Reasons We Serve: Police Careers & Officer Experience

Reasons We Serve
  • 4.6 (32)
  • Documentary
  • Updated Weekly

Police officer stories and law enforcement interviews revealing why people choose careers in policing. Do you ever wonder why people go into law enforcement? Does being in law enforcement change your views of the public over time, and how does being an officer affect your family? This podcast explores these questions and discusses different careers and the functions of various law enforcement agencies, including local, state, and federal agencies. The episodes include interviews with retired and active-duty law enforcement officers. Welcome to Reasons We Serve—your source for the most honest, unfiltered Law Enforcement Interviews and Military Stories on YouTube. We sit down with Police Officers, Corrections Deputies, Homicide Detectives, Military Veterans, and DEA Agents to share the true costs and triumphs of their careers. The episodes include interviews with retired and active-duty law enforcement officers. Dive into real True Crime Interviews that explore everything from Prison Life and Inmate Stories to solving Cold Cases and surviving Undercover Cop operations. Whether we're covering the dangers of Rikers Island, the challenges of First Responder Mental Health, or Military Missions in Vietnam, we bring you the raw experiences of those who serve.

  1. 13h ago

    He Interrogated an Al-Qaeda Bomber for 20 Hours | FBI Agent Eric Jergenson | Ep. 186

    An Al-Qaeda–trained operative was building bombs in Denver to hit New York City on the 9/11 anniversary. Retired FBI Agent Eric Jergenson sat across from him for 20+ hours. In this episode of Reasons We Serve, retired FBI Special Agent and Supervisory Special Agent Eric Jergenson takes us inside the 2009 Najibullah Zazi investigation, one of the most serious terror plots on U.S. soil since 9/11. A coded email ("the marriage is ready"), a Labor Day weekend phone call, a high-speed run from Colorado to the George Washington Bridge, a laptop smashed with a hammer, and a 20-hour interview that started with talk about the New York Mets. But this isn't just a counterterrorism story. Eric shares how the Oklahoma City bombing brought him to tears and set his course, what Quantico was really like (classmates vanishing overnight), why he turned down the DEA, and how he rebuilt the Southern Colorado JTTF around one lesson his training agent gave him on day two: relationships are everything. Then he gets honest about the cost. When his 14-year-old daughter told him, "You're not available," he stepped down from leadership to be the father she needed. If you're in law enforcement, the military, or any mission-driven career, this part is for you. We also cover: • What FBI agents really do ("we talk to people") • FBI vs DEA at Quantico, from both sides of the trees • How the JTTF actually stops attacks before you ever hear about them • Whether the FBI should ever be political • Advice for anyone who wants to join the FBI: stay the course 👍 If this story, please give us a 5-star review and SUBSCRIBE so you never miss a Reasons We Serve interview with the people who protect this country. 💬 COMMENT below: Where were you on 9/11, and did it change your path? 🔁 SHARE this with a young officer, agent, or veteran who needs to hear Eric's advice about family. ▶ Listen next: FBI Agent's Epic Career: 9/11 Chaos, USS Cole & Child Crime Busts | Ann Kirkland Interview Niles Gooding, a retired 25-year DEA Special Agent, hosts Reasons We Serve and shares real stories of service, sacrifice, and leadership from law enforcement, the military, and first responders.

    He Interrogated an Al-Qaeda Bomber for 20 Hours | FBI Agent Eric Jergenson | Ep. 186

  2. Oct 18

    He Policed New Zealand Without a Gun for 30 Years | Craig Tickelpenny | Reasons We Serve Ep. 185

    At 23, Craig Tickelpenny worked his first night shift completely alone, with no gun, no body armor, and no one to call for backup. That was how policing worked in New Zealand. In Episode 185 of Reasons We Serve, retired New Zealand Police Senior Sergeant Craig Tickelpenny takes us inside a country with a single national police force: no FBI, no DEA, no CIA, just one agency that handles it all. Craig joined in 1992, when officers had to sign firearms out of a station safe before responding. He explains how a cop handles a knife attack with nothing but a baton and the ability to talk someone down. His path into the job started in a gang bar, with an offhand comment that he'd be "the last person in the world" to become a cop. He signed up the next day. From there, Craig tells us about:Teaching himself the job alone for six months in his own hometownTwo years tending bar in London, which he credits for his de-escalation skillsA man who tried to stab him and came back the next day to apologizeThe meth trade, rising gang violence, and Australia's deportations reshaping crime in New Zealand      • Climbing to Senior Sergeant and spending six years training future leaders at the Royal New                 Zealand Police College Today Craig runs the Welfare Fund for the New Zealand Police Association. He came to The Wounded Blue Summit in the U.S. looking for something his country still lacks: real support for officers living with PTSD after they leave the job. His honest take on hypervigilance, what policing does to how you see people, and why he steered his own son away from the badge will stay with you. If you've ever wondered how policing works without guns, or what officers carry home long after retirement, this conversation is for you. 👍 LIKE this video if you learned something about policing beyond U.S. borders. Please give us a 5-star review if you enjoyed this interview. 💬 COMMENT: Should American police learn from New Zealand's de-escalation approach, or is it a different world? 🔔 SUBSCRIBE for new service stories every week. 📤 SHARE this with a cop, veteran, or first responder who needs to hear it. Reasons We Serve is hosted by Niles Gooding, a retired DEA Special Agent with 25 years of service. Every episode features the real people behind the badge and the uniform: why they served, what it cost them, and what they learned.

    He Policed New Zealand Without a Gun for 30 Years | Craig Tickelpenny | Reasons We Serve Ep. 185

  3. Oct 11

    Body Cams Lie: Rock Drummer Turned Cop Jamie Borden on What Videos Miss | Reasons We Serve EP 184

    A DA charged a man with murder based on a video, and that same video got him acquitted. Retired cop, use-of-force expert, and professional rock drummer Jamie Borden explains what police videos don't show.   Jamie Borden retired from the Henderson Police Department outside Las Vegas in 2018 after a career in patrol, undercover narcotics, and training. At his chief's request, he built the department's use-of-force training and analysis unit. Today he's the founder of Critical Incident Review and the author of eight published works on law enforcement. He has worked around 400 cases and testified about 55 times in courtrooms across the country.   He's also been a professional drummer since he was 14. For his whole police career, his band Phoenix headlined Las Vegas Strip venues like Mandalay Bay and the Bellagio. He even stepped away from the badge for a short time to tour with Aerosmith guitarist Jimmy Crespo and the violinist from Kansas. At 52, he sang on a record for the first time, a 13-song album called Between Two Hats, and every dime from his recordings goes to the Wounded Blue.   In this episode, you'll hear: • Why body-cam fisheye distortion makes 12 feet look like 24 • Why every video Jamie reviewed surprised him when he compared it to the officer's statement • A 75-year-old pastor who came in anti-police and left with no questions after one session in a 300-degree deadly-force simulator • How a forensic look at a faint smoke reflection freed a man charged with second-degree murder • How playing in a rock band kept him balanced through a career in police work • How hard Tom Sawyer, Hot for Teacher, and Sultans of Swing really are on drums • The night he busted a headlining band's road manager before the show • His answer to the question: drummer or cop?  Whether you wear the badge, play the drums, or just want the truth behind the next viral police video, this conversation will change how you see both.   👉 Subscribe for new service stories every week. 👍 If you liked this interview, please give us a 5-star review. 💬 Comment below: drummers, which song do you think is the hardest to play? 🔁 Share this with someone who judges police videos in the first 10 seconds.  Listen next: • My interview with Danny King, Jamie's partner in building the use-of-force unit Episode 164-Why This Cop Anchored Every Dresser in His House!  • Randy Sutton and the Wounded Blue Episode 154-Betrayed by His Own Department After 34 Years - Retired Las Vegas Metro Police Lt. Randy Sutton  Find Jamie Borden: Critical Incident Review: criticalincidentreview.com Book: Beyond the Frame: Bridging the Gap Between Digital Evidence and Reality Album: Between Two Hats  Reasons We Serve is an interview podcast with the people who answered the call: law enforcement, military, and first responders. Hosted by Niles Gooding, a retired 25-year DEA Special Agent. 🎙️ Know someone with a story to tell? contactreasonsweserve@gmail.com

    Body Cams Lie: Rock Drummer Turned Cop Jamie Borden on What Videos Miss | Reasons We Serve EP 184

  4. Oct 4

    I Arrested Him in 2001. 25 Years Later, He Saved a Cop's Life | Willie Merry | Ep. 183

    In 2001, DEA Special Agent Niles Gooding arrested Willie Merry for selling ecstasy at raves. Twenty-five years later, one phone call from Willie saved a police officer's life.   Willie grew up in an abusive home with a father he believes was a dirty cop. By 22, he was making $30,000–$40,000 a night selling ecstasy in Idaho's rave scene. Then one morning, a month after his son was born, an orange F-250 pulled up outside his house.   In this emotional reunion episode of Reasons We Serve, Willie sits down with the agent who arrested him for the first time in 25 years. He talks about refusing to cooperate, serving 18 months at FCI Sheridan's federal prison camp, and why he never blamed the cops. He also explains how he rebuilt his life as a felon and became an HVAC business owner.   Then the story takes a turn nobody could have scripted. Willie became friends with former Nampa police officer Jared Webb. After Jared's arrest, Willie happened to call him at the exact moment Jared was preparing to take his own life. Willie kept him talking for over an hour. Afterward, he gave Jared a job, drove him to drug court every day, split his commissions with him, and helped launch Zero Dark 30 Coffee.   This is a story about accountability, redemption, second chances, and what it really means to serve others.   💬 Do you believe in divine intervention? Episodes related to and mentioned in this interview.  🎥 LISTEN NEXT  - From Badge to Brew A Marine and Cop's Battle with Trauma PTSD  Addiction to Redemption | Ep. 129 Jarad Webb -Why This Federal Prosecutor Left the Courtroom to Chase Beauty -30 Years in Law Enforcement: From Marines to Federal Probation Chief | Kevin Hocevar  ABOUT REASONS WE SERVE: Reasons We Serve is a long-form interview podcast with the people who run toward danger: police officers, detectives, federal agents, corrections officers, dispatchers, prosecutors, forensic nurses, firefighters, and military veterans. Guests come from small-town departments, big-city precincts, state and federal agencies, and police forces worldwide. Every conversation comes back to three questions: Why did you choose this life? What did it cost you and your family? After everything you've seen, how do you see people now?  No politics, no scripts. Just first-person stories from people who served. ▶️ Subscribe for new interviews every Sunday 🎙️ Know someone with a story to tell? contactreasonsweserve@gmail.com

    I Arrested Him in 2001. 25 Years Later, He Saved a Cop's Life | Willie Merry | Ep. 183

  5. Sep 27

    Ex-CIA Intelligence Analyst Reveals How Easy It Is to Find Anyone Online | Kirby Plessas | Ep. 182

    How much can someone find out about you online? More than you think. Former CIA and Defense Intelligence Agency analyst Kirby Plessas explains open source intelligence (OSINT), the methods intelligence agencies, federal agents, and investigators use to track people, money, and secrets using only public information.   Kirby started as an Army Arabic linguist and SIGINT analyst. She was sent to the NSA right after 9/11, then hunted for Iran's nuclear program online at DIA, and later helped run a CIA open-source innovation center. Today she trains law enforcement and investigators around the world through Plessas Experts Network. In this episode: What OSINT is and how investigators use itThe difference between the CIA, DIA and NSAIs your phone listening to you?How AI is changing investigations, and how to spot fake news and deepfakesThe AI tools a former CIA analyst uses (ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Grok)The most secure web browser for privacyHer take on Edward Snowden, Julian Assange and Chelsea ManningHow to become an OSINT investigatorTracking cryptocurrency 🔎 Plessas Experts Network: https://plessas.net 🎓 OSINT Academy: https://academy.plessas.net   Reasons We Serve is a long-form interview podcast with the people who run toward danger: police officers, detectives, federal agents, corrections officers, dispatchers, prosecutors, forensic nurses, firefighters, and military veterans. Guests come from small-town departments, big-city precincts, state and federal agencies, and police forces worldwide.   Every conversation comes back to three questions: Why did you choose this life? What did it cost you and your family? After everything you've seen, how do you see people now?  No politics, no scripts. Just first-person stories from people who served.   ▶️ Subscribe for new interviews every Sunday: https://www.spreaker.com/user/reasons-we-serve--17128705 🎙️ Know someone with a story to tell? contactreasonsweserve@gmail.com   💬 What do you think the CIA’s job really is?

    Ex-CIA Intelligence Analyst Reveals How Easy It Is to Find Anyone Online | Kirby Plessas | Ep. 182

  6. Sep 20

    Undercover Detective: How I Trapped Predators on the Streets | Heidi Chance | Episode 181

    They thought they were recruiting a vulnerable woman. They were talking to Detective Heidi Chance. The retired Phoenix detective takes us inside her undercover work investigating sex trafficking—and shares what those encounters taught her about manipulation, control, and the warning signs families can miss. Heidi discusses online grooming, sextortion targeting boys, and why a parent’s reaction can determine whether their child asks for help again. She also reveals the encounter with a former student that changed her career. Subscribe to Reasons We Serve for candid conversations with the people behind the badge.  Welcome to our channel, Reasons We Serve, a podcast dedicated to exploring the motivations, challenges, and realities of working in law enforcement. We dive deep into the personal stories of officers, discuss different career paths, and break down the roles of various agencies—from local police departments to state and federal law enforcement. If you enjoyed this episode, please give us a 5-star review, subscribe, and share with others.  To watch more interviews with retired and active-duty cops and law enforcement, watch here: https://www.youtube.com/@reasonsweserve

    Undercover Detective: How I Trapped Predators on the Streets | Heidi Chance | Episode 181

  7. Sep 13

    What is a DEA Diversion Investigator? | Brian Rucker | Episode 180

    Navy Commander who lost his best friend at 17 spent 20 years in the fleet, then walked into the DEA at age 42 as a diversion investigator. Brian Rucker helped take down the first internet pharmacy case under the Ryan Haight Act, shut down early OxyContin pill mills in Philadelphia, and watched the opioid crisis migrate from Florida into Georgia. In this raw interview, he breaks down what diversion investigators actually do, the black-sheep relationship with special agents, leadership lessons from the Navy, and how one personal tragedy shaped an entire career fighting pharmaceutical diversion. If this story hits home, hit like, subscribe, and drop a comment with the name of someone you lost to drugs or someone who still serves. Share it with a young person considering federal law enforcement or the military. More veteran and law-enforcement stories in the “Reasons We Serve” playlist. Welcome to our channel, Reasons We Serve, a podcast dedicated to exploring the motivations, challenges, and realities of working in law enforcement. We dive deep into officers' personal stories, discuss different career paths, and break down the roles of various agencies—from local police departments to state and federal law enforcement. If you liked this episode, please give us a 5-star review, subscribe, and share to stay updated on more inspiring law enforcement stories.

    What is a DEA Diversion Investigator? | Brian Rucker | Episode 180

  8. Sep 6

    From the NFL to the Secret Service: Jim Davidson’s Path | Episode 179

    He went from a full-ride offensive tackle at Oregon State to the Korean DMZ… then became a U.S. Secret Service special agent who protected presidents and hunted criminals. Jim Davidson never planned on law enforcement. One phone call from a concert promoter led him to the sheriff’s office, then IRS Inspection, and finally the Secret Service after a clerk wrongly told him he needed an accounting degree. In this episode of Reasons We Serve, Jim shares the unlikely path that took him from the professional football field to the White House protective detail, the reality of balancing high-stakes investigations with presidential protection, and the family cost of a career that demanded everything. Later, he and his wife, Mary (also a Secret Service agent), sit down to talk about raising kids while both served, the guilt, the trade-offs, and the advice they’d give every law-enforcement couple. If this story of unexpected service, grit, and family sacrifice resonates, like, subscribe, and share it. Drop a comment: What part of Jim’s journey hit you hardest? Related: Watch Mary Davidson’s episode (Ep 178) for her side of the same extraordinary career. You can find Jim Davidson's book called "Supernote" here: https://www.amazon.com/Supernote-Jim-Davidson/dp/166576435X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=7KOI993AQBPV&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.EOr6MVj_c4foMBpW3DHbUg.Tv2Z4LMOE7OXDtOewL_0kXoinXkrDbh7NF_3n1q1l6o&dib_tag=se&keywords=supernote+book+by+Jim+Davidson&qid=1788479912&s=office-products&sprefix=supernote+book+by+jim+davidson%2Coffice-products%2C228&sr=1-1 Reasons We Serve — real stories of service, sacrifice, and the people who answer the call. Welcome to our channel, Reasons We Serve, a podcast dedicated to exploring the motivations, challenges, and realities of working in law enforcement. We dive deep into officers' personal stories, discuss different career paths, and break down the roles of various agencies—from local police departments to state and federal law enforcement. If you liked this episode, please give us a 5-star review, like, share, and comment. Thank you.

    From the NFL to the Secret Service: Jim Davidson’s Path | Episode 179
See All (218)

4.6
out of 5
32 Ratings

About

Police officer stories and law enforcement interviews revealing why people choose careers in policing. Do you ever wonder why people go into law enforcement? Does being in law enforcement change your views of the public over time, and how does being an officer affect your family? This podcast explores these questions and discusses different careers and the functions of various law enforcement agencies, including local, state, and federal agencies. The episodes include interviews with retired and active-duty law enforcement officers. Welcome to Reasons We Serve—your source for the most honest, unfiltered Law Enforcement Interviews and Military Stories on YouTube. We sit down with Police Officers, Corrections Deputies, Homicide Detectives, Military Veterans, and DEA Agents to share the true costs and triumphs of their careers. The episodes include interviews with retired and active-duty law enforcement officers. Dive into real True Crime Interviews that explore everything from Prison Life and Inmate Stories to solving Cold Cases and surviving Undercover Cop operations. Whether we're covering the dangers of Rikers Island, the challenges of First Responder Mental Health, or Military Missions in Vietnam, we bring you the raw experiences of those who serve.

Information

You Might Also Like