The TRUE Story Of The Nashville School Shooting | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 224 - Unsubscribe Podcast

Summary5 min read

Summary of "The TRUE Story Of The Nashville School Shooting | Unsubscribe Podcast Ep 224"

Release Date: August 4, 2025

Introduction to the Episode

In Episode 224 of the Unsubscribe Podcast, hosts Eli Doubletap, Brandon Herrera, Donut Operator, and special guest Brandon Herrera delve into the harrowing events of the Nashville school shooting. The episode provides an in-depth analysis of the incident, the immediate response by law enforcement, and the long-term impacts on the officers involved and the community.

Background of the Incident

The episode begins with Brandon Herrera providing context about the Nashville school shooting that occurred on March 27, 2023. He recounts how he and four other officers were the first responders to the scene, engaging directly with the shooter.

Brandon Herrera [18:25]:
"On March 27th, 2023, myself and four other officers were the first ones on scene at the Covenant School shooting."

Immediate Response and Engagement

Brandon describes the tactical response, emphasizing the training and preparedness that allowed them to engage the shooter effectively.

Brandon Herrera [18:25]:
"Our small team pushed and made contact with the shooter. Two of us, myself and Rex, engaged directly."

He credits their training academy for instilling the necessary skills to act swiftly under pressure.

Brandon Herrera [30:59]:
"Our training academy played a crucial role. They instilled in us the muscle memory needed to handle such critical incidents."

Emotional Aftermath and Support Systems

The conversation shifts to the emotional toll of the incident on the officers. Brandon shares his personal struggle with the aftermath, including feelings of guilt and the challenges of balancing professional duties with family life.

Brandon Herrera [36:16]:
"I had to talk with a staff sergeant from my past, which was raw and difficult. It made me realize the importance of seeking help."

Eli emphasizes the importance of mental health support, highlighting how the chaos of the moment can lead to long-term psychological effects.

Eli Doubletap [28:45]:
"The chaos of that split second feels like a lifetime. Processing what happened is crucial for healing."

Body Cam Footage and Public Perception

Brandon discusses the release of body cam footage, which captured the officers' emotional state immediately after the shooting. He praises the footage for its authenticity and its role in clarifying the true actions taken during the incident.

Brandon Herrera [30:26]:
"Seeing the body cam footage was a breath of fresh air. It showed us breaking down emotionally, which helped clear the fog of war."

Cody adds his appreciation for the footage, contrasting it with other incidents where police responses have been mishandled.

Cody [30:59]:
"Watching the body cam footage compared to other shootings, like Uvalde, highlighted how things can go right with proper training."

Media Representation and Public Misconceptions

The hosts critique how media portrayal can skew public perception of school shootings. They discuss the discrepancy between actual statistics and media-reported figures, arguing that sensationalism fuels unnecessary fear.

Brandon Herrera [54:28]:
"Media often skews numbers to push fear, making people believe school shootings are more frequent than they actually are."

Cody elaborates on the manipulation of statistics, emphasizing the importance of accurate data reporting.

Cody [56:50]:
"They manipulate stats to fit a narrative. For example, claiming guns are the number one cause of child death by excluding infancy and other factors."

Impact on Police Training and Protocols

Brandon highlights the evolution of police training post-incident, advocating for autonomy and preparedness in the field. He contrasts this with past protocols that may have hindered swift action.

Brandon Herrera [98:36]:
"Our agency emphasizes that officers on the ground should make real-time decisions without waiting for higher-ups, which is crucial in active shooter scenarios."

Eli echoes the sentiment, stressing the need for violence of action protocols to ensure effective responses.

Eli Doubletap [31:02]:
"Violence of action is essential. It ensures officers are prepared to handle unexpected and dangerous situations efficiently."

Personal Stories and Anecdotes

Throughout the episode, the hosts share personal anecdotes related to their experiences during and after the shooting. These stories humanize the discussion, providing listeners with a deeper understanding of the officers' resilience and the complexities of their roles.

Brandon Herrera [86:07]:
"Building a deck for my kids became a metaphor for trying to stabilize my life post-incident. Even with support, balancing work and family was challenging."

Cody recounts interactions with media and public figures, highlighting the invasive nature of journalism during such traumatic times.

Cody [50:04]:
"Journalists were relentless, trying to get information even during funerals. It added another layer of stress during an already difficult time."

Closing Thoughts and Reflections

In the concluding segments, Brandon reflects on the lessons learned from the incident, emphasizing the importance of mental health, continuous training, and community support. He urges listeners to prioritize personal well-being and foster environments where officers can seek help without stigma.

Brandon Herrera [108:35]:
"Balancing duty and family is tough, but recognizing what's truly important has been a pivotal change in my life."

Eli and Donut Operator join in reinforcing the message of resilience and the need for honest conversations about mental health in law enforcement.

Notable Quotes

Brandon Herrera [18:25]:
"Our small team pushed and made contact with the shooter. Two of us, myself and Rex, engaged directly."
Brandon Herrera [30:59]:
"Our training academy played a crucial role. They instilled in us the muscle memory needed to handle such critical incidents."
Eli Doubletap [28:45]:
"The chaos of that split second feels like a lifetime. Processing what happened is crucial for healing."
Brandon Herrera [54:28]:
"Media often skews numbers to push fear, making people believe school shootings are more frequent than they actually are."
Brandon Herrera [98:36]:
"Our agency emphasizes that officers on the ground should make real-time decisions without waiting for higher-ups, which is crucial in active shooter scenarios."
Eli Doubletap [31:02]:
"Violence of action is essential. It ensures officers are prepared to handle unexpected and dangerous situations efficiently."

Conclusion

Episode 224 of the Unsubscribe Podcast offers a comprehensive and heartfelt exploration of the Nashville school shooting, shedding light on the realities faced by officers in the aftermath of such tragedies. Through personal narratives and critical analysis, the hosts advocate for better training, mental health support, and responsible media representation to foster a safer and more understanding community.

Note: All quotes are attributed accurately to the speakers with corresponding timestamps for reference.

Loading summary

Transcript1,007 lines

[00:00]
Cody
Bring me the one you call David Hogg.
[00:05]
Brandon Herrera
Highlight of life was, hey, Cody reviewed us.
[00:08]
Donut Operator
I do shootings. He did shooting and then we just connected over that.
[00:13]
Cody
If a crayon package holds 12, it's.
[00:15]
Brandon Herrera
Half of that and then you can eat the rest later.
[00:18]
Donut Operator
I don't know where he got a butter knife from. He was sticking it in the alley just seeing what would happen.
[00:25]
Eli Double Tap
Say hi to Eli. He's racially ambiguous. Listen, Brandon, his hair is fabulous. Donut, a dark joke disposition, and there's a fat electrician. Welcome to Unsubscribe. Hey, what is up everyone? I am here to announce the live show tour and when the tickets go on sale. Wednesday, August 13, the pre sale tickets will go on sale. Now that's going to be to our Patreon members and and our Pepperbox members. And then on Friday, general admission tickets will go live. You are going to have to wait one more week to find out where we are touring and there is hints at the end of this now we're actually hitting the Midwest this time. We got you. We listened. And because of all of you, we have even bigger venues this year. These are an amazing experience because we get to hang out with all of you and you all just show up. So make sure you keep an eye out for ticket sales. August 13th, pre sale tickets go up and then August 15th, Friday, general tickets go live.
[01:39]
Brandon Herrera
Keep an eye out.
[01:39]
Eli Double Tap
Love you all. Dude, the Paramount and Hard Rock is insane. These are 2,000 seat venues. Three, two, one.
[01:51]
Brandon Herrera
I splashed Cody.
[01:53]
Eli Double Tap
Ready to start this. Be off, yo.
[01:56]
Donut Operator
Hi everyone. Welcome to the Unsubscribe podcast. I'm joined today by Eli Double Tap, Michael Collazo, Brandon Herrera, my self talented operator. Thank you so much for being here.
[02:05]
Eli Double Tap
What's up? Hey guys. We're getting everything set up. Fitness challenge is going. Everything's going right now. We have like the live shows are coming up. The fitness challenge is underway. Well into it.
[02:19]
Cody
Yeah, solid.
[02:20]
Eli Double Tap
You got your the range day at this specific day and specific time. Finn put it right here just in spite of them.
[02:28]
Cody
Hey you man.
[02:30]
Eli Double Tap
It's open to the public.
[02:34]
Donut Operator
Everyone's like, oh, Brandon and Cody are paying for everything.
[02:38]
Cody
Yeah, stress 99%.
[02:41]
Eli Double Tap
Like no, no, no, no, no. I think that covers everything, right? Cody's live streaming.
[02:46]
Donut Operator
Yeah, that's going good. It's been a month now since I started live streaming and it apparently you can make money doing that. It's pretty cool.
[02:55]
Brandon Herrera
If I get one more email telling me that you've gone live while I'm at work, I'M gonna lose my mind, dude.
[03:00]
Donut Operator
I put up six videos a day on my YouTube channel.
[03:03]
Eli Double Tap
I'm alive. Great. What's the new one?
[03:06]
Donut Operator
Donut Operator Live.
[03:08]
Brandon Herrera
Oh, no, don't.
[03:09]
Donut Operator
Operator tv.
[03:09]
Eli Double Tap
I was like, I don't remember reading that one.
[03:12]
Donut Operator
My own channel there for a moment.
[03:14]
Cody
I don't. You're not even using the growth hacks yet, though. Like, have you haven't even tried endorsing terrorist groups.
[03:20]
Donut Operator
If you want to buy my my course, you can find that.
[03:27]
Eli Double Tap
Upload six YouTube video ways this. How many are you doing a day right now?
[03:30]
Donut Operator
Six.
[03:30]
Brandon Herrera
A day?
[03:32]
Cody
Yeah.
[03:32]
Donut Operator
Every day.
[03:35]
Eli Double Tap
You just seen, it's almost.
[03:36]
Donut Operator
Making as much as the main channel now.
[03:38]
Eli Double Tap
I know. Tech.
[03:39]
Donut Operator
Tech just inspired Tecton and Ola Asmon Gold.
[03:44]
Cody
I do want to point out this is pretty funny because you've always been like, man, I want to do like, live streaming or the cooking show or whatever, because, you know, I want to get away from, like, doing the police body cam footage stuff. And now all your live streams. Every time I pop on, you're reviewing Body Cam.
[03:57]
Donut Operator
It's what people watch, man. I don't know. Money's cool as shit.
[04:03]
Eli Double Tap
Cody's like, I'm gonna do it. Nope, I gotta do it.
[04:06]
Cody
Just when I think I'm out, they drag me back in.
[04:09]
Brandon Herrera
Well, it's always because some officer does something dumb and it just stirs it back up again. That's true. And then everyone ask.
[04:15]
Eli Double Tap
So what you're saying is it's always the cop's fault.
[04:18]
Brandon Herrera
Got it. Not always, Mike.
[04:20]
Eli Double Tap
100%. No, I didn't say that. Stop.
[04:25]
Brandon Herrera
But I will say that our. Our field of work, the first thing they go to is, what does Cody think? Pull it up, watch the video, see what Cody says.
[04:32]
Donut Operator
God, no.
[04:34]
Eli Double Tap
Why is he floating?
[04:35]
Brandon Herrera
Yeah.
[04:36]
Cody
Oh, no, no, not that. They tell you. The masters say, do not ask questions for which you do not know. Want to know the answer?
[04:53]
Donut Operator
Pack of menthols in your car.
[04:54]
Cody
Oh, God.
[04:55]
Donut Operator
Oh, he's gonna. He's gonna say. He's really gonna say it.
[04:59]
Cody
No, don't ask him. He'll say it.
[05:04]
Eli Double Tap
Oh, man.
[05:05]
Cody
So, man, it's good to finally have you down on the podcast.
[05:07]
Brandon Herrera
That's awesome being down here.
[05:09]
Donut Operator
This your first time on there?
[05:10]
Brandon Herrera
Yeah.
[05:10]
Donut Operator
Oh, shit. Because we've known you for a minute.
[05:12]
Eli Double Tap
Now, but not in San Antonio. You've been down here a couple times, right?
[05:16]
Brandon Herrera
Yeah, we came down to what Yalls? First and second range day.
[05:21]
Donut Operator
Sweet.
[05:22]
Brandon Herrera
Yeah.
[05:23]
Eli Double Tap
Yes. I don't know what go like, my brain deletes everything Especially with as high.
[05:30]
Cody
Stress as those are. Just like everybody coming into town being everybody's point of contact, whatever, for like, two, three days. I'm just like, yeah, you were here, right?
[05:38]
Brandon Herrera
I think.
[05:39]
Cody
I don't know.
[05:40]
Brandon Herrera
I was gonna say, I remember looking at y' all and I was like, I don't know if they're here right now. Like, they're here, but they're not here, are they?
[05:47]
Eli Double Tap
Autopilot. Yeah.
[05:48]
Brandon Herrera
Y' all are just going.
[05:52]
Eli Double Tap
What did we just get back? Oh, we did the fucking. The vacation, though. That was. That was good. Little work, but really good.
[06:01]
Donut Operator
Yeah, we got all the boys, all the unsold boys down to Isle of Palms, South Carolina. We stayed in a house where Bruce Willis and Demi Moore used to fuck in the late 80s.
[06:11]
Eli Double Tap
Wait, for real?
[06:12]
Brandon Herrera
You didn't see the black?
[06:13]
Cody
Did you not see that?
[06:13]
Eli Double Tap
No.
[06:14]
Donut Operator
There's a whole picture frame full of black.
[06:16]
Eli Double Tap
Makes what now? Now? I didn't read it. I just seen photos. I just thought they liked Bruce Willis.
[06:21]
Brandon Herrera
I heard they stuck you.
[06:22]
Eli Double Tap
I look cool. I didn't read any of it. Did not process. I was like, that's a weird.
[06:27]
Cody
Did you think they just left fun facts about Bruce Willis?
[06:32]
Eli Double Tap
Who was the random little mexic kid in the back, right corner by the cereal cabinet?
[06:37]
Cody
What?
[06:37]
Donut Operator
Oh, the kid living in the closet.
[06:39]
Eli Double Tap
You seen that little Gub?
[06:40]
Brandon Herrera
Gub.
[06:43]
Cody
Deep cut.
[06:44]
Eli Double Tap
Sorry. There was that little. I have to tell that story one day.
[06:50]
Donut Operator
Was there a human Mexican living in our pantry?
[06:52]
Eli Double Tap
No, but there was a picture of.
[06:54]
Cody
Say, there were two living in the rooms.
[06:56]
Eli Double Tap
But. Yes, but I remember that. And I was like, that's why I just seen the pictures. I was like, oh, random Mexican kid. Oh, random Bruce Willis poster picture. Didn't ask questions fast. That. I was just trying to turn my brain off. And we got to see the ocean. That was cool. Also, that water is beautiful when it's 80 something degrees. And Brandon was walking around with his shirt unbuttoned. Your hair quaffed.
[07:23]
Brandon Herrera
Your mom, like, right now, was it more buttons?
[07:26]
Eli Double Tap
Oh, there was no button.
[07:27]
Brandon Herrera
Oh, no buttons.
[07:28]
Cody
Your mom's just like you. You look like one of them people on the front of the romance magazine. Romance novels. And we were all just went, we.
[07:36]
Donut Operator
Know what's in those novels.
[07:38]
Cody
We know what's in those now, Mom.
[07:40]
Eli Double Tap
Yeah.
[07:41]
Brandon Herrera
Brandon showed up on horseback riding down the beach.
[07:44]
Eli Double Tap
Hello. But it was a good time. Yeah, Rich, like, literally everyone showed up. It was a good, relaxing time. That was. That was much needed. So thank you, Cody.
[07:57]
Donut Operator
Yeah, man. Yeah, we had Rich there Too fat. Electrician, all the boys.
[08:01]
Cody
Everybody's like. A lot of the family came out too. So it was your family? My parents showed up. Nick's mom was there.
[08:09]
Eli Double Tap
Yeah, yeah. Holy shit.
[08:10]
Donut Operator
Nick brought the boys out. His little boys.
[08:13]
Cody
Yeah.
[08:13]
Eli Double Tap
Ryden stayed in the back corner room.
[08:16]
Donut Operator
Right in town for seven and a half minutes.
[08:18]
Eli Double Tap
Yeah, I did hit the beach for seven and a half minutes.
[08:22]
Cody
I did not realize until day two that the only way to his room and out of his room was through my room. Had no idea.
[08:31]
Eli Double Tap
Oh, boy, is.
[08:31]
Cody
It was like never a problem.
[08:33]
Eli Double Tap
Silent.
[08:34]
Cody
Except it was the. The morning of day two. I wake up, get ready, get dressed, whatever. I'm going to walk out. And I hear to my left, sirens.
[08:45]
Brandon Herrera
Oh, Lord.
[08:46]
Cody
That's. It was like the same siren sound being repeated. I'm like, oh, Raiden.
[08:51]
Eli Double Tap
Yeah, he's gonna watch that infinite amount of times.
[08:56]
Cody
You were just. I told you that morning because I just thought it was funny. And you were just like, oh, yeah, that sirens. That's his thing.
[09:01]
Eli Double Tap
Oh. Ah. Tell you what year of ambulance comes from just based off of the siren. You're like, what the. Little man.
[09:09]
Brandon Herrera
This is how the day started.
[09:10]
Eli Double Tap
Yeah, it was a good time.
[09:12]
Brandon Herrera
We did that.
[09:12]
Eli Double Tap
And then. I don't know. Then we all traveled. That was probably the easiest day of travel in a long time compared to the last time we traveled from Atlanta was a nightmare. Dear God, it's Atlanta. And then just everyone doing the fitness journey. Y' all kicking ass and taking names. I am so stoked to see how many have joined. And even the guys are doing an amazing job. Like, Cody right now is drinking Diet Coke. A Red Bullet. Eight at night.
[09:45]
Cody
And it's nine.
[09:47]
Brandon Herrera
It's nine.
[09:48]
Eli Double Tap
Nine at night. I was like, yeah, I need to reset my.
[09:51]
Cody
I was more just surprised. My.
[09:52]
Brandon Herrera
Yeah, I was like, oh, wait, no.
[09:54]
Eli Double Tap
And then boxing like we did. We're doing almost two a day. Sometimes. Everyone's fucking hitting it hard right now.
[10:01]
Cody
That's good shit.
[10:01]
Brandon Herrera
You killed us this morning.
[10:03]
Eli Double Tap
Yes, we did. Yeah, it was a good gym session.
[10:06]
Cody
Colazo hits me up. He's like, yeah, you want a gym in the morning? I'm like, I know where this is going.
[10:12]
Eli Double Tap
We're waking up early.
[10:14]
Brandon Herrera
That's what we do. I got there early.
[10:16]
Cody
Yeah, you. You woke me up like, I'm at the gym. And I'm like, no, I thought we were doing 10am same.
[10:22]
Brandon Herrera
No one answered me. I was like, well, I'm here, let's go.
[10:26]
Cody
Nobody answered. So I went.
[10:29]
Brandon Herrera
We were doing okay. Doing a little Slow. Hey, we'll do some deadlifts. We're okay. Some strict press, and then Eli shows up. Hey, now we're gonna do this, this, this, this, and this, and y' all are gonna die.
[10:38]
Cody
Once again, you were doing okay. I. I think my form was kind of ass for some of those, like, the Romanian deadlifts. And I remember making the joke, like, oh, I guess it's spine day.
[10:49]
Eli Double Tap
Always good.
[10:50]
Brandon Herrera
Yeah. And then at the end. All right, my spine actually does hurt.
[10:53]
Eli Double Tap
How's my spine look, bro? I'm flexing it. Do not flex your spine. Please stop. I should not see that. Actually, I don't.
[11:02]
Cody
I don't feel stronger. I just. I think I have less fluid between my discs.
[11:07]
Brandon Herrera
I'm hurting so bad. No, you guys, are you feeling good.
[11:11]
Cody
Or you still, like.
[11:12]
Brandon Herrera
I'm good.
[11:12]
Cody
All right.
[11:13]
Brandon Herrera
My legs hurt. Yeah, jumping air squats were death.
[11:18]
Eli Double Tap
I just do, like, the supersets with no breaks. I just like to do a finishing exercise with that.
[11:25]
Cody
It's my favorite one. Yeah, yeah.
[11:27]
Eli Double Tap
Every. See, they love it.
[11:28]
Brandon Herrera
I now know I'm going to die at the end.
[11:30]
Eli Double Tap
The gym, we had gym guys come up, and they'll be like, man, that looks terrible. Like, walk off.
[11:37]
Cody
The last time, I literally was in the process of, like, grabbing your shoulder. I'm like, eli, I'm gonna pass out.
[11:42]
Eli Double Tap
Oh, yeah, you did. Literally felt. You were like, hey, I'm really light.
[11:48]
Cody
I was like, I'm gonna sit down real quick.
[11:50]
Eli Double Tap
You go like this. I'm like, drink your Gatorade. Get the shirt. You need the sugar. Yeah, okay. I feel a bit better.
[12:01]
Brandon Herrera
He was like, man, last time I worked out with Eli, like, it just got dark real quick, and I couldn't see anymore. It was coming. I could feel that. I could feel me passing out.
[12:10]
Eli Double Tap
The boxing was yesterday. Fucking Cody. You're gonna start boxing now?
[12:14]
Donut Operator
Oh, yeah, man. I need to get better at it.
[12:18]
Eli Double Tap
I'm so stoked. The footage looks really good. Like, everyone's movement. Everyone's having fun. Like, I can't wait. It's already been aired by the time this has been seen, so that. That's my favorite shit we have been doing in a long time. I'm super happy for. For everyone. And now we can learn about you, you old little police officer, man.
[12:38]
Brandon Herrera
Oh, great.
[12:38]
Eli Double Tap
Here we go. I know.
[12:39]
Cody
It's so. That's so belittling. Police officer.
[12:45]
Brandon Herrera
I'm like, look, Eli, come to Nashville.
[12:48]
Eli Double Tap
You're a big.
[12:49]
Cody
Why do they respect you, Eli?
[12:51]
Eli Double Tap
You might go to jail because I'm brown.
[12:55]
Brandon Herrera
No, I'm Hispanic. It's okay.
[12:59]
Cody
I could tell with a name like Colazo.
[13:01]
Brandon Herrera
Thank you.
[13:02]
Eli Double Tap
They thought it was Italian.
[13:04]
Brandon Herrera
No, it's Puerto Rican.
[13:05]
Cody
Oh, no, I was making a joke. I thought it was Italian too.
[13:07]
Brandon Herrera
No, it's Puerto Rican. Father's from San Juan.
[13:10]
Eli Double Tap
I think they're lying to you.
[13:11]
Brandon Herrera
But back to you getting arrested. You have to tell the UNSUB folks.
[13:21]
Eli Double Tap
Down here. No, you. How long have you. Did you do the military at all?
[13:27]
Brandon Herrera
I did, yeah.
[13:28]
Eli Double Tap
How long did you do that for? What branch?
[13:30]
Brandon Herrera
So I did the Marine Corps, but I did the reserves. So did one one stint, got six years in, joined the department halfway through. And now I've been with the department for what, 12 years.
[13:42]
Eli Double Tap
But you had joined for six years out the gate.
[13:44]
Brandon Herrera
Yeah.
[13:46]
Eli Double Tap
I don't know how Reserves or.
[13:47]
Brandon Herrera
I mean, you do your four, and then you have your two after, so we're okay.
[13:50]
Eli Double Tap
Oh, okay. So it's inactive.
[13:52]
Brandon Herrera
Yes.
[13:53]
Eli Double Tap
Okay.
[13:53]
Brandon Herrera
Okay.
[13:53]
Cody
So if a crayon package holds 12.
[13:56]
Brandon Herrera
It'S half of that and then you can eat the rest later.
[14:01]
Eli Double Tap
It's always those weird.
[14:02]
Cody
Those are your reserves.
[14:03]
Eli Double Tap
So now it's only six years in the IRR total.
[14:08]
Brandon Herrera
Honestly, I don't know how it is now because this was back in 2010. It could have changed by now.
[14:13]
Eli Double Tap
Oh, you joined in 20?
[14:14]
Brandon Herrera
Yeah, I joined in 2010. Got up to about 2020 or 2016. And that's when I ended up getting.
[14:19]
Eli Double Tap
Okay, gotcha, gotcha. So Marines, what was your MOS when.
[14:22]
Brandon Herrera
I was an 11.
[14:23]
Eli Double Tap
Oh, yeah. Is that Marines are still 11's infantry?
[14:26]
Brandon Herrera
Yeah, that's still infantry.
[14:28]
Eli Double Tap
See, I don't fucking know. Infantry. I wasn't sure if that's a easy.
[14:31]
Brandon Herrera
Numbers for us to remember.
[14:32]
Eli Double Tap
Yes, yes. Now, police officers, where you both know each other, right? Kind of, sort of, yeah. Because you're like, oh, I was dead.
[14:43]
Donut Operator
I do shootings. He did shooting. We just connected over that.
[14:48]
Brandon Herrera
Highlight of life was, hey, Cody reviewed us. We all sat in the office like, there it is.
[14:54]
Eli Double Tap
Listen, listen, watch.
[14:56]
Cody
That's a wild first interaction too, is like, hey, I reviewed your body cam footage.
[15:00]
Brandon Herrera
Well, you want to talk about the first reaction, first time we all met with at our location that y' all came to come visit all of us, we'll say that.
[15:09]
Eli Double Tap
Sure.
[15:12]
Cody
Make it sound like a fucking brothel.
[15:13]
Brandon Herrera
It might have been, right? I get a phone call and it's. It's Zach. Zach's like, hey, I got some buddies. I want to meet you. He's like, who? He's like, Brandon, AK guy and Cody, donut operator, they want to meet. All y' all say, all right, cool win. Now it's like, oh, we were told, oh, well, what?
[15:34]
Cody
Zach may have been playing both sides a little bit on that one, because I think that's why we were in town is we were told that you.
[15:40]
Brandon Herrera
Guys wanted to meet us. So y' all went to that and tell Zach, Zack, you, you sneaky bitch.
[15:48]
Cody
You yeller dog.
[15:49]
Eli Double Tap
You yeller dog.
[15:51]
Brandon Herrera
There's a lot of Zach playing both sides stories coming, trust me.
[15:55]
Eli Double Tap
Brandon, why do you keep sending me money through Cash App with it saying just deck work?
[16:01]
Cody
Wait, is that not you doing all my yard work?
[16:03]
Eli Double Tap
On the real? I think we all do use Cash App. It's a quick way to pay friends if they owe you money. Finn, where's my money? You told me you could beat the house.
[16:12]
Cody
You know the saying, Fenn always wins. Real talk, though. I've used Cash App like this week.
[16:16]
Eli Double Tap
Yeah, I think actually that's what we use to pay our boxing instructors.
[16:20]
Donut Operator
We also use it on vacation to pay for rides. And just random.
[16:24]
Cody
It's like, hey, let's split this Uber. Let me wire you $20. It's the two best things. It's easier and it's free.
[16:31]
Eli Double Tap
Why'd we go to Vegas to build decks? And why were you building decks at 2 in the morning?
[16:36]
Cody
She was Hispanic. I thought she was just good at it.
[16:39]
Donut Operator
Why were you skiing in the snow.
[16:41]
Eli Double Tap
At 4am Cash app can do way more than you think to make your money work for you.
[16:46]
Cody
If you direct deposit at least $300 in paychecks each month and use the Cash App card for purchases, you can.
[16:52]
Donut Operator
Earn up to 4% annual interest on your savings.
[16:55]
Eli Double Tap
Also, you can savings goals even faster by turning on the Round Ups feature on your Cash App card.
[17:02]
Cody
With roundups, every purchase you make using the card is rounded up to the nearest dollar, and that spare change is automatically put into your savings.
[17:08]
Eli Double Tap
Make it work for you.
[17:10]
Donut Operator
Take advantage of high interest savings on Cash App Today for a limited time.
[17:14]
Eli Double Tap
Only, new Cash App customers can use our exclusive code pause to earn some additional cash. Unpause.
[17:23]
Cody
Just download Cash App. Use our exclusive Referral code on sub 10 in your profile. Send $5 to a friend within 14 days and you'll get $10 dropped right into your account.
[17:33]
Eli Double Tap
Terms apply.
[17:35]
Donut Operator
That's money.
[17:36]
Brandon Herrera
That's Cash App, y'.
[17:38]
Eli Double Tap
All.
[17:38]
Brandon Herrera
Y' all went to that breakfast just right by where we were at.
[17:42]
Cody
Yeah.
[17:43]
Brandon Herrera
He's like, hey, they're here. It's like, well, everybody else is here. But the ATF directors here. Oh, yeah, no, don't come here yet.
[17:50]
Cody
Wait.
[17:50]
Brandon Herrera
We got to get this guy out.
[17:51]
Donut Operator
Of here as we're slamming, man. Moses. Okay, cool.
[17:57]
Cody
The. Do you. I mean, do you want to give a little bit of context for what led up to us being.
[18:01]
Brandon Herrera
Yeah.
[18:01]
Cody
What the body cam was.
[18:03]
Brandon Herrera
Sorry we. We neglected to talk about that at first.
[18:05]
Cody
For those who don't know, I'm sure it won't be title, thumbnail or anything.
[18:08]
Eli Double Tap
So the acorn, was that.
[18:13]
Cody
No, the combat roll.
[18:14]
Brandon Herrera
The best combat role I've ever seen. Right now.
[18:17]
Eli Double Tap
That's gonna be the thumbnail. Yeah.
[18:18]
Brandon Herrera
Ever.
[18:19]
Eli Double Tap
We had the guy on that beats.
[18:24]
Brandon Herrera
Crooked deck all day. I'll take it.
[18:26]
Eli Double Tap
Acorn guy.
[18:27]
Cody
That's funny.
[18:29]
Eli Double Tap
Like, no, don't do that.
[18:32]
Brandon Herrera
No, what. That was. Y. Y' all actually showed up probably what, a week or two after the incident, but it was March 27th of 2023. The Actives. The active shooter at the Covenant School. Myself and four other officers were the first ones on scene. And our small team, we pushed and made contact with the shooter. And two of us, myself and Rex were the ones that engaged the shooter. And then, you know, the world changed after that for us. These guys came out. Y' all have done a lot to support us. Let's just go and get that out there, too. Y' all are actually honest people that actually give a crap.
[19:09]
Cody
Don't make us sound good. Yeah, those guys, we're degenerates.
[19:12]
Eli Double Tap
I was just here, like, the out.
[19:14]
Brandon Herrera
The outpour of support that this whole community has given to us since then, and it's still going, what, two, three years later? Like, no. Can't be thankful enough.
[19:23]
Eli Double Tap
So.
[19:24]
Cody
I'm glad to hear it, man. But, yeah, just. I figured we'd give a little context to why that visit was. But, no, that was.
[19:31]
Brandon Herrera
That was very funny, which is why the ATF director was there. They were doing a debrief about some stuff, and we're like, no, Brandon can't come here right now. He's going to have to wait.
[19:40]
Cody
Last time I was in Nashville before that was for a boxing match. So I'm ready. I was ready for round two.
[19:46]
Brandon Herrera
Well, I remember they were doing protest as well. And you're like, where's the protest? Oh, yeah, we're going down there right now.
[19:52]
Cody
What were they fucking protesting about?
[19:54]
Brandon Herrera
The event. It was the event. It was about the children and things about gun safety.
[19:59]
Cody
Oh, yeah, that's right.
[20:01]
Brandon Herrera
So they were all up and down Broadway. Some kids put this whole protest together, and it it went crazy. There was thousands of folks walking down. Walking down Broadway. We made the mistake of telling them, like, hey, yeah, they're scheduling another one. Let's go.
[20:16]
Cody
We couldn't find any.
[20:17]
Donut Operator
Yeah, the anti gun protest stuff. We were just gonna go say hey to people. Couldn't find it.
[20:25]
Cody
Hello.
[20:27]
Eli Double Tap
It's the.
[20:28]
Cody
The polar bear.
[20:30]
Brandon Herrera
Yeah.
[20:30]
Eli Double Tap
Hey.
[20:31]
Brandon Herrera
And that's it.
[20:33]
Eli Double Tap
Oh, exactly. I just have Cody slamming, man. Moses. Let's go say something. I want to say hey. I just want to say hey. Brandon, I'm just the one here.
[20:47]
Cody
I want to shake his hand.
[20:48]
Eli Double Tap
Hey, I want to shake their hand.
[20:49]
Cody
I just want to shake their hand. We're just bring more than one. You call David Hogg.
[21:01]
Brandon Herrera
And this is why we didn't let y' all show up. I was like, I'm going to get fired.
[21:07]
Eli Double Tap
Oh, God. Oh, man.
[21:11]
Donut Operator
It was a good time, though.
[21:12]
Eli Double Tap
It was.
[21:13]
Cody
Because that was funny, because I.
[21:16]
Brandon Herrera
I.
[21:17]
Cody
Can'T remember who it was that was saying it. It was. It might have been you or Rex or somebody, but the Seeing my thumbnail, which. Fen, if you could pull this up. The thumbnail for the gun meme review I did right after. Right after that, he's like, I was just sitting there on the. On the. Saw that thumbnail pop up like.
[21:35]
Brandon Herrera
It was good. It was good.
[21:37]
Cody
Did you see it?
[21:38]
Eli Double Tap
No.
[21:38]
Brandon Herrera
Which one are you talking about? Are you talking about Andy's coming?
[21:42]
Cody
I don't. I don't think. I think it was the. I think it was the Peter Griffin death.
[21:46]
Brandon Herrera
Andy's coming.
[21:48]
Eli Double Tap
Andy's coming.
[21:50]
Brandon Herrera
And he's coming.
[21:51]
Eli Double Tap
Oh, I know. Yep. Never mind. I know that one. I've seen that, man.
[21:54]
Brandon Herrera
Yeah.
[21:56]
Cody
Yeah, that was the thumbnail.
[21:58]
Brandon Herrera
Oh, the Peter Griffin one. Yeah.
[22:03]
Cody
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[22:39]
Brandon Herrera
And you did. What was the. The music album where you put Rex's face on it and he's in the western attire and it just had a whole bunch of names.
[22:47]
Cody
That would be a Marty Robbins. Yeah. All right, so full disclosure, I don't make these memes. They just get sent to you mostly.
[22:55]
Brandon Herrera
Here, look at this one. This would be cool. The Andes coming, though, is my favorite.
[22:59]
Cody
Unless there's.
[22:59]
Brandon Herrera
That's hilarious.
[23:01]
Cody
Unless there's certain gaps in the memes where I'm like, add this. All right, I'll throw this one in.
[23:07]
Eli Double Tap
They're gonna like this one. So then how was it meeting them for the first time?
[23:11]
Brandon Herrera
Man? We called everybody. I'm not even gonna lie. There was, like, folks that were just coming out. Yeah. No.
[23:18]
Eli Double Tap
Okay. I'm gonna FaceTime a friend real fast.
[23:20]
Brandon Herrera
Can you say hi?
[23:21]
Eli Double Tap
Hey, come on.
[23:21]
Brandon Herrera
No, we do that.
[23:22]
Eli Double Tap
Thank you. Here's my next friend. Okay.
[23:27]
Brandon Herrera
Rex was the one that did it. I swear to God. Rex was like, hey, can I, like, invite my teammates? Like, all the other guys from Central? Like, can they come out? They're like, yeah, sure, whatever. So, like, three of his teammates show up. The guys that I worked with that were involved, we were already on the same team. So we were all sitting there. We're like, well, we don't have anybody to call. We have no friends. We're all sitting in the office together. But Rex brings, like, five extra people with them. Can they. Can they say hi? Can they meet y', all, like, over here? Yeah, might as well. But, no, we had a blast. It was.
[23:57]
Cody
It was.
[23:58]
Brandon Herrera
It felt comfortable. Like, we felt comfortable at that point. It was. It was a couple days post the incident. The world already knew, and we had already been cleared by that point. We were clear before we left the scene. But, yeah, it felt good to have some support from outside the state, because the state was very supportive. But just everybody else coming out and just hanging out with us was good.
[24:18]
Cody
And that's what we were worried about was just, like, just showing up just like, oh, hey. And, like, doing that bullshit. Like, just want to make sure it's not awkward, and we're just hanging out, you know, Which I think it was like, it felt. It felt natural. We didn't. We were only there for, like, maybe an hour. Yeah.
[24:34]
Eli Double Tap
How was it, like, with that immediate reaction? Or like, hey, incident happens, and then it's like, oh, shit. Did you worry about how social media or the news would interpret it out the gate? Or was it like, what were those first thoughts going through your head? Because for clarification, like, this is why I have so much more respect for police officers, is that's the shit they deal with day to day versus, hey, Iraq or war. There was. We never thought any of that shit was like, oh, firefight. That's it. Never going to report that there's no paperwork on.
[25:12]
Cody
You didn't have a body cam. It wasn't national news.
[25:15]
Eli Double Tap
Yeah, there's no, like, that firefight happen, and then that's about it.
[25:19]
Cody
You just throw your drop gun and call it a day.
[25:21]
Eli Double Tap
Exactly.
[25:24]
Brandon Herrera
Take that kill tag.
[25:26]
Eli Double Tap
Do you see that cell phone?
[25:28]
Cody
You didn't see a gun. You're not looking hard enough.
[25:32]
Brandon Herrera
No, it. Honestly, if you want to, like, break it down at a time. So post 30 seconds from the incident, that adrenaline, you know, like, you get that adrenaline rush, it starts to go away, and then you're coming back to reality. Because we were on autopilot that entire time. Yeah, like, training kicked in, and we just did what our. Our academy had taught us, and they had instilled into us on these incidents. It's like, no, you go, so you're just autopilot all the way in. Then everything happened, and then reality slowly started to come back. And as it was coming back, you start second guessing yourself. You start making like, hey, did I make the right decision? Did I do this right? You know, what. What. What is going to come from this? Because for us, this is a legal homicide that we have to prove, and it's a criminal investigation and administrative investigation. So that's a lot of stress that gets thrown on you. Plus, everything else is happening. And, you know, post anywhere from, like, that one minute postmark to 15 minutes after the initial shooting with our. Our individual, everything else was still going. We still had kids inside. We had victims. We were dealing with all that and seeing all this transpire, and then we finally were pulled away. My commander, amazing guy, he saw all this happening, and he looked at us and he said, no, I know you were involved. I know you were involved. And he pulled us off the ax. He's like, y' all are done. The rest of the cavalry's here. Let them handle stuff. And I'll do like we wanted to tell him. Pound sand, sir. Like, I'm not listening to your order. But he. He was dead set on, like, no, y' all are done. So he pulls us off, and he gets the rest of the folks, like, the core five that went in, pulls all of us to the side, and that's when the reality set in even more. And he's like, hey, go call your loved ones. Tell your loved ones what just happened. So that was a whole nother ballpark that just threw a wrench into everything. So, like, I called my wife. She was at home. And when I called her, I told her. I was like, hey, I can't talk right now, but I believe I just shot a little 12 year old boy. I will call you when I can. And that hurt.
[27:41]
Eli Double Tap
Yeah.
[27:41]
Brandon Herrera
Because I hung up on her and didn't talk to her for hours. Because again, this is an investigation. So we, we get pulled to the side and we just stand there like standing around just staring at everybody else doing work and we can't do nothing.
[27:56]
Eli Double Tap
And a lot of the times I don't. For the listeners out there, anyone that's never been in that situation, it is the chaos that happens in that fucking split second feels like a lifetime. And at the same time it. You're processing probably, hey, I engaged. Okay, there. Well, let's see the target. And then it's gone out of your brain as you're coming down from the combat because adrenaline training takes over. You've engaged target, down target, boom. Okay, they're good. But then you start processing and like you're like, I think I just killed the 12 year old. Yeah, kiddo. I don't actually know wait, what the fuck's going on? And it is good that he brought you guys together as a unit because then you can kind of talk about it at least or start processing what happened together, which is super important.
[28:45]
Brandon Herrera
Yeah. There's actually a clip that we saw on one of the other officers body cams afterwards outside that just mistakenly captured us as he told us to like, hey, y', all, break away, go stand over there. Call your loved ones. And this vid, this body cam as like they're turning and looking at us. It catches us breaking. Yeah. Like we're on the ground basically crying our eyes out as grown, grown adults having just saw a bunch of things and it captures that raw moment. Yeah. And then like you see us lift each other up like, hey, no, like let's go. We've been through some stuff before. We had never been in a critical incident having to fire our weapons, but we had been there. We hit doors together. We had bought dope together, done some crazy things, gotten the foot chase that.
[29:27]
Eli Double Tap
Was for, for a break for a police actually.
[29:30]
Brandon Herrera
Bo.
[29:30]
Eli Double Tap
Dope.
[29:31]
Brandon Herrera
Yes.
[29:31]
Eli Double Tap
Together as a homie hangout.
[29:35]
Brandon Herrera
Yes.
[29:36]
Cody
No, this was after hours.
[29:39]
Eli Double Tap
Clarification. We bought dope together the right way.
[29:44]
Brandon Herrera
But we had all been there for each other. So like we, we, we had that comfort until we could, you know, get home and spend, spend time with our families. But yeah, I mean it, the body cam helped us a lot. Like that's the shocking thing. And you brought it up like there was bits and pieces post this Incident that I don't remember. And then when they started playing the body cam, I was like, okay, I remember doing that. I remember this. Like, I, I distinctly remember standing there in the living room with my wife and the TV was on and they were playing the body cam for the first time and I looked at her, I was like, I don't remember saying that. I don't remember doing that. Okay, I remember that. And then I was like, and that's when that happened. And it just, it cleared all that fog. That fog of war is a real thing.
[30:27]
Cody
So I will say, like to, to give you praise and not make it weird, right Immediately. But it was a breath of fresh air to see, to watch that, that body cam footage. Because this was pretty fresh after. Not immediately after, but it's still pretty fresh. Everything that happened in Uvalde and that's, you know, that's local to us, like that's around our community here. And to watch a night and day comparison of where something went horribly wrong and things were completely mishandled versus textbook. You guys did exactly what you were.
[31:00]
Eli Double Tap
Supposed to do and it was violence of action.
[31:03]
Brandon Herrera
I love it.
[31:03]
Cody
It was great to see.
[31:05]
Brandon Herrera
I give that kudos to our, our training academy. Like, no lie whatsoever. Like, they instill this to us and that's where it all paid dividends. The constant, hey, we're gonna go train this, we're gonna go do this. And then our SWAT guys and girls like them coming out and putting on active killer training or teaching CQB to us, that is what just that autopilot, that muscle memory is a real thing. We didn't have. We just did what, what we were.
[31:30]
Eli Double Tap
Taught as a violence action is the best. It's like that is how you overcome anything, especially in a CQB or that situation is I have to get in there, I have to handle this as fast as possible because a majority of the time it's going to catch anyone off guard. Even if they're trying to bunker up, it's like, oh, well, they're not going in and they're already there getting engaged. It's like, oh, shit, here. This is why we train this way. And then now you're, you got pulled off. You guys were reacting to the situation. Win was called family. And then lifted each other up. What was the next thing that happened after that?
[32:07]
Brandon Herrera
And so we, we stayed on scene for two, three hours in our little group. We had our lawyers come out, we talked with them, we did a walk through, explain our actions. We have to go take a Piss test, a drug test, and a blood or a breath test. So they do all that just to make sure we're not under the influence of anything. We're not drunk, high, whatever. And then they brought us back to the scene. Once they brought us back, there was some. There was some miscommunication and it's not. It's not a dig on my department. I have an amazing department. We are very proactive in the mental health, getting help to officers and things like that. This was just in such a chaotic situation. This was just one thing that was.
[32:49]
Eli Double Tap
Oversight going back to its why in my opinion, it's like, hey, okay, you just experienced this.
[32:55]
Brandon Herrera
Yeah.
[32:55]
Eli Double Tap
Hey, come back here really fast. Was there. Is this in the same day?
[32:59]
Brandon Herrera
Yes. And again, it's just a. It was an overlook.
[33:02]
Eli Double Tap
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[33:03]
Brandon Herrera
We left. Left the scene to go do all this testing. And when we left the scene, they made an announcement over the radio and with everybody, they said, nobody will leave this scene without talking to some type of counselor. I mean, it's a chaotic scene. It's children. Nobody. Nobody.
[33:18]
Eli Double Tap
I guess.
[33:19]
Brandon Herrera
Yeah. So it's mandatory. You have to go talk to somebody. Well, nobody relayed that to us. So Rex and I come back to the scene and we check in with our boss. We say, hey, we've done everything. What do we need to do? Was that the wrong thing to say? Maybe we should have said, hey, what else do we need to do?
[33:37]
Eli Double Tap
Brandon, what kind of shirt is that?
[33:38]
Cody
I'm glad you asked, Eli. This is a poncho.
[33:41]
Donut Operator
Brandon and I actually wear poncho so much, we constantly end up wearing the same nice poncho shirt.
[33:47]
Cody
Good thing nobody's ever pointed that out before.
[33:50]
Donut Operator
Now, if you guys have ever seen one of our live shows or this podcast in general, you'll see Brandon and I wearing these incredibly comfortable, great looking shirts all the time.
[33:58]
Eli Double Tap
Finn, pull it up with pictures. They're literally always wearing the same shirt.
[34:03]
Cody
I got turned on a poncho like a year ago. Been wearing them ever since. Personally prefer, I think this is the Western because it's got the pearl snaps because it's hot in Texas and I like something breathable.
[34:12]
Eli Double Tap
Here's the thing I find really cool. Brandon, do the glasses trick.
[34:16]
Cody
So ponchos have this neat little thing in the pocket where you just take your glasses.
[34:20]
Eli Double Tap
No, the other one.
[34:21]
Cody
Be more specific.
[34:23]
Eli Double Tap
Who gives a shit about that? All right, watch everyone.
[34:26]
Cody
So if you got fat fingers and you smudge your glasses all the time, the bottom of the shirt actually acts. It has like a Microfiber so you can clean your glasses.
[34:34]
Eli Double Tap
I make him clean my phones.
[34:36]
Cody
He does.
[34:37]
Donut Operator
I like the hidden little pocket on the breast.
[34:39]
Eli Double Tap
Wait, what?
[34:40]
Cody
Right over here. Got a little zipper pocket.
[34:43]
Eli Double Tap
I didn't know about that one. Is that where you hold Cody's heart and his drugs? Things you might need to know. Poncho has put a lot of thought and detail into each one of their shirts. Oh, holy sh.
[34:54]
Cody
They're soft. They're really fun soft, yo.
[34:57]
Eli Double Tap
What?
[34:58]
Cody
That's my one like thing is fabric sensitivity. I don't wear uncomfortable shirts. This is comfy as.
[35:04]
Donut Operator
That's why we wear them all the time.
[35:06]
Eli Double Tap
So Poncho's got a bunch of great styles. The original western denim and ultralight.
[35:11]
Donut Operator
If you're looking for the perfect shirt, something breathable and stands out in a good way, give Poncho a try.
[35:17]
Eli Double Tap
Go to ponchooutdoors.com unsub and get $10 off your first order. Order.
[35:22]
Cody
That's p o n c h o outdoors.com unsub cuz they took that as.
[35:27]
Brandon Herrera
Oh, y' all already talked to a counselor. Y' all are good. Go home. We weren't good. No, we didn't talk to anybody. I got in my car and I drove home. I don't remember the job home. It was tough. I actually talked with a staff sergeant of mine from back in the day. I called him and said, hey, can we talk? He's like, yeah, what's up? By this point, things were being told like, hey, there was a shooting in Nashville. And he's like, hey, is this in relation to what's going on? And I only know this now because he told me, and he's like, hey, I told him, yes. He goes, well, what's going on? I told him I was involved. And the crappy thing is, and correct me if I'm wrong, like, this can turn into a civil issue real fast, and all my statements can be used. So me having this conversation with him is raw conversation. So that can get roped into a civil lawsuit and all this.
[36:17]
Eli Double Tap
But versus just so it's clarified, it's where a therapist. That's not going to be used against you. This is now. Okay, well, this phone record can. If it went sideways.
[36:28]
Brandon Herrera
Yep. And I told him.
[36:29]
Eli Double Tap
He said.
[36:30]
Brandon Herrera
I told him, I'm sorry if he gets roped into it, but I just needed to talk. And we talked for about an hour and a half as I drove home in our horrible traffic of Nashville. Can't fix our interstates if our life depended on it.
[36:41]
Cody
Oh, trust me, San Antonio, we get it.
[36:44]
Brandon Herrera
Yeah, y' all might be worse than us, but it took a couple hours. I get home, and my wife was at home. She was pregnant at the time with our second little girl. And, like, I just ran up to her and we just hold. Like, we held each other in our arms, cried a little bit, and then I looked at him and said, let's go get our daughter. We had a four year old at the time, and that was another mistake. We should have never done that. I wish our department would have sent somebody to get our daughter because we drove back to that or we went to the daycare to get our daughter and it put me back in that world, and that was a big mistake. And I just ignored it because I was being selfish. I just wanted our daughter with us.
[37:22]
Eli Double Tap
You're being a guy ignored the signs, literally a dude. And everything that you've been predisposed to or that idea of growing up, it's like, hey, handle it yourself. Push it down. You got this. All the bad mental health shit that usually gets told to you as a dude, and unfortunately, this is where it kicks you in the ass.
[37:42]
Brandon Herrera
Yeah, it felt like we failed on that. But I'll tell you, man, within 24 hours, our department realized that we hadn't talked to anybody and sent counselors to the house and talked with us, made sure we were good. And honestly, like, I've gotten the help. Our whole family's gotten the help. All of us have gotten help. And we're all, we're here. We can talk about this right now. This is therapeutic to me as well. Just talking about. So, like, we're in a good place. Yeah, that's awesome.
[38:09]
Eli Double Tap
That's a lot of. And it's one thing we always hit home or try to. It's like talking when we do the PSAs for even, like, dark thoughts, those inner demons, or just like red flags versus green flags and how to get help or at least communicate, because it does suck because it was the chaos of the moment and the. And you guys not understanding or knowing. It's like, oh, shit, we missed therapy when we left earlier. You're not gonna know that then. You're just going to assume, hey, boss just told me to go home. Boss is dealing with a ton of shit all at the same time. Like, more than just a. A lot going on all at once.
[38:51]
Brandon Herrera
I mean, you had every shiny brass exactly making a decision and throwing something like, listen, listen, we're. We're trying to get this right.
[38:58]
Eli Double Tap
How the fuck are they Gonna know. Oh, they, yeah, these five people didn't go talk. So it's like, oh, yeah, get out of here, get better. Because in their head, we're doing the best possible thing. We're removing them from the situation.
[39:10]
Brandon Herrera
There is a clip of me driving my little car. When I, when I go and check in, they say, hey, you can go home. I like, I look over at my car and it's still in the crime scene. And I was like, well, it's, it's right there. And they said, no, you're good, go get it. So I go into the crime scene, I get my car and you know, like those, the looks you get when you're doing something wrong, but you, you just keep doing it. So like, I'm in my car driving. That's exactly what it was.
[39:38]
Eli Double Tap
You're looking around, you're open the door. Yeah.
[39:41]
Cody
Every time I go fishing in the bass pro aquarium.
[39:48]
Eli Double Tap
I shouldn't be doing.
[39:49]
Cody
Looking at me like I'm weird.
[39:52]
Brandon Herrera
But no. So like, I get in my car and I'm driving and I'm looking at like, you name the shiny brass. They're there and they're looking at me and I'm looking at them and it was almost like I'm asking for help and they're looking at me like, you shouldn't be doing that. But I'm not going to say anything. I'm just going to let you keep driving. And I'm like, no, I need help. Please stop me. What I'm doing. I'm not a drive home. But I mean, it was a chaotic scene, man. It's, there's a lot of things that happened after what we call the attack. You know, we're real heavy on the train, train, train for this attack. But we don't talk about the post the attack. From 30 seconds to even what April of this year, the FBI finally released the journal writings.
[40:29]
Cody
So that's actually something I really wanted to talk about. I completely forgot about this because that's, that's a timeline for me that I'm not even sure I understand because from what I heard, like just reading news segments and stuff like that and trying to put this all together, that was something that I think. So the manifesto of the shooter was. I think they said that at first they weren't going to release it or they said they were, and then now they weren't because they were worried about like copycat attacks or something like that. And then somebody leaked it or part of it.
[41:01]
Brandon Herrera
So there's, there's a whole Bunch around this. And again, these are writings of somebody for 10 years of their life. Like, honest to God, we look at it as a journal of just entries that they made when they got home every single day. Here's what I did today. I collected these Pokemon cards, and I let my dolls have sex with each other because this person was crazy. But what happened is we take these books, and we want to go through everything in this book and to see what it is. And they were. It wasn't just books. It was laptops, it was phones. It's all this. This digital data. And that takes a while.
[41:38]
Cody
Yeah.
[41:38]
Brandon Herrera
So we're on lockdown with it, and we're trying to go through it, but then you got the FBI that's like, hey, we need to look at this. We need this. We need this. And it's too many hands trying to get involved. Now, our folks, we go through it, they make their determination about it, and they say, hey, here's what we've learned from it. Here's. Here you go. FBI. Now FBI's got it. They go through. They make their determination, and they've got their behavioral health folks that they review it. They do everything. And the families were another factor. All the victims, families. And then what this individual wanted. This individual wanted their name out there. And that's another whole topic that I hate. Y' all won't ever hear me say this person's name. I don't care about this person. That person can rot in hell for the rest of their life. That's where they belong. But what they wanted was the world to know their name. And that's what was in those writings. Hey, this is why I'm doing this. I want everybody to know me. Say my name. Don't say the victim. Victim's names. And this isn't their. This isn't their story. This is the victim story. But we have to go through it. FBI goes through it. There is stuff inside there that is beneficial to law enforcement, you know, like, hey, this individual research these weapons. This individual learned how to wear their. Their ammo in a certain spot to help them reload faster. Or, hey, it's quicker to reload than. Or it's quicker to transition than it is to reload. They did a lot of training. They did a whole bunch of stuff, and they wrote it down. That's the stuff that I understand that we need to push out. Hey, yes, this will help law enforcement in the future, but they don't need to see what some of that stuff was. Calling kids inappropriate things and that's the stuff that got leaked. And you know, the FBI, I think they did a good job on it. Eventually when they do, they did release it back in April this year. You know, we wrote a like 15 page summary of it and then the FBI redacted some things and sent it out. And I'm like, I think they did that in a respectful manner as best they could to one, appease the families and then appease society.
[43:37]
Cody
Because I think the big question was motive. That's what everybody was trying to figure out.
[43:41]
Brandon Herrera
Yeah, we were figure, trying to figure it out.
[43:42]
Cody
We can't.
[43:43]
Brandon Herrera
We don't want to say the wrong thing in a month just to appease people, give us time. And I think they did. You know, we found out that there was three things. They wanted their name to live forever. They wanted to kill as many people as they could and they wanted it to all be about mental health. At the end of the day, their mental health, not ours.
[43:59]
Eli Double Tap
Yeah.
[44:00]
Brandon Herrera
Not what we went through, what they were going through. Mental health wise down the road. Those were their three things. And again, you'll even read it on our summary where the lead detective talks about the simple fact of like, do we want the world to see some of this stuff? Because that's what this person wants. Do we want to let them get their story out after death?
[44:18]
Eli Double Tap
Math.
[44:18]
Brandon Herrera
It's tough.
[44:19]
Cody
Yeah.
[44:19]
Brandon Herrera
You know, it's that catch 22.
[44:21]
Cody
No, for sure. I just appreciate the insight because that's something on, on the outside like we don't know.
[44:25]
Eli Double Tap
Yeah.
[44:26]
Brandon Herrera
And that's what sucks. Like a lot of folks, these conspiracy theorists come out with their aluminum hats like crazy.
[44:31]
Cody
Oh, don't you know it didn't happen.
[44:32]
Brandon Herrera
Yeah, exactly. The pyramids did it.
[44:35]
Cody
Wow.
[44:35]
Eli Double Tap
Did it.
[44:36]
Cody
Oh, source. I saw it in a dream.
[44:39]
Brandon Herrera
Yes. But no, they just came up the woodworks. And it's like in all, all honesty too. Sometimes it's like, hey, just let us move on. That's the other part. Like let the families bear their children before you come out, out of the woodworks. We had a lot of that.
[44:54]
Eli Double Tap
But humans can be very disgusting.
[44:57]
Brandon Herrera
Yes.
[44:58]
Eli Double Tap
You're like, what? Fuck the trade off with. Just go just touch base really quick on the manifesto and anything. Because it is that hard. One of what the fuck do we do with this? Because you don't want to say the name. I agree completely with that because I've talked with this in the past when like the school shootings were taking off more and more there. But you rewind to like the 90s when it was way worse. And people didn't realize that they weren't. They were like the 2010 to 2020. No, this is the worst time. Look how much it's happening. And then you look at the 80s and 90s and realize it was 2x happening at that time frame. It just wasn't like the Columbine era. Yeah. And it wasn't showcased, though. It was just wasn't national news. And that's the thing that changed everything. It was. Oh, shit, actually. Because the media is presenting it and then creating this boogeyman, but showing it way more, even though it's happening less now. We're worrying now, though, on the flip side, they're gonna do it more. So no, I can get my name out there if I do X, Y or Z.
[46:06]
Brandon Herrera
Well, usual Columbine.
[46:08]
Eli Double Tap
Yeah.
[46:08]
Brandon Herrera
Our individual idolized Columbine. Oh, yeah. Our individual wanted to be better than Columbine. They said, look, if I can do more than Columbine as my. As just me and not to like Columbine, they'll talk about me in the books. They'll. They'll play my name all over CNN for the next six to eight months. Don't even start about cnn.
[46:28]
Eli Double Tap
But.
[46:29]
Brandon Herrera
But that's.
[46:30]
Cody
Most people don't even know. The worst school shooting of all time was Bath, North Carolina. I believe it was North Carolina, but it was. It was in the 1920s.
[46:38]
Eli Double Tap
Oh, yeah, yeah.
[46:39]
Cody
It was like lever actions and dynamite, I think. Oh, it was. It was.
[46:44]
Eli Double Tap
Yes. And it was a lot worse. And then second was the Penn State, right.
[46:48]
Donut Operator
Asian dude, the Virginia Tech.
[46:51]
Eli Double Tap
And that was a pistol. Those are just pistols. That's what people like. Ar, blah, blah, blah, blah.
[46:56]
Brandon Herrera
Which one was the Sniper tower, where they're up on the clock.
[47:00]
Eli Double Tap
That was a 60s 70s Marine guy, right? Yeah, right. Is that the one? The Marine guy?
[47:07]
Brandon Herrera
Yeah, yeah.
[47:08]
Donut Operator
That's one from the famous Metal Gear Solid line. The book suppository building.
[47:14]
Cody
That was Full Metal Jacket.
[47:16]
Donut Operator
Full Metal Jacket.
[47:20]
Cody
I think you're referring to the JFK assassination.
[47:26]
Eli Double Tap
School.
[47:26]
Brandon Herrera
Well, that one even like this Tower one. Like our individual research that, like, here's everything.
[47:31]
Eli Double Tap
University of Texas Tower, 1960s. So it was. I was like 60s 70s. That's the one actually in Austin is where that happened. But a lot of those ones, it was. They don't realize that 80s and 90s were the worst time for school shootings by like 2x. It was an actual crazy amount. I forget the individual's name. His last name was Fox. I do know that. But he did a statistical breakdown of.
[47:58]
Cody
Hey, here is just like homicide at.
[48:01]
Eli Double Tap
Schools or like shooting mass school shootings. 80s, 90s. You can look this up. Fucking, I will die by this one are. They were way worse during that time frame by a fuck ton. So when we were peak 2016, 2018, I think is when it was really bad here in the United States. It was still almost two times lower than during the 80s and 90s. And that's what people didn't realize. So once that information got put out, they were like, well, Fox News is saying that. And then it was, no, no, the last dude's name is Fox, but you got to watch out just because his name. They were trying to down information. Yep, it was a really good article.
[48:43]
Cody
I don't know.
[48:43]
Eli Double Tap
I'll actually link it just so it can be out there. But really good read.
[48:47]
Cody
I feel like it's like the airplane thing, like airplane crashes or shark attacks or whatever. Whenever you have, like, the media starts to realize something will get clicks, which therefore makes them money. Whenever the news is getting attention, they are getting money. So if they know that they can sell shark attacks, then they'll report more on shark attacks. And everybody thinks that shark attacks are happening more when they're really less, you know, same thing with airplane crashes that, you know, we just went through like a year ago where everybody thought, oh, my God, every planes falling out of the fucking sky. And it's like statistically average. It's. It's. I like that with the school shooting issue, unfortunately, which, because, like, that is one where the media attention can actually influence it, which is a really dangerous road to go down.
[49:26]
Brandon Herrera
You want me to tell you how disgusting the media is?
[49:30]
Cody
Oh, brother. Preach it.
[49:31]
Brandon Herrera
Yeah. So one Uvaldi happens, we do a press. We do a press conference. I think it was like April 6th or 13th or something around that line where they bring us in and we're talking and they said, hey, y' all just gonna do a quick snippet of the incident. That's it. And that's what y' all see us at the podium talking. There's a certain news channel there. And they're like, hey, we're all thinking about uvaldi while y' all are responding. No, I'm thinking about the kids. Think about the teachers inside. That's what we're trying to get to like. Oh, we're just curious. Then it gets even better.
[50:05]
Cody
They were trying to get a quote from you about that.
[50:07]
Eli Double Tap
Yes.
[50:08]
Brandon Herrera
Yeah. They start showing up at our houses and they're knocking at the door. Yeah, constantly knocking at the door. They go to all of our neighbors. Hey, can you tell us about your neighbor and how they are as a neighbor just so we can get some type of information? They start going to the funerals.
[50:24]
Cody
Oh my fucking God.
[50:25]
Brandon Herrera
Some of our families. And again, this is a horrible moment for them. Like no family should have to bury or no parent should have to bury their own child. One family in particular, they're very close. They're very closed off. They don't allow anybody else in. They're burying their own child on their farmland. They had to have security come and run their whole property for them to keep the news out because they wouldn't even release a picture of their child. So they were just trying to get any clip that they could and they were. They're trying to bury their own child. The family's digging the grave and the news is trying to sneak onto their property to get any type of video.
[51:05]
Cody
You don't hate them enough?
[51:06]
Brandon Herrera
No.
[51:10]
Eli Double Tap
I just got shot in the face by green stuff. We're doing the AG1 Daily Foundation Nutrition. This is how you start your day properly. I am extremely sore today. Why are you sore, Eli? I have been doing the gym for a majority of my life and now we have Brandon back in the gym and boxing. Our boy is down 17 pounds in the last couple of months and I'm super freaking proud of him. Part of that is supplements because it is way easier if you have the proper fuel running through your system. AG1 is also delicious for probiotics, so in between your water and your normal meals, you just pop in one of these and then you're getting additional boost of energy. It's helping your gut bio which some of us really need help with that. This guy, you have no idea. And it supports your immune system so you ain't getting sick as much. Seriously though, when you're doing two a days, so boxing for 30 minutes and an hour of gym, this is what you need to do. If you skip the most important part of it, you are screwing yourself. My favorite analogy is using race car. They run with the best fuel. You know why? If you threw trash fuel in any of those systems, they're not going to run and they're not going to perform at the level that they need to be. So if you want to be the best version of yourself, this is part of that process. And AG1 does an amazing job with their supplements. Also, they send you a dope water bottle. Take it or leave it. So start giving your body the nutrition it deserves. Just head to my link. Drink ag1.com unsubscribe to subscribe for less than $3 a day. That's drinkaging.1.com subscribe no.
[52:53]
Donut Operator
What do we say about journalists? We don't bully them enough.
[52:56]
Cody
You don't bully them enough. There's like, there's a diamond in the rough every now and again. There's still good people in journalism, I believe that. But the vast majority are animals.
[53:06]
Brandon Herrera
They just, they just wouldn't let the families grieve.
[53:09]
Eli Double Tap
I just want so everyone knows. Despite heightened fear of school shooting, it's not a growing epidemic. This is npr. If you actually, it's on npr. This is where the data. Because this was during the Parkland shooting last month, but it was showing schools are. James Allen Fox. There's the actual individual's name. Schools are safer today than they have been in the previous decades. James Allen Fox, a professor of criminology, Northeastern University Instead of the phenomenon of mass murder since 1980s, but he did the number crunch. And that's where it's crazy because you get to see the breakdown and it is 2x. Even though right now, even though, like, you probably think, oh, 2010 to 2020, 2025, those numbers had. Have been way higher. It's like, nope, 80s and 90s, way fucking worse than they are now. But because the news cycle makes it so terrifying, it is the boogeyman. Is your child afraid of sleeping in the bedroom if they don't know what the boogeyman is? Fuck no. But when they watch a scary movie, what happens? All right, yeah, exactly like, that's how I always looked at it. That is what happened with it. They started presenting the information for everyone to see.
[54:26]
Brandon Herrera
Just pushing fear.
[54:27]
Eli Double Tap
Yeah. And that's what happened.
[54:28]
Cody
But it's because the fucking politicians and the media, they, they play it out like they, they skew statistics. Like, did you know it is that guns are the number one cause of child death?
[54:39]
Eli Double Tap
Oh, but why?
[54:41]
Cody
Because it's not fucking real. Not a real stat. So like it. They say that you hear that all the time. Guns are the number one cause of child death. And it's like, you know why? It's because they, like, they remove certain sections. They remove like, I think the first couple years.
[54:55]
Eli Double Tap
It's fucking wild.
[54:56]
Cody
Yeah, like toddler years. They remove infancy, all that stuff.
[54:59]
Eli Double Tap
Read that. Just read that. This fucking parrot. You can read it like read it on the, the camera because that's what's insane.
[55:07]
Cody
Second, yeah. The overall number of gunshot victims at school is down. According to Fox's Numbers back in 1993-19 or 1992-1993 school year about point zero or 0.55 students per million were shot and killed. In 2014-15, that race rate was closer to 0.15 per million.
[55:26]
Eli Double Tap
That's the difference from the 80s and 90s to now. A tremendous drop off. But according to everything and all the news cycles and majority just thinks, oh, it's, it's more normal now.
[55:40]
Brandon Herrera
Well, they play, they play with the numbers and that's what kills me. You were just talking about it like that stat because yeah, let somebody drive by a school and pop rounds of off. That gets thrown in as a shooting. Yeah, throw that as a, hey, we had another shooting incident at a school. No, that's somebody just dropping around.
[55:56]
Eli Double Tap
FBI school shooting versus mass shootings index score, which is like two completely different index scores. Four mass shootings. This is a, that this is like cameras because I see. Because this is one of those things. Okay. Like, oh, I just want to learn the data on this because reading this NPR and then you get a C. It's like, oh shit, fucking. We have more, more mass shootings in a year than we do have days. Because look, we've had 400 because the skew the data. So then you look at the flip side of the FBI data and it's like on average we do like 12 to 22 a year. And you're like, well, those are very, very different numbers. What the fuck?
[56:42]
Donut Operator
They started counting injuries also. So if you're running from them, like if you're in a mass shooting situation or just any type of shooting, if you fall and skin your knee, you're a victim of that mass shooting.
[56:51]
Cody
Now, BB gun shooting in the original. But back to my point real quick about that one stat where it's like the number one cause of child death. It's completely wrong because like they take out the first couple years, which you're most likely, you know, crib death, all that, all the, the medical deaths, everything like that. But they include in the stat like death of children. I think the stat goes all the way up to 19.
[57:13]
Brandon Herrera
Oh, that was it.
[57:14]
Eli Double Tap
It was 19.
[57:15]
Brandon Herrera
You are if still a child at 19.
[57:17]
Cody
Yeah. So apparently you're a child. So all the light in inner city gang violence where you have these like 15 to 19 year olds who are shooting each other in like fucking turf wars in Detroit that gets counted as oh, school shooting death on paper and.
[57:31]
Eli Double Tap
Children'S death by firearms. 19. It goes up to 19. That is Brandon. Yep. 19.
[57:36]
Cody
Yeah.
[57:37]
Eli Double Tap
Now I know that Data.
[57:37]
Brandon Herrera
I was like, they won't lock a school down in New York if a kid come or if some stranger comes in.
[57:43]
Cody
But, oh, we're Buffalo again.
[57:45]
Brandon Herrera
This is. Dude, I cannot tell you how many times I've text him and said, thank you. Yeah, like the actions you're doing here are helping our children. All over the nation, people are now opening their eyes like there's a problem. And it starts with the staff. Well, it starts with what they have to put out to the news or at a, at a comstat meeting or anything where they're saying, hey, how many shootings have we had? Or how many incidents have we had at the school? They're skewing the numbers to hide things.
[58:09]
Cody
I testified in a fucking when in Denver, when Colorado was going through their assault weapons ban the first time. I think it ended up passing the second time, unfortunately. But we killed it the first time. And I remember I hardest part of politics is talking to stupid, stupid people and how we treat them with respect. Because this, it was. If only you knew, buddy, I'm right here.
[58:34]
Brandon Herrera
You're looking right at me saying these words.
[58:37]
Cody
I was, I was specifically addressing one of her. I was on a panel. I was specifically addressing one of her points because she was talking about like a statistic about there have been x many school shootings. And I said, that's not correct. Like, the vast majority of what your data considers to be a school shooting shooting involves zero deaths, zero casualties half the time, zero intent to cause harm. Like if somebody pulls out. Like if somebody fires a round hunting and it lands on school property, that's considered a school shooting. If somebody nds like their hunting shotgun in the parking lot and it hits the asphalt and hurts nobody, that's a school shooting. If somebody's like, you're in an inner city school where there's collateral from a fucking drive by a mile away. Like where around hits brick on school property, school shooting. And she's like, well, so you mean you think that means it's okay?
[59:28]
Eli Double Tap
Never said that.
[59:31]
Brandon Herrera
You'Re playing with numbers.
[59:32]
Cody
I. I'm saying you're manipulating data to push a political point.
[59:36]
Eli Double Tap
So Cody, can you see that second paragraph?
[59:38]
Brandon Herrera
Second one?
[59:39]
Cody
It's fucking crazy, dude.
[59:41]
Eli Double Tap
That is. It's the 55. So it's like, hey, look, it's safer. Now do is it that why, like when I say 2x, it's more on actually fucking 3. Holy shit. 3x safer during that time frame than the 90s. 0.55 versus 0.15 is insane. And We've seen a peak. I want to say 2018, maybe 2020 peaked at 0.18, but that was the highest. I got nowhere near 0.55 per million.
[60:16]
Cody
It's.
[60:16]
Eli Double Tap
Those are the. That's the. That pisses me off. But you get to see that data. And data doesn't lie.
[60:22]
Cody
I love, but. No, data doesn't lie. But there. Well, there's. There's. What is it? There's lies, there's damn lies, and then there's statistics, because they'll use their own.
[60:29]
Eli Double Tap
Because that.
[60:29]
Cody
That check I was talking about, she was a. She was a state representative for Colorado. In the chat, I had to be courteous, but my God, you just want to.
[60:40]
Brandon Herrera
And Colorado's so nice.
[60:41]
Cody
You want to tell these people how you really feel?
[60:45]
Brandon Herrera
How did you get voted in?
[60:49]
Cody
I forget. This is a comedy podcast.
[60:52]
Donut Operator
Colorado is just like California, man. Oh, my God, Wonderful states. The people just didn't live there.
[60:57]
Cody
Yeah, dude, Denver. It didn't used to be like that either.
[61:01]
Eli Double Tap
Great life. Yeah.
[61:03]
Cody
Well, no, the people that are going to come to the Denver Live show are going to be like, yeah, yeah, those people.
[61:07]
Brandon Herrera
Can we talk about the Nashville show?
[61:10]
Eli Double Tap
Oh, yeah, dude.
[61:11]
Cody
Let's go for it.
[61:13]
Brandon Herrera
So first off, my wife. Can I do this real quick, too?
[61:15]
Eli Double Tap
Yeah, go for it.
[61:16]
Brandon Herrera
So today is a divorce. No, no. Oh, no. Wait till you hear what I say. Today is our 10 year anniversary.
[61:28]
Cody
Congratulations.
[61:29]
Brandon Herrera
We have been married for a decade. We've been together for 15 years. And no, there's no divorce papers.
[61:33]
Cody
Jack wagon with friends like these.
[61:36]
Eli Double Tap
Besides all that.
[61:37]
Brandon Herrera
So the day y' all are doing the show, Zach again. Failure to do what he says he does.
[61:44]
Eli Double Tap
You're good. They invited you. Hey, guys.
[61:46]
Brandon Herrera
Kid.
[61:47]
Eli Double Tap
So I invite my friend.
[61:50]
Cody
We love this guy, by the way.
[61:51]
Brandon Herrera
Yes, we do. I told him I was going to tell y' all all the Zach stories. So y' all probably told him, hey, invite the guys. Like, let all the Nashville folks know. Probably told him like a week or two in advance. No, my wife texts me.
[62:03]
Cody
You actually told. Told him to not invite you, probably.
[62:06]
Brandon Herrera
My wife texts me and she goes, hey, that her. Her friends were coming over. Like, try to stay late at work. Like, don't come home. I want to hang out with the girls. I was like, all right, cool. She goes, I don't care what you do, Just go do something. It's like, all right. So I text Zach, hey, what are you doing tonight? I can't go home. He's like, oh, we're doing. We're doing the we're doing the Unsub in Nashville. Why don't you come out to it? Like that day?
[62:26]
Cody
Oh, boy.
[62:27]
Brandon Herrera
Like, all right, cool, I'll show up. So I pull up and I'm like, hanging out with y' all in the. The staff there is in freakout mode.
[62:34]
Eli Double Tap
They're running around.
[62:36]
Brandon Herrera
We talked about scared to death of Yalls crowd.
[62:39]
Cody
Oh, yeah.
[62:40]
Brandon Herrera
Thinking it's gonna be like just some wild out craziness. Like we're gonna have some. Some rap concert in downtown Nashville.
[62:46]
Eli Double Tap
Well, in their defense, There was an AT4.
[62:49]
Brandon Herrera
There was an AT4 that y' all never saw, by the way.
[62:52]
Cody
We heard about it.
[62:53]
Brandon Herrera
Yeah.
[62:54]
Cody
Staff made sure to let us know they hired security.
[62:58]
Brandon Herrera
Because I remember the first time I like, walked in, no issue, walked out, did some. Some things came back and I was like, oh, there's an armed security guard out front now. What's going on? He's checking everyone's IDs and get them in.
[63:10]
Cody
I love. Like, if anybody's going to cause a problem, it's not our fucking crowd.
[63:13]
Brandon Herrera
No, that's what was funny. I was like, do you know these. The people that are coming here, they're. They're not going to cause a problem. They just want to have a good time.
[63:19]
Cody
They're problem solvers.
[63:21]
Eli Double Tap
God. As someone who's like, I'm going to. Wow, 400 people got questioned. I just light them up. What'd you do? What did you do?
[63:34]
Brandon Herrera
At one point, I just like, look, if you fired, I get it.
[63:36]
Eli Double Tap
Just go home. Yeah.
[63:38]
Cody
They had to consult cameras. Nobody narcked either.
[63:42]
Brandon Herrera
They all would be like, I don't.
[63:43]
Eli Double Tap
Know what you're talking about. We see nothing.
[63:45]
Brandon Herrera
Yeah. I pleaded.
[63:47]
Cody
We watched. People weren't involved. Police and brass.
[63:51]
Brandon Herrera
I was actually shocked. There was an at 4 there. I was shocked. I was like, how did this. No, just.
[63:57]
Cody
All right, don't do it. But it was very funny.
[64:02]
Brandon Herrera
Oh, that show was funny. They didn't bring you all white. They ran out of White claw.
[64:07]
Eli Double Tap
They remember that. Dave ran. You all drank the fuck out. We learned. I think we talked about on the drive to. Oh, yeah, when I was dropping you off earlier, I was like, we learned really fast never to do a show back to back. Like, that was the very like, nope, no more back to back shows.
[64:25]
Cody
First show of the tour, too.
[64:27]
Eli Double Tap
Yeah, dude, that. Imagine if that was show three, though, and we're drained and we've already flown across the country like we had been. And then we had to do it back to back.
[64:37]
Cody
Where's Cody? Oh, he flew away. He left.
[64:44]
Eli Double Tap
Heaven.
[64:46]
Donut Operator
That's fun, man.
[64:47]
Eli Double Tap
That was.
[64:47]
Donut Operator
That was a fun show though, the Nashville. But they did come back to the backstage in the green room and told us all the staff was terrified of our audience.
[64:55]
Brandon Herrera
Welcome to Nashville.
[64:56]
Eli Double Tap
Yeah, I can't wait. Now they get these next venues because we have like Denver, we have Chicago, Iowa, or Des Moines. Yeah, we have a lot of that. Florida Orlando, like, but it's more on the. We get to play the hard rock. We get to play some dope ass.
[65:12]
Cody
Venues playing City City Walk in Universal Studios, which is fucking crazy.
[65:18]
Eli Double Tap
Dude.
[65:19]
Brandon Herrera
I just can't wait to see the Florida folks come out. The Florida Metheads coming to see y' all show. Y' all gonna have fun there.
[65:24]
Donut Operator
I love Florida, man.
[65:25]
Cody
2000 Florida men.
[65:27]
Eli Double Tap
2000 Florida men. That's the one thing we've. 1200 people is a lot in a venue. And now we're up to 2,000 and it's gonna be like, oh, my God, I hope we're funny tonight.
[65:42]
Brandon Herrera
Was it Nashville that they had the possum or the raccoon or whatever? It was like, stuffed.
[65:47]
Cody
What?
[65:48]
Brandon Herrera
Which one was that?
[65:50]
Eli Double Tap
I have no happened. What?
[65:52]
Cody
That must have been the second show.
[65:54]
Brandon Herrera
Yes. Oh, yes.
[65:55]
Eli Double Tap
I kind of remember that.
[65:58]
Brandon Herrera
Okay, if there's not a stuffed alligator at y' all's Florida show, bring it to us.
[66:02]
Cody
Dude, it's Florida. It'll probably be a real one.
[66:04]
Brandon Herrera
Somebody brings it in on a leash.
[66:06]
Cody
Show number one, we. We made the jokes, we scripted. Show number two, we made the jokes.
[66:12]
Eli Double Tap
We thought, yeah, there's a lot of booze.
[66:16]
Brandon Herrera
Did you see a Florida man bringing in the gator on a leash and saying it's their public?
[66:21]
Eli Double Tap
Yeah, but bring it on, Stitch. It needs to talk.
[66:27]
Cody
We give it a microphone.
[66:29]
Eli Double Tap
Mr. Algorithm, he ate somebody. He wants to fight the alligator.
[66:37]
Brandon Herrera
We're never come to Florida again.
[66:39]
Cody
Your dad is bravely deployed at alligator ac.
[66:43]
Donut Operator
Where my finger go.
[66:47]
Eli Double Tap
Right?
[66:48]
Brandon Herrera
That's awesome.
[66:49]
Eli Double Tap
Oh, yeah. I am terrified of the live show. I'm like, here we go again. We do it for all of you. I hope you all know that, cuz.
[66:59]
Brandon Herrera
Dude, they're so awesome. I'm not even going to lie. Sitting out on the. In the crowd watching it. It's just pure.
[67:04]
Eli Double Tap
You're.
[67:04]
Cody
You're funny.
[67:07]
Eli Double Tap
That's our biggest fear. Other than Rich is the only one.
[67:09]
Donut Operator
That, like, Rich just embraces that life, man.
[67:13]
Cody
He eats up.
[67:15]
Eli Double Tap
And then Jack. Last time Jack was on, that was my favorite thing. Jack was like. I knew it was really draining when I seen you guys In San Diego and Rich was dead. He's like, that's when I was like, oh, this is not a fun for these guys. They are. They're done. Completely. Exactly. Because you're just trying to find a cadence for it. You're like, hey, super excited for this next eight shows. I think eight shows from San Antonio to all the different locations. It's just the venue size has stepped up because the overall game plan is next year to even bigger. But only like two to four shows in 2026. And our goal for 2027 is I just want to do Madison Square Garden. And if we can do that and sell that out, that's a lifetime achievement award for all of us. I think.
[68:02]
Brandon Herrera
No, y' all took white claws to the Pentagon. Y' all life achieved.
[68:06]
Eli Double Tap
Oh, yeah.
[68:06]
Brandon Herrera
There's.
[68:07]
Eli Double Tap
Yeah.
[68:09]
Brandon Herrera
Y' all hit check marks that nobody knew we needed.
[68:11]
Eli Double Tap
I just want to see Cody's face when we walk out on stage and we're surrounded from all sides by 16,000 people. I'm so scared right now. And just do one for 2027 and call out the pilgrimage. And we all. Everyone goes there and we just get drunk as together. Cody, you want to borrow my ghost bed pillow?
[68:36]
Donut Operator
Does it smell like you?
[68:38]
Cody
Yes.
[68:41]
Eli Double Tap
Do you feel that? Cooling technology.
[68:43]
Donut Operator
It's definitely not a hot pillow.
[68:45]
Cody
I gotta get out of here.
[68:46]
Eli Double Tap
Give me my pillow. One that has to sleep here.
[68:50]
Brandon Herrera
You guys have your own houses in your own pillows.
[68:52]
Eli Double Tap
Quit touching it.
[68:53]
Cody
All right, real question. Can the gang do a pillow fight?
[68:56]
Brandon Herrera
Not with these little motion pillow fight.
[68:59]
Eli Double Tap
No. They're heavy. It'll hurt.
[69:01]
Cody
Are they really?
[69:01]
Brandon Herrera
Yes, they're premium.
[69:02]
Eli Double Tap
Dude, that would actually.
[69:03]
Cody
That's actually. I don't think I'd want to get smacked with that.
[69:06]
Brandon Herrera
I'm swinging it hard.
[69:07]
Eli Double Tap
Okay. Your son. You walk up and just pee off on your kid. If I smack you with this, you're gonna be a ghost. And get this. They're built to last with a 20 year warranty.
[69:17]
Cody
And they have a three month free trial period. What do they do with all the used mattresses that get returned?
[69:22]
Brandon Herrera
Not black lights. They have a complete sleep setup for spooky sex. Boo.
[69:28]
Donut Operator
Ghostbed has it all. Adjustable bases, sheets, pillows, and full bundles to upgrade your whole bed.
[69:35]
Eli Double Tap
With over 20 years of sleep expertise.
[69:39]
Cody
Which is really amateur hour. I've been sleeping for at least 30 years.
[69:42]
Eli Double Tap
Family owned and handcrafted in the USA. In Canada. Ew. Ew Canada. Entrusted by thousands of happy sleepers like Cody, Brandon.
[69:55]
Brandon Herrera
And Nick. Yep.
[69:57]
Cody
They have over 60,000 five star reviews and you get an extra 10% off when you use Code unsubscribe at checkout.
[70:05]
Eli Double Tap
Head over to ghostbed.com unsubscribe to get started. Started.
[70:08]
Brandon Herrera
That's ghostbed.com unsubscribe.
[70:11]
Donut Operator
Use the code unsubscribe to sleep better and stay cooler.
[70:15]
Eli Double Tap
Dude. Yeah, that after party is gonna be dope. We pick one bar for all 16,000 people to go to. You couldn't exactly.
[70:28]
Cody
Dear God. You may be one of those.
[70:31]
Eli Double Tap
Like, they're all sitting.
[70:32]
Brandon Herrera
They're all sitting there right now, like, challengers accepted.
[70:35]
Eli Double Tap
Dude. Yeah.
[70:37]
Brandon Herrera
Yalls comments about to blow up with. Oh, if y' all come to New York, we could definitely do it here. You can get everybody here.
[70:43]
Cody
I. God, I. I wouldn't want to go to New York. We were just there. You can't fit 30 people in a bar in New York.
[70:51]
Eli Double Tap
No. Oh, my God, you're right. I was just there with Ryden months ago.
[70:57]
Cody
That place is like a broom closet with a liquor license.
[71:00]
Eli Double Tap
Dude, I sent Dave. I sent you the photos of that room. It was like a nice room. It was at a higher end room on Time. Time Square. I was like, cool. Ryden will love this experience. It's a boutique, boutique hotel room. Blah. Got it for him. And then we walk into the room, and it is tiny. I was like, oh, there's a bed and a window. Got it. Ryden doesn't care. Daddy, I seen the page. I was like, man, I paid a lot, a lot of money for this.
[71:35]
Brandon Herrera
Just for this closet.
[71:36]
Eli Double Tap
Okay, well, it's next door. I'm fine. Well, what do you got? Okay, so now after the attack, after everything transpired, what has changed the most in your life, where you're like, oh, shit. Okay. Wasn't expecting this.
[71:51]
Cody
Can't pay for a drink in Nashville.
[71:54]
Brandon Herrera
I wish. No, we ain't going downtown Nashville ever. No, man. The world changed a lot for us. I've been going around talking at other agencies, talking to their training academies, talking to their in service, which we have to do every year anyways. So we just go out there and we talk about that day, we talk about that mindset, talking about how important. Important it is to, you know, train. How important it is to have, you know, being prepared mentally and physically and just, you know, breaking things down from that incident for other officers to learn from. That's our biggest thing. A bunch of us go around and do it from our command staff down to the officer level. And that's what's changed a lot. And also my home life Changed.
[72:41]
Eli Double Tap
So what?
[72:43]
Brandon Herrera
A lot of folks don't know that. Didn't work on the age agency. Was. I was that officer that had fomo. The fear of missing out. Not what you're thinking. Something inappropriate, probably.
[72:54]
Cody
No, I knew what. I knew what FOMO was.
[72:56]
Brandon Herrera
Okay, but how did you think I.
[72:59]
Eli Double Tap
Thought it was in your Mexican?
[73:02]
Brandon Herrera
We'll get to that.
[73:04]
Cody
That's Cholo.
[73:05]
Brandon Herrera
Yeah. He never came and helped me work on my deck.
[73:10]
Cody
Oh, that was why it was a race thing. I understand.
[73:12]
Brandon Herrera
So upset about that. I had to work on that deck by myself. It's not crooked. I swear to God. My deck is not crooked.
[73:21]
Eli Double Tap
Holy. You're the guy.
[73:24]
Cody
Yeah.
[73:24]
Eli Double Tap
Wow.
[73:25]
Cody
No, the whole time you're texting me and Zach while we're in that. While I'm in Nashville and just like, I'll cook you guys some good steak. Just come help me fix my deck in 100 degree weather.
[73:35]
Eli Double Tap
Oh, my God. I swore you're the guy. Guy. You dick.
[73:40]
Brandon Herrera
I had a Traeger grill right there. I was cooking like, we're good. I had the steaks.
[73:46]
Eli Double Tap
Dud's like, bro, what? Why don't you want to fix my dad? Like, first off, it's a steak.
[73:51]
Brandon Herrera
It wasn't. It wasn't fix it. It was. Just helped me build it. Oh, big difference. Big difference.
[73:57]
Cody
This claims to be Hispanic. Can't build a deck.
[74:01]
Brandon Herrera
My deck is not crooked. Now, I will also say we'll get back to the other stuff, but Zach did knock his head helping me level it when I first put it up.
[74:11]
Cody
When you first put it up? Yeah. That's interesting.
[74:14]
Brandon Herrera
You want to talk about that too? All right. So the wife says, let's buy a pool. We go to Walmart. We buy like this crappy pool, and we're like, this will work. We'll try it out for the summer. It's mid summer.
[74:26]
Eli Double Tap
You got an above ground pool?
[74:28]
Brandon Herrera
Heck, yeah.
[74:28]
Eli Double Tap
Yeah, duh, bro. Yeah.
[74:30]
Brandon Herrera
We do what we got to do. We put it up. And when I put it up, I was just like, hey, let's just get this pull up and see if the daughters even like it. And then we'll address the other things later. When I pop it up, it's a 6 inch difference from one side to the other. I'm like, ah, we can fix that real fast.
[74:45]
Cody
So it's not crooked, though.
[74:47]
Brandon Herrera
At that point it was. I'll admit, it was. So we take these two by fours. We make this U. We're putting on the frames and we're bending it up and we're putting bricks under it to level it. Zach calls one day. He's like, hey, what are you doing? I was like, oh, we're doing this? He's like, oh, well, I'll come by. He's like, all right, yeah, I'll take the help. So he shows up. He's not even there five minutes when he's helping lift it up, and it just breaks and whacks him in the head. And he just steps back. He's like, yeah, I got a concussion. I'm going home.
[75:18]
Cody
You even said it like, you really.
[75:20]
Eli Double Tap
Do sound like Zachary. And you say.
[75:22]
Brandon Herrera
He goes, I, Zach, you spent longer driving to my house than you did being here. Goes home. He doesn't talk to me for, like, three days. He's so mad.
[75:31]
Donut Operator
That's when he was calling us, talking shit about, yes.
[75:34]
Brandon Herrera
He was so mad. Well, so fast forward a whole nother year, and I'm like, all right, I'm gonna take the pool down. I'm gonna re level it, and then I'm gonna build a deck because all the previous year, my daughters were in it every day. Like, we're gonna redo this now. Yeah, I should have done it right the first time. I get it.
[75:59]
Cody
But I'm just thinking of like, are you competing with Al Qaeda for how many gray spots?
[76:08]
Brandon Herrera
So I go to put it up for the second time after fixing it, and that's when I was like, hey, I want to come help build the deck. And he's like, no, I'm not helping you build your crooked deck. Last time I almost had a concussion.
[76:16]
Eli Double Tap
And same.
[76:17]
Brandon Herrera
Whatever.
[76:18]
Eli Double Tap
Just like, same above ground pool.
[76:20]
Brandon Herrera
Yeah, same above ground pool, but I had leveled it this time. I bought all the equipment to do it right. I hired a buddy to come help out, and we. We built this deck, and then he's.
[76:29]
Eli Double Tap
I like, you hire them, but you're like, I got stakes for you, unsub boys.
[76:33]
Brandon Herrera
Yeah.
[76:36]
Eli Double Tap
$8.
[76:37]
Brandon Herrera
I was almost done at that point.
[76:39]
Cody
I was thinking about coming over, and Zach's, like, coaching me. He's like, no, don't do that. He'll concuss you.
[76:44]
Brandon Herrera
Yeah. So, like, I get done with, I take a picture of it, and Zach's like, there's the proof. It's crooked. Like, it's not crooked, bro. Well, fast forward again even more. Zach sends me a text one day. He goes, hey, my daughter's making these bracelets. You. You and the family want to come down to this flea market and. And buy some? Like, yeah, we'll swing by. So we. Me and the wife grab our daughters, and we drive out there. We buy these bracelets. We're walking around at this point checking out other things at the market. Zach sends a tag, says, hey, my wife's coming by. Why don't y' all swing back by over and come say hey? She's like, all right. So we swing back over there, and we start chit chatting. And somehow, in the middle of this conversation of our wives talking, the deck comes up again. And this is where it gets crazy is we have houses now divided in relation to this deck ordeal. My wife looks at Zach and says, no, the deck's crooked. It is 100% crooked. I'm on.
[77:34]
Cody
We're watching the kids play with a ball, and one of them is just dropping it and rolling it to the other.
[77:39]
Brandon Herrera
He's like, I'm so team Zach on the crooked deck. And then Zach's wife, she's like, no, I saw pictures of it. It looks straight. I'm. I'm team Michael. It's straight. And now we're like, all right, what do we do? Our families are torn on the simple fact of this deck being crooked or not. It's never going away.
[77:56]
Cody
Do you own a level?
[77:58]
Brandon Herrera
I do.
[77:59]
Cody
And it's.
[78:00]
Brandon Herrera
It's level.
[78:02]
Eli Double Tap
That doesn't have a confident level. It's like, level, is it?
[78:06]
Brandon Herrera
I'll take a picture. It's level.
[78:08]
Eli Double Tap
Okay. You put your kid's life on it. It's level.
[78:10]
Brandon Herrera
100.
[78:11]
Eli Double Tap
Okay, now 100 that. Now I feel wet.
[78:14]
Cody
What degree of level? Like, the bubbles touching one of the lines. Like, level.
[78:23]
Brandon Herrera
Statistics here. I'm not changing the numbers. It's level.
[78:25]
Eli Double Tap
Did you stain the wood on the deck?
[78:27]
Brandon Herrera
Not yet. I'm gonna do that.
[78:29]
Eli Double Tap
I knew this white ass 2x4.
[78:33]
Cody
You got the Lowe's label still stapled to it.
[78:38]
Eli Double Tap
Oh, God, it's so bright.
[78:42]
Brandon Herrera
Another crappy thing.
[78:43]
Cody
This is like, God.
[78:46]
Brandon Herrera
I go and I go speak at a conference at some SROs in this SRO in Chattanooga, or. I'm sorry, this was in Knoxville. I get done with the entire presentation about talking about the incident and mental health and stuff.
[78:58]
Cody
Sro?
[78:59]
Brandon Herrera
Yes. School Resource officer.
[79:00]
Cody
Okay?
[79:01]
Brandon Herrera
This officer comes up to me and he goes, hey, is everything true? Like, what are you talking about? Is everything true? He goes, everything that. That was talking about, like, is it all true? I was like, yeah, everything that I just talked to you about on this presentation is true. I was there. He goes, oh, no, no, no, no, no. Everything that that veteran with the sign said about your deck. I was like, dude, I Swear to God, if you don't get out of my face right now. He's like, well, I was just curious if it was. If it was crooked or not. Made the mistake of telling Zach that. So he holds that over my head now.
[79:29]
Eli Double Tap
Oh, Zach. He's a little veteran with the sign.
[79:36]
Cody
All right, Zach, if you're watching your next one, has to be you holding up the sign that just says the deck is crooked.
[79:45]
Eli Double Tap
We're actually debating if he has two stories, which is the donkey story, everyone knows, and then the other story, which he's trying to figure out if he tells or not. So we talked last week about this for the live shows was we'll just present both stories to the audience and then have the audience decide on what they want to hear for the live show.
[80:07]
Cody
I love how your strategy for social media and for the audience now has just, like, morphed into Gladiator. Like the fucking emperor.
[80:14]
Eli Double Tap
Just, like, tell me it works or does it work?
[80:17]
Cody
No, it's brilliant, but it's just very funny. It's like, do we kill Cody?
[80:24]
Eli Double Tap
Like, whoa, this only works once. Nashville. Hope you enjoyed the show. Drag his body. We're good. Just leave it here. Actually, everyone gets a pirate.
[80:39]
Donut Operator
Jesus.
[80:41]
Brandon Herrera
But to go back to, like, how things changed afterwards, I. I had that fear of missing out a lot of like, hey, we're hitting a search warrant. You want to come? 100%. I'm on my way. Like, when are we doing this? Like, can I be ram? Can I be pry? Can I be the point? I was jumping on anything and everything. We'd work wires. I'd volunteer for the night shift. There was overtime available. I was like, hey, let's do this. Like, I want some overtime. I was. I was, like, rushing for that adrenaline at work constantly. It's fun playing jump Out Boy. Let's be real. And then.
[81:14]
Eli Double Tap
And shoes. Shoe say commit here.
[81:16]
Brandon Herrera
Yeah.
[81:21]
Eli Double Tap
As a matter of fact, have you seen the unsub jump outs, Cody?
[81:24]
Brandon Herrera
Hey, that's some nice, colorful shoes.
[81:28]
Eli Double Tap
Black ones, too. What size do you.
[81:30]
Brandon Herrera
Oh, man, I'm not telling y'.
[81:31]
Eli Double Tap
All.
[81:31]
Brandon Herrera
You'll make fun of my short feet or my little tiny feet.
[81:34]
Donut Operator
Have you tried our jump out Boy shoes that are designed? I had to sign some jump out.
[81:38]
Brandon Herrera
Nine votes every day. Nines, eight and a half. That's fine.
[81:42]
Eli Double Tap
We got. I'm gonna give you the ones in my car.
[81:45]
Brandon Herrera
But no, I. I really enjoyed playing the jump out Boy all the time and just going out doing stuff. And I neglected my family a lot. I didn't get to see my first daughter grow up like I should have. And. And I'm at home. It's not like I'm somewhere else. I'm at home every day and just missed a lot of it. And post our incident, I kind of. I was sitting at home one day and it was just me, the wife and our daughter. And I looked around, I was like, man, who's here? Ain't none of my co workers. It ain't none of these folks that are talking about like, you know, blue lives matter and thin blue line and, you know, we're the greatest job that you could have a profession. No, it was my family. And that like flipped a switch in me to tell me that like, this job is not my life. My family is my life. And I've changed all that. So like I'm at home now. You call me. Yeah. You call me. You all. Yeah.
[82:35]
Cody
Like on anniversary. You're not even for that. Nobody's even helped me build my deck.
[82:40]
Brandon Herrera
Yeah. Jerks. I'm trying to build a deck for my kids so they can have fun. Because I'm trying to be a great dad now.
[82:45]
Eli Double Tap
Jerks.
[82:47]
Cody
Yeah, yeah. You're talking about the importance of family while you're on.
[82:49]
Brandon Herrera
Yeah, yeah, I know. And my wife's upset with me about that. I'm sorry. I had. We had scheduled some things prior and the reason why I'm here is a conference as well. So we're kind of doing two birds, one stone.
[82:59]
Cody
That's the. About an anniversary. It's on the same day.
[83:02]
Brandon Herrera
Yeah.
[83:03]
Eli Double Tap
And it's only the 10th.
[83:04]
Brandon Herrera
It's only the 10th year.
[83:05]
Eli Double Tap
It's only the 10 year.
[83:06]
Brandon Herrera
We got some stuff planned. I'm gonna. We'll take care of it. She's awesome.
[83:12]
Eli Double Tap
Just. Wow. Thanks. I will say it can be easy to forget. Like Sav and me completely forgot, like our fourth. It just was after the fact by a few days. I was like, it's like, oh, what time? I was like, babe, we both forgot our anniversary. And she's like, yeah. Oh yeah. And we were like, we both forgot.
[83:35]
Cody
You could have him so hard. You're like, I didn't forget.
[83:38]
Brandon Herrera
I was just waiting on you one of those months.
[83:42]
Eli Double Tap
I knew she forgot too. Sounds like she didn't say anything.
[83:48]
Brandon Herrera
You know, I had to Google like, what are you supposed to give on a 10 year anniversary?
[83:52]
Eli Double Tap
I don't.
[83:52]
Brandon Herrera
I still don't know. It's like it was like 30 different things you're supposed to do.
[83:56]
Cody
Hey, honey, I gotta. You got you a set of steak knives. And a new vacuum cleaner.
[84:00]
Brandon Herrera
I got you a deck and it's not crooked.
[84:03]
Eli Double Tap
And a vacuum cleaner. It's good though. You're like the family. I think it does come with age and, and then those moments like you went through, that's when it's that wake up call. Oh shit. I need to dedicate more time to my family because I've mixed, missed out on X, Y and Z or I'm not there. And it is, it's a difficult balance a lot of times because you're like, I want to provide for them. I want to give them the best life possible. But the flip side to that is I don't get to spend time with them as much as I need. Need to.
[84:38]
Brandon Herrera
I mean, it's tough. We got two little girls now. Our second one, you know, I've been there for everything. Like any milestone, I'm there. And now I'm trying to make up time from the missing with the first one. I'm always gonna be behind. But we're trying. And that was the other thing. Like it flipped a switch on me too. To realize like, look, we're still broke and crime's still happening. Despite all the overtime I worked and all the criminals we locked up, it ain't changing like, damn, go home.
[85:03]
Eli Double Tap
See, daddy didn't make a difference.
[85:05]
Brandon Herrera
There's no God.
[85:06]
Eli Double Tap
Yeah.
[85:07]
Brandon Herrera
What did I do with my life? Yeah. It just kills me cuz I can't.
[85:12]
Eli Double Tap
Have child one and child two. Open your mouth. Have this black pill. One day I'm going, remember your name. That went way the other way. Oh God.
[85:27]
Cody
Took an accidental exit ramp there somewhere.
[85:31]
Eli Double Tap
We'll be good. No, we him back to college. It's a hard one. Like we've discussed it multiple times where it's the sacrifice you make and you're like, cool. Look what I look at these empires I've built for my kiddos or my family. And then it's like, yep, I've missed so much because of it. And then it's the. Was the, was the trade off worth it? And usually never.
[85:56]
Cody
It is.
[85:59]
Brandon Herrera
No, it sucks. But we'll make up, Dom.
[86:01]
Eli Double Tap
Yeah, that's the best part.
[86:03]
Cody
You how old is so much time?
[86:05]
Eli Double Tap
Yeah.
[86:05]
Brandon Herrera
So I got a five year old and a one and a half year old.
[86:07]
Eli Double Tap
You got so much fun.
[86:09]
Brandon Herrera
I know, but those are, these are the fun times. My one and a half year old, you know, she'll run around and just destroy everything. And they tell you like your second child's the worst. It's true. Your first one's an angel. Your second one's the devil. In the good way, not the bad way. Don't think I'm talking bad about my kids. It's just true. I don't. I sit there and watch my second child just, like, get on top of this little stroller or something, and it's just riding it like it's a surfboard. And I'm just like, yeah, they'll be fine. First one, we were like, no, get off that. And trying to run to grab her so she doesn't get a boo boo. You're good.
[86:44]
Cody
My favorite John story is the linen closet.
[86:47]
Donut Operator
Oh, yeah. When he was. He was about your youngest daughter's age, he just opened up a linen closet, looked up at the little shelves. Damn, that's a ladder. Climbed all the way to the top, nose dived off of it. Just right onto his little soft head.
[87:01]
Brandon Herrera
He was like, yeah, what do I do?
[87:04]
Donut Operator
He's fine. It's. I mean, babies are pretty malleable. They, like, bounce and shit and bend.
[87:09]
Cody
You just have that moment of, like, watching your kid on the ground after this, and you're like, you know, you do have. College isn't for everyone.
[87:18]
Brandon Herrera
It is my child.
[87:19]
Eli Double Tap
What. What's the game where you have to keep your baby alive?
[87:22]
Donut Operator
Oh, who's your daddy?
[87:23]
Eli Double Tap
Yeah, who's your daddy? Is like, it always sounds like you're parenting, John, because didn't you also go to put.
[87:30]
Donut Operator
Oh, no. We were playing.
[87:41]
Eli Double Tap
Oven turning off this thing. Like, what the.
[87:44]
Cody
Dude, he was exactly that. We were.
[87:47]
Donut Operator
We were playing hide and go seek, and I found him outside underneath my car. So I'm like, what the. Why are you even outside in the first place? So I take him and I put him in the corner, and Time out. And then I catch him. I don't know where he got a butter knife from. He was sticking it in the alley, just seeing what would happen.
[88:03]
Brandon Herrera
Dude, outlets are scary. Like, our daughter takes the WI fi block, the extender. It keeps pulling it out and trying to put her finger in it. Like, stop, Please, no one. I get mad you cut my WI fi off to. Don't do that.
[88:16]
Cody
I got electrocuted one time as a kid, now that I think about it. Oh, yeah, you have no idea. I remember specifically, like, cleaning, like, helping my parents clean something. And I had, like, one of those, like, Clorox wipes, Like, the one that's, like, it's wet with, like, I guess, alcohol or whatever on it, and swabbing an outlet that a light bulb was in, and just get it and just getting that as like a child, you're just like, oh, I feel like that.
[88:42]
Brandon Herrera
Electrician would be sitting right there right now, just shaking his head. Ashamed of you.
[88:47]
Cody
Yeah.
[88:48]
Eli Double Tap
I don't know. Would you.
[88:49]
Brandon Herrera
Chargers on your tongue?
[88:51]
Eli Double Tap
Yeah. The 12 volts or 9 volts?
[88:52]
Brandon Herrera
Oh, my, yes. He was just like, it's all fun.
[88:55]
Cody
And games till you try it with a cigarette lighter from a car. Salt with the eraser.
[89:04]
Brandon Herrera
What?
[89:05]
Cody
Salt with the eraser.
[89:06]
Eli Double Tap
I see. Salt with ice. Solomon eraser. No, they have it. Yeah, I remember that.
[89:17]
Brandon Herrera
You'd go up to your friend and say, hey, let me see your hand. And you take the eraser and you just keep going it right there and burning it.
[89:22]
Eli Double Tap
No, I was. I know my parents would get on to me. I don't remember any of this. I would get out of my crib and then I would unscrew stuff. So TVs, anything on the back of stuff, I would just go unscrew it. And then I thought everyone did it at a young age of like 4 to 8. Fix their own Nintendo controllers. You take it apart, and then you'd heat up the. A butter knife to red hot. And then you'd re solder the buttons. This. I have like, photos of me doing this. And dude, I thought everyone was like, yeah, you have to re solder your controllers to make them work better. So I'd always do that for my friends with Nintendo controllers and everything. You take it apart, heat up the solder, melt it, and then re. Make sure the connections are better. Put it back together.
[90:02]
Cody
The Mexican soldering iron. A knife.
[90:05]
Eli Double Tap
A knife with an open stove. Healed up. And then you mouth are like, it's good.
[90:10]
Brandon Herrera
I do kind of find it funny as y' all are talking about stories as being children, it now explains a lot.
[90:17]
Eli Double Tap
That's how we got to where we are.
[90:20]
Cody
I don't think anybody would look at us as kids and go, like, those ones are gonna be successful.
[90:25]
Eli Double Tap
Fuck no.
[90:27]
Donut Operator
What do you call a brook?
[90:28]
Brandon Herrera
Broken bottle.
[90:28]
Cody
Brandon. I know what Clerks too called it. Good Lord, you got it too. Don't even pretend you didn't.
[90:40]
Eli Double Tap
This is what we do.
[90:41]
Brandon Herrera
Oh, Lord, no.
[90:43]
Eli Double Tap
So you went shooting today too? Oh, wait, you just got something.
[90:46]
Cody
Oh, yeah, it's in the car.
[90:49]
Eli Double Tap
What is it? Cody's favorite thing. That was your guys's anniversary present. Yeah. Picture Brandon on a knee.
[91:03]
Cody
The his and hers smg.
[91:05]
Brandon Herrera
That's what Brandon got in the divorce.
[91:08]
Cody
The. I'll let you do the honors.
[91:10]
Donut Operator
You have an MP7.
[91:12]
Cody
I have an MP7.
[91:14]
Eli Double Tap
You have a pretty cool. You have a suppressed MP7.
[91:17]
Brandon Herrera
Yeah.
[91:18]
Cody
It's been so long. That's been the one that like with me because like I always. I wanted one. I just. I didn't. 40 grand. Want one?
[91:25]
Eli Double Tap
Yeah.
[91:25]
Cody
And so I ended up getting it like a pretty okay deal. I think it was pretty like decent, like 20, 28, 29 grand, something like that. Which for a. For a full auto MP7, if you know, going rate like, that's still pretty. That's pretty good.
[91:37]
Eli Double Tap
In really good shape too.
[91:39]
Cody
Yeah, it looks brand new.
[91:41]
Eli Double Tap
Also, shout out to whoever sent me that original one. I kicked it. And then shout out to Cody for driving up the price.
[91:48]
Cody
Yeah, you, you motherfucker. I'm trying to get your favorite fucking sub gun. And I didn't know behind the scenes. This dude is motherfucking me on fucking livestream.
[92:00]
Donut Operator
I didn't know this.
[92:02]
Brandon Herrera
I should probably bid on this.
[92:06]
Eli Double Tap
Has anyone seen every stream?
[92:11]
Cody
Every stream. It was like MP7 tracker. Like, hey, to my thousands of people watching that. Like, guns. Have you seen this?
[92:20]
Brandon Herrera
My bad.
[92:21]
Eli Double Tap
I was cranking up so hard when I had. I didn't heard that part of the.
[92:25]
Donut Operator
Story until you won it. I didn't know you were bidding on it. You usually tell me when you're bidding.
[92:30]
Cody
I was like, it was like an hour before it ended. I text him like, dude, I'm winning it. He's like, that was you. Like, I'm like, you're be Herrera.
[92:42]
Brandon Herrera
I saw.
[92:43]
Eli Double Tap
I saw Herrera know it was.
[92:44]
Cody
You had a good ending to the story, I guess.
[92:55]
Brandon Herrera
You can't make this stuff up, dude.
[92:57]
Eli Double Tap
I. It was so good. And then I was so happy when you got it, though. I was like, yeah, that's dope. And you got like, who. What was. The people that hooked you up.
[93:06]
Cody
I. I don't think we can say it in the context of the podcast just because like, fucking YouTube rules are gay. But no, they really did Is a company out of DFW that. That really. They helped me out because they were just like. They gave me the suppressor and like a thousand rounds of ammo. It cost.
[93:21]
Eli Double Tap
Yeah.
[93:21]
Cody
Afterward. Which is fucking awesome. Like, you guys know who you are. I appreciate that.
[93:24]
Eli Double Tap
Four, six. Not cheap.
[93:26]
Cody
Not really.
[93:27]
Eli Double Tap
And then what are you gonna do with that piece of content, though?
[93:32]
Cody
That was the only video, I think, because, like, there's been videos in the past where like, hey, Cody, do you want to be in this video? And you're like, yeah, that was the only video. You've kind of me. You're like, can I please Be in that video.
[93:40]
Eli Double Tap
Don't let him in it.
[93:43]
Cody
That's. It's payback for driving up the price.
[93:46]
Brandon Herrera
Make them bid.
[93:47]
Eli Double Tap
Didn't we do a joke about that? That was the only video. Like, mid aircraft. You would turn around.
[93:53]
Cody
Yeah, yeah.
[93:54]
Eli Double Tap
I forget what we were talking.
[93:56]
Cody
We're like, I'm on the phone with Cody. We were joking about doing an intro. We're like, I'm on the phone with Cody in a plane. Like, hey, Cody, I got something you're gonna find really interesting. Oh, what's that, Cody?
[94:06]
Eli Double Tap
In the plane.
[94:07]
Cody
I unzip or I just. I'm in the plane. Like, I unzip a bag. I'm like, MP7 there. Well, let's just say it's gonna be a while before I can go back to Germany.
[94:17]
Eli Double Tap
That's it. Yeah, I had. That's the one I was thinking it was where you're like, hey, Cody, what are you like, I'm on fly. I can't talk. And you're like, oh, shit, where you going? He's like, going to South Carolina. Oh, shit. I got an MP7 about to film a video. Hard cut to the plane. The opposite way. I'll be there. How did you turn the plane around?
[94:37]
Brandon Herrera
Don't worry.
[94:39]
Eli Double Tap
I want to be in this video. Cody, how happy are you that you get a shoe on eggy of a time Now?
[94:46]
Donut Operator
That's pretty cool, man. I don't know where that became my favorite gun. It's got to be some PlayStation 2 video game. I can't think of what it would be.
[94:54]
Cody
Is it in csgo?
[94:55]
Donut Operator
It's in CS Go, but it's trash in CS Go. That's the thing.
[94:58]
Cody
It's kind of trash in real life.
[95:02]
Brandon Herrera
It's dang.
[95:02]
Cody
It's not a. It's not cool because it's good. I don't know. I've got.
[95:06]
Eli Double Tap
It's like the 57 is not like, oh, it pierced body. It's one of those rounds where you pierce bar. It does all this. It's a tiny fucking round.
[95:14]
Cody
Oh, I don't like 57 at all.
[95:15]
Brandon Herrera
Like.
[95:15]
Cody
Excuse me. The 57 pistol, like the FN handgun.
[95:17]
Brandon Herrera
Yeah.
[95:17]
Eli Double Tap
Or even the P90. The round does not do as much. It's good. It's fun. I like it. I just don't think it does as much damage or. Yes, it can pierce body armor, but most rounds today can.
[95:29]
Cody
Well, if you have the good, good ammo, it can pierce body armor pretty damn well. Yeah, but nobody shoots with that, so it's like, okay, congrats you have something that could theoretically work.
[95:38]
Eli Double Tap
And so I'm like, yeah, give me an eight. Eight, six.
[95:41]
Cody
That's the thing. People like, did you know that this ammo could. Can punch body armor? I'm like, cool. Do you own any? All right, then what the are we talking about? Yeah, I don't know. The MP7 is like, it's. It's drippy as. It's cool. It's the one thing that's been lingering over my head that like, I've gotta have one of those one day. But at the same time, it's. It is overrated.
[96:01]
Eli Double Tap
Also. Dope. Seeing the. That third switch. Yeah.
[96:06]
Cody
Oh, yeah.
[96:07]
Eli Double Tap
Just. That's what I was like, yeah, this is dope. They don't make this with the two. This is a fun, fun. Pew, pew.
[96:14]
Cody
That's insane. I like them.
[96:17]
Eli Double Tap
That one I'm excited for. And then we're getting into. We might do the kind of the class warfare, but with the loadout, the.
[96:24]
Cody
Call of Duty loadouts. It's been an idea that you've been working on forever.
[96:28]
Eli Double Tap
Yeah, I'm excited for that one because then we get a run that. I think that weapon platform with. What was the other one we discussed? The Honey Badger. I think that's just like your ideal war zone loadout or Call of Duty loadout.
[96:42]
Cody
Comparing the realism. So you have got this one that's running like running with a Barrett and the what, five mags. Running with the Barrett with all that ammo. You're not a 30 pound rifle.
[96:53]
Eli Double Tap
No. What. What actual. For you, for your training. You said you were hyped on the training you went through. And you do get to see the difference from how others police forces have reacted to the situation where yours was violence of action. What was the big training that they did with you?
[97:12]
Brandon Herrera
Man, I don't know who actually started the training. There's all this back and forth because back in the day, you know, it.
[97:19]
Eli Double Tap
Used to be what.
[97:21]
Brandon Herrera
What they did in Columbine surrounded, call out, call swat, let SWAT handle things. And you might know better. Like when it started transitioning, where they're like, hey, we're not doing that anymore. Yeah, like it's go in. It doesn't matter if it's one or if it's.
[97:33]
Donut Operator
That was right around the time I became a police officer, like back in 2015.
[97:37]
Brandon Herrera
Okay.
[97:38]
Donut Operator
They just started transitioning that. That type of training.
[97:40]
Cody
Because that would have been after Sandy Hook.
[97:43]
Donut Operator
Yeah, it was. It was around after Sandy Hook.
[97:45]
Brandon Herrera
And I knew, like, don't wait, don't Wait, don't wait, Go alert had a thing out of Texas. They were like, they had laid down, like, this foundation. And I'm not saying they were the first ones to do it. I don't know who came up with it, but our department went through that training. I was like, that's. That's what's gonna work. And we just adopted it, put a. Our logo on it, put a little spin with it from our agency, and our training folks just pushed it to us. And I think it's like national. Like, everyone goes off of this platform. It's not. It doesn't matter if it's one person or if it's four or if it's eight. First one there, you just go. And that's what we're taught.
[98:21]
Cody
Yeah.
[98:22]
Brandon Herrera
Then it's just. Like I said, it's just beat into a. At the very beginning, like, this is how you will do it. You need to look yourself in the mirror and you need to ask yourself, can I do this? If not, this might not be the profession for you. You have to self evaluate. And we're really good about that.
[98:37]
Cody
Because I think that was also the son of a bitch about Uvalde, because it was. There was a lot of. Don't get me wrong, there was a lot of failures on a lot of levels, but one of the glaring ones is that they treated it as a barricaded suspect.
[98:48]
Brandon Herrera
Well, we just had one in my hometown. We had a situation that came out as an active shooter. And, you know, I'm getting alerts on my phone, and I'm texting the security guard at my daughter's school, like, hey, are you aware this is happening? It's like, yes, I'm on it. School's on lockdown. Like, thank God someone's paying attention. This is awesome. I'm happy. But besides all that, like, it comes out as an active shooter. Officers get there, comes out. Or they find out that it was just a individual going through a mental episode. Had a gun and entered into a liquor store and started popping rounds off. He's screaming and yelling a bunch of crazy stuff. Everybody got out of the liquor store, and it turned into a barricade. These are very fluid, but at the same time different. And they can change on a dime. And that one again, came out as an active shooter, changed over to a barricade, and they just surrounded and called him out, waited. He was sitting inside the liquor store, just drinking. Finally got to the point where it was like, all right, I'll come out and came out and Got the help he needed, but again, came out as an active shooter.
[99:46]
Cody
So, yeah, they're tough. Yeah, don't get me wrong, like, total Monday morning quarterback.
[99:52]
Brandon Herrera
Yeah, all he was a failure.
[99:53]
Cody
Uvalde was the. Because I mean, if you've never been. Small town. Yeah, very small town. The. The distance between school and police department, very, very minimal. And just the. The amount of time spent waiting while there is somebody with the intent to kill children. Well, killing children.
[100:11]
Brandon Herrera
Correct me if I'm wrong. Was it a. Like a supervisor that was telling everybody to hold on, like, hey, no, we need to do this, we need to do that?
[100:19]
Donut Operator
I believe so. I would, I would have to go back and look at it, but I think there was someone higher up that was like, no, don't do it. This is a barricade to suspect and when they're on the scene. But yeah, but they're hearing the gunshots and stuff. So.
[100:31]
Brandon Herrera
So like for us, our agency is really good. Even like in the military, that whole small unit leadership. Like, hey, it doesn't take a commander to make a decision.
[100:41]
Eli Double Tap
Your.
[100:41]
Brandon Herrera
Your bottom tier individual can make the same decision.
[100:45]
Eli Double Tap
Our.
[100:45]
Brandon Herrera
Our agency is big on that. Like, you're an officer. Make a decision.
[100:49]
Eli Double Tap
If you're on the ground, like, go. There's your small team, go. Like homeboys. Like, I hear gunshots. Let's all push that. That should be it. Officers doing at that level and this I say officer, officer from the military standpoint, like enlisted versus officer, where they're like, well, hold on. It's like, go yourself, sir. Yeah, we're gonna do it this way.
[101:11]
Cody
And I've got to watch out.
[101:13]
Eli Double Tap
Many times it's easy to.
[101:14]
Cody
Monday morning. A Monday morning quarterback again, because like, you know, it's those, like, why don't you just disobey the order and go in? Like, I. It's really easy to say, but at a certain point, like, I remember listening to accounts of people that were there sitting there waiting to go in and literally like having a breakdown. Like, I just want to go in. Like, I'm hearing gunshots. I'm seeing dead children. Like, let like, put me in coach. What the fuck? And that's a hard thing to deal with.
[101:41]
Eli Double Tap
And that's where you have to award the individuals that go be. It's their fear of punishments that go, fuck, I don't want. What trouble am I gonna get into? Because this person did say don't do this. And. And he is above me in rank. Where. That's where at fucking primetime army war or Baghdad war. Dude. Like enlisted. Yes. Officers outranked, but did not fucking matter. Like enlisted. E6s E5 the Siren Staff Sergeant. Sergeant First Class made decisions. Yeah. So when we had. My favorite is still, like, Sergeant Reyna. We were doing a patrol. It was like going in at night, and we're just about to. We might have just putting our nods on. On. We're walking down a path, and the first lieutenant, Forget his name. There's. There's an ID hole. It's like, right in the middle of street. We're walking next to it. And then the lieutenant's like, hey, hey, s. Can you go look in that ID Hole, make sure there's not another ID at the bottom of it? So Randall looks at me. He's like, go yourself, sir. Yeah, no, you go look in the hole. I'm not looking in. Goddamn giant hole where an explosion happened. Just what the Were you talking about?
[102:58]
Cody
What do I do when I find it?
[103:02]
Eli Double Tap
You just get to see leadership on so many levels a lot of the time.
[103:06]
Cody
Smack that. See if it's live.
[103:11]
Brandon Herrera
Correct me if I'm wrong, too. Was it the. The BORTAC folks that went in at Uvalde, like, finally got on scene, and they were under the impression, like, oh, no, this is a barricade. And then when they got on scene, they're like, this isn't a barricade. This is still going on. And then they made entry.
[103:26]
Cody
Yeah. I want to say, like, especially early reporting was that, like, BORTAK got involved. And then, you know, those dudes are awesome.
[103:33]
Brandon Herrera
Badass dude. I met some of those guys out in Cali that they came out and I was like, do y' all are legit? Like, I go federal. That's. That's where I want to go.
[103:41]
Donut Operator
I didn't know that. They're. They're so high speed.
[103:44]
Eli Double Tap
They.
[103:44]
Donut Operator
They skydive into shit sometimes.
[103:46]
Cody
Like, they do.
[103:47]
Donut Operator
They do Halo and hey, ho jobs. They're like, I you not.
[103:50]
Brandon Herrera
They're like, hey, you know, we can drive up there. No, no, no. Get the bird. We're going up all the way, and we're gonna jump in. Why? Well, just do it.
[103:59]
Cody
You saw that one where they.
[104:00]
Eli Double Tap
That.
[104:00]
Cody
That one, like, socialist rifle club or whatever? Like, that dude try to ambush the BORTAC guys.
[104:05]
Brandon Herrera
Yes.
[104:06]
Cody
It had that, like, shitty, like, 3D printed fucking AR that basically was like. He had it engraved on the rifle, like, from the photo I saw, at least said, like, step one, pointed fascist. Step two, pull trigger or whatever the fuck. Dude tries to ambush some BORTAC guys. You, you are ambushing cops with a rifle, with an AR15 style rifle. And somehow you are still the only corpse on scene.
[104:33]
Brandon Herrera
Vortech.
[104:34]
Cody
Yeah, those guys don't around.
[104:36]
Eli Double Tap
They're trained for ambush. Dude. When you train for an ambush, like military training, it's part of it. It's trained for your. If in an ambush, guess what you do? You start shooting. That's what pre like program in my head one of talked about it before. It's like the only time I felt I was like, oh, I'm gonna die. Like rounds kicked at me. My first instinct was like, well, just shoot back. I'm gonna just shoot off, come back you. And it's like I seen dust kicking around. Like, oh, those are. Those are close. Yeah, shoot back more, but I'll take a knee this time.
[105:09]
Brandon Herrera
Are those pumps or zines?
[105:10]
Eli Double Tap
Yeah. And I'm guessing the vortex guys, that's exactly what happened during that. It's like we hear engagement, we're just gonna turn and start shooting and where we hear the pops from.
[105:20]
Cody
But I mean, I. I'm assuming. I don't know actually the details of that situation, but I'm assuming it's handguns like versus rifle at rifle distance or at least, you know, decent distance. And they still just smoke that.
[105:31]
Brandon Herrera
That's hilarious. I'm pretty sure on the Baldi one, one of them took around through the hat as they were making entry. Like he was number one coming in and took around through the hat and then still pushed in and the fight while the rest moved in like them. Them some bad boys.
[105:46]
Eli Double Tap
I've never heard of that group before.
[105:48]
Brandon Herrera
Exactly. Neither had. Neither had any of us until you've already ever like, what's Bortech do?
[105:52]
Eli Double Tap
They just operate across the nation?
[105:54]
Donut Operator
It's border patrol, special forces.
[105:56]
Eli Double Tap
No shit.
[105:57]
Cody
Yeah, but they.
[105:59]
Donut Operator
They train with like Delta and all those boys.
[106:01]
Eli Double Tap
That's right.
[106:02]
Cody
So the most recent one was kind of like one of those fuck ice like that sort of thing.
[106:06]
Eli Double Tap
They're fucking haloing in. They do.
[106:08]
Donut Operator
They do crazy shit that you wouldn't think border patrol does.
[106:11]
Eli Double Tap
No, Halo's a wild one that did not know they did that.
[106:15]
Cody
Think of this as like you were like a anti Vietnam protester in the 60s and 70s and you're like, you know what? I'm gonna show these baby killers what I think. And you try to like wait outside in the parking lot of a Mac V. SOG meetup, like, good luck.
[106:32]
Eli Double Tap
Holy shit. Yeah, that's wild. Well, yeah, man. Well, what now? After everything? Anyone that's Going into that situation that might be dealing with the same stuff you went through. What would be any information or advice you would get out there and present to that audience?
[106:50]
Brandon Herrera
Man, when I go out and I talk, I tell them, like, the whole mindset, the being prepared, the listening to your training, the knowing that. It sounds so cliche and I hate this, but it is what it is. You know, like, we swear in, we put our hand on the Bible, put our hand on our. On the shield, and we tell them, like, hey, I will lay down my life for someone. Someone like that. That's true. So in these incidences, like, when we were going into it, like, hey, there might be a chance I don't go home. And that's already predetermined when we're going there. Like, hey, my family knows, like, I might not come home in this instance in particular. But if you can't sit here and answer that question truthfully, again, you shouldn't be in this profession. But just having that mentality and being prepared, like, those are the two biggest things, physically, mentally, all that, like, the, the days of being the slob police officer that just sits in their car and does nothing are done. Like, we're trying to get folks, like, caught back up. Hey, no, we're training. We're doing this. We're being prepared. And yeah, everyone says it best. Like, I don't want this out of shape, lazy officer coming to my call and backing me up or taking care of my family. We're done with it. We want to fix our profession.
[108:05]
Cody
You don't want to be the shitty cop in a donut operator video.
[108:08]
Brandon Herrera
No, you don't. You do not. That should be the fear. And everybody at the academy, they should, like, instill that to folks like, look, if you mess up, Donuts, going to get you that.
[108:17]
Cody
Actually, because I know they use your videos for training for a lot of stuff to do and whatnot. That's what you should start doing for training is you showing Donut where you are just going after bad cops. Like, this could be you if you don't pay attention.
[108:35]
Donut Operator
It's got 5 million views. You don't want this to be you.
[108:39]
Cody
Taser, Taser, Taser. This could be you.
[108:43]
Eli Double Tap
Well, Acorn Cop. Acorn Cop, dude, Acorn Cop has been a pleasure to have you on. You can't tell me that that combat role wasn't legit. Oh, yeah, yeah. Didn't you do two?
[108:59]
Cody
Yeah. It's like. And you, you try to give people the benefit of the doubt. You're like, okay, like severe ptsd, stuff like that, like was claimed and whatnot. You do some more reading on the background. Like no. 3 deployments to Modern Warfare 2 and like it's.
[109:12]
Brandon Herrera
They stayed home and played Call of Duty all day.
[109:15]
Donut Operator
I do the thanos and some of those. I'm just like, I'm sorry, little one.
[109:24]
Cody
You know, the good, good set of cops and the bad side, you're like perfectly balanced, as all things should be.
[109:29]
Brandon Herrera
You just gotta go back to this. Which one are we doing?
[109:34]
Eli Double Tap
Oh, man. Cody, you want to close us out? Well, before we close out, where do we find you, you beautiful son of a.
[109:40]
Brandon Herrera
All over the place now? No, I'm on Instagram Mike Colazo official. Because there's apparently another Mike Clauseo out there, so I had to put that in a real Italian. Yeah, exactly, exactly. He may or may not be a cop in Texas. And he might. He may or may not have been at Yalls Range Day. By the way, he's an awesome guy. He actually sends me Bible verses every so often. We got to know each other.
[110:04]
Eli Double Tap
Oh, this is a real guy.
[110:05]
Brandon Herrera
100. He was outside working security for Yalls Range Day.
[110:09]
Eli Double Tap
Oh yeah. Okay.
[110:10]
Brandon Herrera
Awesome dude. He's very family oriented and everything. Like we still. We still talk to each other. But he. He stole my social media page so I had to make a new one and put my name on it.
[110:21]
Cody
Did you talk to Colosso? Yeah, of course I did. What do you think?
[110:23]
Brandon Herrera
It's funny he got so many messages afterwards like, bro, when did you move to Tennessee? He's like, I didn't still work in Texas.
[110:29]
Eli Double Tap
I'm so confused right now.
[110:31]
Brandon Herrera
Exactly. But now you find me on Instagram. That's basically like where I'm at. And then Zach made me get a website, said, you really need to do this. So you can actually find me at mike.colazzo or mike collazo.com that'll give you like my contact information. Because again, I'm real big on in the law enforcement realm of just being there for each other and checking in and all that type things. And I give my a phone number out. Not my actual one. There's one out there and my email just to talk with folks.
[111:03]
Eli Double Tap
Don't do that.
[111:03]
Brandon Herrera
I fixed it. I fixed it.
[111:06]
Cody
You can also find his Instagram at Crooked Deckactual.
[111:09]
Brandon Herrera
I'm gonna have to change it now.
[111:13]
Eli Double Tap
No. Well, it's a pleasure.
[111:16]
Brandon Herrera
No, it's been awesome.
[111:17]
Cody
No, we did genuinely appreciate having you on, man. The. It's. It's fun to have these. These more serious ones. Even though, like, we try to keep it light hearted and everything like that. I think we talked about some pretty. Pretty real.
[111:26]
Brandon Herrera
Yeah.
[111:28]
Eli Double Tap
Yep.
[111:28]
Donut Operator
Well, everyone, thank you for coming to the unsubscribe podcast. I was joined today by Eli Double Tap, Mike Lazo, Brandon Herrera, myself, donut operator. We love you. Thanks for being here.
[111:38]
Eli Double Tap
Go yourselves. No, I'm joking. I love you. Kisses.
[112:16]
Brandon Herrera
You say you'll never join the Navy.
[112:19]
Donut Operator
That you'd never track storms brewing in.
[112:21]
Eli Double Tap
The Atlantic, and skydiving could never be part of your commute.
[112:28]
Cody
You'd never climb out Fuji on a.
[112:30]
Eli Double Tap
Port visit or fly so fast you.
[112:34]
Cody
Break the sound barrier.
[112:36]
Brandon Herrera
Joining the Navy sounds crazy. Saying never actually is.
[112:41]
Donut Operator
Start your journey@navy.com, america's Navy forged by the sea.