True Blue Podcast

In this episode of the True Blue Podcast, we chat with Cst. Warren Sherman a 13 year veteran of VicPD.  Warren was Jamaican born and raised before moving the Florida to finish high school and then attend Wake Forest University on an athletic scholarship.  Warren did some modelling and then acting in a Jamaican soap opera after graduating university.  He also worked in the private security industry...

We start out Season 5 of the True Blue Podcast talking with Constable Ari Knazan an 11 year veteran of VicPD.  Ari was hired a little later in life compared to the average recruit but obviously that meant he brought a breadth of life experiences with him to the job.  He has a couple of great stories behind his motivation for becoming a police officer.  Victoria Police was the only department that...

Inspector Michael Brown was on duty on 28 June 2022 and served as the Critical Incident Commander (CIC) for this event.  Insp. Brown is a 29-year Police veteran, a former GVERT operator and Team Leader, he talks about wanting to be a police officer as a kid and the GVERT Christmas gift he got as a 15-year-old!  “Why Waltz, when you can Rock & Roll.” Insp. Brown goes through some of the histori...

"Your husband has been shot" - is anyone ever ready for this news? A career in police work is inherently dangerous and the families are thereby subjected to wondering how safe their spouse or parent is while on duty.   The True Blue Podcast is delighted to have Amanda MacIntyre and Angela Reichert share their stories about what the past two years have been like after both their husbands...

The "True Blue Podcast" is proud to chat with Cst. Steven Reichert from Saanich Police and the Greater Victoria Emergency Response Team (GVERT).  He was injured during the BMO Robbery and Shootout, one gunshot wound to each leg and one to his left forearm. Steven shares details of being shot, the amazing tactical response of his teammates and shortly thereafter the medical response effor...

Rollie Woods joins Tom Stamatakis in this episode to talk about Police Oversight in British Columbia.  Rollie is a former Deputy Commissioner at the BC Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner (OPPC).  He has 35 years of policing experience, 10 years experience on the Executive of the Vancouver Police Union (VPU) and as President of the Senior Officer's Association before moving to work in...

The Victoria City Police Union (VCPU) is proud to introduce Sgt. Angela Van Eerd (Union President) and Sgt. Joan Elliott (Union Secretary). Hear directly from these two inspirational leaders as they join Matt Waterman to discuss their rise to important positions on the Executive of the VCPU. The VCPU was organized in 1946 and after 77 years the members have elected their first female President! So...

In celebration of Black History Month, the Victoria City Police Union (VCPU) is proud to speak with Tim Kituri who is currently serving as a Provincial appointee on the Victoria and Esquimalt Police Board. Tim came to Canada a little over 20 years ago and now resides in Esquimalt.  He is originally from Kenya and tells a very unique story while living in the capital Nairobi about a specific incide...

Erin Toplak, President of the Vancouver Island Chapter of "Beyond The Blue" joins VCPU Director and host Tom Stamatakis on this episode.  Tom and Erin are life partners and share some of their own struggles of being a partner to a police officer. VI Beyond The Blue (BTB) is a non-profit organization that provides peer support to the families and spouses of police officers.  BTB wants to...

Meet the most important “Prevention and Intervention” team in Greater Victoria that focuses on Youth Exploitation.  The incomparable Mia Golden has been in the business of Youth and Family Counselling for about 30 years and is the backbone of MYST.  Her current partner is Cst. Gord Magee, he brings 26 years policing experience to the team and has been attached to MYST the previous 3 years. Hear fr...

Cst. Angelina "Ange" Atkinson is one of the 6 new recruits in Class #172.  Ange comes to VicPD as an experienced BC Deputy Sheriff, looking to expand her law enforcement career into the policing world.  She is a rare "home grown" Victorian, a graduate of Lambrick Park Secondary, the Camosun College Criminal Justice Program and also a graduate of the Greater Victoria Police Camp...

In the final episode of Season 3, we get an update from Cst. Chris Allen who has now been working for VicPD for 2 years.  Chris is working in the Patrol Division; he has been passing on his experiences and knowledge as a Field Training Officer (FTO) to new recruits.  Chris is a former high school teacher, and we believe well suited to be training new recruits in their Block II.  Chris gives us ins...

"The White Hatter" is a team of on-line professionals helping teens and their families with everything from sextortions to extensive digital literacy training.  Darren Laur is a retired Staff Sergeant with 30 years service at the Victoria Police Department. The White Hatter has assisted 294 children and their families, 18 of those identify as females and the remainder teen boys – the you...

On this episode we chat with Cst. Matt King about VicPD's new OSI Dog.  "Daisy" was sworn in October 2023 to be the first Operational Stress Intervention Dog at VicPD.  She is a 3 yr old Golden Lab and comes from a long line of purpose bred dogs that are trained to help officers dealing with trauma and stress.  Daisy came to VicPD through a partnership with Wounded Warriors Canada....

The True Blue Podcast has paused releasing further episodes related to the BMO Shooting incident from 28 June 2022 that involved officers potentially facing discipline.   Future episodes related to the shooting will be released when the OPCC investigation is concluded. Sound editing done by Todd Mason. More about the Victoria City Police Union (VCPU): -        Tweet us at https://twitter.com/VicPD...

You won't want to miss this episode!  Mike Jarosz was 1 of 7 GVERT members inside the van that took multiple rounds from two gunmen.  Mike is a TEMS Medic on the team and he shares amazing details from that horrible day.  He also provides some remarkable insight into the stresses police officers have to deal with during and after a critical incident.  The candidness of his psychological strug...

Ben King is a tactical member of the Greater Victoria Emergency Response Team (GVERT) and took a rifle round in the leg on 28 June 2022 in an effort to keep our community safe.  Hear Ben tell his story of being shot, the chaos at the scene, the heroes at the scene, the medical staff that put him and his friends back together, his long recovery to walk unassisted again.  Ben shares his perspective...

Hear the amazing story of Retired Sergeant Laurie White (RCMP) and her struggles to survive and persevere after being shot on duty in November 1998 while serving a search warrant at a residence in Kitimat, BC.  She was air lifted to Vancouver and due to severe damage to her right leg Laurie awoke to finding out that her leg had been amputated just below her right knee.  After ten painful months an...

**Trigger Warning**   This episode discusses the topic of a bank robbery and shooting where 2 people died and multiple others were seriously injured, some of the content may be distressing to the listener.  This series of episodes was created with the objective that talking about the subject could in part provide the listener with more information about the event from many different perspectives. ...

**Trigger Warning**   This episode discusses the topic of a bank robbery and shooting where 2 people died and multiple others were seriously injured, some of the content may be distressing to the listener.  This series of episodes was created with the objective that talking about the subject could in part provide the listener with more information about the event from many different perspectives. ...

**Trigger Warning** This episode discusses the topic of a bank robbery and shooting where 2 people died and multiple others were seriously injured, some of the content may be distressing to the listener.  This series of episodes was created with the objective that talking about the subject could in part provide the listener with more information about the event from many different perspectives.  I...

**Trigger Warning** This episode discusses the topic of a bank robbery and shooting where 2 people died and multiple others were seriously injured, some of the content may be distressing to the listener.  This series of episodes was created with the objective that talking about the subject could in part provide the listener with more information about the event from many different perspectives.  I...

VCPU Director Tom Stamatakis hosts this episode with repeat guest Cst. Mark Jenkins who serves as a "Community Resource Officer" in downtown Victoria.  Mark's perspective comes from his expansive frontline experience and excellent insight into the issues the public sees and hears about.  The host, Tom Stamatakis also relates his experiences after working an overtime shift in the Pan...

In the 3rd and final part of this 3 part series with Retired Staff Sergeant Chris Horsley we go over a few topics that are currently in the news. The complex policing issue in Surrey BC. Amalgamation in the Greater Victoria area. Safe Supply – not a true description of what’s happening on the streets. Breaching Court Orders and continued lack of accountability; resulting in police having to use fi...

In Part 2 of the series, with Retired Staff Sergeant Chris Horsley, we chat about some of the more interesting police investigations he touched during his career.  Many of these have unique circumstances that highlight the difficulties police officers face regularly when investigating.  Chris reflects on some the details he remembers. Topics: Peter Lee Homicide – King George Terrace Rocket Scienti...