On May 6, 2023, a mass shooting occurred at the Allen Premium Outlets mall in Allen, Texas. An Allen Police Department officer was already on the scene for an unrelated call for service when he bravely pursued the suspect and ended the incident. Allen Police Department Deputy Chief (then Lieutenant) Kris Wirstrom responded and acted as the Incident Commander. Nine people were killed, and seven others were injured. In this episode of the CATO Podcast, Marcus speaks with Deputy Chief Kris Wirstrom...
Nov 20, 2024•1 hr 37 min•Ep. 81
Marcus interviews Travis Norton about his doctoral research on active shooter response at the University of Southern California. Travis was one of the authors of CATO's latest two-day course, Active Shooter Incident Leadership. Travis contributed much of the research and content for this POST-approved course, which addresses the common failures and challenges inherent in Active Shooter response. To learn about the class, where it is next or to host it, go to CATOTRAINING.ORG ....
Aug 21, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 80
"Good intelligence is the linchpin for all tactical operations." -Sid Heal Marcus, Adam, and Kris discuss Chapter 8 of Sound Doctrine: A Tactical Primer. The group discusses information versus intelligence, the parts of the intelligence cycle, and situational awareness. They also cover the common operational picture and how you can reduce friction during your next operation.
Aug 07, 2024•58 min•Ep. 79
On June 15, 2023, Denver Police Sergeant Justin Dodge was working the Denver Nuggets celebratory parade when he found himself caught under the wheels of an 80,000 lb fire truck carrying the players. Lying in the street, Dodge promised himself that if the tourniquets held and he could get to the hospital in time, he would stage an epic comeback. Eight surgeries later, including one that amputated his leg inches below the knee, he's back! Justin works as a full-time SWAT team supervisor and has fo...
Jul 03, 2024•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 77
It's been said that it's more important how you think than what you think. CATO VP, Marcus Sprague, was fortunate to represent CATO at the Ohio Tactical Officers Association Conference in Sandusky, Ohio. In this episode of the CATO podcast, Marcus sits down with Executive Director Pat Fiorilli of the Ohio Tactical Officer Association and retired Las Vegas Metro Sergeant Mike Quinn. Both of these men are great thinkers and have a wealth of knowledge and experience in training and developing profe...
Jun 19, 2024•55 min•Ep. 76
In this episode of the CATO podcast, we connect with Stephanie Samuels, a police psychologist and founder of CopLine, a national suicide hotline for law enforcement. We'll explore Samuels' research related to first responders and traumatic brain injury (TBI). Samuels and many others believe that TBI is often misdiagnosed as PTSD, but is instead a major contributor to PTSD symptoms. She is part of a group that is researching the first responder community to better understand the effects of TBI an...
Jun 05, 2024•55 min•Ep. 75
In this episode of the CATO Podcast, Marcus talks with First Responder Wellness Clinical Coordinator Teal Ankeny. Teal's background places her in a unique position to understand some of the wellness challenges facing the first responder community. She and the team at First Responder Wellness have dedicated themselves to serving our community and have achieved a variety of positive results in preventing and treating some of our profession's negative impacts. To learn more about First Responder We...
May 22, 2024•41 min•Ep. 74
CATO Team Leader Instructors Kenny Brayton and Kris Jenny sit down with Marcus to reflect on lessons learned while teaching CATO's SWAT Team Leader course over the last five years. The trio discussed common challenges shared by the majority of teams, how teams address these challenges and the things that great teams do consistently well.
May 08, 2024•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 73
One of our Founding Fathers, Benjamin Franklin, said it best, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail!” It's a critical element to tactical operations and we're discussing it on the latest CATO Podcast. Kris Jenny and Marcus analyze the importance of planning and how to evolve from a collaborative response to a coordinated response. They present a primer on what planning really is, what it looks like, and when and how you should document it.
Apr 11, 2024•38 min•Ep. 72
CATO Vice President, Marcus Sprague, had the honor of attending a meeting with several tactical associations from all across the country. He took advantage of the opportunity and asked a few folks to discuss some of the issues we all face. The group discussed leadership, recruiting, selection processes, annual testing, keeping training fresh and engaging, and how they deal with the challenge of finding training locations. Marcus was joined by Sheriff Eric Blankenship of the Alabama Tactical Offi...
Mar 27, 2024•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 71
Marcus and guest-host, Kris Jenny, discuss Part 2 of Chapter 7 of Sound Doctrine: A Tactical Primer, Sid Heal's 2000 book, which has become an indispensable part of tactical training. Kris and Marcus finish their discussion on the final portion of Chapter 7 of Sound Doctrine. They review fundamental tactics such as The Hammer and Anvile, Envelopment, and the Pincer Movement.
Mar 13, 2024•28 min•Ep. 70
Marcus sits down with Retired Sergeant Jeff McGreevy and the founder of First Responder Wellness, Dr. Stephen Odom. Dr. Odom and Jeff discuss their experiences serving the 1st responder community, what works with peer support programs, and a few things some organizations are doing wrong. Dr. Odom does a deep dive on setting yourself up for longevity and how we need to take a long term, preventive approach to mental health wellness. To learn more about First Responder Wellness, visit the First Re...
Feb 28, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 69
Marcus and guests Travis Norton and Kris Jenny discuss Part 1 of Chapter 7 of Sound Doctrine: A Tactical Primer, Sid Heal's 2000 book, which has become an indispensable part of tactical training. The group discusses Sid's insightful and compelling advice on strategy and tactics, as well as maneuvering in time, and how we can apply this thinking to current tactical situations.
Feb 14, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 68
So, this episode is a little different than our usual podcast here at CATO. For anyone who has listened to our previous episodes, you know that anytime spent with retired Command Master Chief Jason Tuschen is time well spent. We also enjoy our conversations with Dr. Graham Simpson. So, when Brent and I were asked to sit down with Dr. Simpson, Jason and retired Navy Seal William Branum, we said yes. This is an unscripted round table where the group talks about the health and performance challenge...
Jan 31, 2024•52 min•Ep. 67
At CATO we believe that history is the repository of all lessons and to ignore history is do doom yourself to repeat it. At the 2023 conference in San Diego, we asked the infamous SAS team leader Rusty “No Gloves” Firmin to debrief the lessons learned from the 1980 Iranian Embassy Siege. I asked fellow CATO board members Toby Darby and Josh Wofford to sit down with Rusty so he could share his wisdom with those who could not see him at the conference. I spent a fair amount of time with Rusty befo...
Jan 17, 2024•53 min•Ep. 66
Marcus and CATO Secretary Jon Cabrera sit down to discuss SWAT audits and some of the themes we have seen team's struggle with throughout the state. The pair also discusses what the CATO Community can do better when it comes to working on their mental health. From wellness programs to less common resources, Marcus and Jon bring their personal stories to the table in this episode of the CATO Podcast. For more information about SWAT audits or wellness programs and resources, please contact Jon dir...
Jan 03, 2024•59 min•Ep. 65
Marcus asked CATO board member Jon Cabrera to sit down with fellow board member Matt Alexander and his teaching partner Frank Harper as the group discusses the common training challenges facing the training and utilization of sniper teams.
Dec 21, 2023•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 64
In this CATO Podcast, the group discusses Chapter 6 of Sid Heal's Sound Doctrine: Envisioning and Achieving the End State. This chapter is filled with examples of how you can better understand and apply the following critical concepts: Assessing the situation, developing and defining an operational end state, Concept of Operations (CONOPS), assigning missions, and issuing orders. Join us for this discussion to explore the strategy behind these fundamental tactics.
Sep 13, 2023•1 hr 39 min•Ep. 63
Marcus sits down at O2X headquarters with John Vargo to discuss how this human performance company is leveraging the latest science and technology to enhance human performance for first responders throughout the country. All too often, law enforcement programs are unevenly focused on mental well-being or physical well-being. John and the team at O2X leverage a scientific, holistic approach to address the specific issues facing tactical populations, including high rates of injury, elevated cancer...
Aug 23, 2023•55 min•Ep. 62
Marcus, Adam Sharki, and Brent Stratton sit down with the legendary Bob Scales. Bob Scales is a former King County Deputy Prosecutor and Special Assistant, United States Attorney for the Western District of Washington. He worked for 14 years (and three mayors) as a Public Safety Policy Advisor for the city of Seattle. Bob represented the Seattle Police Department during the 2011 DOJ pattern-or-practice investigation and served as the Compliance Coordinator under the federal consent decree. He no...
Jul 12, 2023•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 61
For this podcast, Marcus joins CATO Board of Directors members Kris Jenny and Kenny Brayton. Kris Jenny is a Sergeant with the Napa Police Department and Kenny Brayton is a CATO instructor and Sergeant with the Ontario Police Department. Together they welcome special guest, Bobby Crees of the Pasadena Police Department. Crees, a CATO Region Representative and a graduate of the CATO Strategic Leadership Program, will join the discussion about Chapter 5 of Sound Doctrine. The group reviews each of...
Jun 28, 2023•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 60
Marcus and Travis Norton co-host a conversation about the various ways we train and support large-venue operations from an operator’s point of view. They are joined by Austin who works for a major metropolitan police agency in Northern California. Austin shares his experiences as part of a full-time SWAT team and how their team's approach to supporting large-venue operations has evolved over the years.
Jun 14, 2023•47 min•Ep. 58
Marcus and attorney Gene Ramirez discuss the latest amendments to the California Police Canine Bill (Bill 742), which was placed into inactive status by the bill's author as this podcast was being recorded. This bill will most likely return during the next legislative session, so there is still work to be done. Marcus and Gene also discuss Constitutional Policing: what it is and why it is such a hot topic throughout the country.
Jun 02, 2023•43 min•Ep. 59
Marcus speaks with author and presenter, Jack Enter, about his recently published article entitled, “Sheep Dog to Bureaucrat." CATO invited Jack to return to the podcast to discuss how the structure, roles, and even the promotional process in law enforcement, can turn "WE" leaders into "ME" leaders. Recognizing how it happens may prevent you from becoming a "me-focused" bureaucrat as you rise through the ranks. Jack began his career as a law enforcement officer in 1972. Since that time, he has w...
May 17, 2023•44 min•Ep. 57
In this episode of the CATO Podcast, Marcus sits down with CATO President and co-host, Brent Stratton, and frequent CATO guest, Travis Norton, to discuss why we need to formalize the structure that supports Command and Control, some lessons learned, and what you can do today to reduce friction in your command post. The group discusses the importance of building trust throughout the chain of command, and why you need to support the formation of Emerging Organizational Networks.
Apr 27, 2023•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 56
Learn from the Best: Medal of Honor Recipient Master Sergeant Earl Plumlee CATO joins forces with tactical expert and host of The Debrief, Jon Becker, as he sits down with Medal of Honor recipient Master Sergeant Earl Plumlee. This podcast features the most exciting excerpts from Brent and Jon's interviews with Master Sergeant Plumlee. Earl is an amazing storyteller and he shares the harrowing events of that fateful day in August, 2013 when he earned the Medal of Honor--with both humility and hu...
Apr 12, 2023•1 hr 45 min•Ep. 55
Kenny Brayton and Marcus sit down with Captain Dustin Kulling to discuss the key components required to design effective training. Learn how to apply the Theory of Constructed Emotion to police decision-making training and how action competency facilities and wellness training enhance the regulation of the stress response. Captain Kulling is a 28-year law enforcement veteran who has spent much of his adult life studying how we learn. He is a California POST Master's Instructor, has earned a Mast...
Mar 29, 2023•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 54
This episode of the podcast discusses Chapter Three of Sound Doctrine. Marcus and guests Travis Norton and Adam Sharki discuss Command and Control, the challenges of selecting a commander, and what it means to command effectively.
Mar 15, 2023•40 min•Ep. 53
Attorney Gene Ramirez was a founding member of CATO and has spent the last several decades defending law enforcement officers in civil court. Gene discusses California Assembly Bill 742, which bans law enforcement's use of bite dogs. Gene also discusses his lessons learned from defending officers and how we arrived at a push by the legislature to ban police bite dogs. For more information on AB742, click here https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB742 . G...
Mar 02, 2023•43 min•Ep. 52
Marcus sits down with Nolan Cleall, who has served on a mid-sized Northern California agency's HNT Team for the last ten years. The two discuss his experiences on a collateral Hostage Negotiation Team. They review common approaches to training SWAT/HNT integration and cover some tools you can implement today to develop a comprehensive approach to solving tactical problems. Nolan is also a whiskey aficionado and has some surprising things to say about peanut butter whiskey. Nolan can be reached a...
Feb 15, 2023•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 51
