The 148 Project
The official podcast of the 148 Collective.
The 148 Project
Interview- South of Bakersfield with Jocelyn Grace
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In this engaging interview, Jocelyn Soares shares her journey from law enforcement to personal development, highlighting her experiences in martial arts, law enforcement across different regions, and her insights on resilience, gender dynamics, and personal growth. Jocelyn shares her unique insights on law enforcement, running a martial arts academy, managing a household with multiple pets, and personal growth. Discover her experiences, challenges, and the lessons she's learned along the way.
The 148 project exists to give a voice to law enforcement from the officers' perspective, from their exposure in the communities they serve, while honoring the experiences of the victims that they contact. Through honest conversation, lived experience, and the discipline of jujitsu, we explore resilience, accountability, healing, and the shared humanity that exists on all sides of the badge. Our mission is to foster understanding, strength, and growth on and off the mat.
SPEAKER_03Hello, everybody. I'm Ed here with Jocelyn for our next podcast episode, which will be me interviewing you.
SPEAKER_02Aaron Ross Powell, which the first part has to be redone because when when you interviewed me the first time, our microphones are turned on correctly. So now we have to redo the first part again.
SPEAKER_03I've already spoken to the person in charge of that. We apologize and it won't happen again. She said it won't happen again. Anyways. So I don't remember what I asked you last time. So let's start with state your name, please.
SPEAKER_02Jocelyn Grace.
SPEAKER_03That's your full name?
SPEAKER_02Jocelyn Grace Sores.
SPEAKER_03Okay. Where are you from? Jocelyn Grace? Sores?
SPEAKER_02I'm from Southern California. Aaron Ross Powell?
SPEAKER_03Which parts?
SPEAKER_02Orange County.
SPEAKER_03So LA?
SPEAKER_02No.
SPEAKER_03Yes. Anything south of Bakersfield is LA.
SPEAKER_02In your opinion.
SPEAKER_03Yes. In my opinion, is the only one that matters. Anyways. So tell us about you as a child. What were you like?
SPEAKER_02I was a very quiet child.
SPEAKER_03You don't say. Wow. Because you're so outgoing and bubbly now. What did you do as a child? Do you play sports?
SPEAKER_02I ran track in high school and I played random sports throughout my childhood.
SPEAKER_03Aaron Ross Powell What is random?
SPEAKER_02Did a little bit of gymn of gymnastics, a little bit of dance, but nothing really until I got into high school.
SPEAKER_03Where'd you go to high school at?
SPEAKER_02I went to high school in Dana Point, California.
SPEAKER_03So LA?
SPEAKER_02No L Keep It U.
SPEAKER_03Did you graduate?
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_03Barely, or were you a good student or a bad student?
SPEAKER_02Um it was a okay student.
SPEAKER_03That's a no. Did you get in trouble?
SPEAKER_02No.
SPEAKER_03You never got in trouble in high school?
SPEAKER_02Not in high school.
SPEAKER_03Really? Not once. You didn't skip school. You didn't come to school drunk.
SPEAKER_02Drunk?
SPEAKER_03You didn't come to school late. You never got detention Saturday school.
SPEAKER_02No.
SPEAKER_03Nothing?
SPEAKER_02No.
SPEAKER_03Hmm. Oh milk toast. Anyways, what'd you do after high school?
SPEAKER_02After high school, I went to college.
SPEAKER_03Mm-hmm. Where at in L LA?
SPEAKER_02Is this gonna be the theme of this whole part of this interview is LA?
SPEAKER_03Answer the question. Where'd you go to college?
SPEAKER_02I went to I went to Saddleback College in Orange County. And I went to Barry College in Miami. And then I graduated from Cal State Fullerton.
SPEAKER_01Hmm.
SPEAKER_03I went to Harvard.
SPEAKER_01Of course you didn't.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
unknownOkay.
SPEAKER_03What'd you uh study in college?
SPEAKER_02I studied my major was political science, my minor was criminal justice.
SPEAKER_03Really?
SPEAKER_02And then I went back and I got two more degrees in fashion design and apparel manufacturing.
SPEAKER_03What kind of manufacturing?
SPEAKER_02Apparel.
SPEAKER_03Apparel. Did you graduate?
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_03Did you get in trouble in college?
SPEAKER_02No, I didn't get in trouble in college.
SPEAKER_03This is gonna be a boring interview. Hmm. You never got pulled over by the police?
SPEAKER_02I got speeding tickets.
SPEAKER_03How many?
SPEAKER_02A lot.
SPEAKER_03How many?
SPEAKER_02A lot.
SPEAKER_03More than three?
SPEAKER_02Well, way more than three.
SPEAKER_03How many points did you have on your own license?
SPEAKER_02I don't even remember.
SPEAKER_03More than five? Less than ten.
SPEAKER_02Less than ten. I don't even think you can have ten points on your driver's license.
SPEAKER_03I'm talking tickets.
SPEAKER_02No, less than ten tickets, I think. Yeah, less than ten tickets. Wow.
SPEAKER_03So you have a lead foot.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. In certain situations.
SPEAKER_03Drives like a maniac.
SPEAKER_02Well, I'm trained too.
SPEAKER_03So when you went to college, did you have any jobs? Anything that you did to support yourself?
SPEAKER_02I was a personal trainer.
SPEAKER_03Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_02And so I did most of my twenties.
SPEAKER_03What do you charge per hour?
SPEAKER_02About fifty dollars.
SPEAKER_03Fifty dollars for an hour?
SPEAKER_02That's twenty years ago.
SPEAKER_03Anyways, what made you take criminal justice?
SPEAKER_02I was always interested in criminal justice.
SPEAKER_03And what at what point in time did you want to become a police lady?
SPEAKER_02I always wanted to be a police officer all my life. I thought I was actually gonna go and be a criminal prosecutor, but I did not do well on the L Side exam and I did not get into law school.
SPEAKER_03Did I tell you I went to Harvard law?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, you already said that once.
SPEAKER_03Passed the bar twice. So you took it with JFK Junior. He didn't pass. Did you apply? We we we all know that you worked for Los Angeles Sheriff's Office, right? Is that office or department?
SPEAKER_02Department. Department, that's right.
SPEAKER_03Was that the only agency you applied to?
SPEAKER_02Yes, that was the first agency that I applied to.
SPEAKER_03Wow. You didn't do the whole shotgun effect?
SPEAKER_02No.
SPEAKER_03Is that the agency you wanted to work for? Yes. Because you lived in LA?
SPEAKER_01Yes, I lived.
SPEAKER_03What year did you well how long did it take you to go through the process from turning your application to you're hired? You have academy date?
SPEAKER_02Two years.
SPEAKER_03Two years. Wow. Do you remember what year that was?
SPEAKER_022000. I think I applied in 2012. I went into the academy in 2014.
SPEAKER_03Well, what was your academy number?
SPEAKER_02406. 405 and 406.
SPEAKER_03And how was your academy experience?
SPEAKER_02Very rough. It was a very difficult academy to get through.
SPEAKER_03Explain yourself.
SPEAKER_02LA County Sheriffs is one of the hardest academic academies in the country. Um they train deputies and like no other. And we had other agencies from LA also in our academy class. So they do all most of LA.
SPEAKER_03So basically what you're saying is anything in South Bakersfield is Los Angeles. So they all the different agencies are considered Los Angeles. Okay.
SPEAKER_02And you're just gonna do this throughout the whole interview. Okay.
SPEAKER_03So what was the hardest part that you had during the academy?
SPEAKER_02The first time the my first eight weeks of the academy.
SPEAKER_03Aaron Ross Powell Your first eight weeks?
SPEAKER_02Mm-hmm. Those are my non-recycled academy weeks.
SPEAKER_03Can you explain to the listeners what that meant?
SPEAKER_02So my first eight weeks of the academy was my first academy, which has cost 405. And it was a complete shock to me being on such a regimented schedule, running constantly, academics constantly. All I did was study, come home, sleep, go back to the academy. That was all I did for the first eight weeks. And then I recycled because I failed a use of force scenario. And then I went back in and I became part of class 406. And then the second time around was a much easier time for me to because I already knew what I was getting into.
SPEAKER_03Was it a live-in academy or did you go home at night?
SPEAKER_02No, I drove home an hour and a half every day.
SPEAKER_03And for people that don't know, you were showing up every day in like a suit, right? For the academy. They require you to have a suit.
SPEAKER_02Aaron Ross Powell For the first part of the academy until you earn your uniform and your badges.
SPEAKER_03Now being a woman in law enforcement, when you're going to the academy, did you feel at any point in time that they were coming down on you any harder or less because you're a woman? No.
SPEAKER_02They treated you just as just as everyone else.
SPEAKER_03Everybody was scum. Yes. Yes. What was the hardest physical part that you had to do?
SPEAKER_02Running.
SPEAKER_03Running. Did they do long runs, short runs?
SPEAKER_02What was their We did both, both long and short. You'd have two days of long running and then two days of sprint short running.
SPEAKER_03What uh weapon did you carry in the academy?
SPEAKER_02In the academy we had well, when we got our firearms, they were Smith and Wesson.
SPEAKER_03Was it really heavy?
SPEAKER_02I don't think it was very heavy.
SPEAKER_03All right. So when you graduated, how did it how did you feel the day of the academy? Everybody that goes through it and they have different feelings of the day of graduation. How did you feel after you know one recycling and then going through uh one of the hardest academies in in the state or in the the United States? How did you feel that day?
SPEAKER_02Aaron Ross Powell I was glad that it was the training part of my what I thought was the only training part of my career was over and it was just the beginning, because after we graduate the academy, then we go right into jail training, and that was another six weeks of training.
SPEAKER_03So you went through a jail training for six weeks? Yes.
SPEAKER_02Another like a jail type academy.
SPEAKER_03Aaron Ross Powell And what part of the jail were you in for that portion?
SPEAKER_02Aaron Ross Powell We weren't in the jail, so we were at two different locations. We did defensive tactics specifically for the jail, and we went into a little bit of interview and interrogation, and then we went into force reporting.
SPEAKER_03Aaron Powell And then after the six weeks, where'd you go?
SPEAKER_02I went to Twin Towers.
SPEAKER_03Can you explain to the listeners what Twin Towers are?
SPEAKER_02Aaron Powell Twin Towers is the largest, one of the largest uh mental facilities in the country.
SPEAKER_03And they house some of the most dangerous people in LA, correct?
SPEAKER_02Yes, with mental issues, mental disease.
SPEAKER_03Aaron Powell And how long were you in Twin Towers?
SPEAKER_02Aaron Ross Powell Uh about two years.
SPEAKER_03Aaron Ross Powell What was the, if you can recall in those two years, what was the most shocking thing that you observed or witnessed?
SPEAKER_02Aaron Powell I think what the most eye-opening thing to me was is how they run themselves. Most of them.
SPEAKER_03And when you say they, they you're talking to the inmates.
SPEAKER_02So how the inmates run themselves. And that's most tanks or pods can run themselves because they have the mental capacity to. Some tanks run themselves in a different way, like people that have developmental disabilities and they run themselves in a different order.
SPEAKER_03So now do you have constant contact with the inmates, or are you like in a big glass pod where you just press buttons?
SPEAKER_02No, you have constant contact. You're not sitting in the middle of them, but in Twin Towers, most of the floors have two levels of security between you and the inmates. The COs would sit in like the control room, and then there's a space where the inmates move around. And the second space would be where the inmates live. And so you can have up to three levels of glass between you and the inmates.
SPEAKER_03Anybody tried to escape while you were there?
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_03How many? On your watch?
SPEAKER_02Uh no. There was one from my facility and then one from MCJ while I was there.
SPEAKER_03Were they captured?
SPEAKER_02Yes. One of them actually never made it outside of the facility, and the second one made it out outside the facility and was immediately well, he made out outside the facility almost onto the train tracks, and then he was found.
SPEAKER_03Did he have a red jumpsuit on?
SPEAKER_02No, he actually uh he had normal clothes on. So he somehow got normal clothes into the jail and he went up through the ceiling and visiting, down through the other visiting side of the ceiling and ran out the front door.
SPEAKER_03Aaron Powell Interesting. And after the two years in Twin Towers, where did you proceed to?
SPEAKER_02I went to Lakewood Station.
SPEAKER_03Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_02I was on training at Lakewood Station and then I went to the city of Paramount.
SPEAKER_03Well, I think you left out a little tidbit of information where you were severely injured. Can you talk about that? Aaron Powell Yes.
SPEAKER_02When I got out of the academy and right when I got off of training at Twin Towers, I broke and dislocated my left ankle.
SPEAKER_03How'd you do that?
SPEAKER_02During a force training scenario. We did rock down in LA County, and where deputies that have fight experience went back and helped train the trainees at the academy to get out of the academy.
SPEAKER_03So you had fight experience? I did. What kind of fight experience?
SPEAKER_02I boxed and I did jujitsu. I did not Brazilian jiu-jitsu at that point. I did um Zenbudoroo.
SPEAKER_03And kind of just glanced over boxing. You've had a couple professional fights, correct?
SPEAKER_02I had one.
SPEAKER_03One.
SPEAKER_02One amateur and one professional.
SPEAKER_03I have that photo I can uh upload it to the uh podcast later. Did you you had cornroads, didn't you?
SPEAKER_02I did.
SPEAKER_03Yes.
SPEAKER_02You have to.
SPEAKER_03Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_02Because my hair was very long at the time.
SPEAKER_03Okay. You got injured, you came back, and then you went to start your field training in Lakewood. Yes. What's that area like in LA?
SPEAKER_02Aaron Powell So Lakewood Station covers five cities in the southwest portion of LA. So you have everywhere from Paramount all the way down to Lakewood across to Hawaiian Gardens.
SPEAKER_03What's the major gang in that uh Lakewood Station area?
SPEAKER_02The major gang would be in Hawaiian Gardens.
SPEAKER_03What's the nationality of that gang?
SPEAKER_02Hispanic.
SPEAKER_03What was their colors? Like a Aloha shirt? What what did they wear?
SPEAKER_02The the Hawaiian punch, the punchy? The Kool-Aid man. Kool-Aid Man.
SPEAKER_03Was their tattoo?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it was.
SPEAKER_03Jesus, that's stupid.
SPEAKER_02You had a punchy shirt. You remember you had a punchy shirt? Mm-hmm. Vario Hawaiian Gardens. And their mascot was the punchy mascot. Hawaiian.
SPEAKER_03Oh yeah. What what what when he busted through the door?
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_03What was their flavor? Was it fruit punch? Grape?
SPEAKER_01I don't know.
SPEAKER_03And they had tattoos of the Yes. Well, how tough can you be when you have the Kool-Aid man as your mascot?
SPEAKER_02No, no. Ask them. It's not the I mean it's not the worst mascot that we've ever heard of for a well, maybe. I don't know. Who's a Taliban's mascot? What was a Taliban's mascot?
SPEAKER_03Me.
SPEAKER_02Okay.
SPEAKER_03All right. So you went to Lakewood. How long were you in Lakewood?
SPEAKER_02I was in Lakewood a little bit over a year.
SPEAKER_03And did you finish your training there?
SPEAKER_02I did.
SPEAKER_03And how many training officers did you have?
SPEAKER_01Four. I had four training officers.
SPEAKER_03Were they tough on you?
SPEAKER_01Yes.
SPEAKER_03Out of all four, what was the most heinous call that you went on?
SPEAKER_02I think the m call that I learned the most from was probably my first call because it was such an eye-opener.
SPEAKER_03Aaron Powell Your first like first call of the day was call ever.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Which was?
SPEAKER_02Which was and it it was ended up being an attempted murder. Um he ended up getting uh life in prison off of that case. And that was my first case ever that I wrote on my first call. My first time being in the passenger seat going code three.
SPEAKER_03Hmm. Attempted murder with the firearm?
SPEAKER_02No, he he beat her pretty bad and he tried to shove her up in a attic.
SPEAKER_03Interesting. And he got life? Yeah. Did you have to testify?
SPEAKER_02I did.
SPEAKER_03How was that?
SPEAKER_02Uh it was good. They flew me down to LA twice to testify for the case.
SPEAKER_03Did you tell the truth?
SPEAKER_02Of course I did. Okay, just try.
SPEAKER_03All right. So you passed training and did you stay at Lakewood?
SPEAKER_02I did. And I went to City of Paramount.
SPEAKER_03What is what's Paramount?
SPEAKER_02So Paramount is a little bit north of Lakewood and it is right across the river from Compton.
SPEAKER_03Compton? The city of Compton?
SPEAKER_01City of Compton.
SPEAKER_03Did you ever run into Ice Cube?
SPEAKER_01No. No? Dr. Dre? No. Snoop Dogg? No. None of them? No. Interesting. Alright, so then you How's Compton?
SPEAKER_02I didn't work Compton.
SPEAKER_03Oh.
SPEAKER_02I did a ride-along in Compton when I was in the academy during the day.
SPEAKER_03You want to hear a little funny story about me and Compton? Sure. When me and me and two of our officers from the ADC I worked at, we went down to LA, PD, to do their DT instructor school.
SPEAKER_01Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_03And how long was that? Was it two weeks? Yeah, it was two weeks. Two weeks. And uh after we had asked one of the instructors, hey, what's a good place to eat? And they're like, oh, you gotta try this fusion Mexican place. I'm like, okay. So we get the address and and they're like, yeah, it's only like 15 miles from your hotel or whatever. Ended up being like 50 minutes for us to drive there, but we drove through Compton.
SPEAKER_01Yes, you did.
SPEAKER_03And we were in a car that looked like a police car, and we're driving through and I'm like, hey, this is a shitty area. And looked at the map, I'm like, oh, we're in Compton. Yes. Yes. And I was the only one that had my gun on her.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_03So that was fun.
SPEAKER_02When you go down to LA, you have to be very careful of where you guys turn off and where you drive through.
SPEAKER_03Mm-hmm. I rolled the I rolled the window down on Taliban.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, okay. They don't know.
SPEAKER_03Nobody knows, nobody knows Taliban were. That's my Compton story. How l how long were you in Paramount?
SPEAKER_02I was in Paramount a just a couple months.
SPEAKER_03And then what happened after that?
SPEAKER_02I moved up to Northern California.
SPEAKER_03North of Bakersfield?
SPEAKER_02North of Bakersfield.
SPEAKER_03Wow.
SPEAKER_02Why did you move to Baker up north of Bakersfield? Because of you.
SPEAKER_03Me? You're blaming it on me? Hmm. So explain yourself. How did you get wrapped up in that scenario where you moved your entire self north of Bakersfield?
SPEAKER_02Aaron Ross Powell I started dating you and we established very beginning in our relationship that if we were going to continue to date, you weren't going to move, and that I would have to one day make the decision to move.
SPEAKER_03You want to let everybody know how you started to I don't know, stalk is the right word.
SPEAKER_02I think it's stalking. You like to use that word.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. We were both on farmersonly.com and she was stalking me. Anyways, wanna let everybody know how you came into my existence?
SPEAKER_02I found Duke.
SPEAKER_03You found Duke.
SPEAKER_02Well, Duke found me. Duke showed up on my feed and with you.
SPEAKER_03You remember the picture? Yes. And you you liked it immediately, correct? Yes. Did you screenshot it?
SPEAKER_02No.
SPEAKER_03You did about that?
SPEAKER_02The first picture that I found of you and Duke, no?
SPEAKER_03You didn't screenshot it?
SPEAKER_02Not right away.
SPEAKER_03Not right away. But you did.
SPEAKER_02Yes. I found a picture of you and Duke.
SPEAKER_03Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_02And no, I did not screenshot it right away.
SPEAKER_03Did you just okay, so you're gonna say you didn't whatever. We all know what she did. Anyways, when you have the picture in your hand on your phone and you're looking at it like lovingly and dreaming. How long did you ought over the picture before you started you text me, DM'd me?
SPEAKER_02Well, I first saw your picture with Duke probably a couple months before. And then you showed up on my feet again.
SPEAKER_03Hold on, Becca. So I came again on your algorithm? So that must have been your your phone was like, oh, she's visiting this site over and over.
SPEAKER_02I don't think algorithms were that specific back in that day.
SPEAKER_03But I kept popping up on or Duke kept popping up on your your algorithm?
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_03So you liked another picture?
SPEAKER_02I liked another picture.
SPEAKER_03Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_02And then you And I followed Duke. And then you followed me back.
SPEAKER_03Did I? I don't know.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. You sure about that? Yeah, you followed me back and you liked all of my pictures.
SPEAKER_03Duke liked all of your pictures.
SPEAKER_02Oh, Duke, yes, Duke liked all of it? It was Duke's page.
SPEAKER_03So and then at what point in time you're like, oh, I'm gonna reach out to this person through direct messages.
SPEAKER_02After you liked all my pictures and stalked my page.
SPEAKER_03No.
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_03Okay, first of all, this is an interview about you. Quit deflecting. Okay, so could you let the listeners know what you said on the direct message?
SPEAKER_01Cute pup.
SPEAKER_03Hmm. Were you referring to Duke?
SPEAKER_01Yes.
SPEAKER_03Okay. And then uh what was Duke's response? Or my response uh regarding Duke?
SPEAKER_02His res your response or his response was he's single.
SPEAKER_03No, it was Duke. I was responding for Duke.
unknownOkay.
SPEAKER_03And letting you know that he was single.
SPEAKER_02Okay.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02And how did that work out for you?
SPEAKER_03Huh? You didn't leave me alone for you kept texting me. And you're like, here's my number, text my phone.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, is that how it happened? Okay. Have we been inseparable since pretty much since we started talking?
SPEAKER_03Inseparable. Well, yeah, you put a tracking device on me. Yeah. I have an electronic monitoring device on my ankle.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, the ways I the ways that you remember things are slightly skewed.
SPEAKER_03Hmm.
SPEAKER_02Hmm.
SPEAKER_03Okay. So and then uh what made you want to move up to uh Northern California?
SPEAKER_01You.
SPEAKER_03Really?
SPEAKER_01And Duke.
SPEAKER_03And then how long was it before you moved? Because I was coming down to LA to see Will play football in college.
SPEAKER_02Yes. So it was two years before I moved up.
SPEAKER_03Yes. And you brought two animals with you, did you?
SPEAKER_02I did. I brought Apache and Comanche.
SPEAKER_03And those are My cats. And how did Duke get along with the two kittens?
SPEAKER_02Duke Duke loved them. He protected them.
SPEAKER_03Yes. What was when you moved up to Northern California, what was the biggest shock from being somebody who's basically born and raised in Southern California and now you're in Northern California? What was the biggest shock?
SPEAKER_02It's culturally culturally completely different. Up here, it's a lot more family-oriented down in LA. Maybe it was just where I was at in my life, but all I did was work.
SPEAKER_03And were you employed when you came back up here?
SPEAKER_02I got a job in law enforcement with East Palo Alto.
SPEAKER_03Really? What kind of city is that?
SPEAKER_02East Palo Alto is two and a half square miles right between Palo Alto and Redwood City.
SPEAKER_03And uh what point in time did you meet my son Will?
SPEAKER_02On our first date.
SPEAKER_03Oh, on our first date.
SPEAKER_02Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_03At one of his games.
SPEAKER_02At one of his games.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. Coming into a relationship where we're older in you, the person that you're now dating has a adult child. Did you ever see yourself in that situation and and how did you handle it? Did it freak you out at all?
SPEAKER_02No. I think Bill was pretty accepting right away. If he wasn't accepting, he didn't show it.
SPEAKER_03He's a man of mystery.
SPEAKER_02He's more like me than Bill's just very quiet.
SPEAKER_03How many times at the football game did I have to explain what was going on?
SPEAKER_02You still have to explain to me what's going on. I don't I don't understand football. Leave me alone.
SPEAKER_03All right. So we'll skip ahead a little bit. When we bought the academy.
SPEAKER_02That's way ahead. That's way ahead.
SPEAKER_03Well, how far back do you want to go?
SPEAKER_02Okay, go ahead.
SPEAKER_03No. I'm answer asking the questions. I can go forward and backwards. Okay. Is there something that you would like to talk about in Dr. Chest?
SPEAKER_01No.
SPEAKER_03All right. Hmm. All right, I'll come back a little bit. How was it being in in a relationship with another person who was a cop in the same county?
SPEAKER_02It had its pros and cons.
SPEAKER_03What were the pros?
SPEAKER_02The pros were you were only a city away from me. And if I needed you or I needed Duke, you were right there to help out. But that's also a con because some of your cops liked to call you and come on scenes that we were working without telling me.
SPEAKER_03Say that again. Did what? What did they do?
SPEAKER_02They called for you to come on a scene that we were working without letting me know first.
SPEAKER_03Why would they do that?
SPEAKER_02Because you were my boyfriend at the time and I would like to be known when Sergeant Sauras was going to be on scene.
SPEAKER_03Was there any call for service that you requested me on or specific not me. Specifically asked for a dope dog?
SPEAKER_02I'm sure I asked for a duke a couple times.
SPEAKER_03Maybe uh the dead end of O'Connor?
SPEAKER_02That's what I'm talking about.
SPEAKER_03Oh, that one. Yes.
SPEAKER_02I didn't ask you.
SPEAKER_03What do you mean you didn't ask?
SPEAKER_02I didn't that I didn't call you.
SPEAKER_03Somebody did.
SPEAKER_02Mm-hmm. Wally called you.
SPEAKER_03Hmm?
SPEAKER_02Wally called you.
SPEAKER_03Oh, that's right. It was GTF, right? Yes.
SPEAKER_02And then Never ending case.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. I think it's still going on. You guys had a whole bunch of people hemmed up on the street next to some cars. And somebody forgot to search a car.
SPEAKER_02That wasn't me.
SPEAKER_03Somebody forgot to search a car. And what did Sergeant Sorce say? He's like, Let me run my dog around this car. And Duke alerted on the cars.
SPEAKER_02He did.
SPEAKER_03And what did he find inside?
SPEAKER_02Lots of stuff. Well he cheated. So Duke cheated.
SPEAKER_03How did he Duke did not cheat?
SPEAKER_02Yes, he did. He would yes he did. He would cheat without you knowing. Yeah, he was on your left side, and he would when you would walk up to a car or when you would go to search, Duke would cheat and he would if he would stick his nose over and pre-smell before you started running him around, before you gave him the command.
SPEAKER_03Well, if there's drugs in the air, you're gonna smell it.
SPEAKER_02Well, so I was walking behind you and Duke, and I saw Duke lean over and cheat, and he knew where he wanted to go first.
SPEAKER_03Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_02So he hit on the car.
SPEAKER_03What was inside? Like what?
SPEAKER_02He hit on marijuana. There was cocaine in the car, there's a scale on the car, there's a lot of money in the car.
SPEAKER_03Who took that case?
SPEAKER_02I took that portion of the case.
SPEAKER_03So you took my my case. Are you gonna write a stat?
SPEAKER_02Are you going to write the report?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I could have wrote it.
SPEAKER_02Oh yeah.
SPEAKER_03I could have wrote it with ease.
SPEAKER_02Wrote it, booked all of the evidence by yourself, not with any help, not instructing someone to do it. Wrote the report and booked all of that evidence by yourself at that point in your career.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02You weren't going to instruct anyone else to do it?
SPEAKER_03No. I didn't instruct people would volunteer.
SPEAKER_02No, they wouldn't volunteer. Nothing is volunteer.
SPEAKER_03I used to No. That's we're not talking about me. Yes, we are. Okay. I would book plenty of my guns.
SPEAKER_02When you had no one else to tell to do it. No. No.
SPEAKER_03No.
SPEAKER_02No.
SPEAKER_03Anyways. Moving on. Moving on. All right. So who got into jujitsu first up here? You. Then you started. Tell us about your jujitsu journey.
SPEAKER_02I did start at the same place that you did. You went a lot more than I did.
SPEAKER_03How was it uh rolling with me?
SPEAKER_02Annoying.
SPEAKER_03Really?
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_03Why is that?
SPEAKER_02Because you're a lot bigger than I am.
SPEAKER_03Not really.
SPEAKER_02Really? Right now you're hundred uh a hundred pounds actually, right now.
SPEAKER_03I'm a hundred pounds? That's small.
SPEAKER_02You officially weigh a hundred pounds more than I do right now.
SPEAKER_03Thank you.
SPEAKER_02Thanks.
SPEAKER_03Anyways, moving on. What what was your favorite part about jujitsu?
SPEAKER_02You are my favorite part about jujitsu, even though you are annoying to roll with.
SPEAKER_03I don't understand what that means. Annoying can mean a plethora.
SPEAKER_02You're annoying because your legs are too long. You're very strong. At that point, you were you just using your weight. Last time I rolled with you, you don't use your weight as much. You've gotten a lot more limber and a lot more technical than you used to be. So I don't just get completely smashed all the time.
SPEAKER_03What's your favorite ghe?
SPEAKER_02Probably a king's gi.
SPEAKER_03King's? Hmm. Which one? How many ghees do you own?
SPEAKER_02Not as many as you.
SPEAKER_03No, no, no, no. Answer the question. Okay? There'll be ample enough time. Don't talk over me. Don't talk over me. There'll be ample enough time, maybe not today, maybe another day, to ask all the questions you want of me. But I'm asking the question of you. How many ghees do you own? Not as many as again, I'm gonna ask the question. Is it more than ten?
SPEAKER_02Yes. You bought me more than ten.
SPEAKER_03More than fifteen?
SPEAKER_02Probably.
SPEAKER_03More than twenty.
SPEAKER_02I probably have about twenty.
SPEAKER_03Do you think that's an issue? Do you think that's a problem?
SPEAKER_02Absolutely not. How many do you have? Okay.
SPEAKER_03It's at least a hundred. Not about No.
SPEAKER_02It's at least a hundred.
SPEAKER_03Okay. Back to you. It's not about me. It's about Jocelyn Grace. Okay? So you have an excess of twenty geese. That being said, how many bottles of perfume do you own?
SPEAKER_02Five?
SPEAKER_03That's a lie. There's more than eighty-five.
SPEAKER_02So I've sold a ball a lot of them. It was over a hundred at one point.
SPEAKER_03Where do you keep all your plethora of smelly juices?
SPEAKER_02In my room.
SPEAKER_03What kind of room do you have?
SPEAKER_02I have a makeup room.
SPEAKER_03You have a makeup room. Can you tell the audience what a makeup room is for some of the guys out there? They're like, a makeup room? What is that? Well You like go in there and you make up like rap songs or something. Explain yourself.
SPEAKER_02I have my own room. And so in my room, I have my collection of perfume that I've collected over the past couple years. And I have a lot of makeup because I collect that as well.
SPEAKER_03And where do you keep all this stuff? What kind of boxes do you have? A husky toolbox. You have a husky toolbox?
SPEAKER_02Yes. AMX points.
SPEAKER_03A rather large one, if I can recall. So basically, you have a giant mechanic toolbox in your makeup room.
SPEAKER_01Yes.
SPEAKER_03What color is that?
SPEAKER_01Black.
SPEAKER_03How many do you have?
SPEAKER_01Two.
SPEAKER_03Top and bottom. Yes. Excessive?
SPEAKER_02Absolutely. Do you want to talk about excessive?
SPEAKER_03Of course. I could talk about that all day long. Enough. Anyways, so this how many bottles of cologne did I own when I met you?
SPEAKER_01One.
SPEAKER_03One. And now how many do I possess?
unknownProbably about?
SPEAKER_02Not against your will.
SPEAKER_03Yes.
SPEAKER_02Probably about ten.
SPEAKER_03Anyways.
SPEAKER_02So And what cologne did you wear?
SPEAKER_03Did I wear?
SPEAKER_02Yes. When we first started doing it.
SPEAKER_03Why don't you save this for when you're interviewing me?
SPEAKER_02Because it's along the same subject line. Answer the question.
SPEAKER_03Parla Herrera for men.
SPEAKER_02And why did you wear a lot of it?
SPEAKER_03Why did you know I don't want to talk about myself? I am off limits right now.
SPEAKER_02You don't like talking about yourself. I am off limits right now.
SPEAKER_03Anyways, moving on. Okay? Let's talk about you being the chief operating officer for 148 Jiu-Jitsu. For the people who don't know, she is the one behind the scenes doing all the stuff that I don't want to do, know how to do, or have the patience to do. So tell me what it's like to run an academy in some of the horror stories.
SPEAKER_02Aaron Ross Powell Running an academy is a lot more than people think. Not just about getting members in the door and keeping them and gaining their trust to teach them over a period of years or their juj jiu-jitsu career. It's about keeping our business going, keeping our liability low, making sure that our coaches have what they need, our students had what they need, and their our students' parents have what they need.
SPEAKER_03Aaron Powell How many hours a week do you think you dedicate to the academy? I'm not talking about on the mats or doing anything physical, just the hours that you put in with email, answering emails, doing bills, payroll, taxes, insurance, dealing with attorneys, all that stuff. How many hours a week do you think you put in?
SPEAKER_02Aaron Powell Well, running a business or owning a business is 24-7. The the phone is always ringing, something's always happening. You're either mitigating some problem somewhere, or you're having to turn in something to your attorneys or your accountants, or you're always mitigating your liability, especially in this industry, making sure that whatever's going on in the industry that you know about it and that you're ahead of it.
SPEAKER_03What's the funnest thing that you're find yourself doing?
SPEAKER_02The funnest thing that I find myself doing? My part of the business isn't really fun. I like seeing the kids when they're behaving themselves in class. You teaching the kids, that's probably the fun that's probably the funnest, not funnest, the most enjoyable part of owning the business is seeing you teach the kids. Because I get to see you full circle.
SPEAKER_03What? I run in circles?
SPEAKER_02Well, you don't run.
SPEAKER_03No, I don't run. I don't run I don't run at all.
SPEAKER_02You run in circles for little samurais.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. Yes.
SPEAKER_02They deserve it.
SPEAKER_03All right. So what's what's if you could change anything in your life, good, bad, or indifferent, law enforcement, EP, what have you? What would you change in your life?
SPEAKER_02Aaron Ross Powell I wouldn't change anything. I think all of the things that I've been through have led me to where I am today. I think it's ha hard my career in law enforcement not being as long as I wanted it to be, but everything happens for a reason.
SPEAKER_03Aaron Powell Let's go back. You shattered your ankle when you were in LA.
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. And what was that left or right? That was my left ankle. Can you tell me what happened to your right ankle?
SPEAKER_02I shattered it in jujitsu.
SPEAKER_03Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_02So I have metal in both of my ankles.
SPEAKER_03Yes. And for the listening audience, I was on the mat. I didn't break her ankle, if you're thinking of that. I did not break her ankle.
SPEAKER_02No one broke my ankle.
SPEAKER_03She was doing stand-up with another female. I believe I was rolling with Professor Weech at the time on the other end of the mats. And mid-roll, somebody had the gall to tap me on the shoulder. And they're like, Ed, I'm like, what? Jocelyn broke her ankle. Oh my look over and she's sitting there, straight faced, no tears, no screaming, no Lord Jesus help me. Just sitting on her butt holding her ankle. I'm like, she didn't break her ankle. So I swag her over there. I'm like, what's going on? She's like, I broke my ankle. I'm like, no, you didn't. You probably sprained it. It'll be fine. Let me see it. And she removed her hand, I'm like, God, call an ambulance. It's horrible. It was bone was sticking. Wasn't sticking out, wasn't compound fracture, but it was bad. And then via ambulance. Stanford, right?
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. Where they proceeded to set your ankle without any painkillers. Let me paint the picture for you. She's laying in bed. Mind you, I still have I think I still had a rash card on and G bottoms, and I'm sitting here watch this petite doctor, female, maybe 110 pounds, standing on the edge of the bed while two other nurses are holding Jocelyn down, and this lady is pulling on her ankle trying to set it, and she was not happy. I think she said the F word many, many times. And then I was like, Don't you think you should like give her some kind of pain meds? So then they have having it put her out.
SPEAKER_01Yes.
SPEAKER_03But the entire time she didn't blink, scream, complain. It was just, yeah, I think I broke my ankle. Or I've seen guys get hurt half as left and just scream bloody murder. So she's kind of tough a little bit. And if you want I have plenty of pictures of her in the hospital unconscious on my phone. Maybe I'll post it for the for the for the one of the pictures for the podcast. You with your jiffy pop hat on. Anyways, so how long was your recovery for that?
SPEAKER_02I was shorter than the first time. I think I was only off for less than six months and I went back.
SPEAKER_03And all you did was step wrong, right? On the mat, kind of rolled it.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. It's common when you break and dislocate one egg and have metal in it that eventually you're going to do it to the other one.
SPEAKER_03Interesting. So now what's your favorite thing about me?
SPEAKER_02My favorite thing about you is that you're I have two favorite things. You're very loyal and you're very protective. Not in a jealous kind of way, just protective in general.
SPEAKER_03Your least favorite thing about me.
SPEAKER_02Make way too many noises.
SPEAKER_03Hold on. Noises.
SPEAKER_02You're very noisy.
SPEAKER_03For the record. I can't even chew loudly.
SPEAKER_02That's a after you hit 40 years old and as a woman in perimenopause, you just can't listen to people chew or make any noises anymore.
SPEAKER_03Parabellum? That's one of the John Wicks, isn't it? Parabellum?
SPEAKER_02You would know I think we own all of them. How many times have you seen all the John Wicks?
SPEAKER_03Once or twice. Anyways, all right. So how many cats do you own?
SPEAKER_02That own?
SPEAKER_03Mm-hmm. How many no let me rephrase this? How many cats are in our hemisphere of living?
SPEAKER_02I brought two cats into our our relationship, Apache and Comanche.
SPEAKER_03And why wh why are they named Apaches?
SPEAKER_02They're named after they were born on Camp Pendleton. I adopted them and they're named after helicopters. They are indoor cats. And then we have Nookie.
SPEAKER_03Did Duke get along with the cats?
SPEAKER_02Duke loved them. Duke was our protector. And then we have Nookie. Nookie is your cat. Nookie has an attitude problem.
SPEAKER_03Hold on, let's back up. You're you're kind of skipping some time, Tom. I was not a cat person.
SPEAKER_02Not at all.
SPEAKER_03Before Apache and Comanche moved in, and then we had an outside cat.
SPEAKER_02We have we still we we still have her. We have Mama, and Mama has created a cat colony in our backyard, and two of them in our in our house.
SPEAKER_03They've weaseled their way into our house. Yes.
SPEAKER_02And Nookie got sick and had to come inside, so Nookie is Duke Nookie is well, Nookie is Duke's cat, but what is Nookie short for? Nookie is short for Chinook.
SPEAKER_03Another helicopter.
SPEAKER_02Another helicopter.
SPEAKER_03And then what was the other the s the fourth cat that weasel its way into our house? Hmm. And what is little what is bird short for?
SPEAKER_02Bird is short for little bird. A helicopter. They're all named the inside cats are all named after helicopters.
SPEAKER_03So we have four cats inside.
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_03And how many outside cats did Mama produce that are still in our backyard?
SPEAKER_02We have Chopper. Chopper roams around. Then we have Baby Chopper. She roams around. Then we have Boy, who big boy. He comes and eats every every once in a while, sleeps, and goes out and does whatever our Tomcat does. And then we have Mama's last four, which are Biggie, who's your cat.
SPEAKER_03What is Biggie short for?
SPEAKER_02Biggie Smalls. He's the biggest of the of the litter. And then we have Runt, who's my baby, who was the runt of the litter, and I had to hand feed so he would survive.
SPEAKER_00Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_02And then we have Blue, who was like a weighted blanket. Black cat. And then we have Green, who's doesn't really go anywhere. Stays in our backyard.
SPEAKER_03What's special about Green?
SPEAKER_02Green? He has white whiskers.
SPEAKER_03White whiskers. He's a black cat with white whiskers. Yes.
SPEAKER_02Blue and green are twins. The only way you can tell them apart is that green has white whiskers.
SPEAKER_03And what is their living accommodations in our backyard?
SPEAKER_02Aaron Ross Powell They live on a sofa outside with lots of beds that cost more than our inside couch.
SPEAKER_03Now let's back this up. This sofa couch was supposed to be a decorative outside couch under our gazebo that then turned into a cat bed, correct?
SPEAKER_02Aaron Ross Powell So they have all of their beds on top of the couch.
SPEAKER_03Aaron Powell What kind of beds?
SPEAKER_02They have lots of cat little cat beds. They have a variety to choose from, and they have their compound that they can go into if they need to.
SPEAKER_03Aaron Ross Powell A full like two-story cat house.
SPEAKER_02Yes, and tires.
SPEAKER_03And yes. We have four truck tires that I when I had taken the tires off my old truck to have it lifted, I put these four tires in the backyard, and then the cats stayed in the tires for months, and that was their home. So and then you have Satan. I mean Salt.
SPEAKER_02She's my Satan, though.
SPEAKER_03Yes. Can you tell us about Salty? Tell the or her her origin story and how she came to be.
SPEAKER_02So Salt is named after my moniker when I was an executive protection, and you bought her for me for my birthday.
SPEAKER_03Technically.
SPEAKER_02Technically.
SPEAKER_03I didn't buy her.
SPEAKER_02Yes. You got her for me for my birthday. She was a gift.
SPEAKER_03Where is she from?
SPEAKER_02She is from West Coast Doberman's, the same breeder that Duke was from.
SPEAKER_03What's special about Salt? What well back up. It was your birthday.
SPEAKER_02It was my birthday.
SPEAKER_03And we had left Canine Tactical, their one of their grand openings. And on the way back, she's like, I want to go see Tony at West Coast Doberman's because he had a couple of new litters of Dobermans. So for her birthday, quote unquote, she wanted to go play with some puppies. And then what happened?
SPEAKER_02We took Salt home.
SPEAKER_03And what's special about Salt?
SPEAKER_02Salty only has three legs.
SPEAKER_03Well, when we bought her, or when we got her from Tony, how much she had four legs.
SPEAKER_02She did. She her fourth leg was her left leg was a little chicken wing. She was born with a bone defect. So it was amputated when she was about six months old. She is named Salt May because she was supposed to be my vision for Salt. She was supposed to be a victim assistance dog, and she is named after Officer Rich May, who lost his life and eat Palo Alto.
SPEAKER_03And how did Duke and Salt get along?
SPEAKER_02Salt loved Duke more than anything.
SPEAKER_03And how did she get along with the cats?
SPEAKER_02Salt doesn't like cats.
SPEAKER_03Salt doesn't like anybody.
SPEAKER_02Except us, most of the time.
SPEAKER_03And describe the living situation between the cats and dogs.
SPEAKER_02The cats. The inside cats are upstairs when salt is out of her kennel and there's four gates separating them.
SPEAKER_03Because she's has an attitude problem.
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_03And tries to go after the cats.
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_03What's your favorite thing about salt?
SPEAKER_02She is the prettiest thing I've ever seen.
SPEAKER_03Hmm. I thought I was the prettiest thing you ever saw.
SPEAKER_02I don't know if I would use pretty. Well, I don't know.
SPEAKER_03So what what is your favorite thing to do during the day? What brings you pleasure?
SPEAKER_02Aaron Ross Powell What brings me pleasure?
SPEAKER_03Mm-hmm. Happiness.
SPEAKER_02Me getting rid of all the noise now is probably just being out walking or lightly jogging, not being in a confined space anymore.
SPEAKER_03Aaron Powell Do you get on the Pilates machine that's in our other bedroom that you bought?
SPEAKER_02Yes, I still can do Pilates.
SPEAKER_03I use it to hang my geese on.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, that I love that. So let's talk the Pilates machine is an off-white color and it was custom made so that you could use it. But what do you use it for? To hang on your geese.
SPEAKER_03What else are you supposed to use Pilates on? Well, Oh let's describe let's describe for the listening audience where what room is it in?
SPEAKER_01The office.
SPEAKER_03The office.
SPEAKER_02Will's room.
SPEAKER_03Okay, yes. It was beginning Will's room. And then when Will moved out to go to college. No, yes, because when he graduated the college, he moved back in with us.
SPEAKER_02Mm-hmm. And I shared a bathroom with him.
SPEAKER_03And he shared it.
SPEAKER_02How was that? Fine.
SPEAKER_03Fine.
SPEAKER_02I'd rather share a bathroom with Will.
SPEAKER_03Then what?
SPEAKER_02You.
SPEAKER_03Because I'm a clean freak and you're not. That's a lie. So moving on. And then after moved Will moved out when he graduated academy, I turned it into what?
SPEAKER_02Your jujitsu room.
SPEAKER_03My jiu-jitsu room. Beautiful room.
SPEAKER_02But you have an academy.
SPEAKER_03Beautiful room. But you have an academy All the floors are matted, painted nice. I had pictures of Jean Jacques and and all the Gracies and I had my medals hanging up and it was just this beautiful jiu-jitsu room that I can go in there and roll and do private lessons and stuff. And then slowly but surely, what happened?
SPEAKER_02Well, you have a 5,400 square foot academy, so I took over the small office in our house.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. So n I no longer have a mat room in the house.
SPEAKER_02You can use the office.
SPEAKER_03No. There's no room to roll in there. You have your Pilates machine in the office.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, I have my Pilates reformer in the office.
SPEAKER_03And then a walking you have a treadmill?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it's broken. That reminds me, you throw it away.
SPEAKER_03I have to do everything. So is there anything that I haven't asked you that you want to talk about?
SPEAKER_02This is your place to ask me questions.
SPEAKER_03I'm trying to get you to incriminate yourself with something.
SPEAKER_02Good luck.
SPEAKER_03Do you have any tattoos?
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_03Are they getting related?
SPEAKER_02No.
SPEAKER_03Hmm. What are they? What was your first tattoo?
SPEAKER_02My first tattoo is my zodiac on my lower back.
SPEAKER_03Your zodiac?
SPEAKER_02My zodiac sign on my lower back.
SPEAKER_03That's a what? A cancer? Hmm. And what what's what is what is it? Tell me. Describe it.
SPEAKER_02Well, it's covered up now.
SPEAKER_03Hmm. And you just have the one tattoo?
SPEAKER_02Absolutely not.
SPEAKER_03How many do you have?
SPEAKER_02I have both of my legs are full sleeves and both of my arms are full sleeves. And then my sides and my back and my stomach.
SPEAKER_03That's a problem.
SPEAKER_02Do I what which part would be a problem? It is a lot of work.
SPEAKER_03Are you in a motorcycle gang or something? Why do you have so many tattoos?
SPEAKER_02Are you stereotyping me?
SPEAKER_03Well. Where'd you get your tattoos at?
SPEAKER_02Most of my tattoos were done by Jason at DC tattoo.
SPEAKER_03In what city?
SPEAKER_02In Daily City.
SPEAKER_03What's your favorite tattoo?
SPEAKER_02My arm sleeves are my favorite.
SPEAKER_03Part of your arm sleeves, you better say it.
SPEAKER_02Better say, well, Lynn, if you really want to talk about this, we'll talk about how you did not want me to get arm sleeves for years.
SPEAKER_03I never said you can't. I am not that guy to say you can't.
SPEAKER_02Yes, you did. You said I don't want you to get arm sleeves. Belle was right there. She's gonna you really want Belle testifying against you?
SPEAKER_03Belle will say whatever I testify. No, she won't. Yes, she will. She won't.
SPEAKER_02You didn't want me getting arm sleeves, so my last tattoos.
SPEAKER_03No. I don't recall that.
SPEAKER_02Okay, whatever.
SPEAKER_03To my recollection. Anyways. Go ahead. You got arm sleeves.
SPEAKER_02Yes. After a surgery that I had, I got you drew me pictures every single morning of flowers.
SPEAKER_03Oh, there's just too much information coming out. You can just say your favorite tattoo. You don't have a backstory.
SPEAKER_02Oh, the the the backstory is a whole part though, because that's a side of you that no one sees is the soft.
SPEAKER_03We're gonna edit this part out.
SPEAKER_02The soft and caring side of you that not a lot of people get to see, but it rules who you are.
SPEAKER_03You didn't even answer the question. What was your favorite tattoo? My You're circumventing the question.
SPEAKER_02My favorite tattoos are my arm sleeves, and my arm sleeves started because I got two flowers tattooed on me that you had drawn, and then I just tattooed my whole arms.
SPEAKER_03Mm-hmm. Skull what are they? Skulls and crossbones?
SPEAKER_02My one sleeve is in the Buddhist tradition, skulls mean life, and they remind you of how Short life is, so one of my arms is shorter than the other?
unknownNo.
SPEAKER_02One of my arms is skulls and the other one is flowers.
SPEAKER_03And you have duke tattooed on your leg, don't you?
SPEAKER_02I do have duke tattooed on my leg as my protector.
SPEAKER_03What was the worst part of getting your leg tattooed? What was the the most delicate?
SPEAKER_02The back of my knees.
SPEAKER_03Really? Did you have any problems with when they did your ankle with all the metal?
SPEAKER_02No. That actually wasn't that bad.
SPEAKER_03No? Jason Jason has a pretty light hand.
SPEAKER_02No, Jason's really very good.
SPEAKER_03See that, Jason? You should sponsor a podcast. Anyways, go see Jason, DC Tattoos, Daily City. Anyways, moving on.
SPEAKER_02And who did most of your tattoos?
SPEAKER_03Yes, he did some of my tattoos. Most, probably about 99.9% of my tattoos. What else are we going to talk about? Let's talk more about you being a cop, you know, with with you know, we talked about the women in law enforcement, and even men, let's let's not make it a gender issue. But new cops coming in today, and you've seen it, everybody's seen it online about them not training, not knowing how to fight, and it just looks horrible on social media. What what would you tell not only a young female but a young man coming into law enforcement what to expect and what not to expect?
SPEAKER_02There is no avoiding you getting in a fight. You're not going to be able to do it. You need to effectively know how to use force at any point in your career. I mean it's just not avoidable. You can de-escalate situations as best as you possibly can, but there's going to be a point in your career where you're going to have to fight. But there has to be some kind of balance between the two. Just because you don't have to use force does not mean you do not have to train effectively and understand how to use force. I think that's the big difference, is just because you are not taught right now to use force, you're taught to de-escalate first, does not mean that you should not know how to use force.
SPEAKER_03Good answer. And you also being somebody who's worked out a majority of your life in the gym, do you think working out also helps?
SPEAKER_02A hundred percent. You need to be physically active. You need to be able to hold your you need to be able to hold your own. And that's what I had pride in myself on most of my career.
SPEAKER_03But when you see and I'm not one to sugarcoat things, when you see fat, sloppy, overweight cops, is that how does that make you feel?
SPEAKER_02Your disrespect in the uniform that gave you a career. There's reasons for people to gain weight, but there's also there's also reasons. There's a lot of ways for people to take off that weight. Being injured multiple times gained and lost weight. But there is no reason for you to be fat and sloppy in uniform.
SPEAKER_03If you were to go back in your law enforcement career, would you do anything different, or was there is there anything that you would have wanted to do that you can get a chance to do?
SPEAKER_02I would have liked to promote and become a detective and go down that path, but I didn't.
SPEAKER_03Did you ever see yourself maybe owning a dog and being a canine officer?
SPEAKER_02No. I did at one point want to be a canine officer and I um that was the route that I wanted to take, but there was a video in the academy where the canine got shot and he passed away on scene, and that ended my wanting to be a canine because I would never I knew at that point that I would never be allowed, I never would be able to send my dog into a situation that could possibly get him killed.
SPEAKER_03What about being a motor cop?
SPEAKER_02Absolutely not.
SPEAKER_03No? No. I can see you in the boots. No?
SPEAKER_02No.
SPEAKER_03Why not? The boots and the helmet? I don't know. Because it messed your hair up. Do you like to write tickets? Why not? How horrible tickets. Anyways.
SPEAKER_02They've seen a lot of very good motor cops, but I would not ever want to be a motor cop. It's not what I wanted to do.
SPEAKER_03Aaron Ross Powell Who was in your career, who was one of the people that you looked up to or emulated or helped you in your career the most that that you look back and and have fond memories of?
SPEAKER_02Aaron Ross Powell Yeah I think there's a lot of people that came in and out of my career for different reasons and people that I had looked up to. You don't really understand at the time people or why people are in your life. And I had one very tough training officer in LA, and she there wasn't a lot of small talk. We didn't know a lot about each other's lives. She trained me in a city called Paramount, which Paramount was very tough, but she just did what she had to do. She let me be the kind of cop that I wanted to be without a lot of guidance. But if I messed up, she was there to let me know I messed up. Yeah, she was she was tough, but she just she did let me do it on my own. And I think going into training at a later point in life that you don't really need to I don't need someone, I didn't need someone to teach me how to be a human or how to my work ethic. I needed someone to just teach me how to be a cop, and that's what she did. That's there was no fluff around it. It was just taught me how to be a cop. It was follow my direction. She had a lot of experience behind her, and that's why I did follow her. I had a lot of training officers that they didn't have a lot of experience, and I didn't I didn't want to listen to them because of their lack of knowledge of anything. And I think that hindered me a lot because I just I didn't want to listen to them.
SPEAKER_03So you have a problem with listening.
SPEAKER_02I think that there are a lot of training officers that shouldn't be training officers. They need more experience. If they want to be a good training officer, I think you need to be on at least five years, at least.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, that's with any specialty. So all right.
SPEAKER_02But she would leave me alone in the substation at two o'clock in the morning. She would go home and I would write my reports. And I would usually get kicked out by a sergeant at four o'clock in the morning to go home because he was tired of looking at me writing my reports. So I would always be done writing reports and I would go home and write them instead.
SPEAKER_03Did you handwrite them or type them?
SPEAKER_02Some of them I had to handwrite and some of them I typed.
SPEAKER_03All right. Is there anything else you want to add that I didn't ask? That you want to tell the listening off audience about yourself?
SPEAKER_02Well, let's ask you a question. How would you have to be?
SPEAKER_03Okay. But then you're What's your what's your what's your morning routine? What what what is your your you get up? What time do you get up for the morning?
SPEAKER_02No, I get up between seven and eight.
SPEAKER_03Mm-hmm. Do you eat breakfast right away?
SPEAKER_02I make my coffee. My husband bought me an espresso machine for anniversary. So I learned how to make espresso and lattes. So that's what I do. Make myself my latte in the morning, and then I share my breakfast with salt.
SPEAKER_03What is your breakfast?
SPEAKER_02Usually two Hawaiian rolls. Why are we outing my breakfast? I don't have protein in the morning. Usually check our emails and then hang out with salt for a couple hours. And then I will usually go for a walk or like jog in the or do Pilates in the middle of the day. And then if you're home, we do something together, or if you're not, I wait for you to come home from teaching.
SPEAKER_03And correct me if I'm wrong. You were when we met, you were a vegetarian, correct?
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_03And that means you don't eat meat. And how long did it take me to get you to start eating meat?
SPEAKER_02Two years. I think when I moved up to here. But you were a vegan for a while.
SPEAKER_03Like six months. The worst six months of my life.
SPEAKER_02It was difficult because we were traveling a lot for those six months.
SPEAKER_03What's your favorite cut of meat? That's a loaded question because she has no idea. Let me let me ask you this question. There was a time.
SPEAKER_02There's a time You can't help yourself in you.
SPEAKER_03There's a time.
SPEAKER_02Is this from Mendoza?
SPEAKER_03No. Don't ever say his name. Anyways, I was at work, I believe, and I get a text like I went to the store and I bought you a steak to cook when you get home for us. Like, oh, that's awesome. My vegetarian girlfriend bought me a steak at Safeway. And I came home and you presented the steak to me. And when I say steak, it's in quotations. What kind of a space of meat did you buy at the store?
SPEAKER_02I don't remember.
SPEAKER_03It was a pot roast. Okay. Pot roast. The things you put in a pressure cooker, a crock pot, and cook for twelve hours. That was a steak that she bought me.
SPEAKER_02You love that story, don't you? I tried. It's all that matters is I tried. Was it good?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I cooked it. It was good.
SPEAKER_02Cook it?
SPEAKER_03Huh? Yes, I did.
SPEAKER_02It was cooked by the time you got home in the pan in the pan.
SPEAKER_03No, it was cooked on the outside and raw on the inside.
SPEAKER_02That's how you like your steak, medium rare.
SPEAKER_03No. Who's the best cook in our house?
SPEAKER_02Not you.
SPEAKER_03Not me?
SPEAKER_02Cook? Yeah. You don't cook, you grill stuff outside.
SPEAKER_03All right. I'll remember the next time you want breakfast.
SPEAKER_02I can't I don't eat breakfast anymore.
SPEAKER_03You had breakfast the other day. Yeah. I cooked two breakfast.
SPEAKER_02I don't want to feel like cleaning the kitchen after you cook breakfast, though, so I clean everything trying to fit.
SPEAKER_03All right. All right. She's giving me that look like she is done asking questions. That's why we don't have to be able to do that. I'm not asking questions. Or answering questions.
SPEAKER_02Let's do one question for you.
SPEAKER_03Huh?
SPEAKER_02Pertaining to my story. Because you are a big part of my story. We have been together for ten years. So how was it like having your wife working in law enforcement?
SPEAKER_03What are we done talking about you?
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_03That concludes.
SPEAKER_02Well, this is about me, but this is because this is the most asked question, it seems like, when people ask you questions about being in law enforcement, is how did you deal with me being in law enforcement? How did you deal with me being in LA?
SPEAKER_03Well, being almost, you know, five hours away at the beginning portion of our career. Of course, it's, you know, you play the what if game, you know, you're working in in one of the most dangerous areas of California, and you know, any good partner, boyfriend, husband is gonna be concerned. But I also had great faith in your abilities to do the job and protect yourself. And I know, you know, the men and women of the SO down there are squared away, and if something would happen that they would most likely take care of business. But uh yeah, you you get there's I don't want to use the word anxiety, but yeah, you get you can get concerned about you know what's happening. But I was actually more concerned when you were here than when you were down there. Aaron Ross Powell Okay.
SPEAKER_02Well then how did it change when I came up here?
SPEAKER_03Aaron Ross Powell Cause now you're in my hood and I'm close, and the worst thing that could possibly happen is something happened to you and I wasn't able to get there quick enough.
SPEAKER_02Aaron Ross Powell Would you listen to the radio when I was working as you were driving home?
SPEAKER_03No way. No. No way.
SPEAKER_02Was there perhaps a call where I might not have been listening to my radio and you were listening to my radio channel on the way home and you called my phone that was in my back pocket and told me to turn my radio up because they were looking for me. You don't recall that?
SPEAKER_03No. Did you turn your radio up? Yeah. So I saved your life?
SPEAKER_02No. I was perfectly fine. Everything was code for I just didn't have my radio up.
SPEAKER_03My partner's What's Code 4?
SPEAKER_02We were fine. The two the two kids that had broken into the backyard of an abandoned house to make out were perfectly fine.
SPEAKER_03Damn those kids. All right. I'm done asking you questions. I'm sure we'll have follow-up questions throughout the interview, or you know.
SPEAKER_02So I got to interview you next?
SPEAKER_03Or fans that are out there listening right now and may have follow-up questions. All right. Do I have to answer every question?
SPEAKER_02Answer whatever you want to answer.
SPEAKER_03Okay. I will try my best. All right.
SPEAKER_02We have some great interviews coming up. We have asked some people to be on the podcast that we are very excited about in law enforcement. And I have a couple ideas of people that are not in law enforcement but are affected by law enforcement. So we'll have some great interviews coming up. Thank you for everyone for supporting our podcast. It's been a very interesting experience last couple weeks.
SPEAKER_03We had a good interview with Mark. Yeah. People seem to like it.
SPEAKER_02Yes. So well, thank you for listening. That is all for now. Next time, I will interview Ed and we will see how many questions that he answers.
SPEAKER_03Truthfully. All right. Peace out. Talk to you later. Bye.