Ep. 81 - This is a gripping look at the high-stakes world of the U.S. Marshals Service with retired Supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshal Bobby “LED” Ledogar who committed 25 years to the agency handling high-profile extraditions, hunting fugitives and nearly losing his life serving high-risk warrants.

It is also a deeply personal account of what it was like to lose everything at the hands of the very institution he served because he chose to be a whistleblower in a discrimination case against one of his own deputy marshals. What you’ll also find in this episode is Bobby’s indomitable spirit and the strength he drew on to not only fight for what’s right, but also to fight back.

Bobby joined the U.S. Marshals Service in 1995 as a Deputy U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of New York/Brooklyn. In 2010, he promoted to Supervisor of the Warrants Squad assigned to the New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force where he led a team of twelve marshals. Prior to joining the Marshals, Bobby served seven years in the U.S. Navy as a Master-at-Arms deployed to combat zones during Operation Desert Storm.

Bobby shares behind-the-scenes accounts of some of the most dramatic operations of his career including apprehending a violent MS-13 gang member; his involvement in the extradition of El Chapo; as well as tracking down a double-murder suspect who had evaded capture for more than 16 years – Andre Neverson – a U.S. Marshals “15 Most Wanted” fugitive featured on America’s Most Wanted TV show.

In 2015, Bobby supported Deputy U.S. Marshal Dawn Mahoney after she reported harassment and discrimination within the task force. As her supervisor and mentor, Bobby stood by her and testified on her behalf. What followed was swift and severe retaliation by the task force members identified in this whistleblower case involving a smear campaign that not only ended Bobby’s career but also threatened his and his wife’s safety ultimately forcing them to relocate from New York to Florida.

In April 2020, just two months shy of his scheduled retirement, Bobby was terminated. The firing immediately stripped him of his pay, medical coverage, and pension—leaving him and his family financially and emotionally devastated. We talk about what has kept him going these past few years, the mission to get back what was taken from him, and where things stand now.

Two organizations that supported Bobby from day one:

The National Police Defense Foundation (NPDF), which put a legal defense fund in place for the legal expenses Bobby has incurred with his case that is now before the Merit System Protection Board (MSPB). The NPDF is a nationally renowned and congressionally recognized non-profit that provides free medical and legal support services to the law enforcement community. https://npdf.org/

The other non-profit of which Bobby is a board member is the Federal Enforcement of Homeland Security Foundation (FEHSF), a non-profit whose mission is to provide emergency funding to the Federal Law Enforcement Community. https://www.fehsf.org/

You can connect with Bobby on LinkedIn under Robert Ledogar: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-ledogar-276277146/

Thanks for listening to On Being a Police Officer. YOU are what keeps me going.

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

Ep. 80 - Joining me is Jim Dudley, host of Police1’s acclaimed podcast Policing Matters. Jim was with the San Francisco Police Department for 32 years, rising to the rank of Deputy Chief. He takes us back to policing in San Francisco in the 1980s and walks through how the profession — and crime itself — evolved over the decades, from the crack epidemic to today’s open drug use and reforms impacting law enforcement like reducing felony charges to misdemeanors. He reflects on his time as an Investigator in the Bureau of Inspectors, working cases ranging from burglary and property crimes to domestic violence, assaults, and serious violent offenses.

Jim also speaks candidly about the critical incident in which he used deadly force to save his own life and his partner’s during a struggle with an armed suspect. We discuss the reality of being investigated after a fatal use-of-force incident, the emotional toll that follows, and how that experience shaped his leadership style when supporting officers navigating their own critical incidents.

Since retiring in 2013, Jim has continued serving the profession as the host of Policing Matters and as a criminal justice instructor at San Francisco State University, where he has taught for 14 years. We touch on a topic of particular interest to me and that is the impact criminal justice professors can have on framing the national narrative on policing.

Thank you, Jim.

I also want to thank the listeners who I mention in the episode: @Luv fitness pal and @Emandagat01left very kind words in their five-star reviews on Apple podcasts. It means a lot to me.

Here’s where you can find Jim and Policing Matters:

Policing Matters podcast

Policing Matters YouTube

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/policing_matterspodcast/

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimdudley1946/

My interview with Jim Dudley on “Policing Matters”

Thanks for listening to On Being a Police Officer. YOU are what keeps me going.

Find me on my social or email me your thoughts:

Instagram: on_being_a_police_officer

Facebook: On Being a Police Officer

Abby@Ellsworthproductions.com

www.onbeingapoliceofficer.com

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

Ep. 79 As Child Abuse Detective Kristen King says in this episode, “If you haven’t cried in child abuse, you probably haven’t been there long enough or you’re lying.” In the years I’ve interviewed law enforcement, officers have always said that incidents with kids are the hardest. I wanted to shine a light on those that handle these cases on a daily basis.

Kristen has been with Dallas PD for 12 years. We review her career and talk about her not so predictable path to choosing law enforcement, some memorable calls from patrol and making the move to Child Abuse, something she said she knew she wanted to do during training. As she says, when it comes to crimes involving children – children are always going to be the victims, and she wants to help give them a voice. She cites the hard work of a multidisciplinary team of experts, agencies and organizations that make this possible.

Kristen explains what constitutes child abuse, the calls she has responded to and the cases she has handled as well as the importance of weighing all the variables when determining if an incident was a crime, an accident, or just bad parenting.

Kristen shares the emotional toll this work can take and why wellness matters — a topic that connects to Ep. 77 in which I interviewed her husband, Dallas Police Officer Joe King, head of the department’s wellness unit and host of the podcast ATO: Bridging the Divide.

A big part of Kristen’s passion is educating families on various topics to keep their kids safe. For example, why teaching “Stranger Danger” falls short because most assaults on children are committed by someone known to the child. She talks about what parents should teach their kids and how to recognize warning signs.

We also cover Kristen’s efforts to educate families on the importance of properly storing firearms in the home to prevent injuries and fatalities due to a child’s access to unsecured weapons which can lead to the charge known as "Making a Firearm Accessible to a Child."

And Kristen launched a campaign for which she helped raise funding called “Tiny Breaths Safe Sleep” about safe sleeping habits for babies – life saving tips that many parents may be unaware of.

This is a powerful episode on the work being done every day to protect our children.

Thank you, Kristen!

You can find Kristen on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristen-king10671/

Find me on my social or email me your thoughts:

Instagram: on_being_a_police_officer

Facebook: On Being a Police Officer

Abby@Ellsworthproductions.com

www.onbeingapoliceofficer.com

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

Jim Dudley of Police1’s “Policing Matters” interview with me!