← Real America’s Voice
Real America’s Voice
HONORING & HELPING THE POLICE OFFICERS WHO PROTECT US | JUST THE NEWS - NO NOISE
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- [00:00]
Amanda Head
This is an iHeart podcast.
- [00:02]
Public Podcast Sponsor
Guaranteed Human support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index with AI. It all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you back test it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like ETFs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors llc, SEC Registered Advisor. Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures available@public.com this is Martha Stewart
- [01:06]
Martha Stewart
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- [02:21]
Randy Sutton
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Amanda Head
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John Solomon
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John Solomon
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- [02:39]
Amanda Head
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- [03:29]
John Solomon
Good evening America and welcome to a very special edition of JUST THE news. No noise. I'm your host John Solomon reporting to you as always from Washington D.C. on this Friday before Memorial Day weekend. And as I have said in the past, you know, my family is all blue. I grew up with a dad who served 46 years as an officer, as a trooper, as a detective and inspector and then a police chief. My brother was an officer and rose to a detective. He put in more than 25 years. I saw the stress. I saw the good they did. I saw what happened to some of their colleagues who paid the ultimate sacrifice, either suffering life altering injuries or dying in the line of duty. One of my dad's original academy mates from the Connecticut State Police Academy was stopping to help a woman alongside a road one day when a tractor trailer hit him. He was killed instantly. When they found the tractor trailer because the man had driven off, they found his emblem of the Connecticut State Police troopers emblem on his jacket engraved in the bumper, a reminder of just how dangerous this job is. Tonight we are going to pay homage to all the men and women who are heroes in blue, the people who get wounded in the line of duty, those who die in sacrifice. Because unlike the military where there's a VA and a safety net for those who are wounded to get help after they leave service, there is no such protection in law enforcement and local communities. Many officers who can't return to duty are terminated and then they are left with the trouble of caring for their bills. But there is not a complete hole in the safety net. There is an extraordinary group group called the Wounded Blue that every day is taking care of those who take care of us. It's an organization whose mission it is to do good by making those in the blue safe after they've been injured, after they've been wounded, after their families are going through an extraordinary tragedy. We're going to introduce you to some incredible people and their stories, people who are undergoing surgery because of the extent credible work of the Wounded Blue and its leader, Randy Sutton. Tonight we're going to ask you to get involved. We're going to see if you want to help those amazing people who've been injured in the line of duty. You're going to meet some of them tonight, people you actually can help in this organization. There are three ways you can do this. First, let me give you the URL donate to the blue dot com. Donate to the blue dot com. You can do three things there. You can join the wounded blues nine one one campaign by donating $9.11 a month to care for an officer who is now retired, doesn't have the medical safety net of his department anymore or her department. You do that now. That's one way. A second way is we have a song for you you can buy for just $2. And the proceeds of that song are going to go help injured officers, are going to go back to the wounded blue organization. Real America's music has turned this song into a video and you can download it in the page on the screen there is going to get you to both of those options. The third option is the one in blue is auctioning off some guitars signed by music stars from all around this country, most of the country music stars, the proceeds of which are going to go to help officers in need to. You can go to that same URL, donate to the blue.com and put a bin in and try to win one of those guitars. The monies go directly to the proceeds. You're buying a guitar for heroes. Amanda and I and some of my colleagues, we're buying three tonight. We're going to put some skin in the game right at the start of the show. We hope you go check out some of Those guitars the 911 program or just buy the $2 song after you hear it. We're going to play that song in the final block of show. Let me bring in my amazing co host, Amanda head. Amanda, this has been one of my favorite specials to put together. We have met some unbelievable heroes and their stories are amazing. I didn't realize in the 21st century there isn't that safety net for cops. The wounded blue stepped into this incredible void.
- [07:19]
Amanda Head
Yeah. And you know, for you, coming from a family that has so much blue in it and the fact that you didn't know, I didn't know. I guarantee you Americans out there, they don't realize that there isn't that safety net. And you think of police officers and you want to think that they are sung heroes, but so many of them are unsung heroes. And especially when you are injured on the job. You know, you guys are going to hear some incredible stories that brought tears to my eyes when we were, when we were briefed by these people and hearing about what happened to them. So I am looking very forward to our audience hearing those. It is going to be tough. There are some hard conversations that have to be had about supporting our men and women in blue. But, John, I'm so glad that we're doing this. You know, surrounding Memorial Day weekend. It's a very important time.
- [08:03]
John Solomon
A lot of the people we're going to be talking to are people who were in the armed services. This is Memorial Day weekend. They came out, they went back into a second service, and then they paid a dear price because they were protecting their communities after protecting their country. All right, with that, we're going to introduce you to the man who made this all possible. By the way, all throughout the show, if you get inspired to do something, go to donate to the blue dot com. Don't donate to the blue dot com. We Randy Sutton is a cop himself, but he started this great organization. We spent some time with him the other day. Have a watch. All right, folks, we got a perfect way to kick off this very special show. Joining us now, former police officer, detective and lieutenant. He's also the founder and chair of the board of the Wounded Blues, a group that we support so much here, Randy Sutton. Randy, welcome back to the show, buddy.
- [08:46]
Randy Sutton
Thanks for having me, you guys.
- [08:47]
John Solomon
This is going to be a tough show for those of us who love people in the blue. I grew up in an all blue family. My brother, my father, my other members of my family. I think most Americans think, hey, there's a safety net. If one of the men and women in blue get hurt, we take care of them the rest of your life. There is no va. There is no backdrop for a lot of these injured officers, is there?
- [09:07]
Randy Sutton
This is probably one of the most, least understood aspects of when a police officer becomes severely injured or disabled in the line of duty. And it all depends on where you're working. It depends on your unions. It depends on a lot of different aspects. But police officers around this nation, once they become injured or disabled, are often being thrown away. When I say that, I mean that very literally. They're literally tossed aside. They're fired, they're terminated. They're not given pension, they're not given benefits. They're not given the proper medical attention. Some of the most incredible and insane and tragic things that I've seen is police officers that could be fixed and aren't and are left to become permanently disabled because of the system that has literally betrayed them.
- [09:58]
Amanda Head
Randy, President Trump is a huge supporter of our nation's law enforcement. I've also seen him in real time work to solve problems. I mean, on trade issues. I watched him in the Oval Office. A media member raised an issue to him. He turned around to Scott Bessant and said, let's do this, let's fix this. I've seen it happen in real time. If this is raised to President Trump, I know he's going to want to find a solution. A VA type agency that can be a catch all for police officers who experience this. What would that look like?
- [10:28]
Randy Sutton
So there would be. There were a couple different things. One, there is what is now known as the public safety officer benefit. Right? This does exist. This is if a policeman officer is killed in the line of duty, his family will get a certain sum of money. There is a part of that that if you are incredibly incapacitated and disabled, that you can also get a hold of that stipend, that money. But what's happened is it is so incredibly bureaucratic that people fall through the cracks or police officers don't know about it. And these officers who once they become severely injured are literally, if they don't fall within a certain time period, it's too bad they're not getting it. And so what could be life saving money? One of the things that we did at the Wounded Blue, there was a police officer was shot in the head in the line of duty and on video and literally fired by his police department. He didn't pay his medical bills for a year and a half. He lost his house, he lost his car, he almost lost his family. If we weren't able to get him that, that officer, that public safety officer benefit, he would have lost everything. He didn't even know about it. Thank goodness the Wounded Blue was able to step in and help get that through. But even that was, it was like pulling teeth. So what I would say, first of all, give us the opportunity to play a role where we can say, we can, we can go to this bureaucracy and say this needs to be fixed, but that's only part of it because that is just if you are absolutely, catastrophically injured in a line of duty, so many of these officers who could be fixed before that, this is what needs to be done. There needs to be a consistency and teeth in the workers compensation law for law enforcement so that if they do become severely injured, they're not going to get thrown away, they're going to get decent medical benefits. And then if they can't work anymore, allow them to have a pension to live on, to let them let their families survive on. That's what needs to be done. And boy, I wish, I wish President Trump was sitting here next to me, because you're right, he would do something.
- [12:40]
John Solomon
That's why we got to have this conversation today. It's so important. The number of officers being wounded and shot, particularly in domestic incidents, just keeps going up. Domestics are such a, as you know, such a volatile circumstance. There's ambushes all the time. What do the statistics. Look how many officers are, are in this limbo where they don't get the support of their department and they don't qualify for that catastrophic insurance.
- [13:05]
Randy Sutton
There are thousands of police officers across the nation that are falling into this, this, this terrible, tragic set of circumstances. Now, by statistics, people can kind of glaze over, but let me give you a couple.
- [13:18]
John Solomon
Yeah.
- [13:18]
Randy Sutton
Last year, more than 80,000 police officers were physically assaulted in the line of duty. Physically assaulted. That means they were beaten, they were kicked, they were hit with bricks, they were shot, they were stabbed, they were beaten. Right.
- [13:29]
John Solomon
80.
- [13:30]
Randy Sutton
More than 80,000. This is more than any time in history. Okay, now we could get into the reasons for that, but I think that's a different show. But then, just. So this year, what are we. We're in May. More than 100 cops have been shot have been shot already this year, and there was literally one almost every single day. We're getting to the point where police officers are facing such incredible danger, and then we haven't even spoken of the stress. We haven't talked about post traumatic stress, which can be as real as a bullet. We deal with suicide prevention all the time at the Wounded Blue. And here's the part that's rarely even spoken about. A physical injury can be healed, so can a stress injury. Right? But what's happening in many of these circumstances is the physical injury, the way they're being treated by the agency, by the city, by the state, whoever is there, it's causing, it's causing the post traumatic stress, it's causing suicide. Because I tell you, I hear this all the time, right? This is one of. As the founder of the Wounded Blue, I hear this, I hear I've forgotten. I feel forgotten. I feel alone. And the worst is I wish I'd never lived that night. At least I wouldn't be a burden to my family. This is the tragic reality of what happens when you become injured as a police officer in parts of this nation.
- [15:00]
Amanda Head
We have the honor of speaking to some of these officers tonight. And I had a conversation with them earlier, and both of them expressed to me, Haley and Tim said exactly what you just said. I feel like I would have been better off, my family would have been better off if I had not survived this injury. This is not something that we can wait on. It is critical.
- [15:19]
Randy Sutton
It is absolutely critical. And unfortunately, I've been. I mean, the Wounded Blue has been in operation for about seven years. We've helped more than 17,000 police officers. And the real heroes of the wounded blue.
- [15:31]
John Solomon
17,000.
- [15:32]
Randy Sutton
17,000 are the people like Tim who, after becoming severely injured themselves after coming out of the darkness, are now helping other officers. My entire team is made up of people like Tim, people who maybe they can't be a cop anymore, but they sure as hell can play a role in helping officers who, once they start realizing their issues, they feel forgotten, they feel alone. That's what the motto of the Wounded Blue is. Never forgotten, never alone. And that's because the men and women who are serving in our peer advocate support team, they're touching lives. We're saving lives. We're saving careers. We're saving marriages. And this is a big job, and we can't do it alone. We have to have the support of the people. And you and I both know this, that most of Americans truly support their law enforcement officers. They just don't know how to show it.
- [16:27]
John Solomon
They don't. Well, you've given them away an easy way. And we're going to work all day today and all through the week and all the next week to educate people on how they can get in this. Talk a little bit about what happens when someone gives money to Wounded Blue if they join the 911 program. $9.11 a month, the things you're doing. I mean, we're going to meet some people. Haley is going in for surgery next week. Yes. You're going to get to see her just before she goes in to get her hip repaired. Tell us a little bit about what you do with that money.
- [16:52]
Randy Sutton
You're going to hear some major stories, some beautiful stories. I mean, I love when a success story actually happens. And one of the things that I have to point out is an incredible donor who came forth after seeing me on a news program. I don't know who this donor is. I haven't known for years. I call him the voice on the phone.
- [17:17]
John Solomon
But you don't know his name?
- [17:18]
Randy Sutton
I don't know his name.
- [17:19]
John Solomon
That's amazing.
- [17:20]
Randy Sutton
I feel like. I feel like, he's my brother. I mean, I talk to him. And this individual, he only wants to be known as a patriot. And he only wants people that he has helped with incredible medical care to the point of I'm talking millions of dollars to help people. He doesn't want anyone to know who he is. He doesn't want anyone to know anything except America cares for you.
- [17:48]
John Solomon
That's amazing.
- [17:49]
Randy Sutton
That's a hero.
- [17:49]
John Solomon
What a patriot. That is a hero.
- [17:50]
Randy Sutton
And there are other. There are other heroes out there. I know it. They want to be heroes. And you know what? Everybody can be a hero to an injured cop.
- [17:58]
John Solomon
Yep.
- [17:59]
Amanda Head
And 11 cents a month, that's nothing.
- [18:01]
John Solomon
It's the best investment you're gonna make. Randy, you saw some hairy stuff yourself as a cop. I did. But after you retired, you jumped into this world, and this is a wide open area of need. It's probably one of the biggest safety net failures we've given to the people who serve us in our communities. What can people do tonight to help wounded blue get to that next level? We want 100 haleys a week in the future.
- [18:24]
Randy Sutton
We absolutely do. And go to thewoundedblue.org see who we are. See what we do. Get what you can. We are asking for the $9.11. That's for a couple reasons. One is because everybody knows 911, and everybody knows that if you need help, you call 911, but when the police need help, they call the wounded blue. And it's also a correlation to my latest book called Rescuing 911 the Fight for America's safety, which also talks about how we got to this criminal justice crisis that we're in in America and what we need to do to join together to fix it. This is an American problem. This isn't an R or a D. This is an American issue.
- [19:05]
John Solomon
We need the men and women in blue and we can't abandon them the moment tragedy strikes him. So we appreciate what you do, buddy. You are an amazing guy. I've gotten to see you in action. You have guitars that you sell from time to time, don't you?
- [19:18]
Randy Sutton
We are about to put that the. It's called guitars for heroes dot com. We have about 100 guitars signed by some of the biggest country stars and they will be for sale for a thousand dollars a piece. And we're going to launch that again in the next few days.
- [19:36]
John Solomon
That's awesome. I'm taking one now. Put me in. I don't care.
- [19:39]
Randy Sutton
There's a couple pretty good ones. There's a couple pretty good ones.
- [19:42]
John Solomon
We'll leave the good ones for others. I want to take one to start the example, folks, and I think my
- [19:46]
Amanda Head
boss just agreed to pay for one for me too.
- [19:48]
John Solomon
I did. So I got two. You just heard me say it. We're doing two tonight, so 2,000 bucks right here. Randy Sutton, founder of the Wounded Blue, thank you so much for joining us tonight. All right, and to our audience, please consider donating to the Wounded Blue. It's a worthy cause dedicated to helping our police officers, especially ones that haven't gotten the backup they need from their very own departments. Our next guest, Officer Haley Bradford, experienced that firsthand recently and you can help her and many others like her by going to donatetotheblue.com and donating. Right now, the Wounded Blue is running their 911 campaign. If you donate just $9 and 11 cents per month, you can get our officers the help and the care they deserve. All right, we'll be right back with Officer Haley Bradford's story right after these messages.
- [20:36]
Public Podcast Sponsor
Support for the show comes from Public, the investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public, you can build a multi asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto and now generated assets which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index with AI. It all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20% year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work. It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one of a kind index and lets you backtest it against the S&P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like ETFs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com podcast and earn an uncapped 1% bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com podcast paid for by Public Investing Brokerage Services by Open to the Public Investing Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC Advisory Services by Public Advisors llc. SEC Registered Advisor Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures available at public.com disclosures this
- [21:37]
Martha Stewart
is Martha Stewart from the Martha Stewart Podcast. Ever wonder how to make hosting look effortless? Here's a secret. When prepping for cooking and baking, get ahead of the mess with new Reynolds Kitchens countertop prep paper. Just lightly wet the counter so the paper grips. Lay it down and drips and spills stay on the paper, not on your Counter cleanup is as simple as lifting it away to reveal clean counters. Effortless it is thanks to Reynolds Kitchen's countertop prep paper. Wet it, set it, prep it, done. Available in the Reynolds wrap aisle at Walmart, Target, Amazon and Costco.
- [22:21]
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- [23:12]
Amanda Head
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- [23:24]
Amanda Head
Awesome. Health and wellness tips 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
- [23:27]
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- [23:28]
John Solomon
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- [23:29]
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- [23:33]
Amanda Head
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- [23:43]
Randy Sutton
Brings together officers, families and experts from across the country to share vital skills, healing strategies and a message of resilience. Empowering law enforcement to survive and thrive both on and off the job. Foreign.
- [24:07]
Amanda Head
Welcome back, everybody. Tonight we are putting the spotlight on an incredibly worthy cause, helping our heroic police officers across the country who have put everything on the line to help us and protect us. And it's something that we need to do because sometimes these same officers who have been injured in the line of duty, they don't get the backup that they need from their own department. So joining us now to share her story, former Lafayette, Louisiana police officer Haley Bradford. Haley, thanks so much for being with us.
- [24:35]
Officer Haley Bradford
Yeah, thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it.
- [24:37]
Amanda Head
Absolutely. So you had quite a harrowing experience in the line of duty. Tell our audience about it.
- [24:43]
Officer Haley Bradford
Yes. So August 5, 2023. I was shot and nearly killed in the line of duty on a domestic violence. And I took a 2, 2, 3, rifle round to the butt cheek because of the fact that he had a rifle on my face. And by bending down and kind of like trying to dodge, literally dodge the bullet, I got it in on the backside. And because I was bent down, it went into my abdomen, destroyed my intestines, colonial left kidney, ureter, sciatic nerve. Paralyzed you from the waist down. Initially fractured my left hip and permanently paralyzed my left foot. So it's been a long journey to recovery, and I'm still doing that right now. I'm still very much active in recovery right now.
- [25:39]
John Solomon
What an episode. You're on the force about five years, is that right?
- [25:43]
Officer Haley Bradford
Yes, sir.
- [25:45]
John Solomon
What happens after you're injured? Walk us through that journey. Because I don't think a lot of people know what happens to an officer after they're injured and the lack of safety net there is beneath you after something this catastrophic happens.
- [25:56]
Officer Haley Bradford
Yeah, so I obviously had catastrophic injuries to the point where I wasn't able to return to my department in a patrol position, which is where I was at at the time of my injury. I was actually terminated by my police department because I couldn't return in their time frame on their terms. They offered me a civilian job in turn for my sacrifice. So basically the offer to take the badge I almost died for and offered me a position that didn't even exist, they were going to magically create one for me. And so I didn't feel comfortable going into that. I felt like I wasn't going to be protected like I was as a police officer. In Louisiana. We do have, like, certain civil rights to where, you know, we're not. We can't just be terminated. It has to go through a board and all these things. And so. But because I didn't return on the timeline, you know, because I couldn't walk for a year, you know, I had between a wheelchair and a walker, I wasn't able to walk for a year. I had to reteach myself how to walk because workers comp was denying my physical therapy. They were trying to say that my PTSD wasn't from getting shot and almost dying. And so. And I had a huge lack of support from my department in terms of I've been slandered, I've been called things that. That I am not been called a murderer and everything else under the sun. And all I asked was then to protect me, you know, to protect my name, to protect my image, you know, not saying hey, you know, release the body cam or anything like that, but you can release a blanket statement that's saying like, you know, the allegations against our officer are not true or something like that. And so I just felt let down. I felt very let down. It was a moral injury. You know, the institutional abandonment really hurt. You know, I was a great officer. I had just gotten on the SWAT team as the only female operator in the whole department. You know, just really busted my butt. I was the only female who worked on the north side at the time, which is more of our high crime area. And just really trying my best to be the best all around officer I could be. And so the fact that I put on in all this work and then nearly made the ultimate sacrifice to be let down like that was, was a hit, double injury.
- [28:40]
Amanda Head
Yeah. I think that so many people, including myself, they think that if an officer is injured in the line of duty, then they're still some safety net that, that covers for them and protects them in the interim or even in retirement. That's not the case, actually, most of the time. And you have such a harrowing story, but yours unfortunately is not isolated.
- [29:02]
Officer Haley Bradford
No. So whenever I was released from the department, I did not receive a medical retirement, I did not receive benefits. I do not have any medical insurance. There was no resources offered to me whatsoever. No mental health resources. Like, hey, you know, you're probably going through some things. Here's some mental health options, some medical options, financial, you know, something to kind of like prepare me to set me up to transition to what we call the civilian world, you know. And so whereas I was also in the military. And so in the military, when you get out, you know, they, they do help you transition in some way. It may not be the best way, but there's some kind of buffer there to kind of help you. Like the va, right? The VA is set up to help, you know, anyone in the military who's injured in the line of duty. And so we definitely have nothing like that. And there are some departments that, you know, are great, very supportive and have those medical retirement or pension options, but when you're an officer getting out at less than five years, you have, you don't have any of that, at least not where I was. You don't get that.
- [30:15]
John Solomon
That's a lot of police departments that don't have it. It's a gap. And particularly as they shrink budgets, it becomes even harder to get that protection. All right, so you, you mentioned you're still on the road to recovery. You have some major Surgery ahead that is going to be taken care of because of a special group. So tell us a little bit about it.
- [30:31]
Officer Haley Bradford
Yes. So, like I had mentioned, you know, workers comp has not been helping me whatsoever. And so a year ago this week, I actually met the founder of the Wounded Blue, Randy Sutton. And they are right. Yes. During Police Week. I met him here a year ago. And so it's. It's kind of funny that next week I'll be having surgery in my hip where they're going to. To replace one of the screws that was put in through my initial trauma surgery. And I've had chronic pain for three years, and I'm still having to take medications and things like that. And they're also paying for me to get stem cells and eventually a brace for my foot, specifically, because, like I said, it is paralyzed and I have dropped foot, so I had to reteach myself how to walk and all those things. And so I'm super grateful to them. They've completely changed my life.
- [31:29]
Amanda Head
Yeah. Do you want to further your involvement with Wounded Blue? Because it seems like it is, you know, for you, serving the American people, serving the people of Lafayette. Now you can serve your community within
- [31:39]
Officer Haley Bradford
the law enforcement community 1000%. Going through this experience has given me. I had no idea, as a regular cop, you know, that, you know, officers who are injured in line of duty don't get taken care of. Care of. You know, like, we all have this perception that if something happens to us, oh, we're, you know, especially if you're shot, you know, you're going to be taken care of. Like, that's the. That's a perception. Right. And so until you're in this, you don't really have a grasp on. On what it's like for those who were. Who were injured in the line of duty. And so now I have a newfound passion for helping officers who are gravely injured, especially not being able to return back to work, because I know what that feels like. And it's a very dark journey, to say the least. It's not been easy mentally, physically, or emotionally.
- [32:37]
Amanda Head
Yeah. Before we let you go, because you and I a little while ago were talking about the emotional side of things and the mental side of things. That's been a huge toll on you. How. How do you make it through to the other side? You're. You obviously have not had the support of your department, but something has kept you going.
- [32:54]
Mood.com Sponsor
Yeah.
- [32:54]
Officer Haley Bradford
So at the time of my shooting up, so I got shot two days before my 25th birthday, and I At the time had not been like saved. I did not go to church. I just didn't grow up that way, you know, I just was never taught that. And so whenever my life was saved, I was given a true miracle from the Lord. And so he used someone else as a vessel to bring me to church almost a year exactly after my shooting. And so I got saved and baptized. And my faith in him has definitely changed my entire perspective and my perception on life. And so that's what keeps me going. That in my family is what kind of gets me through each and every day is just trying to like remind myself, okay, like, yes, it's bad, but it could be worse. I could, you know, I could not be here at all. And so I try to be at least grateful for that piece that, you know, I did survive. And now I am walking, you know, and I am being able to do some of the things that I never thought I would do, you know. So that's kind of what keeps me going. Just like looking back on where I was and I'm like, okay, two and a half years ago I was in a hospital bed fighting for my life and today I, you know, I'm able to walk around D.C. yeah. And so that's what keeps you going.
- [34:22]
Amanda Head
Well, I hate what you have been through, but I'm really, really grateful that we had the opportunity to meet you
- [34:26]
John Solomon
and grateful you're here today.
- [34:27]
Amanda Head
Yeah, absolutely. And thank you for sharing your story. Yeah, thank you so much for, for having me. Absolutely. Officer Haley Bradford, thanks so much for being with us tonight and sharing your story with our audience. And Haley's story is just one of many reasons why the Wounded Blue was founded. And if her story moved you at all, please consider going to donate at donate to the blue dot com. Right now the wounded blue is running their 911 campaign. So if you donate just $9.11 per month, you can help officers like Haley get the care that they desperately need. So remember, when people need help, they call 911, but when officers need help, they call the wounded. Lou. Alright everybody. Next we are going to get you the story of Tanya Owens who lost her husband in the line of duty and dedicated her life to honoring him on the inside.
- [35:16]
Public Podcast Sponsor
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- [36:17]
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Amanda Head
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Amanda Head
Right now Awesome health and wellness tips 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
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Public Podcast Sponsor
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- [38:08]
Amanda Head
Body by Jake Radio where hope meets momentum.
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Public Podcast Sponsor
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- [38:15]
John Solomon
I Heart Radio.
- [38:26]
Randy Sutton
The Wounded Blue brings together officers, families
- [38:29]
Public Podcast Sponsor
and experts from across the country to
- [38:32]
Randy Sutton
share vital skills, healing strategies and a message empowering law enforcement to survive and thrive both on and off the job.
- [38:45]
John Solomon
Such an important story we need to tell the American public. There isn't a safety net for so many of the men and women in blue who get injured in the line of duty, killed in the line of duty. Their families are often left after the funeral or after the initial surgeries. With a lifetime of challenges, Wounded Blue has jumped into that void in a big way. We're going to tell that story all throughout this show. Joining us now is a retired Los Angeles County Deputy, Tanya Owens. Tanya, it is a great honor to have you on the show.
- [39:16]
Tanya Owens
Thank you for having me. I appreciate you both.
- [39:19]
John Solomon
We appreciate you. You served yourself, but you're also, your family paid the ultimate price. You lost your amazing husband. Sergeant Steve Owen, tell us a little bit about what happened that day in 2016.
- [39:32]
Tanya Owens
Yes, October 5th, to be exact. You know, my husband and I at that time had been on the department. He had been on 29 years, I'd been on 30 years. And as you can imagine, we were getting ready to retire. So everything was great. Everything was aligned, our finances, even the plans that we had for our future. And on this particular day, I was very happy and glad to see my husband. The morning of October 5th, we had not seen each other because we were on different shifts, different days off. But, you know, God is good. And he allowed me to see my husband one last time. On that morning at about 12:30, I received a call from my sergeant that my husband had been shot. And, you know, of course, being a deputy sheriff, being used to taking my emotions and turning them off, it really, that news didn't affect me only because my only thought was, you know, is he okay? And I was told that he was transported to the hospital. So what that told me was that he was alive. I didn't ask any additional questions. And so they sent a helicopter to pick me up because I was about three hours away from the Lancaster area where he was assigned. I was picked up and my understanding the whole flight to Lancaster was that they were working on him. And as I entered the room where he was being worked on. I could see him, I could see Steve on the table and he was completely unrecognizable. In my mind. I thought he was shot once, but the man I saw on that gurney had been shot multiple times in the face and, and there was blood everywhere. And it just seemed like slow motion when, when I was looking at him. And within seconds they called it, they called his time of death. And as you can imagine, this whole time I thought he was going to be okay. And now they're calling, calling him and telling me that he is deceased. At that very moment, I fell to my knees and I started to cry. And it was very uncomfortable for me, to be honest with you, because as a police officer, you know, from the time where rookies, we are, we're told to keep our emotions in check. Anytime any emotion comes up because of the calls, the sensitive calls we're handling, we're supposed to take those emotions and put them in a box and put them away in a closet when we deal with them. Who knows, right?
- [42:28]
Amanda Head
You've been forced to live without the person who you never wanted to live without. And it's, it's heartbreaking. You talked about that composure that as a police officer you have to have on the job. And I know that for a while you carried that stoicism, but the mental anguish was still happening underneath. Talk to us about that contrast and how it, how it emerged on the other side.
- [42:51]
Tanya Owens
I kept on working and I worked an additional two years not dealing with any type of a grief. I kept myself busy, which is what we're very good at, keeping ourselves busy and avoiding the inevitable. And it wasn't until 2020 that the new District Attorney of Los Angeles by the name of George Gascon, was elected into office. And he said that any current case on track for the death penalty was going to be. The death penalty was going to be removed, which means that this individual could have been out of, out of jail in less than 12 years. So as a victim, I had to go and hire a Marcy's Law attorney to fight for my rights as a victim. And praise God, with the help of that attorney and the incredible judge that we had on the case, Judge Lomeli from the LA county courts said that we could keep every single charge with the exception of the death penalty. I was disappointed about that. But you know what? We were able to keep every single other charge. And it took another another year before the individual was charged with and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. And to this day, 10 years later, I am still grieving for my husband. And you know, they say time heals all wounds. I disagree. I miss my husband terribly.
- [44:28]
John Solomon
In all of your grief, Tanya, though, you have found the time. You wrote a book after the Badge that I think is so powerful. And you also have given a lot of your time to make sure that other people not only know the sacrifice, but the toll this takes on families. We know the toll takes on officers and you're one of them. But the family members are also victims. And that victimization lasts long after the episode, long after the public memory is gone. What's so what is important for people watching tonight, particularly those who know what the Wounded Blue is doing, that they can at home help all of us who, like you, who are on this journey.
- [45:05]
Tanya Owens
For me personally, after my husband's killer was sentenced, I went back home and fell into a very deep depression. That journey lasted about a year and I went through all the signs and symptoms of depression and eventually they led to suicide ideation and never did I ask once for help. What I do know is that God woke me up from this situation and I finally became vulnerable enough and I had to leave my ego at the door and ask for help. And you know, God uses people. God has angels on this earth and one of those angels is Randy Sutton and the Wounded Blue. And I can honestly tell you that if it was not for Randy Sutton and the Wounded Blue, I would not be here today talking with you. I would be a statistic.
- [45:56]
Amanda Head
Wow.
- [45:57]
John Solomon
We are grateful that you made it through that journey. You are one of those angels too, Tanya, you and your husband. Not only for the sacrifices you put on the job, but for the fact that you continue to share by telling your story and helping others. We are so grateful to have you on the show. Tate. Thank you for joining us.
- [46:14]
Tanya Owens
Thank you. Thank you both.
- [46:15]
John Solomon
Retired Los Angeles County Deputy Tanya Owen, thank you so much for sharing you and your husband's incredible story. And to our audience, if you can, I would really encourage you to go and donate to the Wounded Blue. They help officers and deputies like Tanya. And you can help by going to donatetotheblue.com right now. When you do, you can make a commitment to donate $9.11 per month and participate in their 911 campaign. It's such a worthy cause because these officers put their lives on the line every day to keep us safe. You can also make a bid on a guitar, a portion of the proceeds which will go to help injured officers. And at the end of the show we'll play you a brand new song that you can help buy through Real America's music. Those proceeds go to the Wounded Blue as well. Next, we'll talk to a doctor that is helping heal wounded officers in the line of duty. You won't want to miss that conversation right after these messages.
- [47:14]
Randy Sutton
Doctor Jazino, it's a pleasure to meet you to be here at the Virginia Spine Institute. You've worked on military, you've worked on law enforcement before.
- [47:24]
Dr. Ehsan Jazzini
Yeah. To me, that's. Those people are some of my favorite patients because they're helping other people, people, thousands of other people. So to me, that impact that you can have in that person then translates a thousand fold. Promise you I'm going to do my best to improve his quality of life.
- [47:37]
John Solomon
I appreciate that, family.
- [47:39]
Public Podcast Sponsor
Thank you.
- [47:39]
Dr. Ehsan Jazzini
Of course.
- [47:39]
Randy Sutton
Thank you. You're close to getting married?
- [47:42]
Officer Haley Bradford
I am, yes. I get married in September, September 14th.
- [47:48]
Randy Sutton
And my hope is to be able to spend that day and celebrating it with my daughter.
- [47:56]
Amanda Head
I would like to be able to spend that day with him and as
- [47:59]
Officer Haley Bradford
both just be fully in the moment,
- [48:00]
Amanda Head
not worrying about anything else.
- [48:02]
John Solomon
And to experience that daddy daughter dance.
- [48:12]
Public Podcast Sponsor
This whole opportunity and to have this blessing doesn't seem real still.
- [48:17]
Amanda Head
Man, oh, man. So what you just saw there was a little bit of Tim Putney's story, and we're gonna have him on our Memorial Day special, so make sure you check tune in for that. But the surgeon who helped him heal is here with us tonight. We are so honored to have him. Dr. Ehsan Jazzini. Dr. Jazzini, thank you so much for being here and thank you for the incredible work that you are doing.
- [48:37]
Dr. Ehsan Jazzini
Thank you for having me. It's an honor and a privilege to help these heroes who are on the front lines. And I'm thankful for the organizations like the Moon in Blue and the anonymous donor who is really the partnership is key. And also these. These individuals, these are the true heroes. And Tim's example is really a lesson for all of us. It's a story of resilience, of hope, of what we can accomplish when the best people put their work together. And we really take a step back and we use a multidisciplinary approach, phenomenal partnership, to restore, not just get the patients back to their life, but to restore their sense of identity of who they are as a person, with their family and with their community.
- [49:23]
Amanda Head
What does that mean for you, Dr. Jazzani? I mean, I know as a spine surgeon, you obviously care for all of your patients equally, but I would imagine there's A little bit of a different twist when it's someone who has served their community, they've served and protected the people around them, and then they have sometimes a catastrophic injury, and then they come to you. What is the healing like on the other side when you get to see that manifest?
- [49:47]
Dr. Ehsan Jazzini
So, you know, what's unique about first responders, firefighters, police officers, and military veterans is that they're trained to, you know, fight through pain. They're. They're fighting toward danger, right? And so they oftentimes have put off their own injuries, right, because of their own resilience and of their own training. And so by the time they come to me and I've injured and I've treated many, many police officers and first responders, and so I can speak to this is their problems have become more complex. They've usually gone down the road of what we call fragmented care. That means that they're not really getting the whole picture, understood. The diagnosis oftentimes missed. They've had a lot of failed treatments, and the focus has been really just on pain management, which then gets them in a very bad cycle of chronic pain, depression, mental and physical and psychological toll on them, on their families, and a loss of sense of identity. And Tim Story is really a reflection of that. But there are many, many others like him that I have helped with a phenomenal team here that we have at bsi. And what's unique about our practice and the way we can help these individuals is by having multiple disciplines work together as a team to really restore function. That's physical therapy, that's rehab, that's regenerative treatments. And surgery really is the last resort. And we use the most cutting edge, edge techniques, like motion preservation technologies to really help our patients. What it does for me as a person, this is my calling, right? I got into medicine to help others. And so the best way to do that is by helping individuals like Tim who are on the front lines and helping our communities. And so for me, it's honor and privilege because it's a force multiplier. If I can help that one individual, I've helped a whole potential, whole community. And so it resonates on a much more deeper level when I can help a first responder.
- [51:41]
John Solomon
It is amazing. Doctor. And we're so grateful for the time and effort you put into this because you do a lot on your own here. You mentioned the anonymous donor, Randy Sutton, called him the voice on the phone. We don't know his name, but he's donated three or four million dollars to make these surgeries possible and the care possible, to know that there's somebody out there who doesn't want any credit, just wants to make sure that officers heal and get back to a more normal life. What does that mean to you as a doctor?
- [52:10]
Dr. Ehsan Jazzini
You know, I speak to him on a weekly basis as well. He's always that voice on the other line, and he's the voice of hope. And one thing that he. That I'll never forget is he says, you know, like, I just want you to tell people that America has not forgotten. And his sole mission and his sole focus is how do we restore the identity and the functionality of these individuals to get them back into society, to let them do what they do best. And so for me, it's a reminder of hope. Hope for our country, hope for our people. And my job, I'm just an instrument. I just want to pass that on and do what I can do best with my hands. But ultimately, it takes the village, it takes the team. And so I'm really thankful that this message is getting out there because those organizations, like Wounded Blue, need more resources and more help so that we can help others.
- [53:04]
Amanda Head
Dr. Jazzini, you mentioned that fragmented care that already complicates the issue of dealing with first responders, with firefighters, policemen, and military members. Is there also a difficulty associated with dealing with them? Because in their jobs, they are kind of trained to suppress pain. So maybe, you know, the way that they express it to you, or even the location where they point to and say, this is where it hurts. Do you find that there are obstacles there just because you're dealing with, frankly, a tougher generation?
- [53:36]
Dr. Ehsan Jazzini
100%. I mean, that's one of the root causes of the issue. I don't. The issue isn't that there's something different about that individual. It's that those problems are ignored for a longer period of time. And the system is very fragmented. They're going from one specialist to another. They don't have a. They're not getting a comprehensive look and care from the get go. So part of it is delay of care. Part of it is not, you know, someone's not really captaining or really sitting back and getting a roadmap of all the different issues that they're dealing with. Because oftentimes the problem isn't just one structural issue. It's. It's complex, right? You have the physical, the mental, and you have to be able to put all that together. And so unless you have a comprehensive team that can look at this patient and look at it as a person understanding their work requirements. Right. The physical toll that a firefighter has is very different than the average person. Right. And so because we're, we're specialized in restoring function not just for the military, the firefighters, but also active individuals, we've really built wealth for this. Right. And for been doing this for many, many years. This practice has been around for 30 years. And so I think that' secret sauce of VSI is having multiple providers really working together under one roof. But yeah, as you, as you highlighted, that's one of the main issues is these patients are oftentimes the problem has gradually worsened and they got down this chronic pain cycle, which then is very, very challenging unless you have the right resources to tackle it.
- [55:12]
John Solomon
Doctor, early in the show, we introduced people to Hayley, who's undergoing treatment now, and you're helping her out. You probably have a lot of stories of officers you've treated. Do you have a favorite one that hasn't been told before?
- [55:25]
Dr. Ehsan Jazzini
Yeah, one of the, my favorite one is Mr. Michael, Michael Teague, Officer Tieg. He was in New York. He was hit by an individual, had a traumatic brain injury, had spinal injury. I did three different surgeries on his neck, his mid back and his lower back. And he actually got an award for, from his state senator for his heroism. He's now three months out of his surgeries. He's fighting to actually get back on the job. So these are individuals that are not trying to stop working, right. They want to get better so they can get back to life and get back to restoring what they want to do with their community. Right? That's his calling. He wants to get back on the job and he's told he can't get back to his job. And so it's incredible honor for me to hear those stories. It's a lesson for myself on a personal level. But it's very important to get that message out because these are individuals who are true heroes. Right. They got injured on the job and they want to get back to protecting us.
- [56:27]
Amanda Head
Injury, pain, three surgeries now in recovery and still trying to get back on the job. That is exactly that toughness that most of us cannot even relate to having. Dr. Aan Jazzini, thanks so much for being with us. Thank you for everything that you do for these men and women and for being with us.
- [56:42]
Dr. Ehsan Jazzini
Thank you. Thank you.
- [56:43]
Amanda Head
Thanks for getting this message out to our audience. If you can, I would really encourage all of you to go and donate to the wounded Blue. They help officers get the care and attention that they need so you can Help by going to donate to the blue dot com. And when you do, you can make a commitment to donate 911, $9.11 per month and participate in their 911 campaign. It's such a worthy cause because these officers, they put their lives on the line every day to help us. All right, everybody, we're going to take a quick break and we'll be right back.
- [57:25]
Public Podcast Sponsor
A ghostly song. Real America's music is proud to support the wounded blue, a powerful song honoring the sacrifice of America's law enforcement officers, especially those who were wounded or disabled in the line of duty. So let's run this song all the way to number one on the charts. Scan the QR code to download the song now or search the wounded blue on iTunes. 50% of all proceeds go to the wounded blue organization. Let's honor the heroes who never stopped fighting for us.
- [58:18]
Amanda Head
Absolutely love that. I love the tune, the way that it honors the men and women in blue.
- [58:23]
John Solomon
John, coming on my plays tonight.
- [58:24]
Amanda Head
Absolutely. So everybody head over to donate to the blue blue dot com. That's where you can download that song for just $2. And there are other levels where you can donate as well. We talked about throughout the show the $9.11 campaign. It's just $9 and 11 cents a month. Absolutely incredible. And of course, finally, the wounded blue is auctioning off guitars, the proceeds of which go to help officers in the.
- [58:49]
John Solomon
We bought three of them.
- [58:50]
Amanda Head
That's right. That's right. So if again, if you head over to donate to the blue dot com, you can find all of those opportunities to give by clicking the guitars for heroes link and the other links available for all of those. John, we're heading into Memorial Day weekend.
- [59:04]
John Solomon
Yeah.
- [59:05]
Amanda Head
Hope you have a great one.
- [59:05]
John Solomon
You as well. Happy Memorial Day, everyone.
- [59:08]
Amanda Head
Absolutely.