On Being a Police Officer Abby Ellsworth

Ep. 57 In Part 2 of my interview with Officer Dexter Pitts, we pick up with Dexter's departure from the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) after 12 years to become a US Border Patrol agent. It's a fascinating conversation about what the job really is, what he sees as the issues at the border, and why the job was not for him.
Then we get to 2020. Dexter talks about how sure he was that Louisville would not fall into the chaos he saw erupting in Minneapolis. Yet as he watched the news, he saw his city succumbing to the same fate. He felt guilty for leaving his brothers and sisters behind and wanted only one thing – to get back to LMPD to help them. He recounts what it was like to hold the line night after night, listening to the vitriol rioters spewed and coming face to face with people who literally wanted to kill the police. 
Then we get into issues: the impact of defund, civilian review boards, race, the biased anti-cop narrative, and more.
Many of you know Dexter as the author of “I Am Pitts: Memoirs of an American Patriot” and his “I Am Pitts” podcast. As I covered in Part 1, Dexter is an active patrol officer and has been in LE for 15 years and counting. He started with LMPD and is now with a smaller agency in the greater Louisville area. Dexter is a decorated, medically retired US Army veteran. In Part 1, we cover his time in Iraq with the Army in 2004 and the IED blast in that nearly took his life and for which he was awarded the Purple Heart.
We discuss his personal struggles that occurred early in his LE career including his mother’s suicide and his desire to end his own life. We also talked about why Dexter chose law enforcement and how he sees it as doing the work God meant him to do.
Dexter’s I Am Pitts website
https://iampitts.com/
There you can find his book “I Am Pitts: Memoirs of an American Patriot” or on Amazon. His “I Am Pitts” podcast is also available on his website and on all podcast platforms.
Find Dexter on:
Instagram: @iampitts1
TikTok @iampittsbook
Facebook: I Am Pitts: Memoirs of An American Patriot
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©Abby Ellsworth. All booking, interviews, editing, and production by Abby Ellsworth. Music courtesy of freesound.org
 

Ep. 56  Dexter Pitts is well known to many of you as the author of “I Am Pitts: Memoirs of an American Patriot” and his “I Am Pitts” podcast. Whether you know Dexter or not, you will definitely enjoy this interview. This is Part One of Two.
Dexter is a decorated, medically retired U.S. Army veteran who proudly served with the 10th Mountain Division in Iraq in 2004 as a machine gunner. We talk about the incident that nearly took his life and for which he received the Purple Heart.
We cover his early days in law enforcement and his personal struggles including a broken marriage, the devastating loss of his mother to suicide, his attempt to take his own life, and how he was able, through the help of family and his command staff, to turn his life around.
What's very clear in talking with Dexter is his passion for law enforcement, a profession he has served for 15 years and counting. He started with the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) and is now with a smaller department in the greater Louisville area. While with LMPD, he served on the Special Response Team (SRT) and completed a two-year special assignment with the US Marshals Fugitive Task Force.
Eight years into his time with LMPD, Dexter left to become a US Border Patrol agent in Naco, Arizona. The departure turned out to be temporary. When the riots and protests broke out in 2020, Dexter knew he had to return to LMPD to be with his brothers and sisters on the skirmish line. We talk about the chaos that dragged out well over a year and the lasting impact of that fragmented time on law enforcement.
Dexter is working on a second book. The working title is “Still Noble. Still needed. A Profession in Crisis.”  His goal is to support the profession and encourage people to choose it.
In Episode Two we talk about the riots, race, the national negative narrative on policing and importantly, hope for the future.
Dexter’s I Am Pitts website
https://iampitts.com/
There you can find his book “I Am Pitts: Memoirs of an American Patriot” or on Amazon. His “I Am Pitts” podcast is also available on his website and on all podcast platforms.
Find Dexter on:
Instagram: @iampitts1
TikTok @iampittsbook
Thanks for listening to On Being a Police Officer. YOU are what keeps me going.
Find me on my social or email me your thoughts:
Instagram: on_being_a_police_officer
Facebook: On Being a Police Officer
YouTube: Abby Ellsworth Channel
X: @AbbyEllsworth13
Abby@Ellsworthproductions.com
www.onbeingapoliceofficer.com
©Abby Ellsworth. All booking, interviews, editing, and production by Abby Ellsworth. Music courtesy of freesound.org
 

Ep. 55 - Scott Medlin found his calling as a police officer, a career he wanted since high school. After his deployment with the Marine Corps in 2003 and 2005 for Operation Iraqi Freedom, Scott fulfilled his dream and joined a police department in North Carolina. His most thrilling role was as K9 handler; he loved tracking and “the adrenaline rush of running in, not knowing what you're going to come up on.” But his commitment to the job was overtaking his life and taking its toll on his family. He decided to leave the streets to become a School Resource Officer (SRO), another role Scott came to love. While he missed being on patrol, he loved the kids and the impact he could have on their lives and theirs on his. Even that role was not helping reduce Scott’s stress.
Ultimately, after 15 years in law enforcement, Scott chose to leave the profession in 2020 when his PTSD, addiction and depression became too much. It was at this time he learned that more officers were dying by suicide than in the line of duty. That meant other officers were suffering, too.
As Scott says, “I basically thought to myself, you mean all these mental health struggles I've had, I was not alone? Because I thought I was. I just said, I've got to step up. If I can talk about the struggles I went through, maybe it can help someone.”
And that’s exactly what he did. Scott embarked on a journey to inspire and encourage police officers to focus on their personal wellbeing in order to survive the career and better serve the public. He has become a national speaker, author of five books and content creator on social media platforms. He has presented at numerous first responder conferences and police academies.  
In this episode, you’ll hear the stories of all Scott went through, the sacrifices he made for the job, the sacrifice he made to give up the job, and how he has used his own pain and personal growth to help others including LE, first responders and veterans. If you’ve seen Scott on social media or on his 10 Code Mindset channel on YouTube, you know how dynamic, relatable and inspiring he is. 
Here’s where you can find Scott. Really, all you have to do is Google him or 10 Code Mindset and you’ll find him!
His website:
https://thescottmedlin.com/
The 10 Code Mindset YouTube Channel and Podcast
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmNfLYoIkm0
Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/the10codemindset/
Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/The10CodeMindset
X:
@10CodeMindset
https://twitter.com/10CodeMindset
LinkedIn
His fifth book The Power in...

Ep. 54 Det. Matt Pitcher (Ret.) on working long-term deep undercover: creating and maintaining an identity; going years without spending time with family knowing that one slip could cost him the case – or his life.    
Matt and I connected on Instagram when he posted photos from his two long-term deep undercover cases. The visual instantly conveyed, more than words ever could, what it was like to risk his life for years as those two people. The stories are both fascinating and haunting, and they show the commitment and sacrifice that officers and agents like Matt make doing this work. 
Matt started his 22-year law enforcement career with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) and later lateraled to the Monroe County Sheriff's Office in Florida. We talk about working patrol and the devastating line-of-duty ambush murders of his friends and squad mates, Officers Sean Clark and Jeff Shelton. We also look at how Matt went from street level undercover to the two long-term cases which involved drug trafficking, organized crime and terrorism. He received the Medal of Valor for his work on the second case during which he infiltrated a dangerous criminal network to expose and thwart their plans. In addition to his undercover work, Matt handled numerous investigations including rape, human trafficking and homicide and helped crack the case of a serial killer.  Due to complications from a lung infection, Matt was forced to medically retire in late 2022. He is however actively sharing his story and is in fact now working on a book. 
Follow Matt on his Instagtram @ret_det_mattpitcher  to see the photos from Matt’s time in deep undercover and to get updates on his book.  
Also tune in! Matt will be featured in the season finale of A&E’s “Undercover: Caught On Tape,” a true crime series featuring the real stories of undercover agents and detectives. His episode will air Thurs. March 14, 2024 at 10 pm ET. Based our conversation, I am sure it will be riveting.
Thank you, Matt!
I want to honor the officers from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department who were shot and killed in an ambush attack. 
Officer Sean Robert Clark
Officer Jeff Shelton
Date of Incident: Saturday, March 31, 2007
E.O.W. Sunday, April 1, 2007
Thanks for listening to On Being a Police Officer. YOU are what keeps me going.
Find me on my socials or email me your thoughts:
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YouTube: Abby Ellsworth Channel
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Abby@Ellsworthproductions.com
www.onbeingapoliceofficer.com
©Abby Ellsworth. All booking, interviews, editing, and production by Abby Ellsworth. Music courtesy of freesound.org

Ep. 53 Officer Mike from a mid-sized agency in the Mid-Atlantic has been in law enforcement for seven years. He wrote to me saying, “I want to discuss the mental health aspect of the job and juggling it with family life. I've been married for about five years. We have two daughters who are four and almost two. I've gone through times when I see things at work that hit me in a way that I can't keep bottled up. Calls with children are what hit home the most. I tend to be pretty open with my family about what I experience, which helps a lot.”
Mike’s goal in coming on the podcast is to share these challenges so that other officers know they are not alone in experiencing the stress of the job and the impact on family. He wants to encourage all LEOs to have someone they can talk to and not be afraid to ask for help.
Our conversation includes what it’s like coming home with adrenaline coursing through your veins; wanting to talk about some things and not others; wanting to be present for your family, but not always being able to; and the challenge of shift schedules that leave little time for family – or sleep.
We revisit hitting the streets after field training, those first calls where he felt a level of uncertainty. We talk about the critical incidents that “shook” him and how even the “smaller” incidents come back to haunt him. He says there were times early on when he wished someone would have asked how he was doing after a call – not just minutes after, but days or weeks later. He also says he unaware of the Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM ) team in his area, a team he has since joined to help other officers following a critical incident.   
Recently, I’ve interviewed officers who are newly retired reflecting back on this very part of their lives and career. I thought it was important to talk to someone who's relatively new on the job and working patrol. The message from all is the same: don’t be reluctant to speak up. Whether you’re two years on or 22, you’ll relate to Mike’s experiences on and off the job.
Thanks for being on the show, Mike!
In the episode, I mention The LT’s Daughter Katherine Boyle and the programs she is creating for officers looking to connect or reconnect with family. You can learn more in the interview I did with her in episode 46 and through this link on her programs.
Event List Sign Up:
https://view.flodesk.com/pages/647f698cdfd04634e9976771
Katherine’s IG:
https://www.instagram.com/theltsdaughter/
I also mention NYPD Cold Case Detective Jason Palamara (Ret.) from Ep. 50. He works as a crisis counselor, keynote speaker and life coach. He recently published a book with coauthor Barbara Rubel available on Amazon called “Living Blue: Helping Law Enforcement Officers and Their Families Survive and Thrive from Recruitment to Retirement.”  You can find him on his website https://jasonpalamara.org/ and on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.
Thanks for listening to On Being a Police Officer. YOU are what keeps me going.
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a...

Ep. 52  Lt. Jared Ross of the Arlington TX Police Department contacted me to discuss the public's misperceptions of police ethics, training, accountability, use of force and more. Jared has been with the department for 18 years and is currently Patrol Commander. He also is the department’s primary instructor for Ethics & Professionalism.
He says, “whenever I hear the media or members of the public allude to the fact that we're undertrained or that we don't care about training, we don't value education or professional development, it's completely not true. And that's one of the things I wanted to be able to shed some light on, because that's one of my passions in my career.”  
We do exactly that and talk about the remarkable feats of interpersonal communication, negotiation, de-escalation, and problem solving that officers do every day, a critical part of the narrative that gets lost.
We also cover Jared’s professional journey including his work as a field training supervisor, a hostage negotiator, a detective in the Domestic Violence Unit, and an Internal Affairs investigator. We discuss why he got into law enforcement and the passion he continues to have for the profession. 
I want to honor the life, service, commitment and sacrifice of Officer Darrin McMichael of the Arlington Police Department whose line of duty death occurred shortly before I interviewed Jared and which he mentions in the episode.
Officer Darrin McMichael
E.O.W Thursday, September 21, 2023
https://www.odmp.org/officer/26786-police-officer-darrin-mcmichael

Thanks for listening to On Being a Police Officer. YOU are what keeps me going.
Find me on my social or email me your thoughts:
Instagram: on_being_a_police_officer
Facebook: On Being a Police Officer
X: @AbbyEllsworth13
Abby@Ellsworthproductions.com
©Abby Ellsworth. All booking, interviews, editing, and production by Abby Ellsworth. Music courtesy of freesound.org