Over the course of his long career in law enforcement, Matt Pitcher has put his personal life on hold to go deep undercover to catch the bad guys. Matt did short stints pretending to be someone else when he worked street crimes trying to take down drug dealers. Then came two separate deep cover investigations that required Matt to live for months apart from his wife and newborn son. Matt sits down with our twin detectives to talk about the real world impact of assuming someone else’s identity, the dangerous close calls when he was almost discovered, and why he thinks deep-cover assignments are becoming a thing of the past.
Lindsey Wade Finds Missing Children
What happens when a child goes missing? Every second counts and law enforcement needs to know exactly what to do to improve the chances the victim will be found alive. Enter Lindsey Wade, a veteran detective from Tacoma, Washington. Lindsey travels the country training officers on child abduction response and what to do in those crucial seconds, minutes, and hours after a child goes missing. Today, she joins Detectives Dan and Dave to talk about what she teaches, the critical information parents need to know, and her work as a cold case detective.
Mark Super Examines the Bodies
Detectives Dan and Dave have long said that victims and their families are at the mercy of the quality of detective assigned to their case. It turns out that detectives and other law enforcement officials will sometimes find themselves beholden to someone else’s work: that of the medical examiner. What a medical examiner finds at a crime scene can make or break a case. So what does it take to do that job well? And what could MEs learn from a veteran in the field? Today, our twin detectives talk with Dr. Mark Super, who has spent decades as a medical examiner in California, about a typical day on the job, his most memorable cases, and what lessons he wants to impart from his storied career.
Lasting Impact
In today’s briefing, Detectives Dave and Dan, and forensic investigator Paul Holes, share personal stories of traumatic events they experienced on the job that left them struggling with post-traumatic stress. Joined by guest host Yeardley Smith, they discuss why there needs to be a renewed focus on mental health treatment for all first responders, and the urgent need to redefine when and how police officers are able to seek help when they inevitably experience tragic events that leave a lasting impact.
Online Safety
In today’s briefing, Detective Dave digs into his years of experience to talk about online safety for kids, and how parents can better understand the brave new world of apps and platforms where some children are at risk of abuse.
In This Case
Who sets the rules for police use of force? In many ways, the limits are set by case law. In today’s briefing, we bring back a discussion about two U.S. Supreme Court cases that define what police can and cannot do when they need to bring force to bear.