I Robbed a Pharmacy: The Dark Reality of a Police Veteran | Episode 177

Do you think growing up in that, I'm just gonna call it a hippie environment-

Mm-hmm

... do you think that helped you later on, or do you think that your childhood experiences kind of helped you deal with what you get later on in your career, where you're dealing with the drug a- drug addicts and the homeless?

Yeah, I do.

I, you know, there's, there is a negative aspect to it, but I think personally and career-wise, it made me a lot more empathetic towards people and to know... 'Cause my mom's friends were all great people.

I mean, these were, many times, father figures that came.

You know, they, they've taken us on, uh, overnight camping trips, and we would go up to their...

They had houses up in the, up in the, um- Just kind of out in the woods, out in the countryside, you know, and we'd go stay there 'cause that's where they had their big marijuana farms.

But you know, they, they weren't b- bad people.

They were all good people, you know? And so when I got into it, and I, and I would come across someone who had a drug problem or someone who was selling drugs, I didn't see them, I think, the way a lot of other cops saw them, you know? I w- I didn't have a hard-on to arrest every drug dealer, you know? I didn't like the gang members.

I didn't like the ones that were doing violence.

But some, you just understood, you know? These were kids growing up in extremely poor neighborhoods, and that's all they knew.

Mm-hmm.

You know, they're, they're not going down to McDonald's and getting a part-time job.

That just doesn't exist in their neighborhood.

So you know, I had more, I think, of a empathy for them.

Yeah.

Um, and then same thing with the homelessness.

There's such a tie-in to it a l- a lot of times with drugs, drug use, that I just, you know, I, I, I had, I think, more empathy than maybe some cops did.

Tell me about this.

Your mom was kind of the hippie pot smoker, drug dealer.

Dad really wasn't around.

Kind of a lack of stability in your household.

I think in an earlier podcast that I watch you, watched you, you said that that kind of led you to law enforcement.

Yeah.

Do you think growing up in that, I'm just gonna call it a hippie environment-

Mm-hmm

... do you think that helped you later on, or do you think that your childhood experiences kind of helped you deal with what you get later on in your career, where you're dealing with the drug a- drug addicts and the homeless?

Yeah, I do.

I, you know, there's, there is a negative aspect to it, but I think personally and career-wise, it made me a lot more empathetic towards people and to know... 'Cause my mom's friends were all great people.

I mean, these were, many times, father figures that came.

You know, they, they've taken us on, uh, overnight camping trips, and we would go up to their...

They had houses up in the, up in the, um- Just kind of out in the woods, out in the countryside, you know, and we'd go stay there 'cause that's where they had their big marijuana farms.

But you know, they, they weren't b- bad people.

They were all good people, you know? And so when I got into it, and I, and I would come across someone who had a drug problem or someone who was selling drugs, I didn't see them, I think, the way a lot of other cops saw them, you know? I w- I didn't have a hard-on to arrest every drug dealer, you know? I didn't like the gang members.

I didn't like the ones that were doing violence.

But some, you just understood, you know? These were kids growing up in extremely poor neighborhoods, and that's all they knew.

Mm-hmm.

You know, they're, they're not going down to McDonald's and getting a part-time job.

That just doesn't exist in their neighborhood.

So you know, I had more, I think, of a empathy for them.

Yeah.

Um, and then same thing with the homelessness.

There's such a tie-in to it a l- a lot of times with drugs, drug use, that I just, you know, I, I, I had, I think, more empathy than maybe some cops did.

Tell me about this.

Your mom was kind of the hippie pot smoker, drug dealer.

Dad really wasn't around.

Kind of a lack of stability in your household.

I think in an earlier podcast that I watch you, watched you, you said that that kind of led you to law enforcement.

Yeah.