Voiceover:
0:00
I'm in the prime of my life. I want the experiences of being a big city cop. So I literally started my career all over again. I went out to Las Vegas and I literally felt my brain slowing down. And I knew I was having a stroke. In 24 years of my life, I almost gave my life on more than one occasion. And he said, Randy, this isn't personal. It's just business. Cops are reaching out to me with these terrible stories. Heartbreaking stories. And I realized, wait a minute, this isn't just me. This is happening to cops all over the country. You think that if you get hurt in the line of duty, your brotherhood, right? The agency's gonna be behind you 100%. They're gonna take care of you. And then to find out the reality was absolutely devastating.
David Dachinger:
0:45
Welcome to Respond to Resilience, along with Bonnie Rimley, LCSW, EMTB. I'm David Dashinger. Join us as we speak with retired Lieutenant Randy Sutton. He's the founder of The Wounded Blue. We're gonna be speaking about the challenges faced by law enforcement officers who are physically and emotionally injured in the line of duty. We'll discover how the wounded blue has supported over 16,000 officers and hear insights from Randy's extensive career, including the vital work being done to aid law enforcement professionals. We'll also be talking about Randy's book, Rescuing 911: The Fight for America's Safety. We invite you to like and subscribe, YouTube Responder Resilience, Facebook, Responder TV, or on LinkedIn, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and go to our website, respondertv.com, past episode to guest information. We'll be right back to speak with Randy after this. Ask a first responder who they are, and you're likely to hear I am a police officer.
Voiceover:
1:36
I am a firefighter. I am a I am a 911 communications operator. I do this work. But I am going to ask a clinician why they work with first responders.
Bonnie Rumilly:
1:48
And they may say, There's no fire space.
Voiceover:
1:53
Join us in shaping a culture where mental health, wellness, and leadership are prioritized, not with it. Support is a sign of strength, and where no one has to carry the weight alone. Welcome to Responder Resilience. We shine a spotlight on the unseen battles of first responder reality. And celebrate the powerful wins that come from the grit of post-traumatic growth. We understand the culture, honor the trust, and bring you conversations from the change makers, passionate about helping first responders come home whole. With your host, retired Lieutenant David Dashinger, Dr. Stacy Raymond, and Bonnie Roomley, LCSW EMT.
Wounded Blue Trailer:
2:40
Post-traumatic stress is is very serious because it causes changes. And that's the most difficult part. Law enforcement job in itself is very difficult and stressful, but uh post-traumatic stress, in my opinion, kind of changes the game. Sometimes I felt sad. Like being on a playground and nobody wants to play with you. You know, when you were a kid and one day they're your friends and the next day they're not, and it's it's hard as a kid to, you know, go through that stuff. But it's kind of like that, and you know, that might sound silly to some people, but unless you've walked in those boots, you just don't know how that feels. You absorb this stuff in, you can't get it out. You know, and when something traumatic like that happens, when you're lying on a floor bleeding out, and you're wondering, is this it? This morning, is that the last time I went to see my wife and my kids?
David Dachinger:
3:39
So our guest today is Lieutenant Randy Sutton. He's a seasoned law enforcement professional with 34 years of experience. Randy served 10 years with the Princeton, New Jersey Police Department, and then 24 years with the Las Vegas Metro Police Department, where he became one of the highest decorated officers in the department's history, receiving medals for valor and multiple lifesaving awards. He's the founder of The Wounded Blue, an organization that's provided support to over 16,000 police officers in the past seven years. And he's also the author of several books, including Rescuing 911, The Fight for America's Safety. And he hosts the podcast, A Cop's Life, which shares insights and stories from the law enforcement community. Randy, warm welcome to Responder Resilience.
Randy Sutton:
4:21
Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate it. And I want to just say that um when in in your introduction you talk about post-traumatic stress growth. And I'm really glad that you that you uh center on that because that's going to be part of our conversation today. And it's not spoken about enough, and it is really truly one of the most important topics in law enforcement.
David Dachinger:
4:44
Perfect.
Bonnie Rumilly:
4:46
Well, thank you for your time, Randy. I'm really eager to jump in and talk to you a bit and ask some questions about your background and would really also love to hear about you founding the wounded blue and and what led you down that path.
Randy Sutton:
5:00
Sure thing. I've got I've got nothing but time for you guys. I have a I have a guest here.
Bonnie Rumilly:
5:13
I've got one on the couch too over here.
David Dachinger:
5:15
Let's split the royalties 50-50.
Randy Sutton:
5:18
That's right. So um I I feel very blessed. I had a I had a fantastic career in law enforcement. Um, I always knew what I was gonna be from the time that I was a kid. My uh grandfather was a deputy sheriff who was shot in the line of duty, survived, but was actually shot by a poacher. Um I was fascinated by that big scar he had from the shotgun blast in his in his abdomen, and uh and the tales of his being a deputy sheriff in in rural New York State. Um and my parents were both court reporters, so I grew up listening to you know the stories of cases and murders and all kinds of stuff. And and I always knew from the time I was a child um where what my path was going to be. In fact, I was a protector even as a even as a kid. Um I got I got uh in fact, it was from being a protector and actually getting getting suspended from high school that began my police career, if uh, which is kind of funny. Um I got thrown out of school a lot. And I was in I was in a very uh liberal community of Princeton, New Jersey, and of course, you know, where the university is, and that's my hometown. And um, every time that I got in a fight with somebody, it was because I was protecting somebody else. And the principal knew it, but remember there was this was a time when uh, you know, no school violence, you know, there was no tolerance. So you got in a fight, you got canned. So I was getting suspended pretty frequently. And uh and but but the principal actually knew um why I was fighting and and respected it. So there was no animosity between us. He was doing what he had to do, and I was doing what I had to do. But one afternoon I'm a junior, I just it was the beginning of the junior my high school year, and each year the Princeton High School Um gave an internship to the Princeton Borough Police Department, the town, the town police. And each year a junior was chosen to be an intern. They called him a cadet, but basically a coffee boy, you know, that kind of thing. And and I'm in the principal's office getting suspended again, and waiting for my mother to come pick me up again. And uh, and he and he takes a phone call, and I can tell from the phone call that he's speaking to the chief of police about choosing the next cadet. And I'm going like this, I'm pointing at myself, jumping up and down. And and the principal got this funny look on his face and a smile. He said, Chief, I think I have the I think I have the perfect cadet for you. And and that's how I got my introduction into law enforcement, and wound up in a um, I graduated from high school early and wound up becoming a police officer in that town um at the ripe old age of 19, believe it or not. They had just changed the age of majority from 21 to 18, so you could drink, you could vote, you could become a cop. What you couldn't do though, you couldn't buy ammunition because you had to be 21. So here I am getting ready to go into the New Jersey State Police Academy, one of the toughest academies in the country. And I had to ask my mom to go buy my bullets for me. It was a humbling experience. Um, so that began my police career. I did 10 years in Princeton, six years as a patrolman, that was our rank at the time, patrol man, and then that's uh four years as a detective. And then um, I gotta tell you, it was a great place to work if you didn't like action. But I wanted action. You know, here I am. I'm I'm I'm in the prime of my life. I want the experiences of being um a big city cop. So I literally started my career all over again. I went out to Las Vegas. I'd heard about what a great department it was and growing. And at that time, Vegas was the fastest growing city in the country. And uh came out here, took the test, got hired, and never looked back on that decision because it afforded me exactly what I was looking for. First of all, more action. Uh and and well, let me illustrate that with a story. Um as a cop in Princeton, I think I drew my gun maybe five times, uh, never used it. And in Vegas, I was still on probation when it was when I was in my first shooting when uh a 15-year-old tried to ambush me uh during a foot pursuit. He just stolen a car, and I'm you know, I'm chasing this kid at two o'clock in the morning in a low-income housing area, and he goes around the corner, and I go around the corner, he's waiting for me, and I'm looking down the barrel of his gun and uh instantly fired a shot. The shot, he was right next to a building, the shot zinged by his ear and hit the building, and a piece of stucco came off and hit him in the head, and he thought he was shot, so he couldn't throw that gun down fast enough and wound up taking him into custody, and then I realized this kid's 15 years old, and he's willing to kill me. And that was my be careful what you wish for, because you're not in Kansas anymore, Toto.
Voiceover:
10:28
You're trained to help people heal, but first responders, they carry trauma that's buried under silence, stigma, and stress. Helping the helpers gives you the framework to connect, to speak their language, earn their trust, and actually make an impact. From the experienced team and clinicians behind the Responder Resilience Podcast, this isn't theory. It's real-world support for the ones who need you most. And this book isn't just for clinicians. If you're an agency leader, peer support team, chaplain, EAP, wellness program coordinator, or family member, helping the helpers will equip you with the tools, language, and insight to make a difference. Be the resource they can count on. Order your copy of Helping the Helpers on Amazon today.
Bonnie Rumilly:
11:32
Um, what what were you seeing on the job that kind of sparked the idea for the wounded blue that made you realize that was something that was needed out there?
Randy Sutton:
11:42
Well, like everything else in my life, it was uh it was shown to me. Um, if you had told me 10 years before I retired or five years before I retired that my path would be the wounded blue, I would not have believed it. Um I had my path lined out, I thought. Um, but you know, there's there's a lot of things that take place in your life, life-changing moments, and I've had a number of them. Excuse me, little girl, thank you. And uh so let's talk about about a little bit about the pathway. So, first of all, the um the television show cops, um, I became um one of the most featured officers on that show, and that actually created a whole bunch of different um opportunities for me that I never would have gotten otherwise. In fact, if you look back on on how the wounded blue wound up getting um formed all those years later, a lot of it's because of being on the TV show cops and being so recognized. I was on numerous seasons. I was I think I was most featured officer on the show. And uh from that um got an opportunity to be in the movies. I wound up in uh in a great role in the movie Casino with uh doing a scene with Robert De Niro and Sharon Stone. That's how I got in the Screen Actors Guild, and I've been doing movies and TV ever since. Now, that would never have happened had it not been for the TV show cops. Also, every cop I know has life-changing experiences on the job. And one of those life-changing experiences was saving the life of a uh one-month-old baby who'd been shot in the face during a drive-by shooting. And I happened to come upon the scene, it was these three gangbangers pulled up alongside this car with an innocent mom and dad in it and a baby. And in a gang initiation, we later found out, just opened fire on the car for no reason. And I happened to drive up minutes after it happened. It wasn't dispatched, I just saw a car up on the sidewalk and people running around screaming. Radios for backup jumped out of the car, and then somebody screamed, Oh my god, the baby's been shot. And there's this little one-month-old infant who'd been hit in the face. And of course, you know, our protocols call for the ambulance, right? EMTs, and lock down the scene and you know, do the investigation. But I realized that that baby wasn't breathing. And if I waited for the EMTs, that baby was gonna die. So I grabbed the first police car that got there, scooped the baby up, I said, get to the medical center. And um all when the baby got hit, all this tissue and stuff went down to her throat and choked her. So I was able to clear her airway, give her mouth-to-head resuscitation basically, and bring her back. And because I was there literally within minutes, no brain damage. And that little girl survived. And that night was such an impactful night for me. Um, you know, I finished the shift, like we all do, even after, you know, a traumatic situation like that. Went home and me and a bottle of Johnny Walker Black uh wrote the story called her name was Jackie. And I didn't have anything to do with it. I just felt like I needed to write it. Got the old yellow pad out and a pen, you know, the old the old-fashioned way, and uh and wrote the story. And I put it in a drawer, and it sat in that drawer for three years, and then the World Trade Center was attacked, the deadliest day in law enforcement history with 72 officers killed. And I was so frustrated at not being able to help. I was thinking, you know what? I got an idea. Every cop I know has a story like the one that's sitting in that drawer right there. And I'm gonna ask them to write that story, and then I'm gonna put it in a book, and I'm gonna donate all the proceeds to the Widows and Orphans Fund for the police officers who were killed. And that's exactly what I did. That book became my very first book called True Blue, Police Stories by Those Who Have Lived Them. Sold very well, and that launched my writing career. And of course, that writing career continues to this day. None of this was planned, it was just the pathway that was shown to me. So let's flash forward 24 years into my police career with Las Vegas Metro Police, I'm now a lieutenant. Lieutenants are the last rank that you can actually still be a cop in Vegas. Everything else, you're an administrator, not my forte. So I spent 14 years as a sergeant, and then I spent uh um six years or five years as a uh as a lieutenant, street lieutenant on the graveyard shift in Vegas, because that's where the action is, right? And I love the action. So one night I'm uh I'm on patrol and I was the watch commander, which meant I was the highest ranking officer on duty, and I would always take a patrol officer with me so I could get to know my people, because Vegas is a very big police department. So I had this young man with me, it was the first time he'd ever ridden with me. And it's 2:30 in the morning, we're driving down Las Vegas Boulevard in front of Valley's Hotel, and I'm talking to him like I'm talking to you guys, and suddenly I found myself talking slower. And I literally felt my brain slowing down, and I knew I was having a stroke. And um, I stopped the car, I said, get me medical, I'm having a stroke. And I got out of the car to go around to the passenger side in case he needed to get me to the hospital and started speaking gibberish. And I knew I was speaking gibberish, but I couldn't control it. And then I lost the ability to speak, and I lost the ability to move, and I crumpled to the pavement, and I lay there absolutely helpless, um, conscious, aware, but unable to move or talk or communicate. And I wasn't afraid of dying. I was actually praying to die. Um rather than live like that. And um, once again, that angel had spent on my shoulder, my entire crew was with me again. They got me the hospital, the clot went through my brain, did some damage, uh, but certainly not what it could have done. But it did effectively end my police career. And uh three weeks before that, my mother died in my arms. Um, two months before that I was in another fatal shooting. So there was a lot going on, but they found out that I had a serious heart condition. So I'm in the hospital. This doctor comes and he sits next to the bed and he says, How you feeling, Randy? I said, Quite honestly, I feel pretty good. And he says, I'm happy to hear that, but I don't want you to think that anything we did here is gonna preclude you from walking out of here and have and not having another heart attack or stroke because you have a severe heart condition and that's what caused your stroke. And that's not exactly what I had anticipated hearing. And then he gave me the then he gave me the final words you need to prepare yourself for your own mortality. Not something that I had anticipated. And it was a very reflective moment. Now I just lost everything. My mother died, I lost her, I've now lost my career, I've lost my identity, and um it was a very dark time. Um and then what happened next was was really um shocking, and that is that my own agency turned its back on me and said, We're not paying your medical bills and we're not giving you your benefits. And I said, Well, wait a minute, you can you can't do that. It's the law. I said, Yeah, well, make us. And it was it was absolutely devastating. Talk about a feeling of betrayal. Um, suddenly, you know, like I went to go see the sheriff who I worked with for 24 years. And I said, How do you treat me like this, man? I gave twenty four years of my life, I almost gave my life on more than one occasion. And he said, Randy, this isn't personal. It's just business. He was telling me the truth. It was just business. You see, I was no longer an asset. Now I'm a financial liability. Never concerned, never thought about it, right? If you're a cop, you think that if you get hurt in the line of duty, your brotherhood, right? The agency is going to be behind you 100%. They're going to take care of you. And then to find out the reality was absolutely devastating. And uh it was a lonely place. It was a very dark place for me. Um very felt very alone, felt forgotten. And um, and then um, you know, I had to go get a lawyer, I had to take him to court, and a year and a half later, I won, as they knew I would, and they had to give me my benefits, they had to pay my bills, but they ruined my credit, you know, the bill collectors are knocking on the door. And um, it was devastating. It was devastating. Um, but then because of being on the TV show cops and being a police trainer for years and writing books and being so visible in the media, cops started reaching out to me, mostly on Facebook. Randy, I know you don't know me, but I was shot in the line of duty and my chief never even visited me in the hospital and not paying my medical bills. Randy, I know you don't know me, but I was paralyzed when my police car was hit by a drunk and they've thrown me away. Randy, I know you don't know me, but and only because I was visible. Cops are reaching out to me with these terrible stories, heartbreaking stories. And I realized, wait a minute, this isn't just me. This is happening to cops all over the country. And everyone ended the same way. I feel forgotten, I feel alone, I feel betrayed. And that's when I realized that this is a national issue and there was no national resource. So I created it, and we are the wounded blue, and we are the national assistance and support organization for injured and disabled law enforcement officers, a nationwide charity. And we just passed the 17,000-person mark in the last seven years. We have been instrumental in aiding officers who have been injured either physically or emotionally and psychologically, um, you know, in a myriad of ways. And uh I'm happy to say that we have saved lives, we've saved careers, we've saved marriages, and it was the path that I never thought I would be on, but it's the path that was chosen for me. Having somebody to talk to, having somebody who has been through the same thing, or at least can have an appreciation of the struggles and the mental anguish you may be going through and how it's impacting your daily life, how it's impacting your family. Men and women in this organization, the Wounded Blue, going out there and telling you, hey, here's my story. And what do you see when you hear my story? Well, I see a survivor, I see a warrior, I see this, or I see inspiration and hope. Well, guess what? I am you. And I have post-traumatic stress disorder.
Bonnie Rumilly:
23:39
You know, your story is so inspiring for people watching and listening. Um, I know you were intrigued by the post-traumatic growth in our opening. And what I find very ironic is you are an exact example of post-traumatic growth. And and I hear these moments of darkness, but I also pay attention, just being a therapist, how quickly you pivot out of that dark moment and you find the light immediately, verbally to us. Um, and I think that speaks to your strength. What could you say to people that are watching or listening about when they're in those dark moments? How do you reach for the light? How do you find the light that's left inside of you?
Randy Sutton:
24:25
Well, first of all, you got to be a fighter. You got to understand that um what may seem like the darkest moment in your life may lead you on a path that will change your life forever, but at the same time give you uh uh incredible abilities of learning and of growth. Um, you know, I thought it was the worst thing could possibly happen to me. But I look back and I say, you know, it had it not happened to me, we would never have been able to touch the lives of all these police officers. It was, you know, it was um I I have a I have a philosophy that I developed from all of this, and it's very, very simple, but for me it's very poignant, and that is that you cannot choose your destiny, but you can create your legacy. And I've lived by that for years, um, because creating that legacy was uh led me to the destiny that I was given. Um you know, let's let's go back, let's go back a moment to when I was told that I should prepare for my own mortality. Right now, I'm 50 years old. I've just lost my mom. I just lost um my job, my identity, and now I've been told that basically um I could die any minute because of this heart condition. Um I'm happy to say that I have beaten the odds, but still I live with this, I live with this every day. Um, I know that I have a serious heart condition, and I've suffered more strokes in the in the ensuing years. And so I know literally that each day may be my last. Um, and I understand it. Uh I am I am fully aware that I will not allow time to pass without living as if it is my last day. Um, and it but with that comes the the uh freedom to be myself and to and to move forward with my life. And when I was given that that little tidbit of information, I was thinking, okay, you know what, what's my legacy gonna be? How am I gonna be remembered? And once again, fate played a role. So I was I was trying to figure out okay, what's your future gonna be, Randy? This is before the idea of of the um uh of the wounded blue came to me. And and I was watching television and I saw and I saw an interview with a guy, and his name is Frank Shankowitz. That name probably doesn't mean anything to you, but what he did will, because he's the man who created the Make a Wish Foundation. And very few people know that the man who created Make a Wish was a police officer. He was an Arizona State trooper, and I was listening to his story, and Frank was a larger-than-life guy, uh, a true cowboy, and he's on doing this national interview, and I'm and I'm like this, right? And he's telling the story of how he created Make-A-Wish, and it was born from pain. He was a motorcycle officer in uh the Arizona Highway Patrol, and this is during the 80s, and you guys will probably remember this TV show called Chips. And uh one day uh Frank gets a um um uh a call from the the chief's office and said, Hey, go to the hospital. There's a little boy there that's dying from cancer, and his mother says that that he loves this TV show, chips, and she wants him to be able to meet a real motorcycle policeman. So Frank and his partner go to the hospital and they meet this little boy, seven years old. His name is Chris, and they fall in love with him. He's bubbly, he's effusive, but he's dying. He's dying of leukemia. And this little boy is just full of life, though, you know? He and he and he gets on the motorcycle, they put their Frank puts his helmet on him, and and and the little boy says, I want to be a motorcycle policeman like you. And he points to his winged wheel on his on his uniform. And Frank gets an idea, and he calls the commandant of the state of the Arizona Highway Patrol, and he says, Listen, can we make this boy an honorary police officer? And the and the commandant said, Why not? So Frank calls the uniform shop up and he says, Hey, I don't care if you got to stay all night. I want I need a uniform this size. So they do. They stay up all night. He goes down, he picks this uniform up, brings it to the little boy. And then he says, But but I want to be a motorcycle policeman. So they put they put the uniform on him, they put a tricycle in front of him, and they put some cones out. And he goes through the cones, and Frank says, Okay, you're a motorcycle policeman now. And and he points to Frank's winged wheel. He says, When do I get my wheel? Frank called the jewelry shop up and says, I don't care if you've got to stay all night. I need you to make me winged wheels. So they do. And that next morning he goes to pick them up and he gets a call from, you know, remember, this is before cell phones, right? He gets a radio call, call the chief's officer right away. And they tell him, get to the hospital right now. He's in a coma. So Frank calls ass to the hospital, and Chris is in a coma. He's laying there. His mom is there, you know, you know, just so beside herself. And Frank has got his uniform, his little uniform hanging there. And Frank pins the wind wheel on his uniform. And the little boy wakes up and starts giggling. He says, Am I a real motorcycle policeman? And Frank says, Yes, you are. And he giggled and he laughed and he laid his head down and died. Frank said, if I can make his dream come true, his wish, I can do this for others. And that's how that's how the Make a Wish Foundation was born. From pain. I contacted Frank Shankovitz, because my path was clear now. And I called him and I said, hey, this is who I am. He actually had seen me on Cops and said, I'll be happy to talk to you. So I drove down, I met him, I recorded his story, and that became my third book, The Power of Legacy, Personal Heroes of America's Most Inspiring People. And I traveled the country talking to people like Frank about who it was in their lives that gave them the um desire to give back in such meaningful ways. And that changed my life. And Frank became my mentor, my friend, and the first member of the board of directors of the Wounded Blue when I created it. And he was my friend and mentor till the day he died. In fact, we were so close that I wear my grandmother's chain, this is my father's wedding ring, my mother's gold heart, and then this is Frank Shankowitz's St. Christopher Medallion. So I keep them with me. And that's the way, that's the way he was born, um, through pain. And uh, and that's when I when I think about the question that you just asked, um, I keep in mind all those people that I talked to, all those amazing organizations and and things that gave back in so many ways and touched the lives of literally millions of people around the world. Um, that was born from um from pain. And so when we are in our darkest spots, um realize that first of all, you're not alone. Our um, our mission at the wounded blue is uh punctuated by our logo, which is never forgotten, never alone. And that's what we are. We are a peer support organization for injured and disabled officers, whether those injuries are physical and emotional and psychological. My officers who are on my peer team are the are the heroes of the wounded blue. They're the ones on the front lines that despite their injuries, despite their their uh challenges, give back in incredible ways. We're literally saving lives. Um, and then we have um I have our National Law Enforcement Survival Summit each year and talk about an incredible experience. You got to come to this. You two would get so much from it. It's every aspect of surviving a law enforcement career physically, emotionally, psychologically, relationships, family dynamics. You name it, we talk about it. And we have some of the most powerful speakers in the country come to this, and it's life-changing. I mean, I've literally had people stand up at this conference and say, if it weren't for this conference, I'd plan on taking my life. So this is all part of um my life now, and I can't imagine it any other way.
Voiceover:
34:07
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Bonnie Rumilly:
34:39
Your story is so incredible, Randy, and thank you for sharing. I think the intimate details just paint the picture in ways that um only you can imagine by hearing them. So we really appreciate your candidness here. And you mentioned a stat before that you've helped 16,000 officers. Uh I think excuse me.
Randy Sutton:
35:01
We just turned the corner. 17,000. Yep.
Bonnie Rumilly:
35:04
That's amazing. And I can only imagine how many more you're going to help.
Randy Sutton:
35:10
Well, let me let me tell you a success story. Because I gotta tell you success. We you know, we deal with a lot of pain. Yeah, a lot of pain. But and we all know that there's been a real anti-law enforcement um lobby out there, right? We've seen it for years, painting the picture of police officers very negatively. Right now, we're seeing it with the ICE officers uh being painted as you know, monsters and killers, etc., and so forth. And this is like a we're it's like deja vu, you know, from the George Floyd days. We're seeing this insanity and and the and the you know law enforcement being painted with the broad brush. And it's easy to get jaded, it's easy to think that everybody's against you. Well, I had an incredible experience, and I'm gonna tell you the story because I it's gonna illustrate, um, it's gonna illustrate a very important point. So um, as you know, I'm a I'm a national commentator on law enforcement topics for media outlets, but Fox News, Newsmax, CBS, I've been on pretty much every network trying to explain. I see this as part of my part of my duty, and that is to be a translator, to tell the people of America what policing is really about, and try to translate the the things that take place so that they so it makes sense to them. And um, and so I was on Fox News and I was actually talking about the wounded blue because the police officer had been injured. And this is um this is more than four years ago now. And I get a phone call about 20 minutes later, and a void, uh the voice on what I now call the voice on the phone, uh says, Hey, uh I saw you on Fox News and I support law enforcement. Tell me more about your charity. And that wound up to be about an hour and a half conversation. And it was very clear from this conversation, this guy was very savvy about the charity space. And after he asked me for my 990s, which are our tax forms, which show how you spend your money, like if you piss your money away, right? And he saw that I don't take a salary. I live on my pension, I don't take a salary from the organization. And he called me back and this is Christmas time. This is right about Christmas. And he says, I'm gonna make it a happy new year for you. Watch your mailbox. And I opened the mailbox up, and there was a check for $100,000. The biggest donation we've ever received. And I actually used that $100,000, uh, part of it, to fly to the bedsides of police officers who were severely injured and give their families a couple thousand bucks for babysitting and hotels and things like that. The money went very quickly. I never knew who this guy was. It was an anonymous donation. And in the ensuing years, the voice on the phone, who I've spoken to multitudes of times, I still don't know who he is. He's given me more than two million dollars to save police officers' lives. Incredible. And we just we just uh there was a police officer here, or we actually in Texas, severely injured, spinal injury, was then abandoned by his department, um, left to live in pain. Um, they they refused to fix him. And then when he when he went to court and beat them, they gave him substandard medical, which which wound up make leaving him uh debilitated, and he was told he'd never walk again. And he was that we bought him a wheelchair, and um through the voice on the phone, um we found one of the finest spinal surgeons in the United States. And six years after his injury, he went to this spinal surgeon, and two months later he danced with his daughter at her wedding, and he's got his life back because of the wounded blue, and because of a man who cares about law enforcement. And and all he wanted, all he wanted said was to all the people that we've helped, and we've helped a bunch of them, America has not forgotten you. So when we get to thinking that that uh you know that that the world is a very dark place, and all the hatred out there for law enforcement, remember, most of America cares about you, most of America trusts you, most of America believes in you, and that's where we have to keep our heads high, and we have to realize. that that this job is the most noble job that there is and keep on plugging and keep on working keep on helping people keep on saving lives and this is this is where we will we will um um be victorious and that's part of the that's part of the wounded blue job yeah so important to reframe and put the focus back on the mission and the purpose of the job and um randy you've got so many things going on it's really there's something for everybody right you've got books you've got the summit um also a documentary about the wounded blue by our friend Jason Harney that um if anybody's interested in seeing actual police officers who have been through incredible adversity but also been helped by the wounded blue uh highly recommend that and I recommend your new book Rescuing 911 The Fight for America's safety which is very relevant to the conversation about law enforcement and how um how it's being portrayed and treated in today's media and today's uh culture um how how can people find you and all these great things you're doing Randy I am about the easiest guy in the world to find first of all the website for the wounded blue is thewoundedblue.org that's thewoundedblue.org and um see who we are see what we do give what you can we have that with that fantastic uh Jason Harney documentary called the wounded blue and if you go to amazon.com you can you can see that I urge you to see it bring your tissue because you're gonna need them right you're gonna see stories that you literally won't won't believe how can a police officer get shot in the head not be given proper medical be thrown away it's I mean it's shocking what's happening across America and we're fighting we are their voice um also we have uh Facebook uh people reach out to me all the time on Facebook it's the wounded blue um and uh and uh we're about to do something pretty cool um the TV show cops once again all these years later all these years later I think they're in their 38th season now right going strong well the owner of of the TV show cops is the son of the original creator and he's a huge supporter of the wounded blue and um he contacted me and said Randy we have never allowed anybody to use the intellectual property of the TV show cops our logo our music etc well he has licensed the wounded blue to create a coffee company to help us raise money for our mission and Soon to be born is cops coffee and uh you're gonna see it it's a very high quality coffee it's gonna be uh online it'll be copscoffeecompany.com uh and um we're gonna be uh not only selling coffee to help raise money to support our officers but also think of this that that each package we'll have a QR code that you can learn about the wounded blue but also if you're a police officer you can reach out to help for help by drinking our coffee you can just hit that QR code and say I need to talk to somebody so this is going to be an amazing um adventure uh it's gonna help raise money because let's face it we're a charity and and raising money is a difficulty um I mean thank god that I have the voice on the phone to to you know help but we need people across America we have we're doing our 911 campaign right now we're asking people to go to our website the web the the wounded blue dot org and pledge $9.11 a month to the wounded blue and if we get enough people to do that we can touch more and more lives so I urge you it's it's a $9.11 a month it's not even a coffee and a donut okay so so hit that button and give what you can um and if you want to be another voice on the phone you can contact me directly randy at the wounded blue dot org it's randy at the wounded blue dot org yeah and it's super easy to make that donation and it's a recurring donation uh just with today's technology and apps um it's a couple of clicks and you're you're all set and it's for an incredible cause um as are all the things you're doing with the summit the books and the wounded blue so um Bonnie any final thoughts before we wrap it we're very grateful for your time Randy um just to hear about your missions and your plans but ultimately knowing what you've been through and how you help others with it is truly remarkable.
Bonnie Rumilly:
45:02
So thank you very much for sharing time with us and we'll do everything we can to support your mission and all the missions of first responders. Thank you so much.
Randy Sutton:
45:11
I appreciate the opportunity thanks for having me guys yeah
David Dachinger:
45:14
Randy it's a pleasure thanks so much for spending this time and and sharing your mission with us and our our audience we can't wait to get this episode out there so keep up that incredible work that you're doing. Count on it remember like and subscribe YouTube responder resilience Facebook responder TV LinkedIn Apple Podcasts Spotify and our website has past episode and guest information. Till the next time stay safe be kind yourself take care
