GPPD Podcast - Grand Prairie Police (TX)
The Grand Prairie (TEXAS) Police Department podcast will highlight the awesome men and women who make up our department. Grand Prairie is in DFW and has over 200k residents. We are THE premier police department in the country with over 300 cops. Come join us! Laterals we want you! $78k-$106k officer pay.
https://www.grandprairiepolice.org/Join-GPPD. #firstresponders #mentalhealth #policestories #firefighters #firstresponderpodcast #wellness #police #policepodcasts #coplife #grandprairie #grandprairiepd #grandprairiepolice #thinblueline
GPPD Podcast - Grand Prairie Police (TX)
Dyllon wrote himself a ticket once.....
This week the hosts sit down with Dyllon. He grew up in New Hampshire and found his way to Texas after college. After graduating college, he was hired on as a basic recruit officer with GPPD in 2016.
Dyllon worked the streets for a while then went to become a Detective in Domestic Crimes. After doing that for a couple of years, he felt the calling back to hit the streets to serve and protect the community.
He speaks of his challenges growing up and his journey to find himself and his calling, to serve. He even talks about writing himself a ticket once!
#firstresponders #mentalhealth #policestories #firefighters #firstresponderpodcast #wellness #police #policepodcasts #coplife #grandprairie #grandprairiepd #grandprairiepolice #thinblueline #firedepartment #investigations #honorguard #swat #fto #intern #jiujitsu #bjj #mindset #lpc #wellnessunit #wellness #emdr #counseling #therapy #therapist #mentalthealth #dps
Check out our department and come join us!
https://www.grandprairiepolice.org/Join-GPPD/Benefits
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Welcome to GPPD podcast. I'm your host, nate. I'm a lateral transfer officer and I'm currently assigned to the investigations bureau.
Speaker 2:And I'm your co-host KD. I'm also a lateral officer and I'm assigned to the crime prevention unit. We're always looking for great men and women for the police department, but also we need dispatchers, animal control, code enforcement officers and detention officers. So if you know anybody interested, please, please, send them to grandpurepoliceorg. Get that information filled out so that you can apply.
Speaker 1:Don't forget to find us on social media. We have Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube and, most importantly, find us on your favorite podcast platform. Subscribe, activate notifications. Leave us a five star review. Today you will hear from police officers, their lives and their stories. The accounts may be mature in nature and mature language may be used. Listener discretion is advised.
Speaker 2:And welcome back to another episode GP podcast. Gppd podcast. It's the same difference. It's your first couple of times.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's my first time. Yeah, it's my first time.
Speaker 2:All right. So I'm here with Nate and we got Dylan here with us today, so we're going to get into some crazy stuff, I can assure you, because we've already been talking. Also, we are hiring. We need detention staff, we need communication staff. So if you're interested, interested in 911 dispatchers or working in the jail, please log on. Pay scale is on there, the requirements on there, all of that good stuff.
Speaker 1:So I feel like I just rambled Now if you're not sure, if you're interested in one of those things, we also have past episodes we've done with people that fill those positions you come to. Oh yeah, Can I get an idea from them?
Speaker 2:Yeah, check it out. Okay. So I don't know a whole lot about Mr Dylan. So, man, I'm going to throw a whole bunch of questions at you, but I appreciate you coming on. So let me know, how did you get started in police work?
Speaker 3:Just police work in general. Yeah, are you a lateral? I'm not a lateral with basic. I came right out of college. Police work was not the. It wasn't like you know.
Speaker 2:I was born and I was like running around in the police uniform and costumes.
Speaker 3:It was part of like I wanted a job. I knew I wanted to do first responders something. Oh, okay, like in high school I was. So I'm from New Hampshire and grew up in New Hampshire Geez, I was looking at like a volunteer fire department just to fill my time with something to do. Yeah, because my mom was dating somebody who was a firefighter and that just seemed fun. The pager thing it was just like Like a pager. Like you know, volunteer firefighters they'll have a pager and so they don't have a radio. If something goes off, they'll page them.
Speaker 3:So you go to the fire station and all that good stuff. You were aging yourself.
Speaker 1:I'm like damn yeah, I thought you were a lot younger than me. I'm a lot younger than you.
Speaker 3:I don't know about you, but definitely me. So the first responder thing was like interesting to me, I guess being nosy, knowing what was going on that makes so much sense, guys.
Speaker 1:I know him a little better than you do, but that makes complete sense. You just like to know what's going on, right?
Speaker 3:And then so the first responder or being a firefighter, I just didn't know so, and I was almost always doing things on my own. I wasn't like an abandoned child or anything. But you know, my mom's single mom worked by you know a lot under her own business, so we just there's a lot of like navigating on my own. And so what happened is I went to college my freshman year in New Hampshire. That didn't pan out. My dad lives here in Texas, so I moved here to Texas, went to school, went for criminal justice, which was just like a catch all blanket. Maybe thought it would be easy to do. Honestly, I was told to do that if you wanted a party, well, I went to a Baptist school, so there wasn't much partying Jesus In that sense.
Speaker 3:But yeah, disagree, well, okay so the partying at the Baptist school looked different than the school I went to in New Hampshire. Okay, so one thing led to another. My uncle actually works here. He's been here for like 30 years. Roy, here in Texas, the department Okay, but I didn't grow up knowing him.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 3:So I ended up going through the criminal justice program and that school actually had a collegiate like the. They call it the law enforcement academic alternative program. It's a mouthful.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 3:But what it is is a college can get licensed by TECO to teach students and license them as Texas peace officers.
Speaker 1:No kidding.
Speaker 3:So you're going through the academy, but in a two-year span over your coursework, oh, okay. So, for example, it's almost like an.
Speaker 1:ROTC type program for the military Kind of.
Speaker 3:But you're legit being licensed. So every class you took I went through the whole academy in college. So I got TASED, I got pepper sprayed, I got driving instruction, shooting instruction.
Speaker 2:Wait, wait. And what college is this?
Speaker 3:So this is available in Texas. This is an option that colleges can offer. I went to East Texas Baptist University, etbu Okay, out in Marshall, and there was an instructor that I was very passionate about getting law enforcement into the educational system so that kids can have a track into law enforcement instead of just like oh, I want a job.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Right. So it's a foster this and allow you to arrive at the job fully prepared. And so over the last two years of my degree there, I'm starting to get licensed and by the time I graduate, I have all my hours and I'm now like what do I do? Where do I go?
Speaker 1:Excuse me, were you licensed at the time?
Speaker 3:I was not licensed because I had not taken the test, oh gotcha. But I had all the course training leading up to the test.
Speaker 3:So basically I would have to find an agency to pick up a commission and then they would like I would take the test and then they would hire me. Okay, if I was to go to like Marshall PD that's what I was going to say or Tyler PD, maybe some of these smaller PDs, that would happen. But then I in college worked at a bed and breakfast. It's no longer there. I was a waiter and thank you.
Speaker 3:One day somebody came in and it was a at the time obviously I didn't know it was a retired grand prairie officer. It was a retired grand prairie sergeant, allen Patton. I don't know if any of you know him, but he was pretty. I don't know if influential is aware, but a lot of people know him. He was of the older group of people that are no longer here anymore. But he came in with his wife. I'm waiting on him. He's asked me about school, what I'm doing, getting to know each other, which is odd because it's not the place where you normally talk to your waiter about that stuff, but we just hit it off. Well, that's kind of weird for cops, right? So? And he's all the way out here in the middle of nowhere. So I'm talking to him and when I say that I'm getting an law enforcement, he asked me where? And I said well, because at this time I started looking into grand prairie. I didn't look into anywhere else, I kind of just decided grand prairie. Was it how my uncle Right.
Speaker 3:So he just kept saying you know, hey, grand prairie, grand prairie. Funny enough, my instructor in college was like you don't want to go to grand prairie Really, Because he was of a way different, like he was probably 70. So he knew grand prairie in a different way. Okay, you tell that instructor when you say well, I don't know if he's around anymore.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, I'm just, I'm just playing.
Speaker 3:But right, so he was. He had a different opinion and so he was like maybe you look at other places. My uncle was saying come to grand prairie. So I was like yeah, I'll look into.
Speaker 1:You have a family on other, on Dallas as well. Was there like a competing narrative I had?
Speaker 3:no idea who the other I do. Oh, okay, joe was in for work for Dallas PD, but I didn't really ever know him. Oh yeah, I knew Roy a little bit better but again didn't really know him much at the time. But he dropped. That, you know, put that bug in my ear. I start the process. And so all this to say I'm talking to Alan Patton and like well, I'm looking in the grand prairie and he just goes. He like drops his head and he goes. Are you kidding me? And I'm like what?
Speaker 3:You know cause my instructor was like don't go there.
Speaker 1:So I was like what is?
Speaker 2:wrong with where you're at the time we're at.
Speaker 3:Stillwater in Jefferson, Texas, which is right up the road from where I was.
Speaker 1:How far away is that from?
Speaker 3:here, this is East Texas, this is almost the border of Texas and Louisiana yeah, three hours. And so he goes. He reaches into his wallet and he takes out his wallet and it's his badge and he goes. I'm retired from there. He goes what a God moment, Like he's, like this is insane, it's blowing his mind. He's like looking over his wife and his wife's like mount to the floor. And so from that point I really think like it was pretty clear.
Speaker 2:I mean.
Speaker 3:I didn't apply to anywhere else. I was hopeful to get the job.
Speaker 2:I mean.
Speaker 3:I'm right out of college, I don't know what to expect, so he's like I'm going to put in. He has no idea who I am Not a clue, never met him before, and he goes. Well, I'm going to put in a good word for you.
Speaker 1:Oh, that was okay, got you.
Speaker 3:And he put in, I guess, a good enough word to where I at least get the opportunity to come and do the oral boards. And then you know, it just was one thing after the next.
Speaker 2:But I could see it and I understand it, because offices we are a pretty good read of character and it don't take us long. I could talk to you about two minutes and go yeah, this is somebody I can deal with and now you need to. You know, kick rocks.
Speaker 3:I'm assuming I gave him a good impression, probably helped that he knew my uncle, who also worked here. You know they spent a lot of time together back when they were in the midst of their career.
Speaker 1:That's a weird small world, very small.
Speaker 3:So I was, you know, for me that's how that happened. Like law enforcement wasn't initially what I wanted to do. I kind of was in this funnel, right. I was like I have no idea, I just want to, I guess, graduate college because that's what we're supposed to do. I moved from New Hampshire, where I grew up, down to here and I'm, you know, going through my personal stuff with you know, with my dad, and things like that. I come, finish school and things. The funnel starts getting closer, you know, and then the focus just was it was pretty clear at that point.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I want to go back because I want to go up to New Hampshire and do like some hunting. How like this got to be a drastic change? Like you go to zero degrees or you want to hunt this why I'm like what are we hunting? Oh yeah, animals.
Speaker 3:Okay, I thought you meant like why I'm from New Hampshire or something.
Speaker 2:I guess I was like yeah, like because, like of all it occurs to me.
Speaker 1:I will talk about it in a second. But first of all, is there hunting in New Hampshire? Yeah, In my mind it's all like just city. No, it's a lot of woods. It's a lot of woods, bro.
Speaker 3:Yeah, very, very rural parts. You need to get out where somebody is smart as you, come on, read a book.
Speaker 1:I appreciate it, but yeah, so yeah, I'll hold it hanging out and talking. We've done. I don't think I know exactly why you were in New Hampshire Like yeah, well so there's a lot to my life Like that just is what it is.
Speaker 3:Right, my life is perfect no one's is, but there's just a lot of. I know you're pretty perfect. Yeah, there's just a lot of perfect people here in Green Prairie.
Speaker 1:But just ask them.
Speaker 3:So my I was born in Georgia. As I don't ever remember living there, I think I was one, one and a half. My mom moved to New Hampshire so my mom was single and I was raised in New Hampshire. So there was a lot of like my family was me, my mom and my brother, and then like she had a husband and that you know she had several husbands and stuff like that, but she was a business owner.
Speaker 3:Yeah, no love to me, but no, it's it. Her relationships are up and down. We were, you know, dragged here and there. I think it honestly. I, not too long ago, look back, and we moved like upwards of 1617 times.
Speaker 2:Oh wow, she's not military.
Speaker 3:So, yeah, we moved around, so things were stable, and then they weren't right and then so no fault of her own, she just had to do it. She had to do and she was a business owner and she tried all the things, and so that I have a lot of exposure to different, I guess, echelons of life which you know bring it back to police is 100% is why I'm supposed to be doing this job as a police officer. Like there's a lot of different officers, but I think you know really good ones do have experience outside, like the hardships, the things like that.
Speaker 3:So yeah, new Hampshire, that's. I was where I was raised and then I moved to Texas because my dad lived in Texas, so he was military and I think that's where my mom met him Right. So he, his family's from here, so yeah.
Speaker 2:So I'm glad he didn't give us that. Oh, I knew I wanted to be a police officer.
Speaker 3:I was four years old and some people it's like that. I mean I knew I wanted to like run around and just be like again the nosy person and like what's it doing. I was like, well, what's going on? You know the rubber-neckers and it's like, you know, we all want to know what's going on, you know you will pass an accent like I want to pull over.
Speaker 1:I want to know in every detail. Find out their name, what is?
Speaker 3:like what is it why?
Speaker 1:You know, right.
Speaker 3:So I just knew, like a first, like a serve, more of a service oriented person.
Speaker 3:And so I'm glad it ended up in law enforcement. But yeah, I didn't. It wasn't like what do you want to be? And I'm like a cop. And then, like you know, I don't have a history of police. Well, other than my uncle, I do have a family that are police officers, but I didn't know until I was already well on my way into being a cop. Okay, and I didn't grow up with knowing my dad's side of the family, so my uncle that worked here.
Speaker 1:You know I didn't grow up with him or knowing him. The other one is is dad's side?
Speaker 2:as well? Yeah, that makes sense. Yeah, so you mentioned you had a have a brother, so your family? Now are they like on board with? No, we're glad you're a police officer, because I always ask, because my dad still asked me to this day. You like doing that job? Okay, I've been doing it for a while.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so again my family. As I get older I feel like there's another sibling that gets add to the mix. My closer, closer. So my, I have a full brother. Okay, same mom and dad. When I was in sixth grade I met my sister on my mom's side.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:I'm like I'm gonna learn something I forgot.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so mom had a. I have a sister on my mom's side. And then when I, and then my dad when he started coming around I didn't meet him till I was older he had ended up having three kids of his own, and then, within the last three years, I've learned that I have another sister on my dad's side.
Speaker 1:What.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so we get, we got, I got siblings.
Speaker 1:Papa was did your dad just find out that you also had a son? Yeah, he knew but like he didn't know her.
Speaker 3:She never was around. That's crazy.
Speaker 1:So he was checking all the military stereotypes? Yep, yeah.
Speaker 3:I'm not. You know. There's nothing to be ashamed of with that. There's no way that I should be. No, it's not my life.
Speaker 2:If you dug into anybody's family, I can tell you something here and you go holy Katie, I never knew.
Speaker 3:Like with all that, to say like my core, my core family growing up was my mom and my brother.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 3:But then as you get older and life starts to happen and people again get curious, I feel like my mom. I probably got the curiosity from my mom because she's a pretty curious person, but she, she's very supportive.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Of everything. Yeah, and my dad we don't talk anymore. I don't have a relationship with him, yeah, and that's for different reasons. I don't know where to start with that. There's just a lot to that.
Speaker 1:But good, I was going to ask do you feel like because one of the things we always preach as far as getting into this profession is support system Obviously you're lacking some of that, so have you? Do you feel like that has caused more hurdles for you when, especially in the beginning because you've been doing this for several years now, but in the beginning you know you didn't have the expanded network of families like a lot of people do? Was that harder whenever you would come up on issues and police work as you're adjusting to the last hour, or no?
Speaker 3:I think I had been going through life with such a limited support system at that point already that I had come up with my own way to handle that, and by and what that looked like was, you know, people fall back on their support system, which traditionally, I suppose, is their family. I became really good at fostering friendships with people and then the friends became family. So wherever I went and wherever I go, it usually involves, you know, creating some type of circle of people, and sometimes people have just that one good best friend I've always operated on. You know, it doesn't hurt to have many, and that's how I've had to kind of be, and so that that would be my. What I ended up falling back on is is friends.
Speaker 1:Do you find you have most of law enforcement or do you kind of do you think it's?
Speaker 3:important. When I first started this job, I only had caught friends Right Over the years. That's since changed. Only because you know, you start to realize like, as important and fun as this job is, it's not my entire being right and so it's very like it would be very easy to get caught up in working the overtime, proving doing different, like units programs, honor guard, like all these things that you can just make yourself busy to help, you know, make you feel prideful, and that's all good stuff.
Speaker 3:But I've since taken a step back, just of. I prioritize work and, you know, be the professional. I am here but have to also live outside, and that's the challenge and finding that balance.
Speaker 2:You have to because I'm a touch on a point. So a lot of times we come in and we'll go, okay, so let me work patrol for a few years. And then you say, okay, well, let me join this specialized unit. And so what people, especially outside listeners, you need to know that you can have your 40 hours a week job and then you're going to have another specialized unit and next thing, you know, no, I'm going to hang out with these officer friends, quote unquote and your whole life is then, you know, surrounded by police Police Police.
Speaker 2:The extra jobs alone, especially here, Holy crap. You can log on right now and I guarantee there's 50 jobs holding just waiting on somebody to take them Right you know, and I'm with you, you got to do something different.
Speaker 3:And I've found, though, that, while there's maybe nothing wrong with that inherently having just cop friends, because those are people that understand you, they understand when you say, yeah, we have this crazy foot pursue and like they legitimately get the adrenaline spike. You know, they get the why it's exciting. You know, some people are like cool, you found like crack or you found a gun under someone's seat, like good job.
Speaker 3:You know, but like some of those things are, what aren't fun to other people are fun to cop, so you want to still have those relationships, for sure, where the problem I've seen is that you start to isolate people, maybe that you were friends with, and then you lose relationships that were important because you're like, well, you just don't get it, so let me just stay over here. And then sometimes that can just escalate into just like because you stay into that comfortable, stressful place that we all like to like the place of chaos, which I think some of us like to be in because that's how we operate best.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:I think it. You know, because, like because policing, obviously we're, we're made up of the community, we're diverse, and if you listen to the podcast, all you know it's surprising the diverse backgrounds that a lot of people come from. But once you get in this profession, I think you're, you're molded in. Your world view is shaped so much by our experiences being cops that we evolve and want to becoming more and more similar than we'd start out. And so then you're, you're only have this one worldview, this one perspective on things and sometimes, just given what we do with a lot of times that's negative. So I think it's super important to have civilian friends, because it it's it pulls you out a little bit of kind of that back to yeah, right it?
Speaker 1:just like you know I can't, you know, don't want to go down and check the mail without a gun on you, right.
Speaker 3:And it's like the other civilian friends like where do you?
Speaker 1:you're like that's a little paranoid and like worst case scenario.
Speaker 3:right, we operate on worst case scenario and I'm glad you brought that up, because a week ago I was talking about that exact same thing with somebody and I brought up the fact that and it didn't take long what I realized, and you don't see it coming. And I'm not saying that this is a bad thing, right. Like the mailbox, ambush or the right.
Speaker 3:No, I'm talking about the actual change of people in law enforcement and I'm sure it happens in in, you know, the fire world and and paramedics and things like that. But obviously we're cops so it's easier to bond over napping a full belly and a nap the. I had a family member say shortly after I graduated and hit the street after FTO and I went back to visit family and they were like and she said, man, you're different. And I looked at her and I was like what do you mean? Because I don't feel different, I feel great. I probably was in felt the greatest I've ever felt my entire life, physically pumped. I have this job right. But she goes you're different, you changed. Being a cop changed you.
Speaker 3:I'm like what do you mean? I didn't understand at the time and I don't think she meant it in a bad way, but she saw what may have been this happy go lucky, foolish person, maybe more restraint, right. And seven and a half years later I'm kind of looking back at that moment and I'm like, let's, that is wild, because I'm now realizing, yeah, I have changed, yeah, not in a bad way, but it's. It's crazy to ignore the fact that, like you said, our experiences kind of slowly over time, make you a little bit more paranoid, just in the way of like bringing a gun to the mailbox. I'm not that paranoid. I think you're the only person here that no it was a theory, okay.
Speaker 3:Now, I've seen it, but I think it's important to notice that it's not something to be afraid of. But when you have people outside your circle to call you on certain things, if you have changed is important because if you're with people that get each other, you're gonna see each other, as You're not gonna see that person's change because you're like what do you mean? We're all kind of the same mentality, so what?
Speaker 1:even if you don't, even if it's not a Relationship that says direct is calling you out per se.
Speaker 3:Sure, just Seeing that, just seeing the way normal people act and and being like hey, these are my friends instead of oh yeah, that's a, that's dumb ass and it's refreshing not to like I know that you work in CID and you have your own caseload and things that you you attack in the city and things like that but it's refreshing not to have to go and go to hang out with like we hang out on the weekends and things like that, and we're not gonna be talking about the car chase sometimes why we hang out weekends.
Speaker 3:I would hang out with you because, we talked about work at work a lot yeah and, as you know, when you go home you have a caseload still. But To have to talk about the suspect, I mean come on, it's like not going, getting off of work.
Speaker 2:You might as well just say people love that and that's okay, but I, because I used to be that way.
Speaker 3:I.
Speaker 1:Used to be that way. First on the first right years and it.
Speaker 3:and then it became yeah, I'll give you five minutes. Five minutes, good to see you. What's new? Oh, that's crazy, that was wild. All right, what else we're doing?
Speaker 1:So you walk up like you're not gonna believe with this Argentine I was like okay.
Speaker 3:I'll listen to that one, but yeah, you have five minutes.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's where the nose comes out. Yeah, yeah, okay.
Speaker 3:What, what more? That would start it. So I think, though, in terms like you know, relating it to police work, the Going back to the support system and the people that who are not cops, like those, are important things to realize. Yeah, so, if somebody's watching this or listening to it and it's like you know what is it like to be a cop, or what do you? What do you? Because I think you've asked other people like what were to this, meet your expectations or what did you expect? Is this everything you've expected? And I don't, I don't know. No matter what the topic is, I don't think that's a for me, that's not a question that I I ever can answer, because my expectations going into things are like Very low, mm-hmm, I think, just because when I first got into this job, I actually almost didn't stay here, really like, and I don't know, as if it was an expectation thing, but I almost quit.
Speaker 2:Like to go to an.
Speaker 1:FTO, just in general.
Speaker 3:Oh, because Maybe I my expectations. Just I didn't have one, and so I think somebody previously had mentioned that it was intense like getting here being a cop. You you know and you hear and you see, mm-hmm, what being a cop could be like and when you're actually doing it. Knowing and doing you're like two totally different things. And so an FTO this was right around the Dallas shootings, right, which was heavily like emphasized in the NMI Academy, just for anybody not familiar to the shootings on July 7th no 16. Yes 16.
Speaker 3:Yeah, we're, five officers were killed, yeah so it was around that time I was on nights. Never had been like on the night shift of anything and. That never, no, I mean. I mean I came right out of college like I started this job when I was 22. Not to say I didn't have world experience.
Speaker 3:I definitely had plenty of that, but in terms of Professional and work Also, and you know, my jobs leading up to that was like service Industry waiting tables or I was on like working a ground screw. So you know no, and when I first got cut loose, I'm an FTO and like one of my first calls is around New years and it's like a shooting. His friend shot him in the back and in the car, you know. They had an argument over a cell phone and I'm like are people really shooting each other? Like what you didn't know before this job and what you know now is like insane and that's what it's a little bit of Innocence lost, but it's it's nothing it.
Speaker 3:I think it's made me a better person, but in the time I was like I don't know. This seems a little.
Speaker 1:Much because like you go through, like Grand Parade's a nice city.
Speaker 1:Like you drive, you would never imagine that that things and it's true, because I'll have people ask me you know, is this a nice neighborhood or the drowsy neighborhood? Hey, this neighborhood looks nice and I'm like you have no idea what happens inside the walls of all the houses that around you. If you don't, if you're not staring at the house when the squad car pulls up, is there for 30 minutes to 45 minutes and leaves, you have no idea. Someone could have gotten a rest, like there's so many things that can happen right happen in every single city in this country. Yeah, why?
Speaker 3:and I felt like it all happened pretty quickly and I was tired, like Night shift, 12-hour shifts it's tough, yeah, but I've become to like I prefer the 12-hour shifts for sure, but in the moment I'm like even thinking.
Speaker 2:Maybe I'll just go into the detention center.
Speaker 3:You know right, just because I'm like, do I want to risk my life? And it just I guess it became a reality. Yeah, and it's a, it's a point to like check in. And I am very thankful because at that time I Was pulled from shift and my direct supervisor on the Jordan and Guiano he, as Scary and grumpy as he can look, I love and be pulled me and made it a point to get me to then Lieutenant Fleming, who was over our shift and between the two, not like the most, also right right which.
Speaker 3:I think Was perfect, because my it's my perception I didn't. I still didn't know what to expect. Even though I was going through all these things, these two people, who aren't the most cuddly people, made it a point To say you're gonna go home tonight. This isn't because you're being punished, this isn't because you can't do this job, you just need to go home. And they gave me materials to like just review and help me this process. That what is it gonna mean to be a cop? And I'm I, am I ready to put my life on the line for people that I don't know? Right, yeah, and that next day I came back and I was like that was the start, right, it wasn't like Over night.
Speaker 3:I was like okay, nevermind, that was crazy, but over, though, and then I've had several people that along the way that would check in and I thought that was like the craziest thing that's people would want to pour that much into me. And before I knew it, I was working over time, right, and Lieutenant Fleming was like I Can't get you out of this place, right, you know. So I Think it's important to realize that, coming into this job, you have one expectation it could change, and it could. It could change your mind and you're like you know what. This just isn't for me. Yeah, but to have the people and I think we're in praise till this exists to where We'll help you figure out if it's right or not.
Speaker 3:Yeah because it's not only for your own safety, but the safety of the people that work here and the people that you're serving, yeah, so.
Speaker 1:Well, that's a benefit, I think, to the size of our department too, because it's not the big city where it's just Okay if you don't cut it or like that, just a toxic FTO culture, where it's like I say toxic, I mean it's just the way it used to be, where it's like your goal is to get rid of them and if they, you know, if you survive me, then cool you get to be caught about the streets, yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah you know that they if that was 15 years ago, I they were probably booted me out the back door and said don't come back here, dude.
Speaker 1:What are you doing, you know, or even a different city, like one where you're just a number we don't have time for this.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you know, and and so for that I'm thankful that you know we Grand Prix I mean that was seven and a half issue, whatever years ago yeah, that was a pretty big thing, yeah, coming into cop work.
Speaker 1:So my expectations Were that I didn't have expectations and a lot is learning, learning along the way and yeah, well, I was gonna say to probably what you brought up like, like my personality, someone pulled me aside and told me hey, yeah, whether I'm having doubts or whatever the thing is, hey, you need to go home and think about things, dude, I would be in such a terrible place. I'm like hold.
Speaker 3:I had a lot of like mental Well. The thing is, though, concerns not mental concerns, like I was concerned about my mental health, but I was like running through my head, like did I just mess up? Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 1:But the thing is that's not a perfect experience, like when you start your application or FTO process. You never would have said I'm probably going to get sent home at some point. For you know, just to think things over whatever it is. But just like I think we all have stories, especially from FTO, where it just does not go according to plan and I think that's a big thing coming in is don't think you're going to show up and everything is going to go great.
Speaker 3:Right, this job is not natural.
Speaker 1:It's not. No one, I don't think, is wired to automatically be good at the job. If you are, you're a psychopath Like you should. Yeah, we should probably send you back to the site it should be out of the ordinary to live in a world where you're going to just have to deal with people and attain them and take away freedom and deal with fights and shootings and stuff like that.
Speaker 3:Well, from the very beginning, a lot of the things that's told us in the academy and almost from the get go is like if you are a figure that you've learned everything, that's a dangerous spot to be in. Oh very. Because once you stop learning, you, you're done, yeah, like you can't be in that.
Speaker 2:Stay away from me, yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah. So that's a long way of saying that's how I got to Grand Prix.
Speaker 2:I think every officer has had that experience though. That's what like having to be pulled aside and talked to or given advice, or you know. Hey, go home and think about it. It happened to me and they were like Katie's not putting people. It was another officer pulled me to the side and he was like hey, I know you come from somewhere else, but let me tell you.
Speaker 3:X, y, Z. Were you a lateral. Yeah, okay.
Speaker 2:And I was like, oh, oh, because I remember thinking man, everybody's going to jail but me. You know I'm looking for. I'm looking for a crack with a gun. He was like you know, somebody has multiple warrants. You may want to take them in. I'm looking for something else.
Speaker 3:And that's what's interesting too, is, I mean, I started out as a basic, so I had no previous law enforcement. If I was to go which I'm not, but to go to a different agency, if we had to, it would be a whole different process, like it wouldn't even compare to how I became a cop here, right, because you already know. You're like look, you know what you're looking for the guns, you're looking for this. And so to the laterals who are trying to come to Grand Prairie, there's I can't speak to it, but I would imagine you know you got to adopt the culture to a degree here and and um, well and there's different standards because, like where we came from, even report writing is way different there than it is here, and when I first got here I try to do the very basic bolts of yeah report and you've read reports from where I'm from.
Speaker 1:when you're in CID and see, you know what it's like and you get here and you do that.
Speaker 3:I've actually completed reports and whole cases from other agencies, but we won't.
Speaker 1:But yeah, no, it's just being willing to adapt to the small, because police work is police work, but everywhere is going to have different little things that they do require and to be able to say, hey, okay, cool, I'm here now, this is what I'm adopting.
Speaker 1:Your culture, that's huge, yeah, but I don't want to keep harping on the same thing. But so you hired on, you go to patrol. You're a little bit more unique from what the outside perception is of police work in that you patrol, you go to CID. Now you're back in patrol voluntarily.
Speaker 3:Right, let the record show it was voluntary.
Speaker 3:So you actually, to explain, talk about that a little bit as far as going, to CID and then, yeah, so I consider myself lucky because there was a time in which, like, there was this standards where when you get on patrol, you graduate out to FTO, you're on probation, usually you're on patrol for a good minute, usually nights, five ish, six years before you go anywhere else, right, and during that same time I'm on patrol, I'm cut loose, already Loving it. I'm on nights and some openings that started coming up and what was told to me is, when you're interested in something, at least put in your letter so that people can see your name, show your interest and you know if you you're likely not going to get it, but at least it shows that initiative.
Speaker 1:It gives you kind of a dry run on the process A dry run.
Speaker 3:Sure, it gets you knocked off the dust and things like that. That's what I did.
Speaker 2:And it went well. It didn't go as planned because I didn't fully expect to get it Right.
Speaker 3:I had the interest in domestic crime, domestic crimes. A couple of people had talked to me about it, but I was like, sure I'll put in a letter. I did have interest, so why not? Yeah, and I was up against me and another Dylan for the spot. So while the property spot opened up, so Dylan Sullivan went over to property and I went. They were like well, we need to fill this domestic spot.
Speaker 1:My brain shows I don't know another Dylan, but yeah, there's two others.
Speaker 3:So at the time, Sergeant Paulson goes well, your interview was good. I liked you. Do you want this spot? And I said, sure, Absolutely. I mean because, even though I wasn't expecting to get it, I still wanted it. And so I got the spot, and what an adjustment that was.
Speaker 1:You're just now kind of coming around to get adjusted to the speed control stuff. Now you're slowing down going to domestics.
Speaker 3:So, right, we're ramping up speed, we're on patrol, running around having fun, and I oftentimes you find people that are leaving patrol because they've had that patrol fun, that patrol experience, and maybe they're ready for something new. There might be some other people that just want to kind of get out of patrol and for schedule reasons, and they do have interests and investigations. So I wasn't necessarily itching to get out of patrol. So I go up to CID, have a good time, like a trial by fire on some of these things. You learn how to write warrants and you start to review other officers reports and for me that was a little challenging because I feel like I'm this child in a sense right?
Speaker 3:I'm a new officer and I'm getting older officers reports and I'm tasked with making those decisions of like follow up questions. Why'd you do this? Who are you?
Speaker 2:A new guy.
Speaker 3:So that was sort of an adjustment but I found a way to do it in a respectful way. There's no reason that I need to come at you three different ways and make you mad and all this stuff. So I did my two years. There's a two year commitment to that and, if I'm being honest, it's just I learned so much and I'm a better patrol officer for it. I just was ready to go back and get back into the squad car Do the, because with domestics it's the officers who are going out to these scenes who are almost the like first and last person that talks to those victims. So I became a way better officer at investigating those and getting the information then to help with successful prosecution of cases. I was itching to kind of get back to patrol and left on good terms. I think yeah.
Speaker 3:And so unless yeah unless if anyone has any other opinions.
Speaker 1:but so now you're, now you're back on patrol and kind of rampant as we back up. If you will, obviously, I'm asking you, handle a little better. It's a little more well adjusted. What are you in your personal life Like? What do you do to? But what do you do to, I guess, cope with police work and distresses.
Speaker 3:It's a good question, it's because you're trying to figure out.
Speaker 2:No, I don't. I don't do that I don't drink to.
Speaker 3:You know, I like to really just spend time with other people and that's a big part of, you know, being away from here. I mean, we're busy right now and just life, and so I think that normally we like to travel and but I don't. I've never been a person that, when I asked that question, has a good idea or a good response, like it just seems. When everyone's like well, what do you like to do, what are your hobbies, how do you? And I'm like I don't know, when I'm not at work, I'm usually trying not to think about work and probably cleaning the house, like I just well, and part of that is the same reason that my hobby situation tends to be kind of limited.
Speaker 1:I don't know if can we go into that. What is the kid situation?
Speaker 3:Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 1:You're a weird type of new father.
Speaker 3:It's not weird. Okay, I was not saying that. Not weird, but it's the ordinary, it's not new. So in this, not new borns.
Speaker 1:Okay, yeah.
Speaker 3:So, instead of like, yeah, we'll just get right into it I didn't even, I guess I didn't give back story, so we gave back story about how I got into law enforcement. I married married. Okay, how many years you've been noted to me? I'm married Five years.
Speaker 2:You didn't trouble, I was okay.
Speaker 3:So but then together for 10 years, like we met in college and so married. I guess let's back up a little bit, just because it gives a little bit of context in the police work to when we talked about support systems. I actually thought that was pretty interesting that that was one of the questions in the oral word of like does your spouse support you?
Speaker 2:And I was like, I guess you know, I just wasn't a thing.
Speaker 3:So I thought that was pretty neat. At least they were genuinely interested. So in college I met Lane. It was a unique situation again because we were at a Baptist school and this had always been something that I struggled with. Okay.
Speaker 1:The Baptist school. I'm going out on a limb and saying had a rule against it. Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah grew up kind of not out. I grew up, came here. My dad was a very churchy person. I had a lot of conflicting beliefs, met Lane and that just clicked right. So that was a secret for a while and I actually almost broke up with him because I didn't think I could be a cop as being open and there wasn't any particular person that was putting that idea in my head. It was like self-imposed.
Speaker 1:Because was that before you were here?
Speaker 3:Yes, so as I start gearing up, like in the program that I talked about in school obviously it was a pretty undiscussed thing at school I'm like, well, how am I going to get a job at Grand Prairie? I didn't know any. I did an internship while in school at a police department and like I just am like I don't know.
Speaker 1:You think it's because you were going to the law enforcement courses at a religious school. That you're just like kind of conflicted with.
Speaker 3:No, I just I think that when you look at cops, you're like you just don't see a lot of outside influences, you just see a cop, people like to put people in boxes and all this kind of stuff. And if that's one thing I don't fit in, it's a box, not because physically I'm huge, but because I have a lot of nuances.
Speaker 1:I'm moving by.
Speaker 3:But I just there's so many nuances to things. Right, we're in Texas, like we all just like to make things simplified. I'm the complete opposite of that, because while I believe one thing, I also believe another thing, and we've had hours long conversations of certain things, so I just didn't think it was maybe important enough. I thought it would be a hurdle and I thought this would just hold me back. So let me just get into this job and figure it out. So like I just without a partner, without somebody, without it being, I'm curious what figured it out looked like.
Speaker 1:Are you just going to look at girls until you like them, or like a surprise one?
Speaker 3:Or just be single, or just like not discuss who I am.
Speaker 1:That's a wild level of commitment.
Speaker 3:Well, it was, and it was driving me nuts because while we were, while I was filling out this what seemed like a million page application, it gets deep and my biggest fear was not being truthful. And it got to the point where I was filling this out and I was like I left it blank. We were nearing the end of the college deal and at that point we'd been together a couple years and, like our finances, and it went that deep, Like my stress over it went that deep of well, I'm going to have to cancel the bank account. And it got to the point where I was like Lane, I may have to, just not, we may have to go separate ways. And I just it wasn't the department, it wasn't anything, it was a lot of just things that up until that point, I didn't have to handle, I didn't have to think about I didn't have to deal with.
Speaker 3:And so I just one day I just was like, well, if I can't be truthful and if I can't give it, like them, all the information and if I have to skate around certain things, then maybe I don't need to work there. And that was the point where I was like script, yeah, you know, and I was like bottoms up and so with all like so, all that, to say you know, through his name on there and it's been great A lot of unpacking to say we're at this point now we've been married about five years Obviously cannot have children by natural means. So we're, you know, we're thinking how, you know, do we want kids? And surrogacy is out the window because that's 100 grand that I do not have.
Speaker 2:How do you get extra jobs? Yeah, overtime.
Speaker 3:You know, private adopters there were. We spent a good six months just looking at how the options work, and my mom grew up in foster care. She was in, probably why we moved a lot of times. She was in like 13 different homes and it just made sense to me to try that first, and so we opened up to foster care. Three. Two and a half years ago we had two placements. They went back with a grandma we had moved home, so we were closed for a little bit and then we open back up and we got placed with this new case. We had three. There's seven and now eight children in this sibling group, but now we are left with one. We had her since she was six weeks, so she just turned one.
Speaker 3:So we've had her for a minute now and it has been a while, yeah, and so that's our, that's our journey right now is takes up a lot of time.
Speaker 1:You're not. You're not being like super clear is right where you're, like you all went from no kids, you know just yeah you just live in the life to boom three kids. So we were originally, we went no kids to two.
Speaker 3:They went back and then we're like, well, that was a lot, you know, and how do you impact that in foster care? Is this? And there's several officers here that have gone through foster care and that's actually been a really great resource talk with them, and then that we close, and then we went from zero to three. Right, a five year old, or, sorry, a four year old, a three year old and a six week old, yeah, and the oldest has some, or the two oldest they were nonverbal, you know, and there was a neglect in the family and the baby was born with drugs. So we went not only from zero to three, but we went from zero to three with also some special like special circumstances and needs.
Speaker 1:That was a lot because you want to go back to work for a break.
Speaker 3:I never like when I've heard people they're like oh, they're working a lot of overtime or they stay late because it's bedtime.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I was like, I was like ah, ha, ha, ha.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I legit had to have a intentional conversation with myself to be like you're not doing that. You know.
Speaker 1:Not doing the meaning.
Speaker 3:You're not, you're not gonna be saying late, if you don't have to stay late Because you want to get out of the bedtime, bath time thing, and it becomes it like it creeps in pretty easily and it's just a true, honest thing where it's like and right now we only had that one baby right, you have like 12, you know.
Speaker 3:so yeah so that became very real and very quick and then the two older ones went back with her dad. So we're navigating this case, which has become chaotic and it takes up a lot of our time. So all of that unpacking to say the hobbies and everything like what do you do outside? It's just surviving because.
Speaker 2:I'm.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and I guess that is a hobby, like the family time, and there's nothing better than like going home and and Seeing like the cutest little thing ever whip her head around and Like come, like demon crawling towards you, because she's like, oh, look at this person's back that I love and, at the same time, also heart-wrenching because she may not stay like that like the emotional part of that.
Speaker 3:It has been such a Push and pull that again. Going back to the expectations, we knew, because I've had conversations with people. Well, you signed up for it. You should have known. That's that. That is easy to say and, yes, it is true, you know on paper, like, how this process works, but to and literally deal with it, and in real time, it doesn't make the emotion go away.
Speaker 3:So, that it's just like you. I Don't even know how to describe how you love someone and also try to hold up a barrier so that you don't get destroyed.
Speaker 1:Yeah, emotionally.
Speaker 3:I'm like still still trying to work on that very being very vocal. Today is not a day. You know. Today the CPI like and it normally surrounds CPS texting me or calling us and any updates which usually end with we don't know what's happening. Right, I'm like you can tell my mood changes and so it's. It's a hot, it's been a hard thing, but it's been interesting to kind of learn and Lately here I feel like I've just been rambling about they're like how's everything? I'm like do you really want to know? Because I don't have enough time to tell you, but I Feel like I have good support, you know, and that's a good thing.
Speaker 2:The so have you all talked about? I guess it's just the all-out adoption where you that's your baby and you don't have to worry about. Okay, maybe later the dad may come back into the picture and yeah, so we've talked about adoption.
Speaker 3:The private adoptions is still expensive. Oh okay, and that's still different than CPS adoption.
Speaker 1:There's a lot of different.
Speaker 3:Part two, you know.
Speaker 2:Part three, four, five, if you know but I lean a jolly, can just spend the money because it's so and there there's expenses to all of it.
Speaker 3:The foster to there's fostering. There's foster to adopt, there's adoption only. But if you do adoption only, you're waiting years and years and years and years. You just because you don't know when a kid's gonna Be come available. And it's nuts to me because In our job yeah our job.
Speaker 3:We come around around homes and I'm calling CPS like several times a month because of, you know, keep things that happen in the home that calls. We go on, and I've never been so disappointed and like Government system, which is, you know, we work for a city government here, and and it's obviously different than and I I just been Put in a lot of new places lately mentally dealing with those challenges and it's just, it's out of control. So Well, you know. At the same time, though, we're taking it in strides. Yeah, the case is almost up, we just got to deal with it. And so how do I deal with it? Go home and clean. I do a lot of cleaning. Talking to Lane helps, because I'm like, I'm like my mind's racing, I don't. I don't need answers for me, I'm just saying like I'm, he's like, just you know and listen. So that's what we do a lot. And then I also go to therapy. That's good.
Speaker 3:Therapies big around, I mean therapy is big around this department, which is great.
Speaker 3:I was like that's the order, that is, if we're talking about changes of the department over the years, if that is one thing that should be put to the front of it, like that is just. I think it's cool, I think it's Unique. I think a lot of departments are trying to do that just to kind of obviously foster that like good mental space. But it's not the granola crunchy like oh, you know a lot of like those key words that people use and I don't want to sit here and talk all day and ramble about the same thing over and over to you guys. I'll go talk to somebody else and then we can bounce it. You know, it's just good to have that outlet, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah well, you've been a complete disappointment because I thought we were gonna sit down and Banner and BS and joke and it's gonna be funny and it was just super serious the whole time.
Speaker 3:Well, I do have a funny, funny story. Did you actually think of one?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I did now, not trying to be rude, but don't you know what?
Speaker 3:it's not really that funny actually kind of was funny for a little bit, like way back in the day playing your embarrassing.
Speaker 3:Probably both Okay cool, not so much embarrassing. I mean not anymore. It's been several years but way back in the day when we had paper tickets in FTO, I'm told to write this guy a ticket for some like tail light violation. I'm writing it out and I'm like so in my head at this point in FTO I don't know which way is like up, and I'm just like Probably around the time where I'm like I gotta, I gotta take a minute here, but I'm, I'm sitting there and I'm writing this ticket out and I'm done and the FTO usually checks it just to make sure and he goes what, what the hell is this like what he's? Like you wrote your name on here. I Wrote myself a ticket because I'm reading it says name, like it says first name, last name, and I'm filling it out like I'd like a test or like something like I'm like.
Speaker 3:It's like they're like it's asked personal information here and then we'll get to the rest, and so that ticket Was, I want to say it was passed around several people for sure because then you have to like do a citation dismissal, right. So I you know yeah, I've never done well.
Speaker 1:Have you ever yourself?
Speaker 3:take it, though I learned early on how to do that and like it's a formal thing when he's dismissed the citation, it went through a chain of command and the reason on it, like I Think this is more of like this to point out the fact that I had did that right it was Like you filled out this citation dismissal, you attach the ticket to it you it was a chain of command thing and you wrote the reason why it's being dismissed.
Speaker 3:I was like a being dismissed because it was the wrong issue to myself and like it's it went to the. It went to the supervisor, the lieutenant.
Speaker 1:Did the Violator get his copy?
Speaker 3:he got a. He got a ticket. Yeah, a different one. Oh, okay, yeah, with his correct information what they made you do it. They made you do a dismissal on one you didn't, because it still exists as a ticket on based on the numbers right, so it's like they got a keep track of what tickets went where.
Speaker 2:I was An FTO.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I'm being told what to do and I'm writing my own name. And now I'm like even further in my head and I was like I don't know this funny. I was like I just go you.
Speaker 1:You thought they stay, since you home, so you could think it for the job. I didn't know what time off was.
Speaker 3:At that point I was like, is this a good thing? Yeah, I'm sorry.
Speaker 1:Well, I hate to cut off things there. We have like two or more things we could talk about, but it's awesome part two. Appreciate you coming in.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I'm glad you all had me and hopefully get some good.
Speaker 1:Stuff bits, always, always, offer a chance. You have any words of advice you want to offer to anybody.
Speaker 3:I Feel like I gave a lot of that throughout the. Alright, no, I just. I just think, though, to like recap, if, if you're a brand new cop, I wouldn't say like soul-searching, but that's part of Really taking the idea of Do ride-alongs, do things to expose yourself, talk to like long-term cops, Really get the idea of what actually is going on, because then you're gonna get your real idea when you actually do it. Yep, to help prepare you for that, at least close that gap. And then lateral officers you already know what you're doing In terms. Well, hopefully, you know what you're doing, but if you don't, we'll catch up to speed. But you know, obviously, come in here having that the open-mindedness of adjoining our crew here, not only to help us on days a For patrol staffing, but you know to get a better.
Speaker 3:I think. I think Texas does offer a really good, yeah change of pace for a lot of people.
Speaker 1:So and don't talk. Just don't talk all the time about how you used to do it. Yeah, do not talk nobody can listen.
Speaker 3:We get it. There are other ways of doing things.
Speaker 1:So we do stuff here go back yeah.
Speaker 3:Well now stay here, we'll be able to. Yeah, we'll work through it, but we'll also remind you gently that it's a listen. Well, now you get to do yeah, not what you used to do. So Sign up. All right, join us, we'll get sure down.
Speaker 1:Bye, till next time, you.
