Ep. 76 Andre Lemay’s law enforcement career spans 33 years starting in 1991 with the Pittsburg Police Department in the Bay Area of CA and later as special agent for the California Department of Justice, a role he had for 26.5 years.

We dive into his early critical incidents on patrol including his first life-or-death fight with a suspect who was not trying to get away, but who intended to do serious harm. Andre also talks about the harrowing experience of coming to the aid of fellow officers engaged in a shooting that nearly took their lives. He discusses achieving his dream assignment in Narcotics and the unique challenges of doing undercover work in the city in which he grew up.

In 1997, Andre joined a DOJ Task Force in CA while with Pittsburg PD and then in 1998, lateraled to the California DOJ as a special agent where he continued working in Narcotics. He later moved into the agency’s Bureau of Firearms where he investigated firearms crimes at the local, state, and federal levels. In 2011 he created a K9 firearms detection task force that sparked his passion for working with detection dogs. That passion became his next chapter following his retirement in 2024—founding K9 Bullseye Detection, a unique program that uses highly-trained firearms detection dogs for school safety including protection not only from gun violence but also from the spread of deadly drugs like fentanyl.

Andre reflects on the changes he has seen over the past 30+ years in terms of how drugs and illegal firearms ownership and sales are prosecuted, and we discuss the impact of policies that decriminalize drug use on law enforcement’s ability to get dangerous criminals off the street.

Check out Andre’s website where you also can find his contact info:

https://bullseyek9detection.net/

Andre’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andre-lemay-049257270/

Bullseye K9 Detection on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bullseyek9detection/

Also check out this article in Police Mag:

https://www.policemag.com/special-units/article/15736766/innovating-school-security

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

Police1 Q&A with me:

https://www.police1.com/patrol-issues/policing-podcast-profiles-on-being-a-police-officer-podcast-shares-the-raw-truth-behind-the-badge

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. 75 – Strap in for a wild ride as On Being a Police Officer teams up with Cameron Santana of Santana True Crime to sit down with Eric Tansey—former cop, veteran, and host of the hit YouTube Show and Podcast Failure to Stop—to talk about his upcoming book, Pig Latin: A Seriously Funny True Story of a Former Police Officer, dropping August 26.

Because Cameron was Eric’s field training officer (featured in the book as Jayce), this is the only interview where you’ll get the story behind the story. And you’ll hear some Eric adventures that aren’t in the book.

Eric served with the Raleigh Police Department from 2012 to 2019, after his time as a U.S. Army paratrooper in Special Ops from 2003 to 2010. As Eric says, he joined the police force with a ton of unrealistic expectations. The reality of the job knocked him down and changed his perspective on everything. Always a magnet for uncanny, wild situations, Eric reveals exactly what it’s like to deal with everyday life as a police officer—from trying to tackle naked suspects to pepper spraying himself in the face, from dealing with an angry mob to coaxing suicidal subject off a bridge.

Beyond the darkly funny anecdotes, Eric explains how PIG LATIN aims to build empathy for law enforcement professionals and remind them they are not alone in their fears and mistakes. Tune in for an insider’s ride‑along that will make you laugh, cringe and see policing in a new light.

Also check out Ep. 74, a repost of my 2023 interview with Eric which covers not only the book, but his childhood, the breakdowns he’s done on Failure To Stop, how he became a sommelier and so much more.

Get his book on Amazon:

“Pig Latin: a seriously funny true story of a former police officer”

You can find Eric on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erictansey_official/

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

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

Check out this Police1 Q&A with me:

https://www.police1.com/patrol-issues/policing-podcast-profiles-on-being-a-police-officer-podcast-shares-the-raw-truth-behind-the-badge

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

Ep. 74 – Join me on this re-airing of a wild ride of an interview from 2023 with Eric Tansey, co-creator and host of Failure to Stop (FTS) and former Raleigh Police Department officer from 2012 to 2019. If you follow Eric on FTS, then you know he is a high-energy, highly-engaging storyteller. And nowhere is that more evident than in his soon-to-be released book, “Pig Latin: a Seriously Funny True Story of a Former Police Officer.” I had the opportunity to read an advance manuscript and talk with Eric about some of the crazy and as well as poignant stories in the book.

My next episode, Ep. 75, is a brand-new interview with Eric as a crossover with Cameron Santana, host of Santana True Crime. Cameron was Eric’s field training officer and is featured in the book, so it’s a unique perspective to share. We get into even more stories, some of them not in the book.

In this 2023 interview, Eric and I discuss why he got into law enforcement following his service in Special Ops as a US Army paratrooper from 2003 to 2010. We get into a few dramatic incidents from the book which include totaling his car after hydroplaning during a pursuit; having his leg broken while fighting with a murder suspect (“I got 12 screws, two pins, a plate and a rod in my left leg.”) And the time he took his mother on a ride-along, making a “routine” traffic stop, and ending up in one of the most brutal beatings he ever suffered, all with his mom watching. We also talk about the incident that is one he just can’t shake. And of course, we cover how his law enforcement career came to an end when he was fired from Raleigh PD in 2019.

As he does on FTS, we get into police incidents, the issues facing law enforcement today, and the frustrations of the public’s misperceptions of police. We revisit a breakdown that he originally did with Mike the Cop (link below).

YouTube link to FTS breakdown of Akron Police Department incident:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zpN8TEcSB8

Here is the Amazon link to Eric’s book coming out on Aug. 26, 2025:

“Pig Latin: a seriously funny true story of a former police officer”

You can find Eric on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erictansey_official/

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

Check out this Police1 Q&A with me:

https://www.police1.com/patrol-issues/policing-podcast-profiles-on-being-a-police-officer-podcast-shares-the-raw-truth-behind-the-badge

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