Latest / Blue Grit Podcast: The Voice of Texas Law Enforcement / #002 "81 miles and counting"

Transcript

#002 "81 miles and counting" · Blue Grit Podcast: The Voice of Texas Law Enforcement

0:24
SPEAKER_04: Man, we've got some special guests today.
0:26
SPEAKER_04: So I saw your story.
0:29
SPEAKER_04: It actually flashed on.
0:32
SPEAKER_04: You might believe it.
0:32
SPEAKER_04: You might not.
0:33
SPEAKER_04: But on Google, it pops up and it says, cop runs from Alamo to the Capitol.
0:37
SPEAKER_04: And I was like, oh my God.
0:39
SPEAKER_04: And I know you can't tell it.
0:40
SPEAKER_04: On purpose.
0:40
SPEAKER_04: He did it on purpose.
0:41
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, not chasing anybody.
0:43
SPEAKER_04: And I was like, wow, that's pretty cool.
0:44
SPEAKER_04: I'm a runner.
0:45
SPEAKER_04: I know you can't tell that by my size.
0:47
SPEAKER_04: But I was like, that's that's actually amazing.
0:49
SPEAKER_04: And so when I I clicked on the story and uh I I I read about it and saw it, I was like, man, I got to meet this dude.
0:55
SPEAKER_04: And we were going to come down here anyway for uh some other events and kick, you know, get this podcast thing kicked off.
1:00
SPEAKER_04: And so uh very, very, very happy to introduce Austin Police Sergeant Ben Muis and then your partner, which is Scott Baldridge.
1:10
SPEAKER_04: Yep.
1:11
SPEAKER_04: And you are with APD as well.
1:12
SPEAKER_04: Yes, sir.
1:13
SPEAKER_04: So you're born and raised in Austin.
1:16
SPEAKER_04: Uh you're not.
1:17
SPEAKER_02: You are from I'm from Grand Prairie, outside of Dallas.
1:21
SPEAKER_04: Okay.
1:21
SPEAKER_04: North Texas.
1:22
SPEAKER_04: That's right.
1:22
SPEAKER_04: That's right.
1:23
SPEAKER_04: That's right.
1:23
SPEAKER_04: Did you grow up in Grand Prairie?
1:24
SPEAKER_02: I did.
1:25
SPEAKER_02: So what high school did you go to?
1:27
SPEAKER_02: I went to uh Bowie, over in Arlington.
1:29
SPEAKER_04: Okay.
1:29
SPEAKER_04: I know exactly where it's at.
1:30
SPEAKER_04: I grew up in Irving.
1:31
SPEAKER_04: Okay.
1:31
SPEAKER_04: So I'm I was right down the road and uh the first chance I got, I got the hell out and went straight to East Texas.
1:36
SPEAKER_04: I got a passport and everything.
1:37
SPEAKER_04: So let's just change this to the North Texas podcast.
1:40
SPEAKER_04: Exactly.
1:41
SPEAKER_04: Exactly.
1:42
SPEAKER_04: Man, so Sarge, uh, let's talk about what it's like to work in the town that you grew up in and and just really how how cra well, not crazy, how how how much Austin's changed as a city, as a community, uh, and what it really means to work in that that area that you grew up in.
1:58
SPEAKER_00: So uh I guess thank you for the promotion though, right away.
2:02
SPEAKER_00: Offer to Sargent, uh I'm uh corporal with Austin.
2:05
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
2:06
SPEAKER_04: Well, sorry.
2:06
SPEAKER_04: Sorry.
2:07
SPEAKER_04: Oh, it's all good.
2:07
SPEAKER_04: I'm always in your corner though.
2:08
SPEAKER_04: Just let APD know that I believe in you, and if you do get promoted, we promoted you on this day.
2:13
SPEAKER_04: We started it here.
2:14
SPEAKER_04: That's right.
2:15
SPEAKER_00: Uh no, I'm born and raised in Austin, Texas.
2:18
SPEAKER_00: Uh went to school here, um, graduated from McCallum High School.
2:23
SPEAKER_00: So if everybody anybody knows where that's at, just down the road here.
2:26
SPEAKER_00: Um it was a small town when I was growing up.
2:29
SPEAKER_00: Uh it's funny, everything is completely blown up compared to when I was a kid.
2:34
SPEAKER_00: Oh, I believe it.
2:35
SPEAKER_00: Uh, you know, I can remember going to South Austin and William Cannon being like farmland.
2:40
SPEAKER_00: There was nothing past that.
2:41
SPEAKER_00: I mean, once you left William Cannon, you didn't see anything until you got to San Antonio for the most part.
2:46
SPEAKER_00: Um, South Park Meadows used to be an actual meadows of farmland where they had concerts and everything else.
2:51
SPEAKER_00: It wasn't like this giant strip mall that is.
2:54
SPEAKER_00: Um, so Austin is just completely blown up.
2:58
SPEAKER_04: Uh what do you think the population has jumped to from when you were a kid growing up uh to what it is now?
3:04
SPEAKER_04: Do you think it's doubled?
3:05
SPEAKER_04: Do you think it's tripled?
3:06
SPEAKER_04: I don't know really what this what the numbers are with a with Austin at all.
3:10
SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
3:10
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna sound old for a second because I, you know, I'm in my 40s.
3:14
SPEAKER_00: But when I was in Austin, I I would I would guess 300,000, 400,000 when I was a kid growing up.
3:18
SPEAKER_00: And what's what and what is it now?
3:20
SPEAKER_00: I know it's it's gotta be over a million now.
3:22
SPEAKER_04: Yeah certainly, yeah.
3:23
SPEAKER_04: With all the with all the other communities, flugerville, round rock, and all that joined together, I'm sure.
3:27
SPEAKER_02: The metro area for sure is at least a million.
3:30
SPEAKER_04: Oh yeah.
3:30
SPEAKER_04: Well, yeah, with that was Fort Worth.
3:32
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
3:32
SPEAKER_04: Well, you're talking about the Austin Metro, yeah.
3:34
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, when you say metro to host North Texas guys, we we're talking about DFW.
3:38
SPEAKER_04: So I I will ask this because I've always been intrigued by it.
3:41
SPEAKER_04: Um, have you ever ran across any of your classmates or been like, hey, I knew you from high school?
3:45
SPEAKER_04: And first of all, were you kind of a crazy student?
3:48
SPEAKER_00: Because and I know No, I was I was pretty boring in high school.
3:51
SPEAKER_00: I'll just I'll admit that right away.
3:53
SPEAKER_00: Uh I had a lot of friends and everything, but I wasn't the dude that was like class clown.
3:56
SPEAKER_04: So you're not the guy that shows up to a call and they're like, What the hell?
3:59
SPEAKER_04: They gave you a badge, and then you're enforced in the law.
4:01
SPEAKER_04: You're not that guy, right?
4:02
SPEAKER_00: No, no.
4:03
SPEAKER_00: Um, I I will say, funny story.
4:05
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I have ran into some classmates, and and some of my classmates know that I'm a cop, and they some of them think it's cool, some of them are like, wow, I didn't rather see you going into that line of work.
4:15
SPEAKER_00: Um I did take a call, and my friends at work will make fun of me about this because I've already told them this story.
4:21
SPEAKER_00: But there's an HEB just down the road here, and I went to a shoplifter call.
4:25
SPEAKER_00: Um, when I showed up, it was a uh female that I went to school with that I used to have a major crush on.
4:32
SPEAKER_00: She was um a cheerleader in my high school.
4:35
SPEAKER_04: Please tell me she was a suspect.
4:37
SPEAKER_04: Please tell me she was a suspect.
4:38
SPEAKER_04: She was a suspect.
4:39
SPEAKER_04: Oh yes.
4:39
SPEAKER_00: She had been detained by the security guard for shoplifting, basically doing a beer run.
4:46
SPEAKER_00: Um she we we were in our 30s at this point in time.
4:49
SPEAKER_00: So not a kid, not not like somebody underage trying to get like beer and any or anything like that.
4:54
SPEAKER_00: So as soon as I showed up, I'm not gonna mention her name, but I was like, are you kidding me?
4:59
SPEAKER_00: And you know, she recognized me immediately.
5:02
SPEAKER_00: Um we started talking.
5:03
SPEAKER_04: Was she still pretty?
5:04
SPEAKER_04: I mean, did you st was it like wow?
5:06
SPEAKER_04: No, she's the flame was rekindled.
5:08
SPEAKER_04: No, definitely not.
5:09
SPEAKER_00: She's she has lived a very hard life.
5:12
SPEAKER_04: Um what okay?
5:14
SPEAKER_04: So the other the other the other question is this is that did you tell her, or did she know you had a crut that you had a crush charter in high school?
5:19
SPEAKER_00: So, well, I'll get to that point in just a second.
5:21
SPEAKER_00: But yeah, it was part of her rights advisement.
5:24
SPEAKER_00: Um I'm rushing it.
5:25
SPEAKER_00: But so the HEB wanted to go ahead and file charters.
5:28
SPEAKER_00: It was just a simple ticket because it was it came out to be like a whopping like$12, I think, something to that effect.
5:33
SPEAKER_00: Um, gave her the ticket, walked out to my patrol car, cited her, she signed it, and she started talking to me and she was like, Oh, yeah, I remember you in high school, you're a good dude, and everything like that.
5:44
SPEAKER_00: She goes, Hey, this might sound un you know professional or whatever, but you want to go out for coffee tomorrow and catch up?
5:50
SPEAKER_00: And uh I said, you know, had you said this like 15 years ago, I would have jumped all over this.
5:55
SPEAKER_00: But obviously, I'm happily married and have a kid.
5:57
SPEAKER_00: I'm I'm no interest in this right now.
5:59
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, and and you just got sighted for getting a beer.
6:02
SPEAKER_00: That too.
6:02
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and but uh she gave me a hug, and then we kind of just went our separate ways at that point.
6:08
SPEAKER_00: And I almost I was wondering if she was gonna take that to court just to so we would actually run into each other again, never did.
6:14
SPEAKER_04: So that's crazy.
6:15
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, that's I have not had that story.
6:17
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, uh, I'm the guy that that shows up, and they're like, Oh my god, you ended up being a police officer.
6:23
SPEAKER_04: Me and my wife are also uh I'm very happily married, uh, and she's just about as crazy as I am.
6:29
SPEAKER_04: Not because she married me, just because she's just bubbly and so forth.
6:32
SPEAKER_04: But uh we we I I was class clown and so forth, and so I know it's kind of shocking, but uh it I'm that guy that shows up and it's it's amazing to me.
6:40
SPEAKER_04: So I did run into people at the Dallas County jail.
6:42
SPEAKER_04: Uh shout out to Dallas County.
6:43
SPEAKER_04: I used to work for you guys at Louis Derrett, and I used to run into classmates and stuff at Luce Derrett inside the jail, and it was really interesting and kind of odd.
6:50
SPEAKER_04: Um, but anyway.
6:52
SPEAKER_03: I very briefly policed, didn't police, very briefly was in law enforcement, the community I grew up in.
6:58
SPEAKER_03: Before going to Garland PD, I worked at Plano PD in the jail.
7:02
SPEAKER_03: I was not a good student in school.
7:06
SPEAKER_03: And I had a girl in math class that would frequently tell me to be quiet because we are here at a higher institution of learning to learn, and I needed to be quiet.
7:16
SPEAKER_03: That was in math class, and I was working at the jail in Plano, and she got booked in for fraud and theft by check.
7:24
SPEAKER_03: There you go.
7:24
SPEAKER_03: She's going Hey Clint, remember me?
7:26
SPEAKER_03: I was like, No, no, no, look familiar, but don't does it ring a bell.
7:32
SPEAKER_03: That's crazy.
7:33
SPEAKER_03: Apparently, math didn't take for her either.
7:37
SPEAKER_04: So, Corporal, uh, so Ben, you're you you've been how long you've been in Austin PD?
7:42
SPEAKER_04: Uh, what led you to Austin PD?
7:44
SPEAKER_04: Because you used to work at the University of Texas.
7:46
SPEAKER_04: Yes.
7:46
SPEAKER_04: Police department.
7:47
SPEAKER_04: Uh, and then have you always been with APD?
7:50
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, this is my the only department I've ever worked at.
7:52
SPEAKER_04: Okay.
7:53
SPEAKER_03: Well, what brought you from Grand Prie to Austin?
7:55
SPEAKER_02: Uh I was actually in college up in Kansas and I needed to get back to Texas because it's too cold up there.
8:01
SPEAKER_02: And so I just Googled the highest paying police departments in Texas, and it was Austin.
8:07
SPEAKER_02: So I'm like, let's do it.
8:08
SPEAKER_04: Let's do it.
8:09
SPEAKER_04: Let's just roll the dice.
8:10
SPEAKER_04: I was listening to Bridge the Divide podcast the other day.
8:14
SPEAKER_04: And this is no kidding.
8:15
SPEAKER_04: There was a lot of things.
8:16
SPEAKER_04: Shout out to Bridging the Divide that was ATO podcast.
8:19
SPEAKER_04: Great, great podcast.
8:20
SPEAKER_04: Joe King.
8:20
SPEAKER_04: They were uh they were interviewing this this Dallas police sergeant, okay?
8:23
SPEAKER_04: He'd been with the agency I think it was 28 years.
8:27
SPEAKER_04: Okay.
8:27
SPEAKER_04: This dude was a teacher.
8:28
SPEAKER_04: He lived, he he was from El Paso.
8:31
SPEAKER_04: He comes to a job recruitment fair, and because uh the ink ran out in his pen.
8:37
SPEAKER_04: He goes to AP, he got he I'm sorry, he walks over to the Dallas Police Department Recruiting Deal and asks, can they borrow he can he have a pen?
8:43
SPEAKER_04: And so DPD's like, you sure can.
8:45
SPEAKER_04: However, you've got to fill out our application first.
8:48
SPEAKER_04: This is when applications have to be filled out by hand.
8:50
SPEAKER_04: You have to fill this out first before we'll give you one.
8:52
SPEAKER_04: The guy was obviously kidding.
8:54
SPEAKER_04: And he said, I don't have any interest in law enforcement.
8:56
SPEAKER_04: He said, Well, and so they started talking, and because he ran out of ink and a pen is what started his law enforcement career.
9:02
SPEAKER_04: I thought it was absolutely fascinating.
9:04
SPEAKER_04: He's been with been with DPD like 28, 32 years, something along those lines.
9:07
SPEAKER_04: But uh I was listening like again, I was listening to their podcast and heard that story, and I was like, man, that's crazy.
9:12
SPEAKER_04: I mean, just the the odds of everything kind of happening, but he may have wished he carries his own pen.
9:18
SPEAKER_04: Absolutely.
9:20
SPEAKER_04: Absolutely.
9:20
SPEAKER_04: Uh so tell us kind of how how long you worked at University of Texas Police Department and what really is the huge difference between being a school cop uh and now a you know municipality beat cop.
9:33
SPEAKER_00: So uh I started at uh UT, the University of Texas Police Department, UTPD in uh 2001.
9:39
SPEAKER_00: And um I actually went to the police academy when I was 20 years old.
9:43
SPEAKER_00: So I graduated when I was a month shy of turning 21, so I actually couldn't even carry a uh gun.
9:49
SPEAKER_00: I was still in my cadet uniform.
9:51
SPEAKER_04: So how does that work?
9:52
SPEAKER_04: Because if you're 20, what, 20 and a half, I guess, that you can't.
9:56
SPEAKER_04: I mean, I guess do you get paid as a cop until they get commissioned?
9:59
SPEAKER_04: I mean, can you get commissioned when you're 20 and a half?
10:01
SPEAKER_00: Uh no, you cannot per uh the T Cole rules.
10:04
SPEAKER_00: Right at that point in time, I'll just say that.
10:06
SPEAKER_00: Right.
10:06
SPEAKER_00: Um, so I mean that's ancient history now, it's over 20 years ago.
10:08
SPEAKER_04: But that was back when it was probably T close.
10:10
SPEAKER_04: Yes, it was, right?
10:11
SPEAKER_04: That was back when it was T close, yeah.
10:13
SPEAKER_04: T T Cleos.
10:14
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, T C Cleos.
10:15
SPEAKER_00: Um but uh so I actually just got paid as a cadet for a whole nother month, and then literally on my 21st birthday is when T Cole went ahead and signed my commission card and I became a cop and I started a field training program with the University of Texas Texas.
10:27
SPEAKER_04: With the University of Texas Police Party.
10:28
SPEAKER_04: It's when they promoted him like you did today.
10:30
SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
10:31
SPEAKER_04: Absolutely.
10:32
SPEAKER_04: Like, okay, thank you.
10:33
SPEAKER_00: So I guess it was kind of weird because a lot of you know, obviously a lot of 21-year-olds ring in, you know, that momentous occasion with drinking and everything like that, and here I am actually getting my you know gun and badge.
10:43
SPEAKER_00: Oh my god.
10:44
SPEAKER_04: So you didn't drink when you I didn't.
10:46
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I I didn't even get I didn't even get the day off.
10:48
SPEAKER_00: I was literally full, hey, just come into work.
10:50
SPEAKER_00: It's 21st birthday and it's your first day to start training.
10:52
SPEAKER_04: Well, Ben, we need to celebrate.
10:54
SPEAKER_04: How many years later?
10:56
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, a few.
10:57
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, exactly.
10:58
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
10:58
SPEAKER_04: So so you worked at UTTPD, and then then you what I mean, what led you to Austin?
11:03
SPEAKER_00: So uh I was working at UTPD.
11:05
SPEAKER_00: They have things have changed since then, but they had a lot of mandatory overtime and a lot of the football games, special events, basketball, everything that was just driving me crazy.
11:13
SPEAKER_00: I got to the point where I was tired working like 80-hour weeks.
11:15
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
11:15
SPEAKER_00: Um, I wanted to go back to school and get my uh bachelor's degree, so I left UTPD.
11:19
SPEAKER_00: I went to the ACC Police Department, which was a an awesome department.
11:23
SPEAKER_04: Um AC, what is ACC?
11:25
SPEAKER_00: Austin Community College Police Department, so it's for all the campuses, you know, in Austin.
11:28
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
11:29
SPEAKER_00: Um, and then I went to school and got my bachelor's degree from Texas State, which I know you're gonna joke with me because I'm that old, but it was Texas State at that time.
11:36
SPEAKER_00: It wasn't Southwest Texas.
11:38
SPEAKER_00: Um I don't believe them.
11:40
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, no, no, not at all.
11:41
SPEAKER_00: It was Texas State, so I got my bachelor's degree from there, and then I looked at APD, and much like Scott, I was like, wow, they pay a lot more and there's room for advancement.
11:50
SPEAKER_00: So I went out and applied for APD to join them.
11:53
SPEAKER_04: And what year was that?
11:54
SPEAKER_00: That was 2011.
11:55
SPEAKER_04: 2011.
11:56
SPEAKER_00: 2010, beginning 2011.
11:58
SPEAKER_03: Okay.
11:58
SPEAKER_03: Did you guys get hired on the same time or close?
12:01
SPEAKER_02: Uh I think I was like one or two classes ahead of him because you're 120th?
12:06
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I was a 120.
12:07
SPEAKER_02: All right.
12:08
SPEAKER_02: So he started the academy when I was like halfway through the academy.
12:11
SPEAKER_02: Okay, gotcha.
12:12
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we were all envious because his class was already halfway into it, and we were having, you know, our our hell week and hell month, you know, when they were trying to really show you what uh what APD's academy is like.
12:22
SPEAKER_04: So APD puts their own, even though you were certified, you still had to go through Austin Police Academy or the police department's academy?
12:29
SPEAKER_00: I did.
12:30
SPEAKER_00: Uh so APD's rules are you must have been a municipal cop for two years before you can go to their modified academy.
12:37
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
12:37
SPEAKER_00: And I was a little arrogant.
12:38
SPEAKER_00: I went into APD's Academy.
12:40
SPEAKER_00: I was like, man, I've already been a cop for several years now, for almost 10 years at that point in time.
12:43
SPEAKER_00: And here I am having to redo the whole thing again with people who haven't been cops before.
12:48
SPEAKER_00: But I got a pretty good wake-up call when I left the APD Academy and actually hit the street training.
12:53
SPEAKER_00: And I started actually working on the east side of Austin, which was vastly different than the UT police department.
13:00
SPEAKER_04: Just cult just the cultures that I mean, it just is it the how how is Austin set up as far as you know, not not crime?
13:05
SPEAKER_04: I don't want to say that because Austin's, I mean, you guys, thanks to you guys, you guys are the ones out there really trying to protect us.
13:11
SPEAKER_04: But uh where is it the south side, north side, east side, where kind of is the really prompt like the really not bad area, but kind of give me an overall view of kind of how that looks geographically of where Austin's bad parts are, I guess is what I'm trying to say.
13:25
SPEAKER_04: Dangerous part, more dangerous than others.
13:26
SPEAKER_00: I think if we just simply go by like a higher crime rate, then you're gonna be looking at northeast Austin, which is Edwards sector, which has traditionally always been our highest call volume, and those officers are just working non-stop.
13:37
SPEAKER_00: Call the call to call.
13:38
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
13:38
SPEAKER_03: Are we in the northeast sector by chance?
13:41
SPEAKER_00: You you're close to it.
13:43
SPEAKER_00: Y'all are actually in the sector that I I pretty much started my field training program in.
13:47
SPEAKER_00: Y'all are y'all are in Ida sector, so little tiny, I don't even know what is considered central east type of whatever.
13:53
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I don't even know if that's a stallida.
13:55
SPEAKER_02: They keep changing it.
13:56
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, they change it up.
13:58
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
13:58
SPEAKER_00: But it was it was interesting.
14:00
SPEAKER_00: I remember I got one of my first call when I got to Ida's sector was getting out of or is taking a call of a man that had been stabbed multiple times, and he was actually over here off of St.
14:08
SPEAKER_00: John's of Grand Canyon.
14:10
SPEAKER_00: It was a drug rip, um, went bad, and he had been stabbed multiple times.
14:14
SPEAKER_00: He looked like the Green Mile.
14:15
SPEAKER_00: He was walking down the street.
14:19
SPEAKER_00: He was walking down the street screaming his head off that he was gonna find the person and and do what he wanted to with them.
14:25
SPEAKER_00: And I was like, oh, okay, well, this is day one for me, so this is not what I had you know dealt with at any time.
14:30
SPEAKER_04: Oh, yeah, no.
14:30
SPEAKER_04: I gotta do that was primarily what just intoxicated students that were having a good time.
14:35
SPEAKER_04: And then and then also the you know, I've worked for a campus place uh before too, and and it's significantly different.
14:40
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, the politics involved with it and so forth, it's just crazy.
14:43
SPEAKER_04: So so I I don't want to use the word that we're not gonna say, but I do want to say that I I live in East Texas.
14:52
SPEAKER_04: Uh like we said earlier, Clint lives in North Texas.
14:55
SPEAKER_04: And if you guys can kind of both go over how challenging it's been to work at Austin PD, uh, because the men and women that I speak with and see the hard work that you guys do do, um, how hard is it to to work at a police agency where the budget has been significantly impacted and and what that kind of operational standpoint looks like and and how you kind of struggled through it?
15:18
SPEAKER_02: Uh I would say I just came off of a day shift before I promoted, and our issue was mostly staffing.
15:25
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
15:25
SPEAKER_02: We're supposed to have like 10 people on the shift and we're showing up with three to four people.
15:29
SPEAKER_02: Oh wow.
15:30
SPEAKER_02: And it's it's a struggle when you have no one.
15:33
SPEAKER_02: And it's all the shifts are like that right now.
15:35
SPEAKER_04: And APD's fairly y'all's wages are I mean, y'all are well.
15:39
SPEAKER_04: I mean, this is not I mean, I wouldn't say we're rich, no cop is rich, right?
15:43
SPEAKER_04: But y'all's y'all's salaries are pretty comparable to other big cities.
15:46
SPEAKER_04: And if you're seeing uh that kind of issue at at at you know agencies that do have good good good wages, uh that's just in generalization.
15:54
SPEAKER_04: Nobody wants to be in law enforcement these days.
15:56
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
15:57
SPEAKER_02: And I know they're having a lot of trouble with like recruiting, and now that we do have academy classes coming, so we're starting to get more bodies back in, but it's gonna be it's gonna be a while before our staffing issues are fixed.
16:09
SPEAKER_02: Are you one officer cars or two officer squads?
16:13
SPEAKER_00: Well, funny that you bring that up too.
16:15
SPEAKER_00: Uh we're having a car shortage.
16:16
SPEAKER_00: We're typically one officer cars, but because we're running out of cars, uh, because of several different factors, we're having a lot of officers double up at this point in time.
16:24
SPEAKER_03: So traditionally y'all not saying there's not women in law enforcement, there's a ton, but we've always said traditionally y'all are one man one man squad.
16:32
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, typically it's a it's a single unit.
16:34
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
16:35
SPEAKER_04: And y'all and y'all can't get cars just because of the you know, there's this the COVID situation.
16:39
SPEAKER_04: They can't build them quicker or they can't build them fast enough.
16:42
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
16:42
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
16:42
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
16:43
SPEAKER_03: So with the shortage, are you do you guys running calls backup or stand by until you get a till you get a cover unit or case dependent dependent on the call?
16:54
SPEAKER_03: Or because departments across Texas, everybody is calling us going, hey, we can't hire anybody.
16:59
SPEAKER_03: What you this is a crisis.
17:00
SPEAKER_03: You need to come and help.
17:02
SPEAKER_03: And we're like, man, there's 2,000 other agencies that are struggling with a recruiting crisis as well.
17:08
SPEAKER_03: How are you guys addressing?
17:10
SPEAKER_00: So we are they're doing a couple of different things.
17:13
SPEAKER_00: Uh I I mean it made the news last year.
17:15
SPEAKER_00: We we disbanded quite a few units to send them back to patrol.
17:18
SPEAKER_00: So a lot of our specialized units have gone back to patrol to help us out, take calls on patrol, because obviously patrol is a backbone of a police department.
17:24
SPEAKER_00: So we need that assistance.
17:25
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
17:26
SPEAKER_00: Um, we have, which hasn't been too popular, but we've recently had it where detectives are now doing backfill on patrol and having to come over and assist us with taking 911 calls.
17:37
SPEAKER_00: Uh, as far as the whole backup question, we've had it where I can remember when I first started, you you pretty much had a backup to every single call.
17:45
SPEAKER_00: I mean, mine are you know, mine is going to something like a parking violation or something silly like that, right?
17:50
SPEAKER_00: Um now we have officers that are pretty much just, you know, they'll say, I'll advise, you know, don't worry about trying to find me a backup because essentially I know nobody's coming.
17:59
SPEAKER_00: So they're going to call by themselves that normally they would have they would have taken a backup in the past.
18:05
SPEAKER_03: Which, you know, you're at a you're at a crossroad to make a tough decision.
18:09
SPEAKER_03: Is this call sounds like something I probably need to get to?
18:13
SPEAKER_03: Do I go and get myself killed and then I've not helped anybody?
18:16
SPEAKER_03: And do you stand by?
18:18
SPEAKER_04: Do you circle and which is fascinating to me because like where we're at you probably see it and deal with it way more than I do, but but and it's not that it's just a good old boy, the the you know the good old East Texas, right?
18:30
SPEAKER_04: But there's a guy on a horse standing by out there by yeah, we have cow calls and stuff, and but but what's what's crazy to me is that y'all hearing this so I I worked at Marshall P.
18:42
SPEAKER_04: D.
18:42
SPEAKER_04: Now I work for Harrison County uh sheriff's office, and so hearing that it it's mind-boggling, and then and then on top of it to com to to to make the situation worse, you guys out of anybody probably see the the anti-police movement and the anti-police rhetoric probably way more than I do, and or my guys, or Marshall PD, or even the the you know, the Metroplex up in Dallas.
19:05
SPEAKER_04: Just because we are Austin, let's you know you know, let's keep Austin weird, but let's also, you know, that's that we had there was a lot of protest down here last year or two years ago.
19:13
SPEAKER_04: And so that's what's crazy to me is that you guys go out there every single day and and you guys are keeping up the good fight.
19:20
SPEAKER_04: Uh you're a corporal and you're on patrol.
19:23
SPEAKER_04: And how how do you keep your guys motivated?
19:25
SPEAKER_04: I mean, through this, you've got the you know, the impact on the budget and then the staffing issues, and then how do how do you do that every day and then say, okay, guys, let's go get them?
19:35
SPEAKER_04: I mean, how how what does that look like?
19:37
SPEAKER_00: So, I mean, obviously it's difficult.
19:39
SPEAKER_00: Um, we I I I think every shift can say this, but I I feel like my shift is an is a tight-knit family.
19:46
SPEAKER_00: Um, I'm very blessed that on my shift everybody is very close.
19:49
SPEAKER_00: We all get along with each other really well.
19:51
SPEAKER_00: I've been on shifts in the past where you had little mini facts and stuff.
19:54
SPEAKER_04: But yeah, police and drama goes hand in hand sometimes.
19:57
SPEAKER_00: That's just the reality of it.
19:58
SPEAKER_00: But I I'm very fortunate that my shift doesn't have that.
20:00
SPEAKER_00: We don't have any divided lines or anything like that.
20:02
SPEAKER_00: Senior officers, junior officers, anything.
20:04
SPEAKER_00: Everybody comes together and help each other as much as they possibly can.
20:07
SPEAKER_00: For me as a supervisor, um, there's you know only so much I can kind of do to try to like say, hey, just you know, I appreciate everything that y'all are doing on a day-to-day basis.
20:18
SPEAKER_00: Um, so some of the things that I do, even though it may sound like cheesy, obviously like try to have shift dinners with them and like, hey guys, let's go out.
20:24
SPEAKER_00: I think the caller worked you know the other day is awesome, and y'all did a great job, and I really appreciate it.
20:29
SPEAKER_00: Um, I hit the street with them, I try to take calls with them.
20:32
SPEAKER_00: Scott laughs at me because he knows that when he's worked over time with my shift, I usually get into the mix more than I should.
20:37
SPEAKER_04: Yep.
20:38
SPEAKER_04: Um, you know, but that's what makes you a good supervisor because you don't you don't ever forget where you came from and you're like, no, I got this.
20:46
SPEAKER_04: You know, hold my beer, like Randy Rogers and Way No and say.
20:49
SPEAKER_04: Uh that's that's what makes you a good leader.
20:51
SPEAKER_04: And I think that not forgetting where you come from, really probably your guys see it, they respect you more, and you're gonna get more work out of them because you're there right there with them shoulder to shoulder.
21:00
SPEAKER_00: I I think other little things that have come up, um, you know, get to know your people, talk to them, obviously know about their as much as you possibly can, know about their personal life, what's going on, things like that.
21:10
SPEAKER_00: But what are some of the goals that they have overall in law enforcement?
21:14
SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, I've had officers that want to take the detective exam, want to go the detective route.
21:19
SPEAKER_00: So I'm like, can I get you write-outs with that unit?
21:21
SPEAKER_00: You know, I've had officers that want to go to sex crimes or child abuse or narcotics or whatever, and I try to get them writeouts in there to say, like, hey, you know, I want to see y'all succeed.
21:30
SPEAKER_00: Um just as much as I possibly can, awards, accolades.
21:35
SPEAKER_00: I I think, and I always joke with the people in my department, you know, I feel like IA is always heavy handed, and you're you're always the first to hear about that.
21:42
SPEAKER_00: But how many how often do you hear like somebody did something significant and they were awarded something for it?
21:46
SPEAKER_00: You know?
21:46
SPEAKER_04: Uh or or to go kind of hand in hand with your IA guys, how many times do some does somebody call the John Q citizen and say, Hey, uh man, you know, Mewis was such an asshole the other day, and I just cannot believe he treated me this way.
21:58
SPEAKER_04: But the reality is is they probably get Or 30 of those a day.
22:01
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
22:01
SPEAKER_04: And how many of those are actually investigated and looked into, and then said, you know, that that that that check mark.
22:06
SPEAKER_04: And so, you know, that's the reality of IA guys is is that man they're not they're not the fondest and they're not the most you know envied guys at at the department.
22:15
SPEAKER_04: They're probably the most hated, but in the reality, they kind of like captains.
22:18
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
22:19
SPEAKER_04: Oh, here we go.
22:20
SPEAKER_03: Okay.
22:20
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
22:21
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
22:22
SPEAKER_03: Oh, sorry about that.
22:23
SPEAKER_03: Oh, yeah.
22:23
SPEAKER_03: Sorry about that.
22:24
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
22:24
SPEAKER_04: And so uh, but yeah, that's that's they they got a job to do.
22:28
SPEAKER_04: They probably don't want to be there anyway, uh, but they they do a decent job and they they fade the heat, you know, for the most part.
22:34
SPEAKER_03: I I I I don't want it to go unnoticed because a part of what we want to talk about uh as this vodcast moves forward is leadership, because right now leadership seems to be lacking a lot in law enforcement.
22:46
SPEAKER_03: And I think it's important some of the things you hit on about to be a good leader, you have to be people focused, because if you don't care about the people, then the mission doesn't matter.
22:57
SPEAKER_03: And thinking about the details of the person and caring about knowing about their family or what's going on in their life.
23:05
SPEAKER_03: Um and even when things may be bad, the focus on law enforcement and the budget situations, you're finding ways as a leader to navigate that to keep people motivated.
23:17
SPEAKER_03: In the Marine Corps, we used to call it embracing the suck.
23:20
SPEAKER_03: You're you're in you're in it, so just embrace it.
23:23
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah.
23:24
SPEAKER_03: Um and navigate your way through it.
23:26
SPEAKER_03: And I I think it's important, and I I I love what you hit on with that.
23:31
SPEAKER_03: Um in 07-08, when the budget, when the economy went south, everybody's budgets were really bad.
23:39
SPEAKER_03: And they we were taking furlough days at the agency I retired from, and there was no money to do anything, there was no raises, and the chief at the time would just come down once a year to tell us that um you know the budget sucks, you're not getting a raise, and insurance is going up.
23:57
SPEAKER_03: And basically he'd come down once a year to tell us we were all screwed.
24:00
SPEAKER_03: And we kept telling him you find something to do to motivate people because they hear from you once a year the bad news.
24:06
SPEAKER_03: And uh we came up with the idea of buying flashlights for everybody's pistol.
24:11
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
24:11
SPEAKER_03: And he's like, Oh, that's stupid.
24:12
SPEAKER_04: That's about the agency buying them?
24:14
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
24:14
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
24:15
SPEAKER_03: And he was like, No, I don't know, I don't, I don't that's kind of a stupid idea.
24:18
SPEAKER_03: And and we were just trying to give him some ideas, and so overall in a large police budget, buying flashlights for everybody was not a significant cost.
24:30
SPEAKER_03: Well, he followed through with it.
24:31
SPEAKER_03: Well, he called us down a couple weeks later and he was like, Holy hell, man, you would have thought uh we just gave patrol you know Corvettes or a million dollars.
24:40
SPEAKER_03: And I'm like, hey, when things suck, little little things mean a lot to the little people.
24:47
SPEAKER_03: You can't do a whole lot, but you did something, and they took it as you know, you thought of them and you did something to help them.
24:56
SPEAKER_03: Everybody would like to have a flashlight.
24:57
SPEAKER_03: It was big at the time, they were just coming to the forefront in law enforcement, and we were trying to help him find a way to do like you're doing is hey, things suck right now, but to be a leader and you can find a way to work your way through it and still inspire people or do something for people to help them refocus on doing police work.
25:19
SPEAKER_03: I like that.
25:20
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, too.
25:22
SPEAKER_04: So you you guys obviously we just outlined that you guys work for APD.
25:25
SPEAKER_04: Uh you guys are close friends, uh, and and this kind of goes into what we're fixing, let's talk about is is why we're here and how I even knew about you.
25:35
SPEAKER_04: Uh talk about the running and talk, let's talk about really what motivated you to run and then what the hell possessed you to run from the Alamo to the Capitol and and kind of what that looked like and and and the why.
25:46
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
25:47
SPEAKER_00: Um so I I can touch on mine real quick as far as the running.
25:50
SPEAKER_00: Uh I hated running.
25:52
SPEAKER_00: Uh I did not run at all when I was in school or anything like that.
25:56
SPEAKER_00: Uh, when I went to apply for the UT Police Department, part of the physical assessment test was running a mile and a half.
26:01
SPEAKER_00: So I had to start running to pass that.
26:03
SPEAKER_00: So I trained and I passed the physical to get into the UT Academy, and then I had to run in the academy, and it was mostly punishment, wasn't fun.
26:10
SPEAKER_04: How much did y'all run in the academy?
26:12
SPEAKER_00: When I was at the UT Police Department, we'd run maybe like two or three miles at the most.
26:16
SPEAKER_00: That would that would be it, like maybe like three or four times a week.
26:20
SPEAKER_00: Uh it wasn't anything significant compared to when I got to APD, and it was like a lot of running at that point in time.
26:26
SPEAKER_00: Um, so you know, I just kept up with it after I got out of the academy just to sort of stay in shape, and it was actually a stress reliever.
26:33
SPEAKER_00: Oh, it is and and I started feeling a lot better.
26:36
SPEAKER_03: Um running and stress relief shouldn't be in the same space.
26:40
SPEAKER_03: I'm not built for that.
26:41
SPEAKER_04: And and okay, so I've and then I've been running for probably five years.
26:47
SPEAKER_04: Let's just be blunt.
26:49
SPEAKER_04: Does running not give you gas?
26:51
SPEAKER_04: I mean, honestly, because I'm running down the road and it's it never fails.
26:56
SPEAKER_04: I'm a mile in and I'm like, dear God.
26:58
SPEAKER_04: And I hope and and does that does it not am I the only one?
27:01
SPEAKER_04: Am I the only one that it happens to?
27:03
SPEAKER_00: I that's why I don't run.
27:05
SPEAKER_00: I'm just gonna tell you that.
27:06
SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
27:07
SPEAKER_00: I think that's where the uh the I guess some of the the uh urban legend of the runs or the trots came in, you know, when you when you start selling that.
27:14
SPEAKER_04: So there you go.
27:16
SPEAKER_04: The runs.
27:17
SPEAKER_04: Did you hear them?
27:17
SPEAKER_04: We're gonna break to commercial.
27:19
SPEAKER_04: Exactly.
27:19
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
27:20
SPEAKER_04: So so so so you started running, you kept it up, and then what what motivated you to do what you did in your sector and and and kind of was it was it to show people that you're human?
27:31
SPEAKER_04: I mean, kind of go into deep more detail about how that started.
27:34
SPEAKER_00: So um I just kept on, I just kept up running for quite a while, and I've I've run a lot of races, run a lot of marathons, ultra marathons, and I've just there's a lot of areas in my own neighborhood that I've hit, and I just kind of branching out into it, I ran every single street and baker sector.
27:50
SPEAKER_04: And did you do it in uniform?
27:52
SPEAKER_04: Not in uniform.
27:53
SPEAKER_04: Not in uniform.
27:54
SPEAKER_00: Uh typically would do it before work and then just go straight into work and change.
27:58
SPEAKER_00: Um, but so I decided why not just go out and see new scenery and see my whole sector on foot.
28:03
SPEAKER_00: So I decided to go out and just run.
28:04
SPEAKER_00: And no, don't get me wrong, it wasn't like you know, 15, 20 miles a day.
28:08
SPEAKER_00: It was like four, five, six miles um until I got to the end and I was like, I just want to finish this and I would push it up to like 20 miles.
28:15
SPEAKER_00: But um it was really cool to see all of and y'all would run together.
28:19
SPEAKER_00: Well, not not on that, but we've we've run together quite a bit.
28:22
SPEAKER_00: He's more of a trail runner, he doesn't like hitting the pavement.
28:25
SPEAKER_00: So he wants to be out on the trails.
28:26
SPEAKER_00: Uh when I hit the pavement, he's like, no, thanks for the most part.
28:29
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, yeah.
28:31
SPEAKER_00: But it was, I just thought it would be cool to see Baker from or the area that I patrol, Central West area, from from on foot, just from that perspective, and see all of it entirely.
28:41
SPEAKER_00: And uh some of it I did get out in walking uniform when I was on patrol because I had free time.
28:46
SPEAKER_00: I just get out and walk around, and and people just thought it was kind of cool to see cop out walking.
28:51
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I kind of laugh because some people were like, Oh, I didn't know that you were you, you know, basically made it sound like I didn't even know you had legs that you could get out of the patrol car.
29:00
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, and and you and you guys, uh community policing is be a huge part of of what you do, uh especially in Austin, to bridge that divide.
29:08
SPEAKER_03: But you know, you bring you bring up another good point.
29:10
SPEAKER_03: We were talking about staffing shortages.
29:14
SPEAKER_03: Community policing's been around forever and ever.
29:17
SPEAKER_03: My dad was started at Dallas PD in the 60s, and um you were responsible for your beat.
29:23
SPEAKER_03: You knew the businesses, the business owners.
29:26
SPEAKER_03: Community policing's been around forever.
29:28
SPEAKER_03: In today's staffing shortages, when you're called a call to call to call, you're you're not gonna be in your community.
29:36
SPEAKER_03: You don't have time to understand, well, I know that car didn't belong at that house because I see that house every day.
29:42
SPEAKER_03: You there's not an opportunity for a street cop, for the beat cop, to community police, because everybody I talk to literally is called to call to call to call.
29:52
SPEAKER_03: And so, you know, them commenting, I didn't know you had legs because you're never out of your car.
29:56
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, that's probably a reality to some of those people.
29:59
SPEAKER_03: Not not a personal shot at you, but a certainly a testament to the times that that we're in in law enforcement right now.
30:05
SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah, for sure.
30:07
SPEAKER_03: And there's probably never a time when we need to be out of the car more, yeah.
30:10
SPEAKER_03: But because of staffing shortages across the country, it's not an opportunity for that.
30:16
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, definitely.
30:17
SPEAKER_00: I agree with that.
30:18
SPEAKER_04: So, how has maintaining your physical uh fitness benefited you in law enforcement, both physically and mentally?
30:23
SPEAKER_04: Both of you?
30:24
SPEAKER_02: For me, it's uh I use it as a stress relief.
30:27
SPEAKER_02: Okay, my my wife will be the first to tell you that if I get hurt and I can't run, I get angry.
30:32
SPEAKER_02: So I like if I can't release the stress and all that, like it's not good.
30:39
SPEAKER_04: No, yeah.
30:40
SPEAKER_04: The guys that I work with, they know they're like, hey, I don't think Tyler ran today, so you stay the hell away from him.
30:44
SPEAKER_04: I mean, that that's that's the reason.
30:45
SPEAKER_04: I mean, but well they I've heard them say that, but thank you, Clint.
30:49
SPEAKER_04: I I I greatly appreciate that.
30:51
SPEAKER_04: Uh but but physically also um obviously you guys are in shape.
30:57
SPEAKER_04: I mean, you you know, you're good looking dudes, and uh how how has it benefited you in law enforcement?
31:03
SPEAKER_04: I mean, have you had to obviously chase somebody down?
31:06
SPEAKER_04: We're in Austin, so I'm sure that's happened, but also the the endurance aspect.
31:10
SPEAKER_02: Well, for me, uh when I I ran in college, so I got burned out.
31:14
SPEAKER_02: And then when I started at APD, I didn't run for three years and I blew up.
31:20
SPEAKER_02: And so just getting back into it, yeah uh got me back to like an actual healthy weight because I was way over what I should have been.
31:27
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and got me back to where I should be, just to being generally healthy again and then just work related.
31:33
SPEAKER_02: It it helps us every day just feeling better with all the gear.
31:37
SPEAKER_02: I did 11 years on patrol, and I feel like just due to all my running, I was much my body was much better suited to deal with the stress of the gear and chasing people and all that every single day than it would have been if I just went to work and went home and did nothing.
31:54
SPEAKER_02: Right.
31:55
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
31:55
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, ultimate.
31:57
SPEAKER_00: I agree.
31:57
SPEAKER_00: It's it's a huge stress reliever uh for me.
31:59
SPEAKER_00: Um and like Scott said, if if my wife messes with me too, if she knows if I haven't been out for a run or done something, she, you know, I'm angrier just just in general or or just you know, in an irritable mood.
32:13
SPEAKER_00: Um and you know, obviously running it helps with with the foot pursuits that I've been in and everything to that nature.
32:19
SPEAKER_00: Uh it helps, like Scott said, with the endurance of you know, working long shifts, things, things like that when we work a lot of overtime and uh all the gear that we have to carry and everything.
32:29
SPEAKER_03: Yep.
32:30
SPEAKER_03: I uh I mentioned that one of the things we want to to talk about on this is leadership a lot.
32:37
SPEAKER_03: The second thing that I want the mission of this to be is um mental health and in our career um longevity.
32:49
SPEAKER_03: Um I'm retired from Garland.
32:51
SPEAKER_03: We lost an officer in the last couple of days, took his own life, and I would task people that are eventually watching this.
32:59
SPEAKER_03: I'm not a runner.
33:00
SPEAKER_03: I ran in the Marines, and Garland's Academy was uh horrible.
33:05
SPEAKER_03: We ran, and so I think I hate it because I ran so much.
33:08
SPEAKER_03: I thought y'all were supposed to hate the suck.
33:10
SPEAKER_03: Is that what I'm just not built for it?
33:13
SPEAKER_03: I'm built for comfort, built for comfort, not speed.
33:16
SPEAKER_03: I go to the gym every day, I lift weights, that's where I get my frustration out.
33:21
SPEAKER_03: You guys do it through running.
33:22
SPEAKER_03: You were we were before we came on, you were talking about how you know that's where you find your mental space when you can relax.
33:29
SPEAKER_03: And um, it's something you guys both and to viewers that may not want to lift weights or may not want to run, find something in this career that you can do to all three of you said it, your coworkers and your spouses know when you go when you don't go blow off that steam through whatever vehicle that is that you utilize, we have to do it here.
33:54
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
33:54
SPEAKER_03: And it can't be the bottle.
33:56
SPEAKER_03: Um you know, it can't be other options that that folks take through the bottle or steroids or whatever outlet that guys use.
34:07
SPEAKER_03: It's gotta be something healthy.
34:08
SPEAKER_03: And please, please, please, whoever ends up watching it, you have three examples and an ugly example here of find something to do.
34:18
SPEAKER_03: It doesn't have to be running, it can be golfing, it can be whatever.
34:21
SPEAKER_03: But so speaking of mental illness, and you're gonna freak out when you point at me when you said speaking of mental.
34:25
SPEAKER_04: Well, I was just pointing at you.
34:26
SPEAKER_04: I wasn't pointing, I was okay, all right.
34:29
SPEAKER_04: So the average person, your average citizen, okay, they experienced on average two critical incidences over their lifespan.
34:37
SPEAKER_04: Two.
34:38
SPEAKER_04: That could be the loss of a loved one, that could be seeing a significant something, this is absolutely crazy.
34:44
SPEAKER_04: Law enforcement officers and during their career, on average, 185.
34:51
SPEAKER_04: And so we process things differently.
34:53
SPEAKER_04: And so when we continue to shove those critical instances of that craziness into a bag, and we don't have anywhere to for this stuff to go, um or some it it it it there's a boiling point, and we you have to have that escape.
35:08
SPEAKER_04: And I think that just like you said a while ago, uh running is yours, uh, running is mine also, both of you are married, uh, and then having very, very, you know, supporting spouses.
35:18
SPEAKER_04: And and then even on top of that, us in law enforcement with our high divorce rate, uh, us recognizing when we do have good spouses, and that we do uh need to encourage them and embrace them too.
35:30
SPEAKER_04: So it's uh it's a balancing act, you know.
35:32
SPEAKER_04: Uh, and that's why I think we struggle so much with mental health is that we're we're we have uh we're expected to be this person at work and then we're expected to be this person at home.
35:42
SPEAKER_04: And so you've got to have some kind of way to you know to get rid of it.
35:46
SPEAKER_04: So uh so you you ran all the beat uh area in in your sector uh or all the streets, and then what what in the hell possessed you to go to the Alamo of all places and then run from the Alamo to the Capitol?
36:00
SPEAKER_04: Uh and then what was your uh I guess involvement with that process?
36:04
SPEAKER_00: And so we're we're always looking for another challenge and ridiculous challenge um when it comes to running.
36:12
SPEAKER_00: So I approached Scott and uh told him I was gonna try to attempt uh to run from the Alamo back to the Capitol.
36:18
SPEAKER_00: I mean the Alamo is an icon and major Texas landmark.
36:22
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
36:22
SPEAKER_00: And you uh I mean when you think of Texas, that's one of the things that come up, right?
36:27
SPEAKER_00: I mean, whole battle cry, remember the Alamo, right?
36:29
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
36:30
SPEAKER_00: So uh when I was talking with Scott about it, I we decided we would try to uh he would try to crew me and he would stay in a vehicle and maybe catch up every three miles and be my like rolling aid station, essentially.
36:43
SPEAKER_00: And uh so we started, we we didn't even come up with an actual date.
36:48
SPEAKER_00: We just kind of got together and like, hey, what's our days off that we actually have together?
36:52
SPEAKER_00: And it just happened to be Election Tuesday.
36:54
SPEAKER_00: There was no rhyme or reason for that at all.
36:57
SPEAKER_00: Um, so we started at 4 a.m.
36:59
SPEAKER_00: in the morning uh at the Alamo with the uh I don't know what his exact title is, I'm gonna mist title him, but it looked like a trooper that that's the ones that stand outside the Alamo and have to watch over it, just looking at us like we were crazy.
37:10
SPEAKER_00: Um, because we started filming at four in the morning saying, like, hey, we're going from here back to Austin, and then just took off at that point.
37:18
SPEAKER_04: And uh Did you guys have like a like a an idea where you think you would or thought y'all would be at later on?
37:23
SPEAKER_04: Did you did you just certainly did not run it all the way through?
37:26
SPEAKER_04: I mean, you had to stop.
37:28
SPEAKER_00: So that when it comes to ultra running, we we ran it all the way through.
37:33
SPEAKER_00: However, that being said, we would stop for break.
37:36
SPEAKER_00: So it would be like eight stations, like every 10 miles or something to that effect.
37:40
SPEAKER_00: It would be Scott would know that I have to like sit down, eat a little bit of food real quick, um, get up and then start moving again.
37:47
SPEAKER_00: Um, and as it got longer and longer and the miles start racking up and your body's getting more and more fatigued and tired and sore, you know, Scott is at that point telling me, All right, get up and let's get moving.
37:57
SPEAKER_00: We're on a shorter time frame, we want to get this done.
38:00
SPEAKER_00: Uh yeah, you're the motive.
38:01
SPEAKER_04: Get your ass up.
38:01
SPEAKER_00: We got to go.
38:02
SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
38:02
SPEAKER_00: We got to go.
38:03
SPEAKER_00: Harsh motivation.
38:05
SPEAKER_03: So so what's a break?
38:07
SPEAKER_03: Uh, five minutes, an hour?
38:08
SPEAKER_03: What would a break be?
38:10
SPEAKER_00: So typically a break would be at the beginning, it would be like around five minutes.
38:13
SPEAKER_00: Uh, as it if I was lucky and Scott allowed me to take five minutes.
38:18
SPEAKER_04: I want you guys to pay attention at the seriousness of what because Clint's thinking like two days.
38:21
SPEAKER_04: Um that's the break that he's thinking of, right?
38:23
SPEAKER_03: I mean, that's how many miles is it from San Antonio to the front door of the Capitol?
38:28
SPEAKER_00: So it turned out to be a little over 80 miles at 80 and a quarter.
38:33
SPEAKER_03: We mentioned the bottle earlier.
38:34
SPEAKER_03: When you thought this up, you weren't drinking.
38:36
SPEAKER_03: No, was not drinking.
38:37
SPEAKER_00: Was not drinking.
38:38
SPEAKER_00: All right.
38:39
SPEAKER_00: Uh but all right.
38:40
SPEAKER_00: But we would, we we kept on going.
38:42
SPEAKER_00: And uh again, I I when I first approached Scott, I was just looking for a ride to San Antonio, and I thought I'll just wear my my running vest.
38:51
SPEAKER_00: Wear my running vest all the way back to Austin.
38:53
SPEAKER_00: I'll make it on my own.
38:54
SPEAKER_00: I didn't want to have to feel like I was burdening him by like having him have to stay with me the entire time, but because he knows how crazy I am, he was like, I'm gonna stay with you the entire time.
39:03
SPEAKER_00: I want to watch this.
39:06
SPEAKER_00: So um, but as as it progressed on and on, and we got closer and closer to Austin.
39:10
SPEAKER_00: I mean, we got to Kyle, we got to Butta, and then the outskirts of Austin, you know, the breaks got a little bit longer, and you know, I wasn't feeling good at that point.
39:17
SPEAKER_00: He could see it, and and nausea had kicked in and everything.
39:20
SPEAKER_00: And and uh, but we kept on moving.
39:22
SPEAKER_00: And the next thing I know, I'm getting to uh Congress Avenue, and my sergeant at that point in time had told everybody else, like, hey, you know, this is what Mewis is doing right now, so you know, we could show up and support him.
39:34
SPEAKER_00: And I had like almost a roving um cheerleading team at that point.
39:39
SPEAKER_00: That's cool.
39:39
SPEAKER_00: Because every quarter mile they were leapfrogging in patrol cars to cheer me on to keep me going all the way to the Capitol.
39:45
SPEAKER_02: I think that goes back also to his leadership, is that his shift went out there, uh, took time to go meet him on the course, including the sergeant that met him like way down in South Austin during the run.
39:57
SPEAKER_02: That's that's good stuff.
39:58
SPEAKER_03: That is cool.
39:59
SPEAKER_03: Did that re I know your body, it was taking a toll on your body and probably mentally and physically.
40:05
SPEAKER_03: Did seeing your teammates and seeing people coming out, did that help light the fire again?
40:14
SPEAKER_00: Oh, 100%.
40:15
SPEAKER_00: When when they came over, I I can't describe the feeling.
40:18
SPEAKER_00: I just felt on top of the world that they were there to support me.
40:20
SPEAKER_04: Especially guys that are like not even in your sector.
40:22
SPEAKER_04: Like these are what like North Austin guys coming down to the south side to cheer you on, right?
40:26
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
40:27
SPEAKER_04: That's cool.
40:28
SPEAKER_00: Um, we had you know, I had family that tracked me down during the course to come by and check on me and say hi.
40:33
SPEAKER_00: And I mean that reinvigorated me and kept me going.
40:36
SPEAKER_00: Uh, gave me my second wind, third wind a couple of times, fourth wind, whatever.
40:40
SPEAKER_04: And you just did it, was this was there was there an agenda as far as okay, I'm doing this for this.
40:45
SPEAKER_04: I am doing this to show people that what what and what was the point of the whole running from the Alamoto's because it was an iconic Texas run?
40:53
SPEAKER_00: So it was it was a personal challenge for the most part.
40:56
SPEAKER_00: I got you.
40:56
SPEAKER_00: Um and then it took on a little it had this major ripple effect that people were actually inspired by it and they were keeping track.
41:02
SPEAKER_00: Scott was posting a bunch, you know, on social media to say this is where I'm at, and it was just taking off.
41:07
SPEAKER_00: And the next thing I know, people were reposting and people were saying, Hey, these guys are doing this right now, let's cheer them on.
41:13
SPEAKER_00: And I was getting all types of support, people I've never met before, and just wanted to see me accomplish this.
41:20
SPEAKER_00: And I can't say, in all honesty, that was a goal I set out with.
41:24
SPEAKER_00: I just was amazed and blown away by the support on that.
41:27
SPEAKER_04: Well, because we reached out to your wife, and and she said the reason why you did it is because you wanted to come on the podcast.
41:32
SPEAKER_00: Totally, totally is that not is that not true?
41:35
SPEAKER_00: 100% true.
41:36
SPEAKER_04: I just I'm just checking, I wanted to make sure.
41:38
SPEAKER_04: It's been such an honor to talk to you guys about y'all's hobbies, about your careers, what an awesome place that you guys work at because I'm telling you, not a lot of people mentally uh could could really you know go through what you guys are going through uh with the politics as the way they are today.
41:57
SPEAKER_04: And I don't want to get too much you know too far into it.
41:59
SPEAKER_04: Uh but man, what a what a great episode.
42:02
SPEAKER_04: Um got anything?
42:05
SPEAKER_03: No, what would you what would y'all uh tell a young person looking to get into law enforcement today about motivate them of of what to do, what to look for, any anything you would give a 20 and a half year old that's uh looking to get into law enforcement right now?
42:23
SPEAKER_02: Uh if you do, find something outside of the job.
42:26
SPEAKER_02: Don't just go to work and just hang out with cops, have friends outside, different mindsets, yeah.
42:33
SPEAKER_02: Uh people that are more positive than most cops in your life, and have a hobby to let all the stress and outlets and a hobby other than part-time police work jobs.
42:43
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
42:44
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
42:44
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
42:45
unknown: Yeah.
42:46
SPEAKER_00: Well about you.
42:46
SPEAKER_00: I would say I agree with that.
42:47
SPEAKER_00: I was gonna joke and say, well, I would direct them to the fire department.
42:50
SPEAKER_00: But um, this is the second oldest profession that gets paid to be in bed, I think.
42:54
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's right.
42:55
SPEAKER_00: That's right.
42:56
SPEAKER_00: But in all seriousness, it's like Scott said, you know, that it is a career, but don't get so focused and wrapped up in it that this is nothing but your life.
43:03
SPEAKER_00: You know, have something outside of it.
43:05
SPEAKER_00: There's there's a whole world outside of just going and doing this job.
43:08
SPEAKER_04: And and and police are appreciated.
43:10
SPEAKER_04: I mean, that's the reality, is that 90-99% of people out there truly do care about what you guys do, but what we do.
43:17
SPEAKER_04: And so that's the reality of it.
43:19
SPEAKER_04: But but it can get easily misconstrued, and then it you can also get on that negative train of man, these people hate us and so forth.
43:26
SPEAKER_04: And I think that having that camaraderie, that vent, that you know, is is is is certainly best.
43:31
SPEAKER_03: I I admire you guys for persevering.
43:34
SPEAKER_03: It's easy to jump out of the plane and go and do.
43:38
SPEAKER_03: I was in a uh seminar in California uh a couple of months ago, and California was talking about how crazy Austin is.
43:47
SPEAKER_03: And I'm thinking, man, when I'm in California and they're talking about how crazy Austin is, we're I'm it I'm concerned.
43:53
SPEAKER_03: And police work has become such a free agent market.
43:59
SPEAKER_03: I'll just jump to that agency and then I'll jump to this agency and I'll jump to you know, I'll I'll leave and and chase different issues or whatever.
44:07
SPEAKER_03: So for both of you to persevere, stick it out in Austin, continue to be motivated, continue to motivate each other, each other and young folks coming up.
44:16
SPEAKER_03: It's a huge testament, I think, to what you two guys are are accomplishing.
44:21
SPEAKER_03: Because it it can get daunting sometimes where it seems like, man, there's just not a light at the end of the tunnel, and y'all are doing a uh a great job.
44:31
SPEAKER_04: All right, so we're gonna finish this off with three questions.
44:34
SPEAKER_04: Rapid fire.
44:35
SPEAKER_04: Best cop movie in why, best police vehicle in why, and best cop whiskey if you guys drink.
44:41
SPEAKER_04: All right.
44:42
SPEAKER_04: What was the first one again?
44:43
SPEAKER_04: Best cop movie in why.
44:45
SPEAKER_04: Or line from best cop movie.
44:48
SPEAKER_02: Uh the other guys.
44:50
SPEAKER_02: That's a great one.
44:51
SPEAKER_02: Oh man, I watched it yesterday.
44:54
SPEAKER_02: And uh probably go aim for the bushes.
44:58
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
44:58
SPEAKER_02: It's quoted way too many times on patrol.
45:01
SPEAKER_04: All right.
45:02
SPEAKER_04: Best police vehicle?
45:04
SPEAKER_02: Uh I always doubled up when I was on patrol, so the Tahoe, only because it has more room and it's more comfortable, and always made my partner drive.
45:12
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
45:12
SPEAKER_02: So the passenger seat, most comfortable there is.
45:14
SPEAKER_04: And cop whiskey.
45:16
SPEAKER_02: Uh Garrison Brothers single barrel.
45:19
SPEAKER_02: Nice.
45:19
SPEAKER_02: That's a good one.
45:21
SPEAKER_02: That's a good one.
45:22
SPEAKER_00: Um, well, I thought Scott was gonna go with some serious cop movie, but um that is very serious.
45:27
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
45:29
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I gotta go with hot fuzz.
45:31
SPEAKER_00: Um one of my favorite, one of my favorite cop movies.
45:34
SPEAKER_00: Um, me and my wife love it.
45:36
SPEAKER_00: Um what was oh, police best police vehicle?
45:40
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
45:41
SPEAKER_00: Uh you gotta go with Crown Vic.
45:42
SPEAKER_00: I mean, my man, see?
45:44
SPEAKER_00: I had a Crown Vic when I first started and I kept it all the way up in the middle.
45:47
SPEAKER_04: You cannot destroy those things.
45:49
SPEAKER_00: Ever.
45:49
SPEAKER_00: I mean, it's a classic.
45:50
SPEAKER_00: I don't know what I don't I have an explorer now.
45:52
SPEAKER_00: I don't know what to do with myself.
45:53
SPEAKER_04: So best cop whiskey.
45:56
SPEAKER_00: Well, I don't drink alcohol, so I'll have to fall back and just say my favorite cop drink or my my drink of choice, and Scott's gonna laugh, is uh big red.
46:03
SPEAKER_00: There you go.
46:04
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, Texas through and through.
46:05
SPEAKER_00: There you go.
46:06
SPEAKER_00: He's he's obsessed with the big red.
46:09
SPEAKER_04: Man, again, we can't thank y'all enough for coming on.
46:12
SPEAKER_04: Uh, we we uh this again, episode one in the books.
46:16
SPEAKER_04: You guys got a thing for us?
46:17
SPEAKER_00: I really appreciate y'all having us on and you know taking the time to talk with two crazy people that did this uh ridiculous run from San Antonio to Austin.
46:26
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, thank y'all.
46:27
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, thank you.
46:28
SPEAKER_04: Awesome guys.
46:29
SPEAKER_04: Please stay safe out there.
46:30
SPEAKER_04: Absolutely.
46:31
SPEAKER_04: God bless you guys, and as always, may God bless Texas.