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On this smokin’ hot, new episode of Light ‘Em Up …
We have the high honor and privilege to sit and talk with a true role model – a dear friend of mine and a highly decorated, dedicated career law enforcement officer with 4 decades of exemplary service to the citizens of the great City of Cleveland, Ohio.
During times when law enforcement is taking a rightful beating for the actions of more than a few, it is great to talk with a true hero who has maintained the highest standard of public service and has labored extremely hard daily --- having kept his nose clean for 39 years.
He’s the recipient of The Officer of the Year on the B shift –
● The Medal of Heroism –
● The Medal of Valor –
And …
● The Public Safety Hero of the Year –
The bright light shines down as we are in the interrogation room with Retired Cleveland Police Department Sgt. Victor Hayes.
All who know him and love him refer to him lovingly and respectfully as “Crown Vic”.
We drill deep on:
From his roots in the deep south of Dallas County, Arkansas where many members of law enforcement were entrenched in organizations such as The KKK -- and being terrified of police -- to starting his career in public service as a fire fighter in Maryland, and investigating crime on the mean streets of the City of Cleveland, Ohio, to recalling countless times when he made decisions that kept people out of prison – he shares with us his experiences and professional insight on:
● What has happened to policing? Have the wheels come off of the “policing bus”?
● We discussed some of the current hiring dilemmas that plague policing and discuss why it can be so difficult to find "quality, qualified candidates" to serve.
● How can policing practices promote healthy crime reduction while building the public trust?
● We can’t get away from the fact that the origins of the police in this country were to serve as slave patrols -- organized groups of armed men who monitored and enforced discipline upon slaves in the antebellum U.S. southern states.
● We inquire if 21st century policing has shed the foundational concepts of how it originally perceived and reacted to individuals of color?
We all know and have had a front row seat to witness, unfortunately “the few can define the many” – 1 bad apple can spoil the bunch:
● How do we go about weeding the bad seeds out of the profession?
● What do we want our police to do?
● Are we expecting too much from them, to be social workers, emergency medical practitioners, and keepers of the peace, simultaneously?
♦ We explore some ideas for trying to reduce the incidents of active shooter events that we see daily across our county.
And we talk about U.S. v Cleveland (the consent decree): The Cleveland Police Department and The Department of Justice entered into a consent decree which requires the Cleveland Police Department to make a number of fundamental changes to its policies, practices and procedures to address these issues in light of the murder of Timothy Russell and Ma’lissa Williams in 2014.
All this and so much more! You are in a zone car on the rough and tumble, means streets in the City of Cleveland, Ohio with Retired Cleveland Police Sgt. Victor Hayes.
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Tune in and enjoy!
Thanks much!
Executive Producer
Phil Rizzo