Heroes Behind the Badge
by Citizens Behind the Badge
Tom Lange — The Airport Witness and the Missing O.J. Simpson…
About this podcast
From the front lines to the final call, Heroes Behind the Badge brings you the untold stories of America's law enforcement community. Led by Craig Floyd, who spent 34 years working alongside police officers across the nation, alongside veteran facilitator Dennis Collins and law enforcement expert Bill Erfurth, this podcast cuts through misconceptions to reveal the true nature of modern policing.
Our dynamic trio brings unique perspectives to each episode: Craig shares deep insights from his decades of experience and relationships within law enforcement, Dennis guides conversations with meticulous research and natural flow, and Bill adds engaging commentary that makes complex law enforcement topics accessible to all listeners.
Each episode features in-depth conversations with law enforcement professionals, sharing their firsthand experiences, challenges, and triumphs. Drawing from extensive research and real-world experience, we explore the realities faced by the over 800,000 officers who serve and protect our communities every day.
From dramatic accounts of crisis response to quiet moments of everyday heroism, our show illuminates the human stories behind the badge. We dive deep into the statistics, policies, and practices that shape modern law enforcement, offering listeners a comprehensive understanding of what it truly means to serve in law enforcement today.
Whether you're a law enforcement professional, a concerned citizen, or someone seeking to understand the complexities of modern policing, Heroes Behind the Badge provides the context, insights, and authentic perspectives you won't find anywhere else. Join us weekly as we honor those who dedicate their lives to keeping our communities safe, one story at a time.
Presented by Citizens Behind the Badge, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting and advocating for law enforcement professionals across the United States. Join over 126,000 Americans who have already signed our Declaration of Support for law enforcement at behindbadge.org.
Episodes
The newest 20 of 80 episodes
- Tom Lange — The Airport Witness and the Missing O.J. Simpson Evidence | Part 2 · 28 min · Episode 78Tom Lange was the lead LAPD homicide detective on the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. In the second half of his return to Heroes Behind the Badge, Craig Floyd…
- Tom Lange — O.J. Simpson's Lead Detective Answers the Accomplice Claim | Part 1 · 34 min · Episode 77Tom Lange was the lead LAPD homicide detective on the 1994 murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. His first appearance on Heroes Behind the Badge drew thousands of…
- Dave Reichert — Hunting the Green River Killer | Part 2 · 34 min · Episode 76For years, Gary Ridgway was at the top of the Green River task force's suspect list, but investigators lacked the evidence and the science to prove it. In Part 2, former King…
- Dave Reichert — Hunting the Green River Killer | Part 1 · 35 min · Episode 75Dave Reichert went into homicide at the King County Sheriff's Office in 1979. In 1982 he was assigned one of the first cases in what became the Green River murders, and he stayed…
- Dave Hinners — The Arrests, the Trial, and What It Cost | Part 2 · 26 min · Episode 74Dave Hinners was a Wichita patrol officer, not quite three years on the job, when he became the first officer to speak with the lone survivor of the December 2000 Wichita…
- Dave Hinners — First Officer at the Wichita Massacre | Part 1 · 27 min · Episode 73Dave Hinners was not quite three years into his career with the Wichita Police Department in December 2000. Today he is the executive director of the United States Deputy…
- Bill Bratton — Sweet Alice, the Bronx, and What the Job Costs | Part 2 · 33 min · Episode 72Bill Bratton led six police departments over fifty years, including the NYPD twice and the LAPD from 2002 to 2009. In the second half of this conversation, the policy arguments…
- Bill Bratton — Broken Windows, Stop-and-Frisk, and the Defund Years | Part 1 · 42 min · Episode 71Bill Bratton is the only person ever to have led both the New York City Police Department and the Los Angeles Police Department. He joined the Boston Police Department in 1970 at…
- Barry Black — Building the Case Against Timothy McVeigh | Part 2 · 30 min · Episode 70Barry Black retired from the FBI after thirty-one years as a master bomb technician and master instructor. On April 19, 1995, he was one of only two FBI bomb technicians in the…
- Barry Black — The FBI Bomb Technician at the Oklahoma City Bombing | Part 1 · 27 min · Episode 69Barry Black spent thirty-one years in the FBI. He joined wanting white collar work, having changed his major and his university to get an accounting degree because that was what…
- Frank Pegueros — Answering D.A.R.E.'s Critics, and What the Job Costs | Part 2 · 36 min · Episode 68Part 1 covered what D.A.R.E. teaches now. This half is about the people who teach it, and about the criticism the program has carried for forty years. Frank Pegueros — retired…
- Frank Pegueros — What the D.A.R.E. Program Actually Teaches Now | Part 1 · 36 min · Episode 67Francisco "Frank" Pegueros spent 26 years with the Los Angeles Police Department, retiring as a captain, and has spent the 30 years since as President and CEO of D.A.R.E…
- Morgan Wright — What the JonBenét Ramsey Crime Scene Actually Says | Part 2 · 34 min · Episode 66Morgan Wright is the founder and CEO of the National Center for Open and Unsolved Cases, a nonprofit that works cold cases toward resolution rather than commentary. A former…
- Morgan Wright — Reinvestigating JonBenét Ramsey From First Principles | Part 1 · 37 min · Episode 65Morgan Wright is the founder and CEO of the National Center for Open and Unsolved Cases, a nonprofit that takes on cold cases and works them toward resolution rather than…
- Bill Buford — He Owed It to the Men He Lost at Waco | Part 2 · 26 min · Episode 64In Part 2 of this two-part conversation, retired ATF agent Bill Buford takes listeners back inside the gun room during the February 28, 1993 raid on the Branch Davidian compound…
- Bill Buford — Surviving the Waco Raid as an ATF Agent | Part 1 · 41 min · Episode 63Bill Buford spent nearly three decades in federal law enforcement, first as a Green Beret in Vietnam, then as a Special Agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and…
- Jim Freeman — Inside the Unabomber's Cabin | Part 2 · 34 min · Episode 62Jim Freeman spent 32 years as an FBI Special Agent, rising to Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau's San Francisco field office. In the final two years of the 17-year hunt for…
- Jim Freeman - Leading the FBI's Hunt for the Unabomber | Part 1 · 43 min · Episode 61Jim Freeman spent 32 years as an FBI Special Agent, rising to Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau's San Francisco field office. In the final two years of the 17-year hunt for…
- Rick Harcrow — Inside Attica: The Stats, the Families, and the Hidden Cost | Part 2 · 33 min · Episode 60Rick Harcrow spent 37 years as a correctional officer at Attica Correctional Facility — home of the deadliest prison riot in American history. In Part 2, the conversation goes…
- Rick Harcrow - Inside the Attica Prison Riot: What Really Happened | Part 1 · 44 min · Episode 59Rick Harcrow spent 37 years as a correctional officer in the New York State prison system — 30 of them at Attica Correctional Facility. He wasn't there on September 9, 1971, when…
