Heroes Live Forever Podcast
Each podcast pays tribute to law enforcement officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty. behindbadge.substack.com
Episodes
"Heroes Live Forever" - the story of Virginia State Trooper Jerry Hines
McLean, VA (August 12, 2025) - On February 20, 1989, Virginia State Trooper Jerry Hines was working the late shift when he spotted a motorist driving erratically. Suspecting that the driver was intoxicated, the 28-year police veteran pulle…
"Heroes Live Forever" - the story of Pulaski County (MO) Night Marshal Dotson A. "Pop" Sutton
McLean, VA (July 29, 2025) - As a night marshal in Pulaski County, Missouri, Dotson A. Sutton protected and befriended thousands of soldiers and their families stationed at Fort Leonard Wood during World War II. He would frequently have hi…
"Heroes Live Forever" - the story of New Jersey State Police Detective Albert J. Mallen Sr.
McLean, VA (July 22, 2025) - On the night of August 28, 1985, with 14 years of distinguished police service under his belt, New Jersey State Police Det. Albert J. Mallen Sr. was working on one of the biggest narcotics cases in state history…
"Heroes Live Forever" - the story of the Chicago Haymarket Riot
McLean, VA (July 15, 2025) - On May 4, 1886, a pro-labor crowd had gathered in Chicago’s Haymarket Square to rally in support of an eight-hour workday. Near the end of the rally, around 10:30 pm, a large number of police arrived and ordere…
"Heroes Live Forever" - the stories of John Adair, John Fulton and Kent Hintergardt
McLean, VA (July 7, 2025) - More law enforcement officers are assaulted and injured responding to domestic disturbance calls than any other circumstance. And many of those calls have resulted in deadly encounters for the officers involved.…
"Heroes Live Forever"--the story of Federal Correctional Officer Andrew Turner
On March 26, 1916, Federal Correctional Officer Andrew Turner was stabbed to death by an inmate at the Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary in Kansas. His killer, Robert Stroud, was sentenced to hang. However, President Woodrow Wilson commute…
"Heroes Live Forever" - the story of New Hampshire State Police Sgt. James Noyes
McLean, VA (June 24, 2025) - On October 3, 1994, an elderly man named James Monsante, who had been grieving over the death of his wife earlier that year, was on the verge of suicide. His son contacted police and told them about the stash o…
"Heroes Live Forever" - the story of New Orleans Police Officer Nicola Cotton
McLean, VA (June 17, 2025) - Nicola Cotton, a 24-year-old New Orleans police officer was responding to the call of a possible rape suspect on the loose. She found a man sitting on the curb who fit the description of the possible rapist. A…
"Heroes Live Forever" - the story of John Novabilski and William Christian Jr.
McLean, VA (June 10, 2025) - On April 26, 1995, Prince George’s County (MD) Police Corporal John Novabilski was working an off-duty job as a security guard for a local liquor store. He was in uniform and sitting in his marked patrol cruise…
"Heroes Live Forever" - the story of D.C. Metropolitan Police Officer Scot S. Lewis
McLean, VA (June 3, 2025) - On October 6, 1995, Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Officers Scot Lewis and Keith DeVille were flagged down by a motorist who needed help. The two officers were just seven minutes from the end of their shif…
"Heroes Live Forever" - the story of Four Police Officers Gunned Down in Cold Blood
McLean, VA (May 20, 2025) - In 2009, 15 law enforcement officers were shot to death in just five separate multiple-death incidents. One of those tragedies occurred just after 8 am on Sunday, November 29, when a lone gunman walked into a Pi…
"Heroes Live Forever" - the story of NYPD Officer Edward "Eddie" Byrne
McLean, VA (May 13, 2025) - Around 3:30 a.m. on February 26, 1988, a 22-year-old New York City police officer named Edward “Eddie” Byrne was sitting alone in his marked patrol car guarding the witness in a drug case. That’s when a car drov…
A Father and Son Were Killed in the Line of Duty on the Same Day 26 Years Apart
McLean, VA (May 6, 2025) - Following the 2014 shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, the many months leading up to National Police Week in 2015 were filled with a troubling amount of anti-cop sentiment—and charges of racial …
"Heroes Live Forever" - the story of U.S. Secret Service Agent William Craig
McLean, VA (April 29, 2025) - It was not until the assassination of President William McKinley in 1901 that the Secret Service began protecting the President of the United States on a full-time basis. A Secret Service operative by the name…
"Heroes Live Forever" - the story of Franklin Township (NJ) Police Sgt. Ippolito "Lee" Gonzalez
McLean, VA (April 22, 2025) - For two decades, Franklin Township (NJ) Police Sgt. Ippolito “Lee” Gonzalez distinguished himself as a no-nonsense cop who had a keen eye for suspicious activity and never shied away from following his instinct…
"Heroes Live Forever" - the story of two D.C. MPD Police Officers: Clifton Rife II and Oliver Wendell Smith Jr.
McLean, VA (April 15, 2025) - By all accounts, Sgt. Clifton Rife II was a hardworking officer who had no fear of the streets. One police official said, “You got so used to him doing a great job that it just became the standard.” During th…
"Heroes Live Forever" - the story of Cortez (CO) Patrolman Dale Claxton
McLean, VA (April 8, 2025) - At the age of 42, Dale Claxton had grown tired of his job selling and repairing tires. He wanted to do something more meaningful with his life. It wasn’t long before he was being sworn in as a Cortez, Colorado, …
"Heroes Live Forever" - the story of Muncie (IN) Patrolman Gregg Winters
McLean, VA (April 1, 2025) - On December 28, 1990, Muncie (IN) Patrolman Gregg Winters arrested a man for public intoxication. The man was sitting in the back of Patrolman Muncie’s police vehicle, on his way to jail, when he pulled a conce…
"Heroes Live Forever" - the story of Fond du Lac (WI) Patrol Officer Craig Birkholz
McLean, VA (March 25, 2025) - On March 20, 2011, Fond du Lac (WI) Patrol Officer Craig Birkholz, 28, responded to a call that a fellow officer had been shot. As Officer Birkholz arrived on scene and exited his vehicle, the suspect emerged …
"Heroes Live Forever" - the story of Meridian (MS) Police Officer Alma Walters
McLean, VA (March 18, 2025) - At one in the morning on December 28, 1985, Meridian, Mississippi Police Officer Alma Walters arrived on the scene of a domestic disturbance call. Catherine Smith had called police when her boyfriend, John Lan…
"Heroes Live Forever" - the story of Philadelphia Police Officer Charles Cassidy
McLean, VA (March 11, 2025) - During the month of October 2007, four Philadelphia police officers were shot, bringing the total to 29 for the year. One of those officers was Charles “Chuck” Cassidy. He was a beloved officer in the neighbo…
"Heroes Live Forever" - the story Of NYPD Officer Charles Davis and his brother-in-law, VA Police Officer Ronald Hearn
McLean, VA (March 4, 2025) - The law enforcement profession was not kind to Angela Davis. Her husband, Charles “Charlie” Davis, was a New York City police officer. On December 21, 1996, Charlie was moonlighting during his off-duty hours a…
"Heroes Live Forever" - the story of New York City Deputy Isaac Smith
McLean, VA (February 25, 2025) - Isaac Smith was a man of many talents: Revolutionary War hero, farmer, doctor and politician. He was also a New York City deputy sheriff. When he got the call that another officer needed backup with an un…
"Heroes Live Forever" - the story of D.C. Metropolitan Police Officer James Madison McGee, Jr.
McLean, VA (February 18, 2025) - Shoot, or don’t shoot. That is the question every police officer has to face when they are confronted by a person with a gun. They usually have less than a second to make the decision. A Washington, D.C.,…
"Heroes Live Forever" - the story of Skagit (WA) Sheriff's Deputy Anne Jackson
McLean, VA (February 11, 2025) - On the afternoon of September 2, 2008, Isaac Zamora had gone into a neighbor’s house, stealing their rifle and shotgun. His own mother called police to report the trespassing and theft. Skagit County (WA) …
"Heroes Live Forever"--the Onion Field murder of Los Angeles Police Officer Ian Campbell
McLean, VA (February 4, 2025) - On March 9, 1963, two Los Angeles police officers, Karl Hettinger and Ian Campbell, pulled a vehicle over for making an illegal U-turn. Unbeknownst to them, the two individuals in the vehicle were two psycho…
"Heroes Live Forever" - the story of Maryland State Trooper Ed Toatley
McLean, VA (January 28, 2025) - Ed Toatley wanted to make a drug buy and he knew a local drug dealer named Kofi Orleans-Lindsay who could get him what he needed. At around 8 p.m. on October 30, 2000, Toatley and Orleans-Lindsay met at a Ma…
"Heroes Live Forever" - the story of Bureau of Indian Affairs Officers Jack and Creighton Spencer
McLean, VA (January 21, 2025) - On September 5, 1998, Captain Jack L. Spencer Sr., 55, of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, was killed in an automobile crash in rural Nevada while on duty. His son, Creighton, who also became an officer with …
"Heroes Live Forever" - the story of the deadliest day in Federal law enforcement history
McLean, VA (January 14, 2025) - On April 19, 1995, a terrorist bombing at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building killed 168 people and injured 680 others. Eight of those who died that day were Federal agents based out of the Murrah Building…
"Heroes Live Forever" - the story of South Carolina State Trooper Randy Hester
McLean, VA (January 7, 2024) - It was around 10 p.m. on April 19, 1994, when a speeding motorcyclist caught the attention of South Carolina State Troopers Randy Hester and James Dean. In separate patrol cars, each of the troopers gave chas…
"Heroes Live Forever" - the deadliest days in law enforcement history
McLean, VA (December 31, 2024) - On November 24, 1917, a young boy named Sam Mazzone was summoned to take a suspicious package left outside a church to Milwaukee police headquarters. It turned out to be a bomb planted at the church by anar…
"Heroes Live Forever" - the story of Phil Lamonaco and Shane Detwiler
McLean, VA (December 24, 2024) - New Jersey State Trooper Philip Lamonaco was shot and killed during a traffic stop on December 21, 1981. His family was in the midst of making Christmas cookies when they received word of his death. He was…
"Heroes Live Forever" - the story of Black Hawk County (IA) Deputy W. Fay Dilworth
McLean, VA (December 17, 2024) - It was just a week before Christmas and Black Hawk County, Iowa, Deputy W. Fay Dilworth still had not found time to purchase and decorate the tree that he knew his six-year-old daughter, Betty, wanted so muc…
"Heroes Live Forever" - the story of Boston Police Officer James O'Leary
McLean, VA (December 10, 2024) - Boston Patrolman James O’Leary was working a security detail at the local theater when he heard the loud cries for help from a liquor store owner who had just been beaten and robbed at gunpoint. The 16-year…
"Heroes Live Forever" - the story of two Boston police officers, Walter and John Schroeder
McLean, VA (December 3, 2024) - On September 24, 1970, Boston Police Officer Walter Schroeder died a day after taking a .45 slug through his back trying to stop a bank robbery. The crime was committed by a strange mix of ex-convicts and st…
"Heroes Live Forever" - the story of Prince William County (VA) Police Officer Mike Pennington
McLean, VA (November 26, 2024) - Before dawn on Thanksgiving morning, 1990, Prince William County (VA) Police Officer Philip “Mike” Pennington and other members of his SWAT team were summoned to make a dangerous arrest. The suspect, Mark A…
"Heroes Live Forever" - the story of University of Nevada Police Sgt. George Sullivan
McLean, VA (November 19, 2024) - By all accounts, Sergeant George Sullivan, 43, was one of the most respected and likeable persons working at the University of Nevada, Reno Police Department. But his life ended tragically. Just after midn…
"Heroes Live Forever" - the story of Wilmington (DE) Police Matron Mary T. Davis
McLean, VA (November 12, 2024) - There are 487 female officers honored on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. One of the first to make the ultimate sacrifice was Mary T. Davis, 67, a police matron with the Wilmington (DE) Polic…
"Heroes Live Forever" - the story of Baltimore Police Officers Harold Carey and Barry Wood
McLean, VA (November 5, 2024) - It was one of the darkest days in Baltimore police history. The funeral for Baltimore City Police Officer Harold Carey was being held on November 4, 1998. Known as the “gentle giant,” Officer Carey was kill…
"Heroes Live Forever" - the story of Pittsburg (CA) Police Officer Larry E. Lasater, Jr.
McLean, VA (October 29, 2024) - On April 23, 2005, Pittsburg (CA) Police Officer Larry E. Lasater, Jr., 36, was shot and fatally injured while pursuing two bank robbery suspects. He died two days later, leaving behind a wife, JoAnn, who wa…