Female Cop Goes Viral—Men Can’t Believe What She Did!

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Female Cop Goes Viral—Men Can’t Believe What She Did!"

Podcast Information:

• Title: The Level Up Podcast w/ Paul Alex
• Host: Paul Alex Espinoza
• Episode: Female Cop Goes Viral—Men Can’t Believe What She Did!
• Release Date: May 31, 2025

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Introduction: Empowerment Meets Entrepreneurship

In this compelling episode of "The Level Up Podcast," host Paul Alex Espinoza welcomes Catherine, a distinguished sergeant in the Florida police department, who has made a significant impact both in law enforcement and on social media. The conversation delves into Catherine's inspiring journey from an immigrant background to becoming a sergeant, her dedication to fitness, mental health advocacy, and the strategic use of social media to empower women and bridge gaps between law enforcement and the community.

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1. Catherine's Inspiring Background [02:22]

Catherine opens up about her early life, immigrating from Nicaragua to the United States at the age of 15. Facing the challenges of adapting to a new country, she was actively involved in the Police Explorer program at 15 and later joined the Army at 18. Her passion for mechanics, inspired by watching "Fast and the Furious" (specifically "Tokyo Drift"), led her to pursue a career in the military where she served four years, motivated by the desire to become a U.S. citizen and provide a better life for her son.

Notable Quote:

Catherine: "I was ready to go to war." [03:22]

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2. Transition to Law Enforcement [05:48]

After her military service, Catherine utilized her GI Bill to attend Florida International University (FIU). However, balancing education, work, and motherhood led her to drop out and join the police academy in 2014 as a self-sponsored cadet. This decision allowed her greater flexibility and the ability to choose her department without contractual obligations.

Notable Quote:

Catherine: "I was paying my way through the academy, so I could apply with whatever department I wanted to." [07:55]

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3. Advancing Through Specialized Units [20:57]

Catherine shares her rapid progression through various specialized units, including the Crime Response Team (CRT), burglary detective unit, and eventually the homicide unit. Her tenure in homicide exposed her to intense and traumatic cases, deepening her understanding of criminal investigations and the psychological toll on officers.

Notable Quote:

Catherine: "Ted Bundy got indicted over a bite mark." [27:48]

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4. The Importance of Fitness and Mental Health [08:55]

Emphasizing the critical role of physical fitness, Catherine outlines her regimen that includes early morning runs, bodyweight exercises, and disciplined dietary practices. She highlights how maintaining fitness not only aids in the demanding hours of police work but also reinforces mental resilience.

Notable Quote:

Catherine: "If you're physically fit, you are mentally fit also, because being a cop, it is very tiresome." [09:09]

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5. Overcoming Challenges and Burnout [35:07]

Catherine candidly discusses the pressures of police work, including long hours, overtime demands, and the emotional strain of handling traumatic incidents. Her proactive approach to mental health through fitness and building a supportive online community has been pivotal in managing stress and avoiding burnout.

Notable Quote:

Catherine: "I was sleeping like two, three hours. I was not seeing my son because when I was working as a dispatcher..." [36:02]

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6. Leveraging Social Media for Positive Impact [40:55]

Both Paul and Catherine underscore the transformative power of social media in modern law enforcement. Catherine advocates for departments to use platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Twitch to dispel misconceptions, enhance community relations, and aid in recruitment. She highlights her own success, gaining over 250,000 Instagram followers within a year, by providing valuable content related to law enforcement, fitness, and safety tips.

Notable Quote:

Catherine: "They should show every single aspect of when it comes to police work because of the misconception that they have." [41:13]

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7. Advice for Aspiring Officers and Entrepreneurs [49:00]

In her motivational closing, Catherine emphasizes the importance of personal growth and the influence of one's social circle. She encourages listeners to believe in themselves, surround themselves with successful individuals, and continuously strive for improvement both mentally and financially.

Notable Quote:

Catherine: "It's always going to be you versus you. It doesn't matter what else other people are doing..." [49:00]

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Conclusion: A Journey of Resilience and Leadership

This episode of "The Level Up Podcast" offers a profound look into the life of Catherine, a female sergeant who has harnessed her experiences in law enforcement and social media to inspire and empower others. Through her dedication to fitness, mental health advocacy, and strategic use of digital platforms, Catherine exemplifies the intersection of personal resilience and professional excellence. Her story serves as a beacon for individuals seeking to balance demanding careers with personal well-being and community engagement.

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Where to Connect:

• Instagram: @SergeantKiba
• TikTok: @sergeantkiba
• Twitch: @SergeantKiba

Final Words: Paul Alex encourages listeners to stay motivated, leverage their networks, and embrace opportunities to "level up" in all aspects of life. He invites everyone to share the podcast, leave five-star reviews, and visit www.OfficialPauLAlex.com for more resources.

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Key Takeaways:

• Resilience and Adaptability: Catherine's journey from an immigrant teenager to a sergeant underscores the importance of adaptability and perseverance.
• Fitness as a Pillar of Success: Maintaining physical fitness is crucial for the demanding nature of police work and overall mental health.
• Strategic Use of Social Media: Leveraging social media can bridge gaps between law enforcement and the community, enhancing recruitment and public relations.
• Mental Health Advocacy: Proactively addressing mental health through fitness and supportive communities is essential in high-stress professions.
• Empowerment Through Networking: Building and maintaining a strong network is vital for personal growth and professional success.

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**Listen to the full episode of "Female Cop Goes Viral—Men Can’t Believe What She Did!" on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or visit officialpaulalex.com for more insights and resources to kickstart your journey to leveling up.

Transcript

[Paul Alex]

Welcome to the Level up podcast. I'm your host, Paul Alex. I went from being a cop to an eight figure entrepreneur that helps average people like you and me make money every single day. I created this podcast to help you get motivated and to crush your goals. Let's win together. Remember, I have your six. Get ready to level up right now. Hey guys, and welcome back to the Level podcast. This is Paul Alex and today we have another special guest. Guys, we have a family member of mine, AKA my law enforcement family here and I love talking to other LEOs, law enforcement officers. Okay. For you guys that are civilians out there. She goes by the name of Catherine. Catherine comes from an immigrant family, went to the army, transitioned into law enforcement, became sergeant of the police and for her current law enforcement department here in Florida. And if she wants to tell the department she could, but I'm not going to say nothing. And from there she's doing some great things on social media. You know, she, she has about 250,000 people watching her live on Twitch social media platform, which is remarkable. So she's, she's actually learned to monetize that on her own. She currently has a pretty decent following on Instagram with 250,000 people on there. And she's an advocate for women empowerment, for mental health, for fitness, just like I am. We're talking about our fitness journey and just overall house law enforcement officers and departments should start using social media. Katherine, welcome to the show.

[Catherine]

Hi, thank you for having me. I'm so glad to be here, honestly.

[Paul Alex]

No, no, no, no, it is. And, and, and trust me, like I said, you know, I'll be checking out your socials. You're doing a lot of great things. I'm highly impressed because, you know, I, I wasn't on social media for eight years as you know, us talking together and me going on there, you know, I'm not a selfie guy. I'm not, I'm not, I, I, I, I, I always tell this, I always tell my wife. I was like, babe, I'm, I'm the ugly dude like you, you gotta go ahead and take the photos. And you know, she, my wife likes doing all that jazz. But let's go ahead and start with your background, okay? Your background before you got into law enforcement. And then we'll, we'll go into the journey as you tell us your background. So start from the beginning when you, you, your family, where you're from, going into the military.

[Catherine]

So actually I am from Nicaragua. It's in Central America. For people that don't know, I moved here when I was 15. My mom came to the United States before I did, so obviously it was like a big transition coming from, you know, like a third world country to a first world country. Like, just. Even just the streets were very different after that. I was part of the Police Explorer program for my department that I currently work for. So I was like, 15, and I was a cadet with them. I also did the Air Force GRTC in high school. And because of that, that's when I decided I want to go into the military. I joined the army at 18, right out of high school.

[Paul Alex]

What'd your parents think about that?

[Catherine]

My mom was, like, very nervous about it because, you know, especially during that time. It was in 2008, you know, there was a ongoing war.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah. So you were ready to go to war?

[Catherine]

I was ready to go to war.

[Paul Alex]

You're wild. All right, go ahead.

[Catherine]

And the thing was that, like, I was, you know, I. I came here to the United States with a permanent residence. So my mom was. I was trying to figure out a way how to become a citizen, too. And my mom was like, oh, you know, you can just marry somebody. And then I'm like, I could marry somebody or go to war. I'm gonna go to war. That's why.

[Paul Alex]

I mean, she's like, ah, I'm just gonna go to war.

[Catherine]

Go to war.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[Catherine]

You know, that. That tells you a little bit about my personality.

[Paul Alex]

That's great.

[Catherine]

So I ended up in Fort Campbell, Kentucky. I'm 18 years old. My English is super broken, you know, Like, I don't understand anybody. Nobody understands me. And I decided to be a mechanic because I was really into cars. I wanted to learn about cars. I was. My first car that I fell in love with was a 1995.0 Mustang. And I didn't have a way to go to college either. So I'm like, the only way that I can really learn, like, the Army's gonna teach me for free, you know. Yeah, I'm gonna become a citizen, and I get education. I was like, oh, yeah.

[Paul Alex]

Catherine, how many. How many times did you watch Fast and the furious?

[Catherine]

Probably like, 87. Especially Tokyo Drift.

[Paul Alex]

Is that. Is that what inspired you to go ahead and want to be the mechanic?

[Catherine]

Yeah. Honestly? Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

All right.

[Catherine]

I was so in love with cars at the time. Like, right now, I'm a DM fan. Like, if I had the money, I'd buy me an R34. That's the first thing I'm gonna buy.

[Paul Alex]

Damn. You know, you got a millie over there. Like, what? All right, so. All right, so you go into the military. How long you serve for?

[Catherine]

I was in the military for four years. So I served. You know, my. My contract. I ended up getting out because I had my son. My son was born in Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

[Paul Alex]

Oh, nice.

[Catherine]

Yes. And, you know, best thing that I have, my son is my biggest motivation. Everything that I do, I do it with my son in mind and how I can make compared to the life that I had.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[Catherine]

You know, I. I literally had a volcano in the back of my house.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[Catherine]

You know, I lived in the jungle.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[Catherine]

So, you know, seeing, like, from where I came from to, like, how his life is. Is very different. Very, like two different worlds. You know, I get out, I come back to Miami. I started using my GI bill to go to fiu. I wanted to, you know, start college, but I realized that I wasn't making money because I can't go to school and work and take care of my son and do everything all at once.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[Catherine]

So I do drop out of college.

[Paul Alex]

Wow.

[Catherine]

And then I. That's when I'm like, I have to go into the police academy. Yeah, I go to the police academy.

[Paul Alex]

What year was this?

[Catherine]

This is in 2014. I get out of the military in 2012. So, like, for like, those two years, I was. I was actually trying to get hired as a mechanic. But every time I would go and apply somewhere, you know, obviously the stereotype and everything, that people would be like, oh, yeah, have your boyfriend come and apply. And I'll be like, no, it's for me. I'm the mechanic. And I would never get a call back.

[Paul Alex]

That's wild.

[Catherine]

I would apply to a bunch of different, like, mechanic shops and I would never get a call back.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[Catherine]

So that's why I was like, okay, you know, let me start college. Then I drop out of college and I joined the academy.

[Paul Alex]

When you joined the police department back in 2014, did you go through the process one time or several times?

[Catherine]

No. So this is the thing, right? I go to the academy, self sponsor. I paid my way through the academy. I didn't go through a police department.

[Paul Alex]

So for the viewers right now, because I get a lot of people that always hit me up in the DMs, like, hey, dude, should I be a cop in 2025? I'm like, dude, you're not gonna do it for the money. You're gonna do it because you just have a good heart and you just wanna be a badass. But with that being said, okay, with that being said, for the people that are watching, what is the difference between, you know, you, pain, I guess, to go through the academy, whether an agency paying for it, what is the biggest difference?

[Catherine]

So the biggest difference is like, since you basically go and get the certification to become a police officer on your own, when you get hired by a department, the department is paying for that, the specific department is paying for your weight to become certified.

[Paul Alex]

Got it.

[Catherine]

So that means that once you become certified, usually departments give you a contract that you, since we're sending you, you have to stay with us at least two years, for example.

[Paul Alex]

Okay, that makes sense.

[Catherine]

So you have to, you basically make a contract with that department that like, I'm gonna put you through it. So you're gonna stay working for me.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[Catherine]

Now as a self sponsor, since I paid my way through it, I was certified, I could apply with whatever department I wanted to.

[Paul Alex]

Right.

[Catherine]

And see who would hire me first. That's basically what it was.

[Paul Alex]

Got it.

[Catherine]

So you have, you, you have to, you have the option to pick whoever you want to work for. And it's a lot easier because a lot of the departments, they're going to be like, okay, I don't have to send her to the academy, I don't have to spend the money. She's already certified, she can already just start training.

[Paul Alex]

Got it.

[Catherine]

Rather than with the department, they have to wait until you graduate and, you know, and then you can go ahead and train it. Because usually the academy is about six months here in Florida. Usually in most states is six months, but I already had done all that, so I could just start right away.

[Paul Alex]

So for the people that are looking to get into the academy, whether they go ahead and they pay themselves to go through it or they go through an agency, what would be three tips that you would give the audience right now? They're about to go to the academy. Anybody that's about to go to academy, like, should, should you, should they work on their mindset? Should they work on their fitness? Like, what would you tell somebody, like, the younger you? Basically three tips before going into the.

[Catherine]

Academy, my first tip will always going to be physical fitness. And why. And because physical fitness, being a cop is not just putting on the uniform, having a gun, and then I'm gonna go out there and arrest people.

[Paul Alex]

Right.

[Catherine]

You know, you have to be physically fit. If you're physically fit, you are mentally fit also, because being a cop, it is very tiresome.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[Catherine]

And what a lot of people don't understand is that we work so many hours.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[Catherine]

I work between 76 to 80 hours a week sometimes. So if you're physically fit, you are able to. To be not always tired mentally, because it's not just the physical part is the mental part. So always physical fitness. And not just through the academy, but, like, stay with it after the academy, because a lot of people just train for the academy because you're running every day and you're doing this every day. And then when they get out in the streets, they just like, put it in the back burner and they don't go back to the gym ever again.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[Catherine]

So try to stay that, you know, and. And so physically fit to never forget who you are before you became a cop. You know, so whatever hobbies you had before, if you were a fishing guy, if you are, you know, somebody that likes drawing, painting, to like, not forget that. Because I feel like a lot of people, once they become cops, they lose themselves. They lose themselves and then that becomes their identity.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[Catherine]

And that's all they do.

[Paul Alex]

Right.

[Catherine]

You know, and then I read this really good book that is called Emotional Survival Law Enforcement. And it talks about that, how, you know, you have, like, that adrenaline desired all the time that when you're, like, not working.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[Catherine]

All you want to do is talk about it because you want to re. Experience that adrenaline rush.

[Paul Alex]

Right.

[Catherine]

So that's where all the cops get together and like, hey, you know, I arrested this guy and I did this and I did that. Because they want to re. Experience that adrenaline because that's all they become.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[Catherine]

So as long as you don't forget who you are afterwards and you stay true to yourself. And my third thing is always going to be family. Family is more important, especially like, if you have a spouse sometimes, like, oh, you want to pick up over time, and you're constantly working and working and working and working that you're not making time for your family. Because I remember that I used to do that, you know. You know, I did it with my son. Because I will get home from work, he'll be like, hey, mom, can we go to a park? And I'll be like, later, Bobby, I'm tired.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[Catherine]

You know, and then that later will never come.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[Catherine]

Or like my mom's birthday and then, oh, I picked up over time. Sorry, I'll take you to dinner next week. And then next week will never come. So always have, like, make plans and make dates with your family with your spouse or whoever and not focus so much on overtime all the time, because the overtime is always going to be there.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[Catherine]

It's always going to be there.

[Paul Alex]

Now. You're right. I lost a lot of personal time, you know, mental health, physical, spiritual. And I gave it all for the overtime. 80 to 100 hour work weeks for the first five years. It was tough and I aged a lot. I always tell people, cops go in there as kids and they come out as adults. But. Okay, so with that being said, how many years did you currently serve or you're still on the job? I know you're still sergeant of police. So currently, right now you're on 10 years, correct?

[Catherine]

Yes. Okay, I just hit 10 years. Yes.

[Paul Alex]

So 10 years. Okay, so let's go ahead and talk about your fitness journey. So beginning of the year, you really emphasize going ahead and working on your fitness because it's so important to you. So what were some things that you did to actually get to where you're at right now?

[Catherine]

So I always had like an on and off relationship with fitness, obviously because of life, you know, work and all that stuff. Especially when you're working 80 hours a week, you're sleeping like three and then, you know. So at the beginning of the year, my department for the first time actually had a weight loss challenge, right? And this was when, this was December. They make the post. The Challenge started on January 7th and it was going to end at the end of the month, you know, so you were going to do a weigh in and then the beginning and a weigh in at the end.

[Paul Alex]

How many people applied?

[Catherine]

Oh, so many, so many. And they had like two categories. They had the female and the male categories, right? So I was going to the gym every day, you know, working out, doing my thing like I usually do. And then when I read the post, I was like, damn, should I sign up? I was thinking to myself, should I sign up? And there's somebody there, they're like, don't sign up, you're not going to win.

[Paul Alex]

Damn. Throw you under the bus, huh? That's the way it goes.

[Catherine]

Man, that hit me so hard. I feel like I thought to myself, like, just punch me in the face. Like, you know, I'd rather you do that. Like, then tell me this. Like. So then I was like that, that just flip a switch in me. And I was, I felt doubted. I felt like, like in my mind, I was like, who are you to doubt what I can or I can't do, right? So I ran into the office and I signed up. So I ended up losing 18 pounds in those 25 days.

[Paul Alex]

Okay.

[Catherine]

I took it so serious. Like, I have never taken anything so Serious in my life because I was like, I can't lose.

[Paul Alex]

So my question is, I mean, you're busy enough. You're, you're a mom, you're a sergeant of police. I mean, you got personal things going on in your life. Control, chaos. Right? So what did you do? What was your routine to actually lose that weight? Because a lot of people want to know this. A lot of people. I even want to know this. Right. Because I had to go ahead and do all types of things. I had to pay people a lot of money. So for them to give me instructions on how to lose the weight that I lost this year.

[Catherine]

The biggest thing, honestly, when you are in a, in a fitness journey.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[Catherine]

Is the fact that there's a lot of things that you have to sacrifice and one of them is the only thing that you have is time. Right.

[Paul Alex]

Right.

[Catherine]

I was waking up at 4:00 in the morning. Okay. I was going for a run in the morning. I would do a run around my house because I, I live in, inside a, A golf course.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[Catherine]

So I would run the golf course. And mind you, running a mile is like, what? Like even if you're just starting 10, 15 minutes that it would take you, it's not going to take you. You know, you don't have to do two hours at the gym for you to like be able to do a fitness journey then. I think that that's the biggest misconception that people think that you have to be at the gym like three, five hours and it's not. So I would just take like 30 minutes at the beginning. I would go run, do a mile and then I would come back and I would do some type of like, you know, jumping jacks, push ups, things like that, you know, just to start the day. I would take a shower, but I was fasting from 8pm the night before all the way till noon.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[Catherine]

At noon. And all I was eating was chicken breast. No. Vegetables. No. Rice. No.

[Paul Alex]

See, I can't do that. I can't do the whole chicken breast every day.

[Catherine]

I know, I know.

[Paul Alex]

How's that sustainable?

[Catherine]

It's not that it's sustainable, but like at the end, like my mindset was so focused on it.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[Catherine]

That I didn't care if it tasted bad. I didn't care if I got bored of it. I didn't care because I was not going to lose. I was just, I refused to like sign up because in my mind I was thinking, I was like, people are going to be like, oh, Sarge gave up.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[Catherine]

Oh, she gave up. She lost. And I will tell that to myself all the time. And I was like, I can't have that.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[Catherine]

And that was my biggest motivation. It was not to lose. So I learned how to do my macros. I learned, you know, how to do the whole protein and carbs and all that stuff. How many calories I had to do. I was drinking a whole gallon of water a day and I made sure that I was doing between 7,000 to 10,000 steps a day because that helps a lot more than having to go to the gym every day, especially when you're busy. I got me a little treadmill. I will go walk my dogs, you know, so I would sit here, there and like, read my emails or even when I was like just doing anything in the little treadmill, just walking, just walking, just walking. And I will walk everywhere. You know, take the stairs, not take the elevator, things like that. You know, park really far. Even when I was going to calls, I will park a little further. Just I could walk more, you know, smart if, you know, during my lunch break, luckily our police department does have a gym, so during my lunch break, I will go to the gym. Obviously, you know how it is, cost permitting when you're on the road.

[Paul Alex]

Yep.

[Catherine]

If it wasn't busy and I could actually take my lunch, I will go to, you know, to the station. So that's what I started implementing every day and just kind of like implement that throughout the day to be able to do like an overall of the fitness thing.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah, it makes sense. You got it. You got to become savvy with the strategy that you're using in order to get the fitness in. Because I'm going to tell you something, it's not easy. It's not easy. You know, I'm currently 37 guys and, you know, I've been struggling with, you know, trying to stay fit my entire life, especially with my wife's cooking. You know, I got to eat it all, but. But it's because I want to. It's good. All right, so, babe, don't get mad at me with that being said. Okay? So you're, you're killing the, the fitness portion of your life. And I always tell people this, this is like a successful person is somebody who's successful in their mindset, their core values, their. They have a good heart, they dominate fitness because, I mean, especially in the police world, you have to be fit. Because people do not respect fat cops. They don't. They don't. Let's be real. They don't. You know, And I'm not. Hey, guys, I'm probably gonna get a lot of heat, you know? Cause there's a lot of cops on social media that like to bash each other, and that's just what it is. But it's the truth. You know, it's just. You have to lose weight, because that could be your life. That could be your life. Right?

[Catherine]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

You know, how many times. And there's stats on this. How many times do officers get in shootings because the suspect determines based on how they look, how they're perceived? Right. That, okay, this guy's fat, or he has not an organized uniform, or he doesn't even shine his boots. It's all psychology.

[Catherine]

It's all about the command presence that.

[Paul Alex]

You have the command presence. Right. You're fit, you look good, you act good. You bring that level of confidence. You're like, yo, I just told you to do this. Compared to, sir, can. Can you please. Hey, sometimes you got to get down. Right?

[Catherine]

You have to.

[Paul Alex]

You have to. You're the police.

[Catherine]

Especially here in Miami, everywhere, you know?

[Paul Alex]

But, no, I love that mindset. No, that's good. I love that. It's refreshing. It's refreshing, you know?

[Catherine]

Yeah. Especially as a female officer. You know, like, I am. I'm a big advocate that I think that women cops. Not just women cops, but, like, women in general, we. We should train. You know, I've also been on and off with, like, jiu jitsu training and things like that because of that factor. Because I feel like I never wanted to be put in a situation that sometimes, you know, backup might not be able to come 100. I might be in a situation where I might not be able to reach my radio. I might not be able to ask for. For, you know, for emergency backup. And I need to be able to hold my own.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[Catherine]

You know.

[Paul Alex]

Right.

[Catherine]

Because things happen, and things happen in a second. Am I very vigilant about how I go about things? Absolutely.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[Catherine]

I'm, you know, I am the kind of cop because of the fact that I know I'm a female.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[Catherine]

Can I hold my own? Absolutely. But do I understand also that you are stronger than me? Yeah, I do. So I am a. I am the kind of cop that I keep my distance very far from people.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[Catherine]

Like, I'm not going to allow anybody to be, like, arms length that I feel like you could just grab me unexpectedly.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah. You know, and I think it's ingrained in us, especially with the level of experience that you and I have. You know, I Know, before the podcast, we were talking about all the specialized units that you actually have been in, right?

[Catherine]

Yes.

[Paul Alex]

So if the audience is listening right now, you know, she's just not a regular beat cop. Yeah, she, she's a sergeant, but she, she had to work her way up just like any good cop. Right. So with that being said, well, a couple of the units that you did before you hit sergeant.

[Catherine]

So the first unit that I went in was crt, which is our, our crime response team. These are the guys that are in the black Chargers, wearing all black. You know, those are the little jump out boys. At the time when I started, there was only two females that were in that unit.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[Catherine]

So. And this was like back in like 2017, I want to say. So it was only two females. It was like eight of us, one sergeant. And boy, that was. I. That was like the best time of my life, honestly. I had so much fun in that unit because all in that unit that we were doing at the time, honestly, were like, doping guns.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah. You know, so, so, so for people that you're like, doping guns, like, your primary focus was to take down drug dealers and to go against, you know, people that would like, shoot people and the violent offenders and gang members and all that jazz. Right. Yeah, yeah. And then you guys would get assigned to like, high profile cases.

[Catherine]

At the time we didn't, but then we started like working with the detectives.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[Catherine]

As once they started, like, you know, when they will have like somebody that would look for, they will try to find it for them, you know, especially with like the burglary units that we used to work a very, A lot closer to. Because at least in our department, the very, the robbery unit was very, very. They were very united.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[Catherine]

So they would do their own thing and nobody would mess with robbery because, like, that's like the, you know, robbery is the highest thing, you know, because nobody.

[Paul Alex]

The cream of the crop.

[Catherine]

Yes. Because nobody robs anybody by mistake, you know.

[Paul Alex]

Right, right, right, right.

[Catherine]

So after that unit, I ended up actually going to detective and I went into burglary.

[Paul Alex]

Nice.

[Catherine]

Then I became a detective in burglary. While I was in burglary, I did a bunch of classes with like the Secret Service and, you know, all these other agencies, because I was trying to obviously learn the most that I could.

[Paul Alex]

Of course. Yeah.

[Catherine]

Because in burglary then I helped create like this program for the whole, you know, detective unit that is called SEC TV Squad. So it was to teach the detectives how to be able to like, download all the cameras for Cases and to actually be able to testify on them in court. Because the first thing that any good attorney is going to do is try to throw out the videos.

[Paul Alex]

Right?

[Catherine]

You know?

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[Catherine]

So I actually went and I got classes on how to be able to like download videos from different type of like, you know, CCTV systems and all that stuff and be able to like testify it on it on court.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[Catherine]

After that I end up going to my favorite unit. I end up going to homicide.

[Paul Alex]

Wow. So how many, how many years in before you went to homicide?

[Catherine]

Three.

[Paul Alex]

Three. Wow, that's fast.

[Catherine]

Four. Four.

[Paul Alex]

That's still fast. That's still fast. Because a lot of people, especially in law enforcement, they said that you need a minimum of five years at least. Back my department in Oakland, they were like, you need a minimum of five years on the street in order for you to get that good experience. And then by OG standards, right, they would say like, yo, like then you could go into specialized unit. But with me, I mean, very similar, you know, I was, I was voluntold to go into like our CRT. CRT 5. It was like deep East Oakland. So it was gang infested, guns, dope. But then I transition into narcotics task force and undercover, all that stuff. The greatest time ever. And I know it sounds weird. We're all like, it's good, it's fun. I mean, it is, guys, I'm not gonna lie. It's the greatest job in the world. Greatest job in the world. I mean, let's just be honest, right?

[Catherine]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

So with that being said, okay, let's go back to homicide. So you're in Homicide?

[Catherine]

Yes.

[Paul Alex]

Okay. And are you like the youngest detective in there?

[Catherine]

Yes, I really was. During that time, our police department was very, it was very young, very under minimum. No, like we have people leave left and right to all the departments. The homicide unit had two people.

[Paul Alex]

No way.

[Catherine]

That's the reason how I end up going to homicide.

[Paul Alex]

Oh, that's wild.

[Catherine]

Because nobody wanted to be in homicide. And the reason why nobody wanted to be in homicide, obviously, besides dealing with.

[Paul Alex]

The dead, it's a lot of work.

[Catherine]

We were getting called out all the time because our homicide unit wasn't just homicide. We also did, did anything that had to do with victims crimes.

[Paul Alex]

Okay.

[Catherine]

Not special victims, but victims crimes. So rapes, assaults, you know, anything that it was being done to a person. Yeah, up to death.

[Paul Alex]

Right.

[Catherine]

So shootings, all that shooting, stabbings.

[Paul Alex]

Major crimes.

[Catherine]

Yes, major crimes.

[Paul Alex]

So you were busy, you were busy, you were getting called out.

[Catherine]

There was times that I would get home from my call out, and I was sitting down in my bed, and my sergeant was calling me again. I need you to come out again. I need to come out again? Yeah, I need to come out again.

[Paul Alex]

That's rough. Yeah, that's rough.

[Catherine]

But it was honestly the best time.

[Paul Alex]

You learned a lot. Oh, I got a lot of experience.

[Catherine]

I learned a lot. I got bit.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah, so what? So. So you got bit. How'd you get bit? Tell me about that.

[Catherine]

Okay, so during the. During the time of homicide, obviously, you have to do a lot of training. I went to a death investigation class at the medical examiner's office.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[Catherine]

For those people that don't know what the medical examiner's office is basically where we take the dead and they do the autopsies, and they try to figure out the cause of death of a person. So they teach you about all the types of death of people. One of the things that they teach you there is about bite marks and how you testify on bite marks and how bite marks became part of something that you can bring into court as evidence, and that they're very unique to a person. Just like fingerprints.

[Paul Alex]

Wow.

[Catherine]

They're a unique identifier. So this very elderly man comes and he starts talking to us about Buy Mark. They're like, hey, we're gonna go to the morgue. You know, he gets, you know, a cadaver, and he brings, like, this, like, mold of, like, teeth, but they're, like, attached to, like, a clamp. Right. So he grabs the, you know, the cadaver's arm, and he bites it, like, really hard. You can hear the crunch when he closes it. Because he's supposed to have, like, the same amount of pressure than, you know, like, an actual bite.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[Catherine]

He starts talking about the indentation, how it looks, you know, on the person that is deceased. So he's like, now I need a. A live volunteer. And I was like, me, right here all day. Bite me, sir. So why did I do. I have no idea. He. He does the same clamp on my arm. It hurt. All I could think, I was like, I cannot cry in front of everybody. I'm not gonna cry in front of everybody. But in the inside, I was crying because all I could hear is, like, the crunch of my arm. And then he starts showing, like, obviously the difference, you know, because you have the blood flow, how it turns red, how it turns purple, etc. Etc. Because we leave when we come back from lunch, he's putting the presentation of, like, the biggest case that has to do with bite marks, which Is Ted Bundy.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[Catherine]

Ted Bundy got indicted over a bite mark. He was the first case ever that a bite mark was introduced into evidence in court, and that's what got him indicted. His bite mark. Wow. So then this man, for the first time, actually introduces himself, and he's like, oh, My name is Dr. Richard. He is the doctor that took the mole print from Ted Bundy and the bite mark, the mole that he bit me with was Ted Bundy's teeth.

[Paul Alex]

That's pretty badass. That's a great story. So for the viewers right now that are not really into the criminal investigations or the historic serial killers, who was Ted Bundy?

[Catherine]

So Ted Bundy was one of the biggest serial killer in the history of the United States. He was using his looks as a very handsome man to pick up college women, and he would basically, you know, rape them and then he would murder them.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[Catherine]

So the one case that he got indicted on is because he bit the girl's butt cheek.

[Paul Alex]

Wow.

[Catherine]

So when they go and they get his, you know, his mold, you know, the print of his mouth, they show how her, you know, bite mark. And his bite mark, it was a perfect match because he had a chipped tooth. So that. Which ended up in my arm when he bit me with it.

[Paul Alex]

Wow.

[Catherine]

And that's how he get ended up.

[Paul Alex]

That's amazing. I've never done a class like that. Now I learned something new. You educated me.

[Catherine]

Yeah. And that's the thing. Like, you know, a lot of people get the misconception of what, like, police work is also because of everything that is in social media. And, you know, like, you're watching GSP and all they're doing is pitting cars everywhere. And so people think that that's all police work is. And it's really not like you deal with so much things, which is the reason why I'm a very, very big advocate when it comes to mental health. And because at the end of the day, people call the cops on, like, their saddest, their most traumatic days, their worst days. I've been in the most traumatic days in people's lives.

[Paul Alex]

Right.

[Catherine]

And they have cried to me. They have. You know, I've. I've helped people when they've taken their last breath.

[Paul Alex]

Right.

[Catherine]

You know, and I am the last person that they see. But then afterwards, I got to go, you know, and deal with a call because, you know, somebody is parked in my driveway and like, oh, my God, this cop is being a jerk. And then didn't understand that 10 minutes before that, I Had to deal with, like, somebody's tragic death, unfortunately. So people don't understand how that as a person, it taxes you little by little, you know, and is all like, oh, because I pay your salary. You know, I pay taxes. I pay your salary.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[Catherine]

And we're the customer service that people don't want at the end of the day. No, we're the cleanup crew.

[Paul Alex]

I was going to say you're doing the dirty work.

[Catherine]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

That no one wants to do. So, Catherine, let me, let me ask you this. How are you taking care of your mental health? Because mental health, to me, I mean, it's huge. It's huge. Like, you know, I've seen a lot of shit, you know, working seven years in Oakland, California. And it was one of those things. Like, I remember my, my, my stepdad, he would always love hearing my stories. He'd be like, hey, so what happened today?

[Catherine]

Yeah.

[Paul Alex]

Oh, shit, that show sounds fun. Oh, my God, that's amazing. Oh, that's crazy, right? But I would always hide it from my mother because my mother, I never wanted her to worry about me. And I've had so many close encounters with death and shit, and it just never passed through my mind, like, damn, what am I doing? Risking my life. Right? So it was one of those things, like, to be honest, it was more of the politics in the department that drove me away from law enforcement and then also how liberal fricking California is. But with that being said, I'm not getting into politics, but I'm just saying, guys, center, that's why I like, I like Florida. They allow me to do carry conceal out here, you know, and it's the American way. Okay? But with that being said, what do you do to take care of your mental health?

[Catherine]

Honestly, like, fitness was one of the first things that I started doing to take care of my, of my mental health, you know, the fitness. And believe it or not, I actually do play video games. Yeah, I do. I actually did start a discord community. I have like over 400 members there.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[Catherine]

And because when I was in the military, right, this is how I played video games my whole life. But when I was in the military and I was pregnant, I was by myself, living in Kentucky. My husband at the time, he was deployed, so I was alone and pregnant. I had no family around me in Kentucky. Okay. So I became very, very depressed because I was alone, of course. And since I was pregnant, I wasn't going to work because I was on maternity leave, because I would go over there, do some clerical work and come Back I started playing a game named Warcraft.

[Paul Alex]

Okay.

[Catherine]

All right. And then I actually started meeting, like, people online, because you have, like, a clan and all this, and you meet people online, you talk to them. And I've made friends since 2010.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[Catherine]

That are my friends still now online that I've never met in person, but I know their whole lives. I know their wife's names, their family's name with same pictures and everything. So I realized how, honestly, this gaming community helped me because when I felt alone and I felt sad, I could jump in the game and I could talk to them and we can just, like, you know, shit the shit and just talk shit. So that's why I created the Discord. So every night when I. When I game and I do my streaming, I have like 10, 20 people in the Discord, and we just talk and we play, and I have so many people hit me up afterwards, and they're like, thank you. Like, I don't feel alone. I feel like, you know, every time that I'm sad now, I've made all these friends, I've made all these connections, and my Discord has been blowing up. That's what it's been doing. Everybody sending pictures of their family and talking is very different. When you have, like, a gaming community compared to, like, any other community, you know, it's very. Because you can make that friendship with people that you never even met in person.

[Paul Alex]

No, I'm a big believer in that. I mean, especially, you know, my story. We were talking for quite a bit before the podcast, but I wasn't on social media for eight years, right? I wasn't on social media for eight years. And let's be honest, it's because everybody at the police department was like, influencers is not a real job. Like, this is not all this. All this stuff, let's be honest. Right?

[Catherine]

Yeah. There's still that stigma with police where.

[Paul Alex]

Of course, of course. But the thing is just like, you know, here's the thing, right? People will always hate no matter what you do. People hate him. Hated on me when I started with one of my first ventures, which was not the sexiest business, but it got my bills paid, right? And then I was just like, you know what? Let me go ahead and just educate myself on digital marketing, which is huge now. It's huge. And it's the gold rush.

[Catherine]

It's like, that's the way now.

[Paul Alex]

It's the way now, and that's going to be the trend. And people don't understand that. Right. Especially, like, in the Next five years. It's actually pretty scary because AI is coming into effect massively. So there's going to be a lot of people that are going to lose their jobs and they're going to wish they knew the skill set. And I always tell people, it's just like right now, if you only have one source of income, you're only one step away from poverty. And it's true. I always tell people that because I've seen so many people lose their jobs over stupid shit. And it happens, right?

[Catherine]

Yeah. And especially in our job because let me tell you, like, I. I got to a point where I was relieved of duty in my police department.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[Catherine]

I was really the duty for 13 months. And even though they were paying me, I wasn't allowed to work overtime. I wasn't obviously allowed to do anything. And that it's when I started thinking like, damn, like I don't have any other source of income. I need to, I need to have something else just in case or even like make it a primary thing because like it's.

[Paul Alex]

Something happens.

[Catherine]

And that's the problem when it comes to police work and why we suffer so much in the mental health part because we're so. Is like, okay, I need to work overtime. I need to, you know, pay this, pay that. So I need this over time. That over time. And then you have departments that have limitations in overtime, you know, so it's like, what do you do then?

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[Catherine]

You know, are you gonna burn yourself out, you know, mentally, physically, emotionally, that you can't do anything else besides just be a robot and work all day long?

[Paul Alex]

I mean, that was me.

[Catherine]

That was me.

[Paul Alex]

That was me. I was literally first five years, 80 to 100 hour work weeks. And I was doing it like nothing because I was younger. But at the same time, it's not sustainable. It's not sustainable.

[Catherine]

Mind you, I'm 35 and I even got certified as a police dispatcher to be a police dispatcher in my police department to work more overtime.

[Paul Alex]

That's wild. But it also shows that you're proactive.

[Catherine]

Yeah. And that's the thing. Respect, respectfully, I get it. But it was also that, like, I got to the point that I was working 80 hours a week.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[Catherine]

And then I was sleeping like two, three hours. I was not seeing my son because when I was working in as a dispatcher, it was from 7pm to 7am so my son will be alone all the time. Of course, I wasn't spending time with him. I wasn't doing anything that it Wasn't working.

[Paul Alex]

Right.

[Catherine]

I was, I was basically living at work.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[Catherine]

And I was just going to say hi to my house.

[Paul Alex]

I know, basically, I know. And people are like, you know, they're so proud of I got a house. And I'm like, what's the point of having a house if, you know, you're never there? You know? And that's where I was at. That, that's where I was at. You know, I've. I've started investing in real estate at the age of 22. And every three years I would. I would go ahead and sell that property, buy a bigger property or a better neighborhood. Right. So. So keep building that equity. And by the time I was like around 28, 29, I was in one of the best neighborhoods in the Bay Area. It was a million dollar home. People were like, dude, what are you doing? You working for the cartel? I was like, no, bro, I was taking down the cartel, all that stuff, right? And I was never home. I was never home. I was like, what's the point? I wasn't living the American dream anymore. I was living the American trap. And that's what a lot of police officers don't understand right now. I mean, that's what I'm telling you guys. Especially for all you youngsters, if you're trying to get into law enforcement right now, you know, you're in the milit. That's cool. Go do it because of purpose, for fulfillment. If it makes you happy, go to. I was the happiest when I was a cop. And people are like, bro, you were happy as a cop? I was like, hell, yeah, it was a dream job.

[Catherine]

You know, you have to do the job for the job.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah, for the job. You gotta.

[Catherine]

Don't get me wrong, you can make money. Yeah. You can make so much money as a police officer. 100. But it's blood money. That's what I call it.

[Paul Alex]

I call it. It is straight up blood money.

[Catherine]

I call it blood money because you are always at work.

[Paul Alex]

Yep, 100 there.

[Catherine]

And unfortunately, that's when mistakes happen. People become complacent and you go to the same call over, over and over and over again. And then you know, it is not sustainable because you could get hurt or somebody else could get hurt because you are tired. You. You're human. Your body takes a toll, your mind takes a toll. And always having to be at work, you know?

[Paul Alex]

Absolutely.

[Catherine]

So, I mean, I had to figure out a way how to get out.

[Paul Alex]

Yep.

[Catherine]

Listen, my Instagram is fairly new. I have a year on My account, it's been a year. So for me to have257,000 followers in a year.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[Catherine]

Where I've basically like, not even like done much. It's crazy. And that's what I was telling you. Like just even me being here in this podcast with you.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[Catherine]

I realized of how important social media is.

[Paul Alex]

It's huge.

[Catherine]

And how you can get the message, the right message out if you use it properly.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah. You know, so with that being said, let's go ahead and talk about social media and law enforcement. So here's my perspective on things, guys. So back in, let's say like towards the end of 2021, I remember I was sitting in, in the department and I was talking to one of my captains and I told you this story before the pod is I was telling the captain, I was like, hey man, like, you know, I'm trying to really like dig into this whole social media thing because I was going to launch one of my first digital companies, it was called ATM Together. And, and he's just like, why do you. He's like, what is social media? Like, what, how could law enforcement use it? Is what the captain was, was asking me. And I was like, well Cap, like, you know, I think it's super important that every law enforcement department, agency in the United States should leverage social media where it's interactive with their avatar, like with the clientele that's actually looking to be the police, number one. Because you're able to give them clarity about like the process, the inside look of what it is to be a cop. The good. Right. Instead of the media, which is bad. Right. Usually because the media, let's be honest, why is the news so popular? Why is the news so pop? Because they show the bad. And why do people so interested in the bad? Because they're chismosc, let's be honest, right. They like to gossip. That's just, that's just what it is, right? Like my mom, they call me, they're like, oh my God, hurricane's gonna hit your house in Florida. I'm like, mom, it's, I'm cool. Like, I'm outside by my pool. Like, what are you talking about?

[Catherine]

Yeah, right.

[Paul Alex]

So at the end of the day, you know, media paints this picture of the police as an authority figure. Oh man, we're beating people out here. Nah, nah, nah, guys. Those are small incidents that happens in every industry, right. There's always going to be bad apples, but majority of police officers do good work. So with that being said, what's your perspective with social media and law enforcement agencies? Do you think they should use it, do you think they should use it for recruiting? Do you think they should be having, like, dedicated social media departments? What are your thoughts?

[Catherine]

Oh, 100. They should have social media and they should dedicate it and they should show every single aspect of. Of, like, when it comes to police work because of the misconception that they have. So, for example, the. The city of Miami, Nick, off duty, he has one of the best social media platforms for his department.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[Catherine]

Because he shows like, everything when it comes to it. And it's all about how you use the social media. What is the, the intention that you're trying to give? You know, like, right now you have a lot of like, tick tock cops.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah. And I've seen, I've seen that out of all the platforms. Guys, come on, we're the police. Like, you gotta, you gotta be real. You gotta tell them how it is, man. Be on tik tok dancing. Come on, guys.

[Catherine]

Yeah, like that whole dancing thing, oh, my God, I hate it so much because then, especially when it comes to, like, the females, because then it makes the rest of us that are trying.

[Paul Alex]

Going to the gym makes you guys look bad. Yeah.

[Catherine]

You know, because now, you know, you think about it, you see me and I'm a, you know, I'm a cop and I'm a female, and your first thought is the one video that you saw before, it was the other cop that was dancing.

[Paul Alex]

Of course. So. So they put you in that circle.

[Catherine]

Oh, yeah.

[Paul Alex]

They group you together.

[Catherine]

They're just like, you're marked categorized as that, you know.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah, for sure.

[Catherine]

It depends on how you use it, what message you're trying to give. Do I think that they need to use it and make like all these trendy videos and singing and all that? No, I think that it should be used to give the public the right information.

[Paul Alex]

Right.

[Catherine]

Of current events. Yeah, I think that it should show, like, also what the department does, especially in whatever area the department is and what they're focused on when it comes to the community. So, like, for example, my community in my department, we do have a lot of elderly people. So we have a lot of elderly people that end up, like, for example, missing or that because of, you know, they have dementia, they have Alzheimer's and things like that. So maybe like, create a video, like, teaching the families how to, how to go about dealing with their elderly that wanders off, you know, whether it's putting like, you know, air tags on their clothing or in their shoes or something like that, you know, like, it's just an example of things like that, not necessarily just making a video of like, oh, hey guys, you know, today we're gonna have coffee with a cop, right? You know, and I'm not, you know, talking bad about my. My department, social media or anything like that, or any department, social media in general. But I think it's just a message that you try to give and how do you deliver it too, is very important.

[Paul Alex]

No, I mean, it's the truth, to be honest with you, because, like, you know, I wasn't very outspoken on social media. I hate taking selfies, but I do it because, you know, at the end of the day, I got to give the people what they want. And it's not. It's more than just selfies, right? I remember when I first jumped into digital marketing back in 2020, but by the end of 2021, that first company we had generated a few million dollars. And then that's when things started getting real, right? Because people were like, bro, you are real. And we like real. And you know, I was talking about the bad, I was talking about the good. I remember when, I remember I had told you I had told people I was doing like 250k as a cop, but then they were like. And I was just like. And to me, I'm like, bro, I never talk about anything I haven't done. I talk about my experience, right? Because at the age of 37, I've gone through a lot of shit. So my thing is just like, bro, I'm not here, this 21 year old tick tocker with fucking a Lambo trying to flex on you. I'm a grown ass man that has gone through some real shit. Like, if you were to like disrespect me in person, I slap the shit out of you. So. So at the end of the day, when it comes down to it, you know, I have all the proof and that's what I was able to do. I was able to show the proof. And then people were like, all right, I'll put some respect in your name, bro. But when it comes down to it. No, you're absolutely right. I think what you should do. Okay, this is my suggestion. And for any police chief, you know, watching this, you know, I got, I got a. I got a lot of friends in law enforcement. I still back the blue. You guys are doing God's work. You guys are the best of the best. I love you guys. But to be honest, I think that there should Be a group of, you know, officers, maybe get with that dude Nick. The, the, the guy with the channel duty. Yeah, Nick off duty. Probably get with him and like network. Right. But you guys should create a crew and I would do it, but I'm busy as hell. I would create a crew of cops that know what they're doing on social media. Create an organization where you offer maybe one or two departments free services to monetize their recruitment process and to elevate their brand awareness. And this is the idea that I actually came up with that I gave it to a friend but obviously he didn't execute it because he's lazy as hell. And I had told him, I was like, bro, because if you can go ahead and get a case study, let's say with your department and you'll be like, hey, I'm going to do this all for free. I'm going to get your recruiting numbers up. You're going to get high tier talent because I'm going to make you guys go ahead and market you guys at the right light and then you're going to get people like, oh, I didn't know that I could make this much. This is the potential that you can make. These are the special assignments that you could do. This is absolutely everything that we offer.

[Catherine]

You know how much I made last year?

[Paul Alex]

What's up?

[Catherine]

195.

[Paul Alex]

See, that's what I'm talking about. And you're based out here in Florida. That's great money. That's great money, right? As coming from an immigrant family, right? Yeah, that's what I'm saying. You dropped out of college. You know how many college kids right now can't even get a job that's paying them $100,000? That barely anybody. Barely anybody. You got people with a college degree going in and working at Starbucks, right? Not to say there's anything wrong with Starbucks guys, but at the end of the day it is what it is, right? So with that being said, right, right now I believe you that, that do neck off duty. Like a lot of these officers are putting out real information out there. Not the tiktokers, not the dancers. I mean, that's cool. Do your thing, right? If you're getting paid, get, get paid. But the people that have real information, what you need to do is you need to network together. You need to build an agency, you need to go ahead and get a few case studies like a beta launch, okay? Do it for free. Get the numbers up. Once you have the stats. Now you have the social proof. Now Guess what? Now you could go to every department and charge them like $100,000 every three months for your services. Because you know why? How much does it cost to recruit an officer per department? For my department, it costs them $600,000 to put somebody through an academy to get them all the way up to a sworn officer. So just imagine if they lose four officers a month, which was the normal for my department.

[Catherine]

Yep.

[Paul Alex]

How much is that, guys? That is $2.4 million they're losing every single month. You don't think you're actually saving on money, man? That's some good return on investment right there. That's business, right?

[Catherine]

That is business.

[Paul Alex]

That's what I'm talking about. There you go. You can take that. All right, let me put that in.

[Catherine]

My back pocket real quick.

[Paul Alex]

I'm just saying, I'm a startup guy.

[Catherine]

All right, Give me a pen and paper.

[Paul Alex]

Emilio's like, I got you, I got you. Okay, so with that being said, this is called the level of podcast for a reason. Right now, we're currently ranked number one in business in the U.S. guys, thanks to you guys and thanks to our producer Emilio, we're looking for sponsors. So what's up, Celsius? Sponsor us. With that being said, okay, this is about self help. It's about mindset. Okay. You came on this podcast for a reason, because I believe in you. I think you have a great story. I think it's really cool that you're a woman in law enforcement, because I know how hard it is. My mom was trying to be a cop back in Peru, but they didn't allow her because they didn't allow women police back then.

[Catherine]

That's crazy.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah. And then she's like, I'm living through you, son. And that's why she didn't want me to leave the police. But I was like, mom, I gotta. I gotta handle business. You know, it's just. It's not sustainable. So with that being said, go ahead, tell the audience, because a hundred thousand people are gonna watch this, and I'm pretty sure your whole department. So 100,000 people are gonna watch this. So some words of motivation, you know, some words of motivation. You have a strong mindset.

[Catherine]

You know, honestly, my words of motivation is that it's always going to be you versus you. It doesn't matter what else other people are doing, but it's also very important on who you come across with and who your circle is.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[Catherine]

So if you want to level up, honestly, mentally, financially, it's all about who you Surround yourself with. Because if you are surrounded with successful people, you get a successful mindset and you believing in yourself is the most important thing. Because when I started with my Instagram and everything, it was all the jokes of like, oh, only fans. Right? Only fans.

[Paul Alex]

It happens.

[Catherine]

And then, hey, but here I am.

[Paul Alex]

Look, that's it. That's it, right? Your network is your net worth. And that's what I always tell people. One person can change your life. So with that being said, where can people find you?

[Catherine]

So you can find me on Instagram, what's your handle? My handle is at Sargent Kiba.

[Paul Alex]

Okay.

[Catherine]

K I V A full sergeant. Spell it out. You can find me on Tick Tock is the same. And you can find me on Twitch, which is the same handle at Sergeant Kiba.

[Paul Alex]

And then how often do you stream on Twitch?

[Catherine]

Every day.

[Paul Alex]

Every day?

[Catherine]

I do every day on Tick Tock. Usually when I stream on Tick Tock it's more related to I get a lot of like Hispanic.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[Catherine]

People and they do ask me a lot of questions on like, oh, I got a ticket, what do I do? Or you know, my, my, my registrations expire, what do I do? So I do try to answer those questions because I think that that's very important.

[Paul Alex]

Right.

[Catherine]

So like my Tick Tock is more of like what question would you like to ask a cop if you could.

[Paul Alex]

Okay, cool. Yeah, that's badass. That's a good concept.

[Catherine]

So that, that's my concept when it comes to my Tick Tock because a lot of people like, oh, what do I do if I want to become a cop? Like how do I go about it? What are the requirements? You know, obviously everything that I say on my TikTok is through my personal experience, not the opinions of my department. Of course, because I have to clarify that all the time. Or disclaimer, disclaimer. Now for my stream on my Twitch is more for like the video game side. For like when people want to come and they just want to play and they just want to release and you know, like just a distressor, you know.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[Catherine]

And then on my Instagram I do try to do like more of like the fitness bar. Especially since I became a runner at the beginning of the year, my algorithm on Tick Tock became a lot of like female runners that were killed during running.

[Paul Alex]

Wow.

[Catherine]

So I wanted to like emphasize on, also on the safety of running because I run with a, with a half vest.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[Catherine]

But I carry.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[Catherine]

I have my pepper spray and I carry, you know, I have an extra tag on just the vest in case my phone gets lost or dies, you know.

[Paul Alex]

Right.

[Catherine]

Things like that. Because I didn't realize it because obviously we have like that, you know, 8% other mentality. I was running at 4 o' clock in the morning, I was running at 10 o' clock at night. And I didn't realize that I was running at night time.

[Paul Alex]

Yeah.

[Catherine]

Because, you know, in my mind I'm like, you know, I'm a cop, you know, but then I was like, let me just be safe.

[Paul Alex]

Right.

[Catherine]

You know, so that's also one of the things that, you know, I started doing on my, on my Instagram.

[Paul Alex]

So yeah, no, that's good. Self awareness. People like that. They really do cool guys. So with that being said, if you want to follow Katherine, she already dropped the handles. Check it down below in the description on YouTube. Also, guys, leave us five star review on Spotify and Apple podcasts. You guys are the reason why we are top three in business in the United States currently right now, guys, we are trying to go ahead and actually grow this even bigger. So share this with a friend, share this with a family member. Share this with somebody that needs to level up their mindset. Okay? You never know who might change your life. With that being said, my name is Paul Alex. This is the Level up podcast. We'll catch you on the next one. Thanks for listening up to the Level up podcast. If you enjoyed today's episode, make sure to share with a family friend and everyone you know who's ready to level up. Leave a five star review on Spotify, Apple podcasts and wherever you tune in. It really helps spreading the word. And don't forget to check out officialpaulalex.com for more episodes and resources to kickstart your journey. Let's level up together.