season 8 - Episode 160 What happens when you combine a fine arts degree with police leadership? Chief Chad Kasmar of the Tucson Police Department demonstrates how creative thinking transforms modern policing challenges into opportunities for innovation. Kasmer's journey from beach bum to nationally recognized police leader reveals the unexpected value of diverse perspecti...

The CopDoc Podcast - Season 9 - Episode 160 What if police departments made decisions based on solid evidence rather than gut feelings? Dr. David Weisburd, a dual faculty member at George Mason University and Hebrew University of Jerusalem, has spent decades proving that scientific approaches can revolutionize policing. From his unexpected start evaluating one of America's first community pol...

The CopDoc Podcast - Season 8 - Episode 159 When criminal networks operate across continents, police must work beyond borders. In this compelling conversation with Assistant Commissioner Bruce O'Brien, we explore the critical world of international police collaboration from the perspective of someone building these vital connections daily. As New Zealand Police's Senior Liaison Officer i...

The CopDoc Podcast- Season 8 - Episode 158  Ever wonder what American policing looks like through the eyes of someone trained in European military special forces? Commander Diego Zanella offers that rare perspective, having journeyed from Italian paratrooper to American police commander. His story isn't just about cultural transitions—it reveals universal leadership truths that transcend bord...

Season 8 - The CopDoc Podcast - Episode 157 Colonel Eric Smith's journey from Boeing sheet metal mechanic to leading the Kansas Highway Patrol reveals what transformative police leadership looks like in action. After a chance encounter with a sergeant led him to volunteer as a dispatcher, Smith found his calling in law enforcement, spending nine years with the Sedgwick County Sheriff's O...

The CopDoc Podcast - Season 8 - Episode 156  Chief Jim McDonald's journey in law enforcement reads like a masterclass in adaptive leadership. From his bold decision to leave Boston for Los Angeles with just $400 and two suitcases to his current role leading one of America's largest police departments, McDonald exemplifies how stepping beyond comfort zones catalyzes professional growth. T...

The CopDoc Podcast - Season 8 - Episode 155  What if the most powerful leadership tool isn't having all the answers, but asking the right questions? Dr. Michael Marquardt, after studying leaders across 50 countries for over five decades, discovered a surprising pattern—the greatest leaders in every field share one fundamental skill: they ask exceptional questions. In this thought-provoking co...

The CopDoc Podcast - Season 8 - Episode 154  Leadership doesn't happen in a vacuum – especially in policing, where decisions impact both officers and communities. In this revealing conversation, Assistant Chief Jonathan Ziders takes us on his remarkable journey from reluctant recruit to departmental leader. "I never wanted to be a cop," Ziders candidly shares at the start of our dis...

The CopDoc Podcast - Season 8 - Episode 153 What happens when a basketball coach becomes a police chief? Chief John Fisher of the Bedford, Massachusetts, Police Department brings a refreshingly human perspective to law enforcement leadership, replacing command-and-control with connection and coaching. Fisher's journey from U.S. Coast Guard service through the ranks of Nashua, NH Police Depart...

The CopDoc Podcast - Season 8 - Episode 151 In a great conversation on The CopDoc Podcast, Steve Morreale engages with Jason Potts, Director of the Department of Public Safety in Las Vegas, Nevada, exploring the intersection of modern police leadership and evidence-based approaches to public safety. Potts, who also serves as president of the American Society of Evidence-Based Policing, offers valu...

The CopDoc Podcast - Season 8 - Episode 152 What happens when a Naval Captain witnesses his crew cheering as his predecessor leaves? For Mike Abershoff, it sparked a leadership revolution that transformed USS Benfold from one of the worst ships in the Pacific Fleet to the best in the entire US Navy – all in just 15 months. "The days of top-down command and control, my way or the highway leade...