← Law Enforcement Talk: True Crime and Trauma Stories
Law Enforcement Talk: True Crime and Trauma Stories
The Las Vegas Police Gun fights and Trauma
00:41:10
“What happens in Vegas doesn’t always stay in Vegas,” says Randy Sutton, a man whose career with The Las Vegas Police was marked by heroism, split-second decisions, and more than a few brushes with death. Sutton, a retired Lieutenant with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) and a 34-year veteran of law enforcement, recently returned to the Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show and Podcast to share his story.
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- [00:00]
Host 1
What do you think makes the perfect snack?
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Host 2
Hmm, it's gotta be when I'm really craving it and it's convenient.
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Host 1
Could you be more specific when it's cravenient.
- [00:08]
Host 2
Okay, like a freshly baked cookie made with real butter available right down the street at a.m. p.m. Or a savory breakfast sandwich I can grab in just.
- [00:15]
John J. Wiley
A second at a.m. pM.
- [00:16]
Host 1
I'm seeing a pattern here.
- [00:18]
Host 2
Well yeah, we're talking about what I.
- [00:19]
Host 1
Crave which is anything from AM pm.
- [00:21]
Host 2
What more could you want?
- [00:22]
AM PM Advertiser
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- [00:31]
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- [01:01]
John J. Wiley
He's a retired Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Lieutenant. During his police career, he was involved in a gunfight that most would not survive. He does a lot of great work to help wounded police officers across the country with the wounded blue he's here to tell us about both on the Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show. Welcome to the Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show. In the Law Enforcement Talk Radio show, we are joined by special guests talking about their experiences, their realities of investigating crimes, plus those have experienced horrendous trauma. Police, first responders, military and victims of crime share their stories. Hi, I'm John J. Wiley. In addition to being a broadcaster, I'm also a retired police sergeant. Be sure to check out our website, letradio.com and also like us on Facebook search for the Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show. I know we've all got lots of apps on our phone, but there's one you should check out the Medium app medium.com and be sure to follow the Law Enforcement Talk radio show and podcast where you find great articles, blog posts from me on Medium. That's the Law Enforcement Talk radio show and podcast on the Medium app. Or you can go directly to medium.com joining us from Las Vegas, Nevada. It is not true what they say about what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. We have Randy Sutton. Reason I say that Randy Sutton's retired Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Lieutenant. He was on the show before. So he's in Vegas and he's returning. Welcome back, Randy. It's a pleasure to have you.
- [02:34]
Randy Sutton
It's a pleasure to be here. Thanks for having me again.
- [02:36]
John J. Wiley
It's been a while and we're going to talk about the Wounded Blue websites, the wounded blue dot org. The woundedblue dot org. His podcast is called A Cop's Life. Before we get into all that and the nuts and bolts about the gunfight you were in that you want to talk about, tell us a little about your police career. I believe you started in a sleepy town in New Jersey.
- [02:57]
Randy Sutton
I did. You know, I had a great police career, spanned almost 34 years total and, well, actually a little more if you, if you add my cadet time as well. I did 10 years in Princeton, New Jersey. That was my hometown. And it was, it was a, you know, small town cop. You know, we had 32 officers and I was a patrol officer for six years, detective for four. I was on the job 10 years in Princeton, halfway to retirement and realized that I'm not going to make it because I'm going to be bored to death. So I researched different police agencies and was told about Las Vegas Metro PD by a couple FBI agents that I worked with. And you know, it's interesting because usually to give compliments about another agency is not, is not the norm. And they spoke so glowingly of Las Vegas Metro and the, and the growth of the city that I came out to Vegas, tested and was offered the job. Had to go through field training again and literally begin, begin my career. Even as a 10 year cop, I had to swallow my pride and realize I'm not in Kansas anymore, Toto. I'm in the big city now.
- [04:19]
John J. Wiley
Here's the thing I don't get, Randy. So being in Princeton, New Jersey, you could have gone to Philly, you could have gone to Trenton, could have gone to Newark, you could have gone to New York City. I know there's a lot of politics involved. We had hired different agencies. However, that's the big city life. You went all the way across the country.
- [04:36]
Randy Sutton
I did. Even though you're right, I actually looked at New York pd But the mystique of Las Vegas, I gotta say, drew me out west. And when I came out to look at the department, I was really impressed by the professionalism and also by the respect level that the people of Vegas had for the cops. Because I did my research. I wasn't, you know, I only had one move in me and this was it. So I needed to make it the right decision. And I never looked back on that decision. JAY it was really, it was really the best decision I ever could have made in terms of personal growth, professional growth, satisfaction, and the challenges that I was really looking for as a cop.
- [05:32]
John J. Wiley
Here's the thing about Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. They have a great reputation, great training, great agency, but they weren't always that way. I think it was late 70s, they sort of transitioned and changed dramatically.
- [05:46]
Randy Sutton
You know, it's the history of the department is very interesting. In 1972, the Clark County Sheriff's Department and the Las Vegas City Police Department combined to the Metropolitan Police. And while I wasn't here then, the stories of that transition were both amusing and interesting at the same time. And the history of the agencies. There were still people on the job when I came here that were part of that transition. There were guys that had been on the sheriff's department, guys that had been on the city pd and believe me, that was not without controversy for a number of years. But by the time I got here in 1986, it was the department had smoothed out. And being, being a combined department was interesting because they made the decision when they, when they merged to make the sheriff the head law enforcement officer. So we were, we were as cops here, we were both police officers and sheriff's deputies. We had both designations.
- [06:56]
John J. Wiley
So what's interesting is there's one department I know of that has, it's called the Jacksonville, Florida Sheriff's Office and it's headed up by a sheriff, but everybody's a police officer. So that's a thing that while it's splitting hairs legally, it is not something that's common across the United States.
- [07:15]
Randy Sutton
Right. There are, since the Las Vegas Police Department did it back in 72, there have been a number of departments that decided do that type of combination. So there's a number of Metropolitan Police departments in the United States.
- [07:33]
John J. Wiley
Now, here's the thing that I get, and you can comment on this or you don't have to, some of the reasons why they do this and they go to an elected sheriff from instead of an appointed police chief or police commissioner is prior complaints of corruption. And that was part of the problem with Las Vegas back in the old days.
- [07:52]
Randy Sutton
Oh, this had a very interesting reputation. There was the Sheriff in the 60s and early 70s when the switch took place. He had quite a reputation. And it was the last of the old west sheriffs, if you will. There was the famous, or I should say infamous Black Glove Squad. That was the sheriff's personal team that they were tasked with sending messages to people that were considered undesirables in Vegas. And the stories were pretty amusing. In fact, one of the last surviving members of that, quote, Black Love Squad approached me about telling the stories because, you know, I'm an author and he wants. He wanted me to tell the stories of that era. And I was really excited about doing that project with him. And then when we were about to actually sit down and tell me those stories, he backed off and said, you know, this is not really a good idea because there are still some people alive that could be damaged by this. So then he got cancer and died. So the book was never written, the stories never came out. And I'm really disappointed that I didn't have that opportunity.
- [09:27]
John J. Wiley
And people need to look at this way. So we're not saying what what was alleged was. Right. What we're saying is that's an integral part of the history of the agency and a big reason why it is. It is the way it is today.
- [09:40]
Randy Sutton
Oh, exactly. And here's one of the amusing factors. When I decided to make the move Las Vegas. So, you know, I was. I was basically halfway to retirement in Princeton and I was at the top of my pay scale. I had a great job. You know, my big problem was I wasn't. I didn't feel challenged and I didn't feel. I didn't feel, you know, like I was getting.
- [10:04]
John J. Wiley
Did you feel a little bit like Barney Fife and Mayberry back in the day?
- [10:10]
Randy Sutton
Yeah. Well, we actually called. Let's take a break. Wave Cops.
- [10:14]
John J. Wiley
Let's take a break here. We're talking about Randy Sutton. He's retired Las Vegas Metro Police lieutenant. He is the primary mover and shaker for the Wounded Blue. Check out the website. The wounded blue.org is also a podcaster. His podcast is called A Cop's Life. If you want be a guest on the law enforcement talk radio show, simply contact us. It couldn't be easier. You can send us a message on Facebook. Look for and like the law enforcement talk radio show page or email jetradio.com we got more to talk about. Don't go anywhere. I promise you we'll be right back. Don't you hate when they do the bait and switch on you when they tell you, check out a website and it's free to go there. And then there's hidden charges. You won't find any of that nonsense at our website, letradio.com it's free. It's always been free. And it costs you absolutely nothing. There's no hidden tricks. Letradio.com check it out. Today you can find episodes of the show available as a podcast after airing on radio. They're always free, always have been and always will be. Again. That's l e t radio.com where it's always free.
- [11:30]
Host 1
Ooh whatcha eating?
- [11:31]
Host 2
The new banana split cookie from AM pm. All freshly baked with real butter with banana, chocolate and strawberry flavors.
- [11:38]
Host 1
Ah, that sounds amazing. Can I have a bite?
- [11:40]
Host 2
I'm sorry but no. But you can't split the banana split.
- [11:43]
Host 1
Not even a little.
- [11:44]
Host 2
Not even a crumb.
- [11:45]
Host 1
What if.
- [11:46]
John J. Wiley
No, please.
- [11:48]
AM PM Advertiser
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- [11:58]
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- [12:36]
John J. Wiley
Turn Conversation Randy Sutton from the Wounded Blue is a retired Las Vegas Metropolitan Police lieutenant, is also a former Princeton, New Jersey police officer. His website's the Wounded blue dot org. That's the Wounded blue dot org and he's also a podcaster. His name is Podcast is called A Cop's Life. Appropriately enough. Randy, you talked about making the transition from Princeton, New Jersey, which by compared to Las Vegas is a sleepy town. Princeton, New Jersey, they sure have their fair share of crime. Like everybody and I don't want to demean them, but I gotta ask you this before we go into your story. You know, when I got promoted to sergeant, I thought I wanted a lot of guys in my squad like me, all aggressive, proactive, taking names, you know what. And then quickly realized, man, I got to have the mobile report takers. I got to have the traffic guys, I got to have the other ones because I'd be riding all day at non stop and I can't help but feeling that you were a thorn in your sergeant and lieutenants, you know, one in Princeton because you wanted more action.
- [13:41]
Randy Sutton
Yeah, I. Let's put it this way. My, my philosophy, my philosophical differences with the leadership of the police agency was part of what led me to the determination that I didn't really Fit in there. So, yes, you're right there. And so when I. When I made the decision to come to Las Vegas, it was very interesting because the cops that I worked with, firstly, you know, they tried to talk me out of it. They said, you're crazy. You're halfway to retirement and you're going to Las Vegas. That's where the mob is. There's all these guys are corrupt out there. And so I come out to Vegas, I do the testing process, and they fail me on the polygraph. And the question that they failed me on was, is there anything in your past that you don't want us to know about you? And I said, well, yeah, sure there is. And they said, well, what? And I said, well, I can't think of anything specific, but I know there's stuff.
- [14:41]
John J. Wiley
And remember, you know what in the closet when I was a kid.
- [14:45]
Randy Sutton
Yeah, right, exactly. And remember, I'd use the polygraph as a detective. So I was very familiar with it. And I went into the head of personnel, and I said, hey, you failed me on this polygraph question. And that is a question that is absolutely inappropriate and is not a valid polygraph question. And when I walked into his office, he was up. He has cowboy boots up on the. Up on his desk, and he's reading the newspaper, and he just moved the newspaper down so he could, you know, look at me over the newspaper. And he said to me, well, you are a New Jersey cop. And I said, yeah, yeah. Your point is New Jersey cop? I said, okay, so let me see if I'm understanding. You failed me because you think that these. That what I'm trying to cover up is corruption. And he said, yeah, that's exactly right. I said, well, then why didn't you ask me those questions? And he said, are you willing to take a whole nother polygraph on corruption? I said, sure. So they gave me a whole. All this because I was a Jersey cop, and I gave me a whole new polygraph. Do you ever take money for not doing your job? Do you ever trade sex for not doing your job? Et cetera, and so forth. And when I pass that, they hired me. But the dichotomy was my. My buddies in New Jersey were like, oh, my God, Vegas is corrupt. The Mafia. And when I got to Vegas, oh, my God, you New Jersey cops are corrupt.
- [16:21]
John J. Wiley
New Jersey, by the way, when people say all these things about cops, I'm like, man, you make it sound like it was really exciting. And most of the time, it wasn't. We didn't do Anything like you say.
- [16:34]
Randy Sutton
Oh, in Princeton, if you took. Now I'm really dating myself here, John. But if I took a 25 cent cup of coffee, which is what it cost back then, without paying for it, I would be fired. Yeah, there was, there was no, there was, you know, it was strict, strict, strict. And when I. But when I came out to Vegas, this was my first night on patrol after I get out of the academy, I'm with my field training officer and we go into the old Stardust casino for our evening meal. And we sit down in the, in the, in the dining room. My field training officer orders everything under the sun. Shrimp cocktail, prime rib, dessert. And I'm like, hey, you know, I'm a first year copier. I'm not making that.
- [17:22]
John J. Wiley
I can't afford that.
- [17:23]
Randy Sutton
And say that again.
- [17:24]
John J. Wiley
Said I can't afford all that good stuff.
- [17:27]
Randy Sutton
Yeah, right. So I've like ordered a burger and he tells me, go ahead, order what you want, Randy. He says, we don't pay here. And I'm like, now I'm really nervous, Andy.
- [17:41]
John J. Wiley
Did you feel like it was a test? Like you're being set up here?
- [17:45]
Randy Sutton
That's exactly what I felt like. I exactly felt like this was a setup, so. Which kind of ruined my appetite, quite honestly. And then at the end of the meal, a security guard from the casino comes over and hands us what's called a comp slip, which I'd never heard of before in my life. And my FTO started laughing. He said, look, I know what you're thinking. He says, this is part of business in Vegas. He says, the casinos take a write off. This is all legitimate. This isn't anything untoward. It's in our policy that we can do it, so just relax. And that was my first introduction to the comp slip, which became a part of my life throughout my career.
- [18:33]
John J. Wiley
Sure. Well. And you probably missed that. Right, Right about now. One of the things. And we were so in Baltimore, it was. So when I got, really, When I got promoted, Sergeant went to Central. We have an area called the block. When I was acting lieutenant, we really had to be aware. And that's where all the strip clubs were, all that stuff. And that was an area where they would always try to entice you to take graphs and other things. And you had to be very aware, even with the free sodas. But that was a real quandary, a real conundrum. Are you offering me something? Is the FBI watching what's going on? And it's a cup of coffee for goodness Sakes.
- [19:11]
Randy Sutton
Yeah. Well, and that's why it was really a shock to see what was acceptable here. And it wasn't considered untoward, it wasn't considered anything negative. It was, this way of life in Vegas was just different. And you know, comp meals here are given to the public as well. So it was, it was interesting. And, and I ate pretty good for my career.
- [19:39]
John J. Wiley
Let me ask you this point blank, from one husky guy to another. And I've seen pictures of Randy. He's not a small guy. And by the way, I'm down 52 pounds since I think the last time we talked, however.
- [19:50]
Randy Sutton
Wow.
- [19:50]
John J. Wiley
I've always been a big guy. And so did you get bigger as a result of all that fine dining?
- [19:57]
Randy Sutton
No, not really. I tried to stay in pretty good shape. So no, that wasn't a problem. But the reality is that what happens in Vegas really doesn't stay in Vegas. But it's a different reality here. And what we did was when say we ordered a meal that was worth 20 bucks, right. And we just signed for it, but generally speaking, we left enough tip to cover the whole truck.
- [20:32]
John J. Wiley
Right? That's exactly right.
- [20:34]
Randy Sutton
That was, that was, that was, that was the way we handled that.
- [20:37]
John J. Wiley
Anyway, that's the classy way to do things. And that's the way we were raised too. So we're talking with Randy Sutton. Randy is retired. He's a really interesting guy by the way. He's retired Las Vegas Metro Police lieutenant which we'll talk about his career because during his career he was involved in a horrific gunfight that most people would not survive since retiring from. And by the way started his career at Princeton New Jersey Police Department where he's there for 10 years for transitioning to Las Vegas. That's a big accomplishment. Since retiring he's gotten involved with thewoundedblue.org is their website, thewoundedblue.org they do lots of life saving things to help severely injured officers throughout the United States. And he has a podcast called A Cop's Life. And we return to the law enforcement talk radio show. We're going to talk about the gunfight he was in and how that motivates in part what he does today. You can find us on Facebook, look for and like the law enforcement talk radio show Facebook page. Don't go anywhere. We will be right back. You know we used to have an app and it was very popular app. And then guess what? We couldn't hold a candle through our Facebook presence. How many people have the mobile Facebook app already installed on their phone. How many people use it on their computer? Make sure you follow us, make sure you like us on our Facebook page. Just search for law enforcement, talk radio show and podcast and be sure to send us a comment to one of the posts. Best of all as 100% free for.
- [22:10]
Grainger Advertiser
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- [22:47]
John J. Wiley
Return to conversation with Randy Sutton Conte is from Las Vegas, Nevada and he is retired Las Vegas Metropolitan Police lieutenant. He did 10 years before that in Princeton, New Jersey Police Department. He is a podcaster. His podcast is called A Cop's Life and they do lots of great things with the organization he has called the Wounded Blue. Their website's the woundedblue.org that's the woundedblue.org Check them out. You will be shocked. And by the way, this is something Randy and I talked about last time, especially around election season. We always see these ads about the evil corporations, how they abuse people and throw people away. I'm like, they're not the big offenders. The big offenders are police departments, our cities, our counties, our states, and the federal government. They throw people away like they didn't never matter.
- [23:35]
Randy Sutton
I can tell you that very decisively that the Wounded Blue was created because of how police agencies and cities treat their officers when they get injured or disabled, either physically or emotionally and psychologically. And it is startling what you see out there in regards to the way cops are treated. In fact, we actually have a documentary film called the Wounded Blue and you can get it on Amazon.com and it will blow your mind. It is startling.
- [24:11]
John J. Wiley
And here's the thing I was always told in the academy that, you know, we got you, we'll we'll take care of you and your family. And what that really meant is that we'll take care of your family if you're killed, if you are injured in line of duty. And I had the physical injuries and the mental you talk about and I was totally abandoned by my agency. I mean, they tried for a while, but they're busy doing other things. But the city, the second they Got the bean counters involved and the workers comp. It was a different game.
- [24:42]
Randy Sutton
Absolutely, 100%. I could tell you horror story after horror story. You, you experience it? I experienced it. And thousands of police officers across this country have been abandoned by their agencies in the most dramatic ways. And that's, that is the sole reason that the Wounded Blue exists. And our motto is never forgotten, never alone. That's the way cops feel once they become injured or severely injured in the line of duty. But when, when, when I first got to Las Vegas and you know, was through the field training program, I was, you know, I was still on probation when I was in my first shooting and a 15 year old gang banger tried to ambush me and shoot me. I was in a foot pursuit with him and they had bailed out of a stolen car, three o' clock in the morning in the projects. And I was chasing this kid and I came around the corner of a building and he was laying there in wait for me, pointing the gun at me. And I instinctively fired. And he was standing next to a building and my bullet missed his ear by about a half an inch and hit the building behind him and a piece of cement broke off and hit him in the head. And he thought he was shot so he threw that gun down and they got him into custody without having to kill him. And it turned out he was 15 years old. Now I was still on probation. That was my first shooting and I had five during my career here.
- [26:22]
John J. Wiley
I had four. So that's. And by the way, I know what you mean when you're going through this, but the after effects, the thoughts, the fears, the worries, all that stuff you said, he's a 15 year old kid, you're in a gunfight and you're on some probation. Going to lose my job. I'm going to get fired, I'm going to jail. What's going to happen?
- [26:42]
Randy Sutton
Well, I can tell you that that was not one of my worries back then because this, this city back then was the Wild west. And, and I was not worried about losing my job. I was not worried about getting in trouble here. Now if that had happened in Princeton then, then I would have been, you know, then I would have been really concerned. But not in Vegas at least, you know, not, not during was that I was actively engaged as a cop here because the city backed you in use of force issues for the most part. But that was my wake up moment. That's the moment. You're not in Kansas anymore, Toto. You better realize that you are in a Dangerous city. And this is a rough place to be a cop. There was a lot of action here, there was a lot of violence. The, the department was very well trained, something I was very proud of. In fact, I wound up becoming a trainer here. But the next gunfight is the one that changed my life. And that was what we now call an active shooter. It was a guy who dressed up like a ninja warrior, went to a high school dance. He was armed with a pistol, shoulder holster, bandoliers of ammunition, a sword. And he, and he just opened fire at a, at a high school dance. And, and I, I was the second responding officer. And it was 9 o' clock on a Saturday night, as when the report came out, I was literally a block away. And at first I thought it was too bizarre to be real. Thought it was a prank.
- [28:30]
John J. Wiley
Yeah, this can't be real. That's where you first thought this can't be real. Then what if it is? Oh my goodness. What would do?
- [28:36]
Randy Sutton
Well, and it became clear within seconds that it was the real deal because there were two couples on a double date following the suspect on the phone with 911 with their cell phone, you know, given the blow by blow. And then the suspect realized he's being followed by this car, so he fired a shot at them. And the bullet went through the windshield between the heads of the two couples who were in the car. At which point the driver thought, you know, I think I've done my civic duty. And he got out of there. And I'm pulling onto the street. About that time, another unit is getting there, a two man unit. They jump out of the car, they're shining their spotlights and headlights on the guy who's walking right down the middle of the street with a gun in his hand. And I'm expecting in the next few minutes, in the next seconds, that either they're going to shoot him, he's going to run, he's going to kill himself, he's going to surrender, but he doesn't do any of those things. He literally, calmly, nonchalantly walks right towards that police car, re holsters his pistol and just walks right by the two cops who were there and they were like, oh, well, what do we do now? And that's when I jump out of my police car and this guy starts walking up an apartment complex driveway towards a whole group of people. I can't let him get to those people. But he's walking away from me. He's got this gun in his shoulder holster, so you have to make an instantaneous Life and death decision.
- [30:03]
John J. Wiley
Right.
- [30:04]
Randy Sutton
And I decided I'm going to try and take him physically. So I ran up behind him. He heard me, turned, and when he turned, I did a flying side kick to his abdomen. That didn't really work. And when he. When I kicked him, he. He kind of folded over. But what he was doing was when he went down, he pulled the gun out of his shoulder holster, and he and I were literally gun muzzles touching when we both fired at exactly the same time. And I was not wearing my body armor.
- [30:36]
John J. Wiley
Oh, come on.
- [30:38]
Randy Sutton
Yeah. Yeah. It wasn't. Wasn't one of my brightest decisions.
- [30:42]
John J. Wiley
Usually, that's the decisions the bosses make. Oh, I'm gonna go without body armor and no seatbelts. I'm gonna drive around, and I'm gonna take pictures while I'm driving the car.
- [30:51]
Randy Sutton
Yeah, Right. So we both fired exactly the same time. And then the nightmare that we all have actually happened to me. My gun jammed after the second shot, so I fired two rounds, and then I'm going click, click, click. His gun is working really well, and he's. And he. And we're toe to toe, and I'm watching the muzzle flashes that look like flamethrowers, and I literally have nowhere to go. And he's shooting at me. And I'm thinking, this is what it's like to die. I mean, that was. That was the thought. What's it gonna feel like when that. When that bullet enters my body? Our air unit has gotten above us now, and I have. I'm trying to figure out what, you know, this is. This is all taking place in milliseconds.
- [31:36]
John J. Wiley
Sure.
- [31:37]
Randy Sutton
So as he's shooting at me, I drop and I start rolling from side to side while he's trying to shoot me. And I'm trying to get my gun working again.
- [31:46]
John J. Wiley
We're gonna take a short break on that note. We'll return our conversation Randy Sutton in just a few moments. Of all the radio stations in the United States, there are no other shows like the law enforcement radio show. And on Facebook, there's only one official page. Do a search on Facebook for the law enforcement talk radio show. And be sure to like, the law enforcement talk radio show, Facebook page. Law enforcement talk radio show. Do not go anywhere. We'll be right back. I'm gonna let you in a little secret that's been a game changer, changer for me. With social media, you can get details@letpops.com. so redirect L E T P O P S dot com. It's called chatbots. There are meta partners, Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, WhatsApp and soon to be TikTok. You can turn those people that visit and engage with your content and social media into consumers and then sometimes customers and you can market to them, get details. Best of all you can get started for free. Let pops.com that's L E T P O P S.com again it's L E T P O P s.com this is.
- [32:59]
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- [34:26]
Randy Sutton
Try.
- [34:35]
John J. Wiley
Turn conversation on law enforcement talk radio show with Dr. Sandra Spears. She was sexually abused during the age of 9 until about 8 18. Endured verbal, psychological, physical abuse throughout most of her childhood which had a huge impact on her adult life. We talked about and in her 40s she survived Hurricane Katrina which we were turned to and that in her past was a huge catalyst for what she does today. Her website is LifeSanswers Care LifeSanswers Care Before Winter break Sandra, you're talking about Hurricane Katrina and here's my take on her Been through multiple hurricanes and I remember going through I think it was it was Andrew in 92 and I was thinking to myself this is it's not going to kill me but I'm wondering how bad it's going to hurt. What kind of damage it's going to do when people wake up or everything you've relied on is gone. Your housing, you can't get access to money, you can't get access to food. You can't get access to the things you need to live your life. It can have a tremendous impact on you. And this became a huge part of what you do today. Am I wrong there?
- [35:42]
Dr. Sandra Spears
You're correct. It became a very huge thing because when I went to get my PhD, at first I was going to do emergency management, but I changed into public safety because I wanted to help survivors and do the activism work. But as I said, you catch me with a loss of words about Katrina because it is very hard to explain to people how difficult it is to wake up one morning, have everything that you own, have all your access, eat breakfast, and then by that evening, you have nothing.
- [36:20]
John J. Wiley
No, I can understand that. I can understand it perfectly. And it's not the annoyance factor. It's everything I relied on in my life. And when that's all gone, it's just you. It really can challenge everything about your survival.
- [36:36]
Dr. Sandra Spears
Yes, it does. I mean, you know, you keep bringing it up. You want to. I can't. When I was in Florida, I kept thinking to myself, oh, I kept thinking, couldn't get myself out of New Orleans for some reason. And one morning, I was taking my child to school, and I knocked a man's mirror off of his truck, and the mirror broke. That caused me. I had held it together. It was about a week after the storm. I had held it together. I had not cried, nothing. And then all of a sudden, when that mirror hit the ground and I saw those pieces, it just broke me. I fell apart. I cried for two days and kept looking for everything that I owned, and I didn't have anything. And in a way, I tried to start blaming myself. There was that trauma inside of me that said, oh, you're the fault for everything that goes wrong. I actually blamed myself for losing everything in Katrina.
- [37:36]
John J. Wiley
By the way, the old saying is, you're not that powerful. You didn't. You can't cause that.
- [37:40]
Dr. Sandra Spears
Right. I tried to say that, but my mind kept going back to, you're the cause for everything that's going wrong. Everything that's going wrong in your life. You're the reason it's happened.
- [37:52]
John J. Wiley
And was that why you decided to go back to school and you got your PhD? Which, by the way, is no. No small accomplishment.
- [38:00]
Dr. Sandra Spears
No, it's not. I wanted a PhD. I wanted to do a PhD from the time I graduated from Heights. But my father only wanted my brother to do it because my brother was supposed to be the great brain and I was the dummy of the family. I was a black sheep. Well, he wouldn't send me to the college I wanted to go to. So I flunked out of college. I got a 0.01 semester.
- [38:26]
John J. Wiley
I always tell people I majored in drinking, had a minor in sociology. I got a 4.01 major and a DNF in my minor. I was out within a year.
- [38:34]
Dr. Sandra Spears
Yeah, I had a major in failure.
- [38:37]
John J. Wiley
I was so bad, Sandra. I was so bad as a student.
- [38:41]
Dr. Sandra Spears
Yes, I was, too. But I straightened up. But Katrina actually said, wait a minute. Well, what happened was I couldn't go back to the work that I had before because nobody wanted to hire New Orleans people for some reason. So I had a very difficult time. So I couldn't get a job. I had to do little things on my own. So that's when I went back to school. I said, I've got to improve my life. So I did have my bachelor's degree. I got it from Loyola University in New Orleans, which was an accomplishment for me. That's a private school I always wanted to go to. My father didn't think I could graduate. I'll never forget, I came out with my diploma. My father said, I can't believe you did it.
- [39:25]
John J. Wiley
And you did it. That's all that really matters.
- [39:29]
Dr. Sandra Spears
Right? And that's. And that. That gave me confidence. And then when I got my master's degree, I thought, wow, if I can get a master's degree, what else can I do? And that's when I went back and got the PhD. And I didn't even announce that I had the PhD to my family until about a couple weeks after because I didn't want anybody to make fun of me. I just felt like people were going to make fun of me. I don't know. I just felt paranoid, so it didn't sink in. In. And then when it sunk in, I began to grow within myself.
- [40:03]
John J. Wiley
So there had to come a point when you're doing this, and I couldn't draw my experience, and my experience in college was brutal. And. But when I always thought I was a bad student, then I went into later in life, and I really applied myself. I was a very good student. But somewhere along the lines, I changed. I slowly developed that confidence, but it's not always there. Did you struggle with that?
- [40:27]
Dr. Sandra Spears
I struggled with it until I realized, well, actually, what happened to me, I was, I was going online and I was. When you go to school online, you have to do everything is writing everything. Well, I did all this writing and I did all these papers and everything. And a couple of my teachers, one of my teachers came to me and they said, I know you're an older student. Are you a professional? Right. I said, well, I've had something published, you know, I didn't want to tell them. And she says, you are a fabulous writer. And that's when I started having confidence. And then another one of my teachers sent me to do some journalism work for Homeland Security on the campus. And that also helped enormously. And along the way, I began to become more and more confident with myself. I think the real catalyst for telling me that I could actually accomplish something was when I became the first published doctor in the family.
- [41:30]
John J. Wiley
Just replaying your story. But the sexual abuse is one thing, the verbal abuse is another. The physical violence, all that stuff. The accomplishment in your life sometimes has to be staggering. But sometimes, and I would only imagine that it feels like it's a different person.
- [41:50]
Dr. Sandra Spears
Yeah, it is. It's. It's like a different person. But you have to let yourself do these things and you have to push yourself. When you're a survivor and you've been. Your self confidence has been mutilated all your life. The hardest thing in the world is to stick your neck out and try and do something. When I realized I had to go in for therapy, that was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life.
- [42:16]
John J. Wiley
And by the way, for me, changing my whole life and just getting to where I want to be. And it's an ongoing thing. It's not something that's one and done. It's an ongoing thing. The question I have for you, and if you can answer this, is you made tremendous strides in your life. But if I'm misreading this, I apologize. But not so much relationships. Do you think you can accomplish the same thing, relationships that you've done in areas, other areas of your life?
- [42:43]
Dr. Sandra Spears
Yes, I'm ready because I had to take care of me first before I could truly have a good relationship. And I know it's late in life, but it's never too late.
- [42:55]
John J. Wiley
It's never too late. Look, I have a good friend.
- [42:58]
Dr. Sandra Spears
Feel ready to have a relationship.
- [43:00]
John J. Wiley
Yes, we have a good friend who just passed away at the age of 59 due to cancer and other people in their 80s and 90s. And it's never too late to start building life you want. And I think Your story really exemplifies that, that you can build the life you want very quickly. What is it you do today?
- [43:19]
Dr. Sandra Spears
Today I act as what I call a legal advocate. But most of all I am an abuse corruption analyst and what I do is I assess cases for abuse and corruption in the system to help bring children home from child protection services and alienation cases or high conflict divorce cases. And I'm quite successful. I'm able to bring children home when other people aren't.
- [43:47]
John J. Wiley
And where can people get more information about you? Your website LifeSanswers Care and legal advocate.
- [43:52]
Dr. Sandra Spears
For you, not Family Court on Facebook as well.
- [43:56]
John J. Wiley
And Sandra Dr. Sandra Spear, I want to thank you for for your story, for being a guest on Law Enforcement Talk Radio show and for all you're doing today. All very much appreciate it.
- [44:06]
Dr. Sandra Spears
Thank you very much and thank you for having me.
- [44:10]
John J. Wiley
If you're on the Clubhouse Drop in audio chat app, be sure to look for me and follow me. My name's John the letter J. Wiley W I L E Y You can also search for at LetradiosHow. That's John J. Wiley W I L E Y T radio show on the Clubhouse House Drop in audio chat app. I'd like to thank our guests for coming on the Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show. The Law Enforcement Talk Radio show is a nationally syndicated weekly radio show broadcast on numerous AM&FM radio stations across the country. We're always adding more affiliate stations. If you enjoyed the podcast version of the show, which is always free, please do me a favor and tell a friend or two or three. I'll be back in just a few days with another episode of Law Enforcement Talk Radio show and Podcast. Until then, this is John J. Wiley. See ya.
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