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The CopDoc Podcast - Season 11 - Episode 177 Leadership Culture Under Pressure with Chief Brandon Gurley Dr. Steve Morreale talks with Chief Brandon Gurley of Brookhaven Police Department about the career path that shaped his leadership, from dispatcher and detention officer to chief of a fast-growing agency near Atlanta. The conversation centers on how early frontline experience, intentional culture-building, and curiosity-driven leadership can improve policing outcomes.Gurley also shares how Brookhaven Police Department was built from the ground up, how he approaches command staff meetings, and why he believes policing often promotes technical experts instead of true people leaders. Key topics In this episode, Chief Brandon Gurley shares how starting as a 911 call taker and detention officer gave him an early understanding of stress, communication, and de-escalation.He explains his move from Paulding County Sheriff’s Office to Sandy Springs, then into the startup of Brookhaven Police Department when the city incorporated in 2012.Gurley describes the challenge of helping build a brand-new agency, including hiring 54 sworn officers from 26 different metro-area agencies.He discusses why public information work, recruiting, and background investigations became important parts of his development as a future chief.He draws a clear distinction between police administration and police leadership, arguing that leadership requires vision, accountability, and the willingness to do the work alongside others.Gurley says technical competence alone is not enough for promotion, and that many leadership failures happen when agencies elevate the best performer instead of the best people leader.He explains how Brookhaven uses committees, strategic planning, and weekly command staff meetings to turn ideas into actionable outcomes.He talks about leading through questions, staying curious, and helping others solve their own problems instead of constantly fixing them himself.Gurley reflects on Brookhaven’s community engagement in a large Hispanic population area, including Officer Nino’s outreach work and the department’s Spanish-speaking Citizens Police Academy.He shares why culture is harder to change than policy, and why training only matters if the organization’s culture can support what people learn.Notable quotes “Culture by design.” “Curiosity is a growing skill set.” “A great police leader is someone who listens to understand before they listen to respond.” 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: [email protected]  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 promotion, contact Steve at [email protected]

The CopDoc Podcast - Season 11 - Episode 176 Dr. Doreen Jokerst on culture, leadership, and modern policing in Overland Park Dr. Doreen Jokerst, chief of police in Overland Park, Kansas, joins Steve Morreale for a conversation about leadership, culture, technology, and what it means to build trust inside a police organization and with the community. She shares how her path through city policing, university policing, and doctoral study shaped a leadership style rooted in curiosity, collaboration, and accountability.We discuss how she uses listening sessions, transparent communication, and thoughtful technology governance to strengthen legitimacy, support officers, and improve service. This episode is especially relevant for leaders thinking about culture change, talent development, and the future of policing. Key topics Dr. Doreen Jokerst shares how Overland Park Police Department serves a city of about 207,000 residents, with 270 authorized police officers and 85 professional staffShe traces her path into policing back to age 8, when a visit to Alcatraz helped spark a lifelong interest in helping peopleShe explains the value of university policing at CU Boulder, where she learned to work across different perspectives and saw public safety through a broader lensShe describes culture as something you can feel, comparing it to a sailboat in the wind and emphasizing that leaders must listen before trying to change anythingShe says insatiable curiosity breeds innovation, and that asking why systems exist is essential to understanding an organization without disrupting what already worksShe details her listening-session approach, including writing down names, tracking themes, following up personally, and making sure people see action after they speakShe emphasizes explaining the why, whether in organizational decisions or even traffic stops, because legitimacy grows when people understand the reason behind an actionShe discusses thoughtful technology adoption, including DFR, real-time information centers, data dashboards, and ALPR, with transparency and governance controlsShe explains why she values psychologically safe spaces, where staff at every level can challenge ideas and contribute to better decisionsShe makes the case for mentorship and continuity, saying leaders should develop successors so agencies do not feel like they are starting over every time leadership changesShe connects culture and service, saying that if leaders treat people poorly inside the department, that behavior will show up in community interactions tooShe highlights the importance of representation and 30 by 30, noting that women remain underrepresented in policing and that hiring should reflect both diversity of thought and community identityShe argues that success metrics must evolve, moving beyond arrests and citations toward data that better reflects harm reduction, trust, engagement, and problem-solvingShe describes her management style as coaching and stewardship, with clear expectations, regular check-ins, and delegation that still leaves people feeling supportedShe closes with optimism about the future of policing, saying the profession is honorable and that she wants to keep showing up like it is her first day 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: [email protected]  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 promotion, contact Steve at [email protected]

The CopDoc Podcast - Season 10 - Episode 175  GUEST: Chris Hsiung, Undersheriff, San Mateo County Sheriff's Office, and Executive Director, The Curve EPISODE SUMMARY: Rank does not make a leader. That is the premise Chris Hsiung and I worked through in this conversation, and it shapes everything else we talked about. Chris has spent more than 30 years in policing, most of it with the Mountain View Police Department, where he rose from patrol officer to chief. He now serves as Undersheriff with the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office and leads The Curve, a nonprofit he co-founded with Simon Sinek to help police leaders build cultures grounded in trust and purpose. We talked about what it actually takes to change a department's culture, and why that work starts with what leaders do, not what they say. Chris put it simply: culture equals values plus behavior. A lot of agencies have values painted on the wall and printed on the cruiser. Few agencies have leaders whose daily behavior matches those words. We got into what happens when that gap goes unaddressed, why leaders need people who will tell them the truth instead of what they want to hear, and how Chris learned to lead by taking off the stars and getting into the jail, onto the ride-along, into the training room, alongside the people he was asking to trust him. This one is for chiefs, sheriffs, sergeants, and anyone tired of waiting for a promotion before they start leading. KEY TOPICS DISCUSSED: Why rank grants authority but not leadership, and the difference between the twoCulture by design versus culture by default, and what happens when leaders leave culture to chanceHow to build change from the middle of an organization by working with early adopters instead of trying to convince everyone at onceWhy "everything is green" reporting should worry a leader more than it comforts oneWhat it means to get out of the office: riding along, training with your people, learning the job from the ground upHow Chris's own mistakes and uncertainty as a young leader shaped the leader he becameWhy a healthy culture is one of the strongest recruitment and retention tools an agency hasINSIGHTS FROM THE CONVERSATION: Chris made a case that leadership starts long before anyone pins on a badge or a stripe. Waiting for the title is the wrong strategy. He also pushed back on the idea that a leader can understand an organization from behind a desk. His answer to reading an agency's real condition was blunt: go find out for yourself, in person, without the rank showing. On trust, Chris was direct about the danger of an organization where nobody tells the boss bad news. If every report comes back green, that is not evidence things are fine. It is often evidence people are afraid to say otherwise, and a leader steering by false readings will not see the iceberg coming. He closed with a simple answer to a hard question: what should policing never stop doing? Caring. Everything else in this conversation, the culture work, the trust building, the willingness to admit mistakes, comes back to that one word. KEY TAKEAWAYS FOR LISTENERS: Audit the gap between your agency's stated values and your own daily behavior. That gap is your culture, whether you intended it or not.Do not try to convince the whole organization at once. Find your early adopters and let their results do the persuading.If everyone tells you things are fine, ask why. Build channels where people can safely tell you when they are not.Spend time outside your office, in uniform-optional settings, doing the work your people do. You cannot lead what you do not understand.Treat your own mistakes and uncertainty as material, not liabilities. Vulnerability, handled honestly, builds more trust than the appearance of having it all figured out.ABOUT CHRIS HSIUNG: Chris Hsiung currently serves as Undersheriff with the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office, a role he stepped back into in November 2025 to support Sheriff Ken Binder during a period of organizational rebuilding. He is a retired police chief with more than 30 years of public safety experience in the San Francisco Bay Area, most of it with the Mountain View Police Department, where he worked as a detective and SWAT team member before being appointed chief in 2020. Chris is a founding board member and Executive Director of The Curve, a national nonprofit he co-founded with Simon Sinek and a network of police chiefs and sheriffs to modernize leadership development in policing. He co-chairs the IACP Human and Civil Rights Committee and holds board advisory roles with the University of Virginia Center for Public Safety and Justice, the Future Policing Institute, and the Crisis Ready Institute. He is a nationally recognized speaker and writer on organizational culture and adaptive leadership. RESOURCES MENTIONED: The Curve (thecurve.org) 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: [email protected]  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 promotion, contact Steve at [email protected]

The CopDoc Podcast - Season 10 - Episode 174 Guest: Terry Dwyer, J.D. – Professor, Author, & Playwright In this episode, Dr. Steve Morreale sits down with Terry Dwyer, J.D., a professor at Western Connecticut State University and a retired New York State Police investigator. Terry shares insights from his diverse career stretching across the Navy Reserves, corrections, the court system, state policing, legal practice, and creative writing. They dive deep into the differences between leadership and management, police culture, systemic issues facing women in law enforcement, and the trauma that impacts officers and their families. Key Takeaways The Foundations of Corrections: Terry strongly believes every police officer should spend time working in corrections first. It builds crucial, real-world communication and de-escalation skills by forcing you to manage difficult situations entirely with your words.Leadership vs. Micromanagement: A disturbing shift in modern policing culture is the rise of the "liability-first" mindset. Exceptional supervisors lead by establishing trust and giving their professionals autonomy, whereas poor managers default to punitive micromanagement and "dog-piling" charges onto struggling officers.Secondary Trauma & The Family Unit: Law enforcement trauma isn't just about active gunfights; it is cumulative. Terry emphasizes that the true partner riding through the career's highs and deep lows with an officer is their spouse, highlighting his 42-year marriage to his wife, Joan.Culture and the 30x30 Initiative: Discussing his background representing female officers in harassment suits, Terry notes that police culture can be intensely insulated. He underscores the importance of the 30x30 Initiative (aiming for 30% women in policing by 2030) and notes that a department's culture is purely dictated by its top leadership.Featured Works by Terry Dwyer Book: The Badge Between Us: Duty, Marriage, and Family – Part memoir, part true crime, and part love letter to his wife, exploring the unseen weight a police family carries.Play: Depositions – An MFA thesis play premiered at the Grand Fringe Festival, based on his qualitative research and legal cases surrounding sexual harassment and the experiences of female police officers.Upcoming Project: A true-crime book detailing a 50-year-old cold case involving a missing young Black man whose remains were finally identified in 2024, focusing on a dedicated detective who investigated it into his retirement.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: [email protected]  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 promotion, contact Steve at [email protected]

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—highlighting pivotal moments like her role in Cincinnati’s reform after a tragic officer-involved shooting. You’ll discover her innovative approach to data-driven policing, the critical importance of first-line supervisors, and why understanding and empowering the backbone of police organizations can prevent crises before they happen. We break down: How accreditation standards and evidence-based practices guide meaningful reform The role of a national consortium, CAPS, in strengthening frontline supervision across diverse agenciesWhy a police officer’s most vital asset is the support from their superior, and how training gaps undermine safety and moraleThe surprising insights from body cam analysis, AI, and administrative data that actually improve decision-making in the fieldRobin’s leadership lessons on uniting community, academia, and police during moments of crisisThere’s a stark warning here: neglecting frontline supervisors and evidence-based strategies leaves departments vulnerable to the chaos of the next crisis. Conversely, building a culture of continuous learning and local leadership means resilient, safer communities. Robin’s heartfelt story of overcoming skepticism and her unwavering commitment to impactful reform is an essential listen for anyone determined to make policing better. Perfect for police officers, administrators, researchers, and community advocates eager to innovate and bridge the divide between theory and practice. Robin Engel, a renowned professor at Ohio State University and a leader in policing reform, exemplifies the power of knowledge turned into action, making this episode a vital blueprint for meaningful change. 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: [email protected]  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 promotion, contact Steve at [email protected] 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: [email protected]  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 promotion, contact Steve at [email protected]

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 Department sits down with Dr. Steve Morreale for a wide-ranging conversation on what it takes to rebuild a police department's culture, restore officer confidence, and lead with both conviction and humility. Ryan came to Apex, North Carolina about 15 months ago after five years as chief at the San Bruno Police Department in California, just south of San Francisco. He made the move with his wife and family, driven by a desire for a different environment and a chance to do something meaningful. What he found was an agency with purpose-driven officers who had pulled back on proactive policing, and a community watching crime numbers rise as a result. He walked in with a clear belief: most of what ails policing starts inside the organization. If officers are treated as numbers, managed through policy, and punished more than developed, it shows in how they treat the public. Johansen flipped the model. He spent 90 minutes one-on-one with every one of his 200 employees, asking questions, listening, and taking notes. He made clear that the org chart runs the other way: everyone in the building, including him, exists to support the officers answering calls. The conversation covers a lot of ground. Ryan talks about his early days at the San Diego Police Department and what he learned by leaving a 3,000-officer agency for a 50-officer department in San Bruno. He talks about taking the chief's job in San Bruno just two days before Covid lockdowns, and then navigating George Floyd and the calls for reform that followed. He describes walking into the Apex roll call room, tattoos and all, introduced only as "Ryan, from California," and what he said to a room full of officers who weren't sure what to make of him. He and Steve dig into the managing versus leading debate, the difference between policy and culture, the false safety of no-pursuit policies, and what servant leadership actually looks like when it's time to discipline someone. Johansen is candid about the tension between institutional pressure and personal courage, and why he believes most police chiefs live in fear of the average three-year tenure rather than leading the way their people deserve. This is a refreshing, honest conversation with a chief who isn't performing. He says what he believes. And the people around him are proving it works. KEY TOPICS COVERED Career path from San Diego to San Bruno to Apex: what each stop taught himWhy he believes policing "breaks good humans" and what he is doing about itThe recruiter's words that brought him to Apex ahead of scheduleWhat a real listening tour looks like: 90 minutes, one on one, with every employeeManaging versus leading: where chiefs spend their time and why it mattersThe discipline dichotomy: development versus documentationCommand and control culture and its effects on officers in the streetExtracting a vision versus dictating one: how to earn genuine buy-inAI in policing: low-risk value versus high-risk shortcuts 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: [email protected]  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 promotion, contact Steve at [email protected]

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 dives into the rapidly changing world of artificial intelligence in policing. Steve and Christian explore: How AI is already affecting police operations and investigations.Why agencies need governance, policy, and training before deploying AI tools.The risks of deepfakes, synthetic media, and digital evidence manipulation.How leaders can use AI responsibly to improve efficiency without surrendering critical thinking.What police executives should be doing right now to prepare their organizations for the future.Key takeaway This is a candid discussion about the opportunities, blind spots, and ethical challenges that come with AI in public safety. If you lead people, manage policy, or are trying to understand what AI means for policing, this episode offers practical insights from someone who has been on both the operational and technology sides of the profession. 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: [email protected]  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 promotion, contact Steve at [email protected]

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 policing, from dispatcher to lieutenant to chief. In this conversation, Tom shares a leadership philosophy built on servant leadership, dignity, and what he calls the "sweet spot" between accountability and motivation. He is direct about what he has seen: too many police departments creating more stress for their officers inside the building than on the streets. The politics, the gossip, the nitpicking, the heavy-handed discipline — it follows officers home, sits with them at the dinner table, and follows them to bed. He believes that is not just a morale problem. It is a leadership problem, and it is fixable. Tom also discusses his book, A Cop and a Coffee Cup, a short, practical blueprint for police supervisors and leaders. The concept is simple: imagine a wise, seasoned officer sitting across the table from a young leader, with one cup of coffee and one shot to pass on what matters most. That is the book. It covers how to develop inspired and accountable officers, how to handle discipline with grace and discretion, and why the word "clemency" belongs in every chief's vocabulary. If you lead people in blue — or aspire to — this episode will give you a great deal to think about. 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: [email protected]  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 promotion, contact Steve at [email protected]

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 higher education, and a hard-won perspective on what it takes not just to survive in a male-dominated profession, but to thrive in it and bring others along. Heather speaks openly about her journey from the Morris County Sheriff's Office to patrol officer, lieutenant, and now captain, including having to sue her agency to secure a promotion she had earned. Rather than letting that experience define her bitterness, she channeled it into a commitment to mentorship and transformational leadership. Her story is one of accountability, growth, and choosing to lead with love, even when the institution made that difficult. The conversation ranges widely, from the real reasons women remain underrepresented in law enforcement leadership, to the operational risks of empathy, to why she believes the first day on the job should include leadership training. Heather challenges comfortable assumptions, pushes back thoughtfully on conventional DEI narratives, and delivers a message that will resonate with anyone trying to grow as a leader, regardless of rank, gender, or years on the job. KEY TOPICS DISCUSSED: How Heather's path from the Morris County Sheriff's Office to NJIT shaped her leadership philosophyWomen in policing leadership, the 30x30 initiative, and the real reasons representation remains lowBalancing being a great cop and a great parent without sacrificing eitherHer personal experience as a survivor of domestic violence and how that shaped her doctoral researchThe difference between sympathy and empathy, and why empathetic policing carries operational riskSuing her agency to earn a promotion and what she did with the chip on her shoulderCulture change within your sphere of control when you cannot change the whole organization"Lead with love," servant leadership, and transformational leadership in practiceWhy the first day on the job should include leadership trainingHow to mentor others while still seeking mentorship yourself, including her work with Simon Sinek's curve.orgHey 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: [email protected]  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 promotion, contact Steve at [email protected]

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 something essential about who he is: a leader who never lost sight of where he came from, even as his thinking about leadership grew more sophisticated, more deliberate, and more people-centered with every passing year. Lance spent 20 years at the Norman, Oklahoma Police Department before taking his first chief's job in Weatherford, Texas, and then moving to Broken Arrow. Along the way, he earned an Ed.D. in organizational leadership and built systems for developing leaders from the inside out. He arrived at a deceptively simple conviction: the job of a leader is to create conditions for people to flourish. Not just survive. Not just get to retirement unbroken. Flourish. This conversation is one of the most substantive explorations of police leadership development you will find anywhere. Lance and Steve dig into why leadership training rarely sticks when the culture does not change around it, why most supervisors manage fires instead of preventing them, and why "we tried that in 1995, and it didn't work" may be the most dangerous sentence in policing. Lance is direct about his own early failures, honest about what it took to grow, and clear-eyed about the gap between what most agencies say they value and what they actually build systems to support. If you are a leader at any level who has ever felt like you were swimming against the tide, this one is for you. 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: [email protected]  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 promotion, contact Steve at [email protected]

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 Office. Along the way she has learned that culture doesn't start inside the building. It starts with the community that either demands excellence or tolerates mediocrity. In this conversation, Gina shares the hard lessons she picked up at each stop — managing stress that nearly broke her health, losing custody of her daughter the weekend the moving truck arrived as she headed to take command in Fayetteville, and still walking into that organization and pouring herself into the work. She talks about what it means to develop leaders, why women belong in policing at every level, and why the absence of universal standards for 18,000 law enforcement agencies is one of the most pressing problems in the profession. This episode is candid, personal, and practical. Gina Hawkins doesn't give you theory — she gives you earned wisdom. KEY TOPICS DISCUSSED: How culture is shaped by the community before it is ever shaped by the chiefLeading through personal crisis while commanding a new organizationWhat it's like to be the outsider hired over the heads of internal candidatesThe importance of women in policing and Cobb County's annual Women's SummitHer experience on the President's Commission on Law Enforcement and why the lack of universal standards remains a critical gapThe role of transparency, accountability, and body cameras in rebuilding public trustWhat retirement looks like when you can't stop servingHey 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: [email protected]  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 promotion, contact Steve at [email protected]

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: [email protected]  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 promotion, contact Steve at [email protected]

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 division—SWAT commander, K-9 handler, gang unit sergeant, training director, and deputy chief—before becoming chief at a younger age than he expected. In this powerful conversation, Chief Story talks about: Leadership That Teaches: How he runs a command staff book club (yes, really) and why teaching is a critical part of being a chief The Toughest Year: Losing the department's first officer in the line of duty in 96 years, then losing their first officer to suicide two months later—and what they learned about officer wellness Evidence-Based Policing: Implementing stratified policing to make proactive work as normal as answering 911 calls Training Investment: Why he sent a patrol officer to a three-week leadership course and how the department nearly doubled the state's required academy hours Telling the Story: Speaking to hostile crowds, correcting false narratives, and why chiefs must educate the public Humility & Vulnerability: Sharing his biggest mistake with academy recruits and why admitting failures builds trust Preparing the Next Generation: How Las Cruces PD rotates officers through specialized units for a month to prepare them for promotion Civilianization Done Right: Using civilians for everything that doesn't require a badge—and why their legal advisor and former news anchor PIO are game-changers Chief Story is direct, thoughtful, and unafraid to challenge the status quo. He's a thought leader who believes the majority is rational—if you give them the right information. He's building something special in the New Mexico desert. Whether you're a new supervisor, a seasoned chief, or someone considering a career in law enforcement, this episode offers invaluable lessons on leadership, resilience, and what it really takes to be a police chief in 2026. 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: [email protected]  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 promotion, contact Steve at [email protected]

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 still think like a sergeant, which makes sense. They were excellent sergeants. So they become, as researcher Steve Morreale puts it, "a super-sergeant, not a lieutenant." Sacramento Police Chief Kathy Lester identifies this gap as one of the most important leverage points for changing police culture. It's not the strategy. It's not the programs. It's the person standing between upper management and line-level officers. That's where culture actually shifts or stalls. When Lester got promoted to lieutenant, the model was basic: "Congratulations. You're going to graveyard. You've got a brand new set of patrol teams. Nobody has more than three or four years experience. Here are the keys to the city. Try not to break it." She had one lifeline: she could call the previous lieutenant for emergency numbers if something went sideways. That was the leadership development program. Now as chief, Lester has completely reimagined lieutenant development. She has roughly twenty lieutenants at the Sacramento Police Department. She doesn't just develop captains and deputy chiefs. She spends significant time with lieutenants because they talk to sergeants every single day, and sergeants have the most influence over how officers behave. Here's what she does differently: lieutenants ride with her for a week at a time. They go to every event. They attend city council meetings, press conferences, community meetings. They see behind the curtain of what executive leadership actually manages. They understand why decisions get made the way they do. They become ambassadors who can explain departmental direction to their sergeants and officers. The first year, people wondered if this transparency was authentic. Four years in, lieutenants bring real problems to leadership expecting real solutions. They've seen that the chief actually listens and acts. That changes everything about how they lead underneath them. Lester is also clear that this isn't about being soft. When people are elevated to captain, she looks for who will be a future chief. She's assessing leadership capacity, not popularity. The distinction matters. She's developing people who understand the department's direction, can navigate difficult situations, and model professional behavior. Some of that comes from state-required training. More of it comes from internal programs built by leaders who are passionate about seeing people succeed in this profession. The lieutenant development gap exists in most departments. It creates a vacuum where middle managers either become loyal implementers of whatever came before, or they try to be mini-chiefs without the authority or context. Lester solved it by making lieutenants visible partners in leadership. They see the actual job. They understand the constraints. They build relationships with senior leaders. And they take that back to their sergeants and officers. That's how culture changes, not through mandates from above, but through lieutenants who genuinely understand the "why" and can articulate it to people doing the actual work. 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: [email protected]  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 promotion, contact Steve at [email protected]

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 minutes. What started as curiosity three years ago when Sam Altman introduced ChatGPT has evolved into a mission to help government and public sector leaders understand that AI isn't a threat—it's an enabler of their best work. Joanne didn't arrive here as a true believer. Like many of us, she was skeptical. Early versions of ChatGPT frustrated her. She walked away. But she came back. And what she discovered changed everything—for her business, her career trajectory, and now for the thousands of leaders she's training worldwide. Why This Episode Matters Now We recorded this conversation as 2025 comes to a close, a moment when organizations across policing, government, and the public sector are finally asking serious questions about AI adoption. But many are approaching it wrong—with fear, with uncertainty, with paralysis. Joanne's message is direct: you're out of time for skepticism. The question isn't whether to use AI. It's whether you'll lead the adoption or get left behind. This isn't about hype. This is about the future of leadership itself. From Survivor to Pioneer: How Joanne went from teaching communications and marketing for 20 years to becoming one of the most sought-after AI literacy trainers in the public sector. When your entire skill set gets threatened, you have three choices. She made the right one. The Real Power of Conversational AI: Most people use AI like a search engine—ask a question, get an answer. That's a massive miss. Joanne shares how she thinks with AI, how she uses it to organize her stream of consciousness, how she trains custom assistants that become genuine thought partners. The difference? Productivity multiplies. The Police Budget Scenario: Steve walks through a practical example every police chief faces: walking out of a meeting empty-handed after requesting resources. Instead of stewing about it, what if you dictated to your AI assistant in the parking lot? "Here's what happened. Here's the pushback. Find me similar agencies that succeeded. What are my counter-arguments for next time?" You'd have answers in minutes. Why Policy Matters More Than Technology: Here's what surprises Joanne most: three years into the AI revolution, most organizations still don't have policies. Shadow AI is real. People are using these tools without permission, on their own devices, for work. Joanne breaks down what good AI policy actually requires—and it's simpler than most leaders think. The Agentic Shift Is Here: ChatGPT has agentics. Claude has skills. The technology is moving from tools you command to agents that work independently on your behalf. This happened faster than anyone predicted. Organizations still learning spreadsheet-level AI use have no idea what's coming. The Nefarious Use No One Wants to Talk About: Steve pushes hard on this. Our voices are out there on podcasts. They can be cloned. Deepfakes are evolving. How will the police prove fraud took place? Are departments ready? Spoiler: they're not. But this is coming faster than we think. Joanne references the first documented agentic AI attack (documented by Anthropic/Claude), where 80-90% of the attack was executed by AI agents with only 10-20% human involvement across multiple organizations simultaneously. Custom AI Assistants as Your Second Brain: Joanne walks through the game-changer: training your own AI assistant with your knowledge, your work, your approach. She shows real re 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: [email protected]  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 promotion, contact Steve at [email protected]