Ep. 71 – Officer Tevon Davis on Losing His Gang Member Brother in a Police Shootout

In this powerful crossover episode, I co-host alongside former Raleigh Police Officer Cameron Santana on the Santana True Crime podcast.

We sit down with Officer Tevon Davis, who shares the deeply personal and emotional story of his older brother Tyre—a Piru Bloods gang member who was killed in a shootout with Norfolk Police after murdering a fellow gang member. For years, Tevon harbored resentment toward law enforcement, unaware of the full circumstances surrounding his brother’s death. His perspective changed only after learning the truth.

Tevon opens up about the pain of losing his brother, how he came close to following the same path, and what ultimately led him to choose a career in law enforcement. It’s a raw, nuanced conversation about grief, resilience and redemption.

Listen to this gripping episode on my podcast and on Santana True Crime, part of the Failure to Stop network.

Check out Cameron’s book, “A Murder on Campus: The Professor, the Cop and North Carolina's Most Notorious Cold Case,” which investigates the 1973 unsolved rape and murder of 19-year-old Virginia Olson.

Thank you, Cameron and Tevon. And a special thanks to Eric Tansey of Failure to Stop for connecting us. Pre-order Eric’s book, “Pig Latin: A Seriously Funny True Story of a Former Police Officer” which will be published in August.

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©Abby Ellsworth. All booking, interviews, editing, and production by Abby Ellsworth. Music courtesy of freesound.org

Ep. 70 - From Raleigh PD to True Crime Author: Cameron Santana on his law enforcement career and the Virginia Olson Cold Case. Cameron has 20 years in law enforcement. He started with Raleigh PD in 2005. In our conversation, we jump right in with his first call straight out of the academy – a violent murder scene. Cameron talks about what it’s like hitting the streets with no real world LE experience, being surrounded by chaos and relying on the direction of his Field Training Officer. Then, within short two years, Cameron would go from having an FTO to being an FTO and later Taser Instructor. In all, he trained more than 30 officers.

Cameron later joined Raleigh PD’s Strike Team the goal of which was to aggressively address the city’s problem areas through proactive policing. The unit’s focus was on violent gang offenders, street level drug sales, and prostitution. The team also conducted surveillance during spikes in burglaries. After about 13 years on patrol, Cameron transitioned to School Resource Officer because the set schedule would allow him to spend more time with his family after his daughter was born with special needs. School Resource Officer was a role he never expected he would want, much less come to love. Throughout our conversation, Cameron shares funny, often wild stories of police work, as well as the painful calls that all of you respond to in this profession, calls that live with him to this day.

Cameron has co-authored a true crime book with his brother Brian, an English professor. The book, “A Murder on Campus: The Professor, the Cop and North Carolina's Most Notorious Cold Case,” investigates the 1973 unsolved rape and murder of 19-year-old Virginia Olson, a student at University of North Carolina Asheville.

It is the first book to thoroughly investigate her story and attempt to find answers to solve this now 52-year-old cold case. The book has led to Cameron’s launching his own podcast “Santana True Crime” on the Failure to Stop network. As well as a podcast called “Free Daniel Holtzclaw” with Eric Tansey of Failure to Stop. Available on all podcast platforms. Links below.

I want to thank Cameron for coming on the show, his commitment to law enforcement, and his mission to not only find justice for victims, but also to make sure the rest of us know the story of their lives beyond their incident.

Santana True Crime on Spotify

Free Daniel Holtzclaw on Spotify

You can find Cameron on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/santanatruecrime/

https://www.instagram.com/santanabrotherstruecrime/

https://www.instagram.com/freeholtzclaw/

The book is available wherever books are sold. You can get it here on Amazon.

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Ep. 69 - LAPD Lt. Jeff Wenninger (ret) – Rodney King Riots; Rampart Scandal and rebuilding the Gang CRASH Unit through leadership and teamwork. Jeff Wenninger is a retired LAPD lieutenant with more than 30 years in law enforcement. He started with L.A. County Sheriff in 1991 and was on patrol during the Rodney King riots.

He later lateralled to LAPD in 1993 and went on to work with some of the most highly-trained units, including the Metropolitan Division which encompasses SWAT, K9, high risk warrants, bank stakeouts, and more. The areas of focus over his career have included crowd management, high risk tactical operations, and dignitary protection. As sergeant, he was handpicked as the officer in charge of the Rampart Gang Enforcement detail following the Rampart Scandal in the late 90s, during which he implemented best practices in adherence to the DOJ consent decree. As sergeant and later as lieutenant, Jeff was the officer in charge of the Force Investigation Division and oversaw investigations of lethal force and other significant applications of force. Jeff's work earned him prestigious awards including the LAPD Medal of Valor, Police Star, and Meritorious Unit Citation.

Jeff is the founder and CEO of Law Enforcement Consultants, LLC. He currently lives in Cleveland, Ohio with his son. And he is working on a book called “On Thin Ice” that will be published on May 6. His goal is to align police methods with societal expectations, improve public trust and enhance police training.

Thank you, Jeff!

You can find Jeff:

LinkedIn

LEO Roundtable

Thanks for listening to On Being a Police Officer. YOU are what keeps me going. Please follow and subscribe. On Apple Podcasts, a five-star review will help a great deal!

Find me on my social or email me your thoughts:

Instagram: on_being_a_police_officer

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YouTube: Abby Ellsworth Channel

Abby@Ellsworthproductions.com

www.onbeingapoliceofficer.com

©Abby Ellsworth. All booking, interviews, editing, and production by Abby Ellsworth. Music courtesy of freesound.org