The CopDoc Podcast: Aiming for Excellence in Leadership

Chief Allen Aldenberg has worked in law enforcement for nearly  20 years.  He served as a corrections officer in Massachusetts and began his law enforcement career with the Goffstown, NH Police Department.   He later joined the Manchester, NH Police Department and rose through the ranks, becoming the Chief in 2019.  He is a Colonel in the U.S. Army Massachusetts National Guard and has led the 972n...

Doug Shoemaker is the Chief of Police at the Grand Junction, Colorado Police Department.   A veteran of more than 30 years in law enforcement, most of his career was with the Jefferson City, Missouri Police Department, the capital city of MO.  He rose to the number two position, as Deputy Chief.  He was recently elected as the 5th Vice President for the International Association of Chiefs of Polic...

Professor Rosa Brooks is a Georgetown University Law School professor.  She is the author of a few books and several articles.  During an earlier Sabbatical, she attended the Reserve Officer Police Academy for the Metropolitan, D.C. Police Department.  She provided patrol support of regular officers in the District of Columbia.   She established the Center for  Innovations in Community Safety.  Me...

Dr. Ernie Cuthbertson is a Captain, responsible for training with the Greensboro, NC Police.  A U.S. Marine veteran, Ernie is from Pennsylvania and related to NC to begin his 20 plus years in law enforcement.  Captain Cuthbertson is focused on leader development and succession planning for agencies.   Hey there! Send us a message. Who else should we be talking to? What topics are important? Use Fa...

David Norris is the Police Chief for the Menlo Park, CA Police Department.  He had a long career with the San Mateo Police, rising to the rank of Captain.  An east coast, Boston area transplant, Dave played baseball in high school and college, and later played in minor league baseball with affiliated teams for the St. Louis Cardinals after being drafted as a pitcher.    In his new job, he has face...

In this brief continuation, we chatted with Dr. Vicki Herrington, the Director of Knowledge at the Australian Institute of Police Management (AIPM).  We talked about policing, police leadership, training, and approaches to reflective learning on the issues confronting policing and the rising dissatisfaction of police service delivery, especially in urban areas in the states.   A fascinating interv...

Rahul Sidhu is a graduate of the University of Pittsburg. He studied Emergency Medicine and was a paramedic and flight medic.  Moving to California,  He attended the Orange County Police Academy, and served as a police officer for the Redondo Beach, CA Police Department.  Rahul began a few businesses to bring technology innovations to policing, now extending to other public safety, courts and pros...

Chief Renee Dominguez is a 20 year veteran of law enforcement in Connecticut.  Renee began her policing career in Newtown, CT with the Newtown Police Department.  In her career with the New Haven Police Department, she served on patrol, as a canine officer, in the Narcotics unit.   She was a Sergeant and a District Commander.  She was promoted to Assistant Chief and was responsible for the Patrol...

We chatted with Dr. Mark Chaires, retired Police Chief for the Schenectady, NY Police. A second career academic, we spoke about teaching, policing, the issues of race, and the difficulties of leading police agencies.  A U.S. Air Force veteran, Mark is now actively involved in the Imagination Library of Middle Tennessee, a non-profit started by Dolly Parton.  It addresses the issue of early literac...

Bruce O'Brien is an Assistant Commissioner with the New Zealand Police.  He is now responsible for the National Intelligence, Evidence-based Policing, and Roads Policing.  A 20+ year veteran with the NZP, Bruce is pursuing a doctorate through the Canterbury Christ Church University.   We spoke about policing, the issues in policing in New Zealand and across the Globe, innovation, Covid, racis...

Mike Brown is the recently retired Chief of Police for the City of Alexandria, VA. Brown has nearly four decades of experience in law enforcement, safety oversight, and public policy.  He rose through the ranks of the California Highway Patrol, starting as an officer in Los Angeles in 1977 and culminating in his appointment as state commissioner from 2004 to 2008. He previously served as chief or...

Bill Bratton has led 7 different police agencies over his 50-year career.  He is an author, a consultant, and serves as Executive Chairman for Teneo.  Bill started with the Boston Police Department, rose to become Executive Superintendent.  He was Chief of the MBTA Police, the Transit Police for Massachusetts, the Metropolitan Police, and was the Chief of the Transit Police of New York.  He return...

E. Dwaine Denmark, Ed Denmark is the recently retired police chief for the Harvard, MA Police Department.  He started his career with Ayer, MA Police Department, rising to the rank of lieutenant.  He served as the Police Chief with the Sterling, MA Police and later with Harvard, MA Police.  He served as a police chief for 19 years.  Dr. Denmark received a Bachelor’s degree from UMass-Amherst. Hel...

Darrel Stephens is a retired chief, who served with the Kansas City Police Department, Assistant Chief with the Lawrence, Kansas Police Department, Chief of the Largo, FL Police Department, Chief of Newport News Police, and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.  A proponent and believer in action research, he has been a lifelong advocate for policing.   In addition to his police service, he...

We chatted with Chief Ron Sellon from the Mansfield, MA Police Department.  Chief since 2013, Ron earned his law degree from Massachusetts School of Law.   He is an active member of the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association and is a Vice President with the International Chiefs of Police Association.   Ron is an FBI National Academy graduate.  He is focused on ensuring his agency is proactive,...

Dr. George Reed now serves as Dean at the School of Public Policy at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.  A U.S. Army military veteran, George retired as a Colonel in the Military Police Corps.  George had assignments that included MP posts, Criminal Investigation Command (CIC, formerly CID) leadership posts, and correctional facility posts.  His last assignment was as a faculty member...

Jon DeLena serves as the Associate Special Agent in Charge for the New England Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration.  A former Collier County, Florida Deputy Sheriff, John has served in Colorado, Florida, Washington, D.C. at DEA Headquarters and New Hampshire , and traveled around the world.   Associate SAC DeLena is originally from Revere, Massachusetts, and has more than 30 year...

Beth Sanborn is a Detective, Juvenile Officer, and School Resource Officer in Pennsylvania with the Lower Gwynedd Township, PA Police.  A law enforcement officer for nearly 25 years, she is active in the Penn. Association of School Resource Officers and the National Association of School Resource Officers.  Dr.  Sanborn enthusiastically and affirmatively supports the inclusion of SROs in American...

In this episode, we chat with Dr. Barney Melekian, current Chief of the Santa Barbara Police Department in California.  Barney is a lifelong public servant having worked for the Santa Monica Police Department, Chief of the Pasadena Police, Director of the COPS Office for the U.S. Department of Justice, the undersheriff of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office.  A veteran of the U.S. Army...

We interviewed  Chief Jim Viadero of the Newtown, CT Police Department.  A former command staff member for the Bridgeport Police.  Jim serves as an adjunct professor at Sacred Heart University.  We spoke about the issues of policing, the adjustments needed to adapt for Covid, and to avoid issues that have plagued US policing in the past few years.   This wide-ranging discussion helped to frame the...

Dennis Nayor recently retired as chief of the Ithaca Police Department.  He was previously the Chief of the Oneonta Police, with nearly 25 years of service in policing.  Following an Executive Order from The New York Governor, all police agencies in NY have to submit proposals for reform by April 1, 2021.   After many focus groups and meetings, a decision was made to drastically change the police...

We chatted with Chief Jeff Tate from the Shakopee Police in Minnesota. Shakopee is a suburb of Minneapolis.  The Shakopee Police have twice received the International Chiefs of Police Award for Community Policing.  In a no-holds-barred discussion, we talked about the Goerge Floyd death, the state of policing, collaboration, the rise in mental health calls, and the importance of community relations...

I chatted again with Jim McCabe, retired Inspector with the NYPD, and professor of Criminal Justice at Sacred Heart University.   Jim is an evaluator with the ICMA, having conducted 80 police management reviews in the US.  A member of the NYPD, Federal Court Monitor Team, Jim also teaches Criminal Justice courses, including  Police Management and Research Methods.  We spoke about a wide range of i...

This week we interview Dr. Michele Bratina from West Chester University in Pennsylvania. We talked about forensic mental health, the rise in mental health-related police calls and the mental well-being of respond offers to serious incidents, and the cumulative effect of difficult calls.  Michele has written journal articles and is an expert in Mental Health, having written Forensic Mental Health:...

We continued the interview with Inspector Andy Lacey, from An Garda Siochana, the Garda, the national police of the Republic of Ireland.  We discussed the reforms being considered for the Garda.  We talked about mental health and the pilot being created for Crisis Intervention Teams, co-response of clinicians with police officers.   We also talked about Covid and restrictions in Ireland.  Hey ther...