Send us a text Today on the show we are going to be talking with former Death Investigator Emily Speed about the little known occupation of death investigator. They are the ones who work either in a medical examiner's or coroner’s office that comes out to the scene of a dead body. Their responsibility is to determine the cause and manner of death of a decedent. Emily Speed is a former career death investigator with over 13 years of experience in the field. She has a master’s degree in forensic s...
Jun 30, 2024•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 177
Send us a text Please enjoy my guest spot on the "This Week In Waukesha" radio show with host Don Brown! We chatted about my career with the Milwaukee Police Department and what I have been up to post-retirement, including this podcast and author career. Note, I come on the show about 20 minutes into the show. Check out the new Cops and Writers YouTube channel! Check out Field Training (Brew City Blues Book 1)!! Enjoy the Cops and Writers book series. Please visit the Cops and Writers website. W...
Jun 28, 2024•1 hr 32 min
Send us a text Welcome everyone to today’s show where I will be chatting with bestselling author and publicist, Deborah Levison. Her bestselling first book, THE CRATE, won seven literary awards. Reviewers described it as "heart-wrenching," "harrowing," "lyrical," and "a brilliant story." Jerusalem Post said: "Exquisite. Lee Child, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the JACK REACHER Series said, “THE CRATE is an impressive and important piece of work." Please enjoy this wide-ranging conversa...
Jun 23, 2024•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 176
Send us a text Welcome back everybody to the conclusion of my interview with with non-other than the host of the wildly popular podcast, Things Police See, Sergeant Steve Gould! If you love police stories, you are going to want to listen to my interviews with Steve! Steve Gould has 17 years in law enforcement. Four years as a natural resource officer and thirteen as a police officer. Currently a sergeant in a small town in western Massachusetts and host of the Things Police See Podcast. Steve ha...
Jun 16, 2024•51 min•Ep. 175
Send us a text Welcome everybody to part one of this special two-part episode with none other than the host of the wildly popular podcast, Things Police See, Sergeant Steve Gould! If you love police stories, you are going to want to listen to my interviews with Steve! Steve Gould has 17 years in law enforcement. Four years as a natural resource officer and thirteen as a police officer. Currently, a sergeant in a small town in western Massachusetts and host of the Things Police See Podcast. Steve...
Jun 09, 2024•49 min•Ep. 174
Send us a text Today on the show we are going to blend true crime and fiction with Ken Humphrey who was the jury foreman for the longest trial in Wisconsin history (lucky him) who eventually turned his experience into a novel, The Breakfast Jury, that blends fact and fiction during this extraordinary event. Ken Humphrey is the author of nine novels, consisting of a middle grade trilogy, a pair of teen books, a thriller trilogy titled The Killing Arc and now The Breakfast Jury. This latest novel ...
Jun 02, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 173
Send us a text Welcome back to the conclusion of my interview with Eric Reynolds. Eric Reynolds, a former Boynton Beach Florida Police Officer turned health advocate, shares a story of transformation and resilience. He is the son of June Hawkins, a retired Miami-Dade Homicide Sgt. and step-son of Sgt Al Singleton who were both featured in the Netflix series Griselda. Eric's journey took an unexpected turn when he discovered through DNA his half-brother, Dave Stull a fellow police officer in Flor...
May 26, 2024•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 172
Send us a text Today, we are speaking with Patrick O’Donnell . Patrick O’Donnell is a retired police sergeant with 25 years experience with the city of Milwaukee Police Department. During his police career he worked exclusively on the street in patrol, and he participated and supervised different special units (anti-gang unit, licensed premise unit, violent crime task force, and armed robbery unit). He is now the author of nine books, including the police procedurals Cops and Writers reference g...
May 21, 2024•48 min
Send us a text Today on the show we are going on the road. Well, actually, we’re interviewing someone who is living on the road with his wife and children, Eric Reynolds. Eric Reynolds, a former Boynton Beach Florida Police Officer turned health advocate, shares a story of transformation and resilience. He is the son of June Hawkins, a retired Miami-Dade Homicide Sgt. and step-son of Sgt Al Singleton who were both featured in the Netflix series Griselda. Eric's journey took an unexpected turn wh...
May 19, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 171
Send us a text If you’re like me, you are a sucker for 80’s T.V. and pop culture. One of the biggest and most influential shows back then was Miami Vice. Not the God-awful movie, the T.V. show. Well, on the show today I have the real Miami Vice with a detective who was an undercover detective in the hay day of cocaine trafficking and violence in the Miami area, Michael Hearns! Michael Hearns is a Miami native and a former 27-year veteran South Florida police officer and detective. He spent a dec...
May 12, 2024•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 170
Send us a text Today’s show is for you crime writers, or those who are curious about how a good crime novel is crafted. On today’s show I will be chatting with the acclaimed crime-writing trio of Deborah Levison, T. M. Dunn, and Wendy Whitman, whose topics range from serial killers to domestic violence. Deborah Levison is an author and publicist. Her first book, an acclaimed nonfiction called THE CRATE, is a true crime with echoes of the Holocaust, which reviewers called it “gorgeous and poetic,...
May 05, 2024•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 169
Send us a text Welcome back everyone to the conclusion of my interview with former Sheriff Deputy, now Attorney, Bridget Truxillo. Life isn’t fair. We have all heard this and it is so true. But sometimes you come across a story that really pulls at your heart and you learn a new level of empathy for someone who was in a certain situation. Bridget’s story did that for me. This is a story of a person being treated unfairly and her resilience and eventually overcoming in her own way. This is the st...
Apr 28, 2024•52 min•Ep. 168
Send us a text Thanks for joining me for this bonus episode of the Cops and Writers Podcast. I wanted to talk about something that has been bothering me for some time. I feel that we have lost our way in policing in America today and the victims of crime are paying the price. When was the last time you heard someone in pop culture talking about “Victim Rights?” You certainly hear them talking about police corruption or defunding the police. But never about the thousands of innocent people who ar...
Apr 27, 2024•1 hr 13 min
Send us a text Life isn’t fair. We have all heard this and it is so true. But sometimes you come across a story that really pulls at your heart and you learn a new level of empathy for someone who was in a certain situation. This episode did that for me. This is a story of a person being treated unfairly and her resilience and eventually overcoming in her own way. This is the story of Bridget Truxillo. Bridget Truxillo was a Deputy Sheriff in Florida where she excelled in her job earning spots o...
Apr 21, 2024•57 min•Ep. 167
Send us a text For today’s show, we are traveling to the West Coast and the home of Fisherman’s Warf, The Golden Gate Bridge, cable cars, and of course, Alcatraz. On today’s episode, we will be chatting with the City of San Francisco Police Sergeant and Bestselling Author, Adam Plantinga. Adam Plantinga’s first book, 400 Things Cops Know, was nominated for an Agatha Award and won the 2015 Silver Falchion award for best nonfiction crime reference. It was hailed as “truly excellent” by author Lee ...
Apr 14, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 166
Send us a text Welcome back to the conclusion of my interview with a former member of the Gambino Crime Family, now International Bestselling Author, Television Producer and Director Louis Ferrante. Mr. Ferrante grew up in New York City and became entangled in the Gambino crime family. He was eventually arrested and served almost ten years in prison. While he was incarcerated, he taught himself to write, and he fell in love with books. He promised himself that he would someday become an internat...
Apr 07, 2024•1 hr 31 min•Ep. 165
Send us a text Welcome to part one of my interview with a former member of the Gambino Crime Family, now International Bestselling Author, Television Producer, and Director Louis Ferrante. Mr. Ferrante grew up in New York City and became entangled in the Gambino crime family. He was eventually arrested and served almost ten years in prison. While he was incarcerated, he taught himself to write, and he fell in love with books. He promised himself that he would someday become an international best...
Mar 31, 2024•1 hr 30 min•Ep. 164
Send us a text Welcome back to the conclusion of my interview with Crime Scene Investigator and Author Rebekah Strong. Rebekah Strong has served as an active member of law enforcement for over twenty years in a major metropolitan police department. She started in patrol and is now serving as a Crime Scene Investigator in her department's forensics unit where she is responsible for processing crimes from murders, robberies, burglaries, sexual assaults, and fatal vehicle crashes, to name a few. Re...
Mar 24, 2024•58 min•Ep. 163
Send us a text Welcome everyone to part one of my interview with Crime Scene Investigator and Author Rebekah Strong. Rebekah Strong is serving as an active member of law enforcement for over twenty years in a major metropolitan police department. She started in patrol and is now serving as a Crime Scene Investigator in her department's forensics unit where she processes crimes from murders, robberies, burglaries, sexual assaults, and fatal vehicle crashes, to name a few. Rebekah Strong, writing ...
Mar 17, 2024•51 min
Send us a text Boy, do I have a treat for you guys! Along with my celebrity co-host Jodi Burnett, my extra special guest on the show today is none other than Award-Winning, Bestselling Author, Entrepreneur, and Award-Winning Podcaster Joanna Penn!!!! Joanna Penn writes non-fiction for authors and is an award-nominated, New York Times and USA Today bestselling thriller, dark fantasy, crime, and horror author as J.F. Penn. She’s also an award-winning podcaster as the host of the Creative Penn Podc...
Mar 10, 2024•49 min•Ep. 161
Send us a text Welcome to this bonus episode of the Cops and Writers Podcast. A little while ago, my good friend Kathleen Donnelley approached me asking if I would give a presentation to the Rocky Mountain Mystery Writers Association regarding Verbal Judo. How can I turn down a good friend and a chance to talk? One minor hitch. I'm not an instructor of Verbal Judo or some kind of Verbal Judo guru. After some self-reflection, I recalled the thousands of times myself or other cops on the street us...
Mar 08, 2024•1 hr 14 min
Send us a text Dr. Michael Caparrelli spent 100 hours, 34 Sessions With David Berkowitz, the Son of Sam. Welcome back everyone to the conclusion of my interview with Bestselling Author and Psychologist, Dr. Michael Caparrelli. Dr. Caparrelli holds a PhD in Behavioral Science with an emphasis on Addiction Psychology. Dr. Caparrelli spent 100 hours, over 34 sessions with one of the most feared murderers in America’s history, David Berkowitz aka The Son of Sam. Dr. Caparrelli wrote an amazing book ...
Mar 03, 2024•52 min•Ep. 160
Send us a text Dr. Michael Caparrelli spent 100 hours, 34 Sessions With David Berkowitz, the Son of Sam. Welcome everyone to part one of my interview with Bestselling Author and Psychologist, Dr. Michael Caparrelli. Dr. Caparrelli holds a PhD in Behavioral Science with an emphasis on Addiction Psychology. Dr. Caparrelli spent 100 hours, over 34 sessions with one of the most feared murderers in America’s history, David Berkowitz aka The Son of Sam. Dr. Caparrelli wrote an amazing book titled, MON...
Feb 25, 2024•50 min•Ep. 159
Send us a text Today’s show will be especially helpful for you writers out there. On the show today we have award-winning and bestselling author, Nick Petrie. His first novel, The Drifter, won the ITW Thriller and Barry Awards and was nominated for the Edgar, Anthony, and Hammett Awards. He won the 2016 Literary Award from the Wisconsin Library Association and was named one of Apple’s 10 Writers to Read in 2017. Light It Up was named the Best Thriller of 2018 by Apple Books. Both Light it Up and...
Feb 18, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 158
Send us a text Welcome back everybody to the conclusion of my interview with the “Cop Doc” Dr. Ellen Kirschman. For over four decades, Dr. Ellen Kirschman's specialty has been treating first responders, cops, firefighters, and their families who are suffering with work-related traumatic stress. Dr. Kirschman is also an award-winning and best-selling author of fiction and non-fiction. She is best known for the gold standard book for cops and their families, “I Love a Cop: What Police Families Nee...
Feb 11, 2024•55 min•Ep. 157
Send us a text Welcome everybody, today’s show will be especially valuable for those of you who are first responders and maybe more important, for their families to listen to. Or, if you are curious about what goes on behind closed doors in a police family. There is so much good information here, I had to split this up into two episodes. My guest on today’s show is known as the ‘Cop Doc’, Dr. Ellen Kirschman. For over four decades, Dr. Ellen Kirschman's specialty has been treating first responde...
Feb 04, 2024•51 min•Ep. 156
Send us a text Welcome back everybody to the conclusion of my interview with my special guest, Retired ATF Deputy Assistant Director, former NYPD homicide detective, and author of the bestselling book, The Deadly Path: How Operation Fast & Furious and Bad Lawyers Armed Mexican Cartels, Peter Forcelli. If you like heroes, homicide, government corruption at the highest levels, a government whistle blower, and good old fashioned police work, you’re going to love this episode. Peter was a "whist...
Jan 28, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 155
Send us a text Welcome everybody to part one of this very special show with my guest, Retired ATF Deputy Assistant Director, former NYPD homicide detective, and author of the bestselling book, The Deadly Path: How Operation Fast & Furious and Bad Lawyers Armed Mexican Cartels, Peter Forcelli. If you like heroes, homicide, government corruption at the highest levels, a government whistle blower, and good old fashioned police work, you’re going to love this episode. Peter was a "whistleblower,...
Jan 21, 2024•57 min•Ep. 154
Send us a text Welcome back everybody to the conclusion of this very special show with my guest Matthew Cox. Dateline NBC called Matthew, "A gifted forger and silver-tongued liar." If you’re a true crime junkie, you’re going to love this show! Matthew’s captivating story has been featured in Playboy, Rolling Stone, Dateline NBC, and numerous other news publications. Matthew Cox, one of the most ingenious con men in history—bilked America’s biggest banks out of millions. Despite numerous encounte...
Jan 14, 2024•1 hr 30 min•Ep. 153
Send us a text Welcome everybody to part one of this very special show with my guest Matthew Cox. Dateline NBC called Matthew, "A gifted forger and silver-tongued liar." If you’re a true crime junkie, you’re going to love this show! Matthew’s captivating story has been featured in Playboy, Rolling Stone, Dateline NBC, and numerous other news outlets. Matthew Cox, one of the most ingenious con men in history—bilked America’s biggest banks out of millions. Despite numerous encounters with bank sec...
Jan 07, 2024•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 152
