Beyond the Badge
KSL Podcasts
KSL's Beyond the Badge recognizes the good work that Utah's public safety officers do every day to make each of our lives better. Featured officers come from state, county, and municipal law enforcement agencies and must be POST certified. Officers nominated by their respective police chiefs, sheriffs and supervisors, and those featured are selected by a committee composed of representatives from KSL, the Lieutenant Governor and the ULCT.
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Top 10 Beyond the Badge Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Beyond the Badge episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Beyond the Badge for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Beyond the Badge episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
Officer Jared Jensen
Beyond the Badge
05/30/16 • 1 min
A Utah officer polices the streets despite a terrifying incident in his first few months on the job that could have cut his career very short.
On Dec. 13, 2012, officer Jared Jensen was four months into his service with the Sunset Police Department when he came face to face with a man who had a grudge.
"It was a scary thing that you don't really expect to happen," he said.
"I noticed this individual on the north side of the road, kind of giving me an odd stare," he explained. "He lifted up his sweatshirt and pulled a handgun from his waistband and continued to fire eight rounds into my vehicle."
Several of those shots hit the vehicle's window, Jensen noted. "One hit our little plastic plexi-glass frame we have between our drivers seat and our cage. It's merely plexi-glass, however that day it stopped a bullet."
"More progressed through the window, coming across my steering wheel and into the computer we have mounted over here," he continued. "I believe there were two in the computer, several glanced off the steering wheel again, one impacted the seat just behind me and ended up in our door."
Eight bullets were fired and went "through the driver side, across my body, into the passenger side of the vehicle," Jensen said.
Yet, not a single one struck Jensen.
"I still don't understand how it happened the way that it did and I'm able to be here and discuss it with you guys," he added.
Officers from across the Wasatch Front raced to the scene that day.
"That was an amazing sound at that moment hearing all the sirens and on the radio, people coming from Kaysville and North Salt Lake and Weber County. The response, the brotherhood, and the family that we talk about was real for me that day."
Someone also rushed to his side that night — an officer who is family in blue and family by blood. Jensen's father is Logan Police Chief Gary Jensen.
"It wasn't police instinct. It was parental instinct," he said. "Not wanting to admit too much on TV, I think I broke the speed limit getting to Clinton that night."
Chief Jensen was shocked at what his son survived.
"As I came out to the scene and actually saw the vehicle and saw the bullet holes, it was frightening," he said.
Officers found the gunman 40 minutes later, casually making a phone call. Zane Openshaw admitted he was waiting for a police officer to drive by that night. Now, nearly four years later, he remains incarcerated at the Utah State Prison.
Four years later, officer Jensen vividly remembers what happened that night.
"The thud of (bullets) impacting the metal, hearing them come through the glass as well," he said.
"It's just a sound and experience that I'll never forget. I mean, I drive that same road every day. Every day in my patrol responsibilities I travel that same road. It's something I think about and remember often. In a way, I think that's good. It kind of keeps me on my toes, ready to handle an incident like that if it were to happen again," he said.
"I'm proud of him for what he does and how he represents himself as a police officer," Chief Jensen said.
He still worries about his son and his choice to follow in his footsteps. But it's a career choice even eight bullets and a brush with death couldn't alter.
"My mother and my wife and people that I'm sure care about me discussed it, but this is the career I have chosen. It's a career I love and it's a career I feel is needed in society. I want to be a part in making my community I work for a better place," officer Jensen said.
He uses his experience to teach and train new police officers at the Weber State Police Academy. He's also a member of the V-FAST fugitive task force, tracking down violent offenders.
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Officer Brain Morgan
Beyond the Badge
06/06/16 • 1 min
The following nomination letter was written by Police Chief Lance Call of the American Fork Police Department:
Officer Brain Morgan, an eleven year veteran of police service, was called to the home of the Davenport family about mid-day on April 7, 2016. Tyler Davenport reported to Officer Morgan that his two daughters, 5 year old Kimberly (Kimmie) and 10 year old Laura, had been outside jumping on the family trampoline with friends, when three Jr. High age boys walked by the house. One of the boys picked up Kimmie's brand new "Frozen" scooter and started riding off with it. The frantic girls yelled at the boys to leave the scooter but to no avail. Kimmie's scooter was gone. Kimmie was crestfallen.
After gathering all the necessary information for the police report, Officer Morgan spent some time searching the neighborhood for the stolen scooter. It isn't uncommon that the thief of a bicycle or scooter will ride it for a couple of blocks or to their intended destination and then abandon it. In spite of his best efforts, Officer Morgan could not locate Kimmie's "Frozen" scooter.
Because Officer Morgan is the father of an eight year old daughter and a set of seven year old twin boys, he could appreciate the heartbreak Kimmie was experiencing due to the loss of her "Frozen" scooter.
Officer Morgan called up Mr. Davenport later in the afternoon and reported he had diligently searched for the scooter, but couldn't find it. Officer Morgan quizzed the dad about the specific details of the scooter - its manufacturer, model, and color scheme. Mr. Davenport just thought Officer Morgan was being thorough in his investigation by getting every detail he could about the scooter.
Later in the afternoon, Officer Morgan showed back up at the Davenport home with a brand new Huffy "Frozen" scooter in hand. Without fanfare or the knowledge of his fellow officers, Officer Morgan had gone to a nearby retailer and with his own money purchased an identical scooter for Kimmie. When Officer Morgan presented the new scooter to Kimmie, she was thrilled. Her dad reported later in a "Thank You" letter written the following day to the department, that Kimmie had been delighted and had spent the rest of the afternoon riding the scooter and showing it off to everyone.
Officer Morgan could have just taken the police report of the stolen scooter and moved on to the next call for service, but instead he elected to heal a broken heart and restore a family's faith in their fellowman.
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Officer Jason Harvey
Beyond the Badge
06/13/16 • 1 min
Officer Jason Harvey Aurora City Police Department
The following nomination letter was written by Clint Johnson, City Recorder for Aurora City:
Aurora City is a very small community in the Northern part of Sevier County. We have a very small, part time police department but that doesn't always mean that our problems are small or part-time. Officer Harvey works full time for Sevier County and then on his time off he works for Aurora City as the Police Chief.
He has made it his goal to get to know every member of the community along with and especially the young people. He serves in the community working with teenage boys in an LDS Church calling and they look to him as an example. He has always been interested in their lives and is always just as excited as they are when they turn 16 and receive their driver's license. Many of these young people have grown up working on their family's farm so driving can begin at an early age but Officer Harvey is very conscientious about the rural setting and has been there offer help and to make certain that all are safe. The safety of the community and the citizens is always the most important thing for him.
Aurora City is located on state route 280 which is an important road where people travel from Highway 50 to get to Interstate 70. We have many travelers come through our community on a daily basis and Officer Harvey helps to keep those travelers safe and the citizens in our community safe as well.
Aurora City has received numerous letters from individuals whom Officer Harvey has stopped expressing their gratitude for his professional and yet understanding nature. He has helped in the community with some domestic violence situations which can turn ugly but he has helped to diffuse those situations. Officer Harvey has a caring personality and we are Aurora City are very grateful for his good work and efforts
Read more: http://www.ksl.com/?nid=462&sid=40185887&title=officer-jason-harvey-aurora-city-police-department
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School Resource Officer Cynthia Archuleta
Beyond the Badge
05/23/16 • 10 min
I would like to nominate our School Resource officer Cynthia Archuleta. She is known by the students at Hillcrest High School as Officer Archi. Det. Archuleta took over as the School Resource Officer just prior to the Canyons School District moving the 9th Grade students in the High School. This presented some very difficult challenges for her to try and help the school assimilate the new students into the high school system. She not only made the new students feel safe, she became their advocate in helping them to feel welcome. She works with the school administration on a regular basis and she always has their respect and appreciation. I am always hearing comments of praise from them about her work there. Just to name a few of her accomplishments at the school she serves as a volunteer para-educator coach for the girls softball team bringing not only talent development but development of each individual player to assure they are having fun playing the game with the team and learning the valuable lessons that competitive sports afford in development of character and hard work. Detective Archuleta provides a calming influence to all she meets with—including students in very difficult situations who are facing criminal charges for poor personal decisions. She developed and implemented a new program that monitors on a more regular basis the at risk students who were placed in a program that had limited monitoring prior to her program. She solicited and obtained a grant that gave her money to provide a reward system for students who followed the guidelines set out for them in their at risk program. This proved to be very successful.
Det. Archuleta developed a campaign to address the high school student’s texting and driving dangers. She conducted a pre-survey at the school asking questions about texting and driving to determine what their knowledge was about the dangers. She put the education campaign into place by advertising “prevent distracted driving”. She had students make up posters that were hung around the school. She had a large banner made up by the student that hung in the main lobby. She had “0 fatality” drop of the “0 fatality” crashed vehicle and had it sit at the school for a week. She made public address announcements every morning with trivia questions about the dangers where they had to find her and answer the questions to win prizes. She had a drawing for a hands free blue tooth devise. She produced a 10 minute video about distracted driving that was nothing short of spectacular. She showed the video to all of the students on the classroom and at assemblies. You can see the video by going to www.hhs.canyonsdistrict.org. She had thumb rings made and passed out to all of the students that say “Text Free Driver” and “Texting Kills”. She then conducted another survey to see if their knowledge of the dangers improved. The results were very successful.
Det. Archi’s student all love her and are all influenced in a positive way on a daily basis. She is very deserving of this recognition. Please consider her for this recognition.
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Officer Tanya Turnbow
Beyond the Badge
06/27/16 • 1 min
The following nomination letter was written by Tooele Police Chief Ron Kirby.
Officer Tanya Turnbow has taken it upon herself to do all that she can in the area of suicide prevention. Officer Turnbow is constantly looking for opportunities to reach out with her prevention efforts in any way possible. She teaches QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) throughout the community. Her reach is extended by partnering with CTC (Communities That Care), the Health Department, the Tooele County School District, and others.
Recently a man came to the Tooele City Council meeting and expressed a very emotional and heart-felt thank you for saving his son's life because of Tooele City's (i.e. Officer Turnbows) efforts in suicide prevention. I can get you his information and I am sure that he would be willing to do an interview.
Officer Turnbow also serves as Tooele County's primary medical examiner responding to many suicides throughout the county. She often meets with family members following a suicide in her capacity as a medical examiner and she has been greatly affected by her experiences. She in now also a trainer in "Suicide Postvention."
With support from the Health Department and Tooele City Officer Turnbow recently attended the National Conference on Suicidology where she was possibly the only police officer in attendance.
Read more: http://www.ksl.com/?nid=462&sid=40402603&title=officer-tanya-turnbow-tooele-city-police-department
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Trooper Justin Hansen
Beyond the Badge
05/02/16 • 1 min
Trooper Justin Hansen was nominated by Keith Squires, Utah's Commissioner of Public Safety, who wrote the following letter:
"The intention of this email is to explain (or attempt to explain) why I think Justin Hansen is a great asset to the Department of Public Safety but especially to the Aero Bureau. I will list a couple of bullet points or characteristic traits and give a few examples and stories about him:
Dedication and commitment - It is not always as easy and glamorous to be a TFO as people think. There are many late night call outs that result in long hours. The TFO position is a secondary assignment with a very high knowledge and efficiency requirement and in order to maintain that knowledge and efficiency there is a lot of training required. It also requires a lot of the TFO's own time to be proficient at the various tools. Justin has shown a very high interest level and a strong desire to be the best he can be, often calling me in the evening or early morning just to discuss an idea that he had to make the unit better. He puts in a full time effort for a part time assignment.
Advertise with usReport this ad - Professional - One of Justin's greatest talents is his ability to professionally talk to whomever we are working with. The helicopter is used to support agencies throughout the state. When we arrive on scene it is the TFO's job to brief with the Sheriff or Search and Rescue Commander to come up with a plan of how to use the helicopter. Every situation is different and I have been very impressed with the way Justin has represented the Highway Patro and DPSl in these situations. He has always been able to meet the needs of the Sheriff and devise a safe plan of action for the helicopter crew.
"Street Smarts" - I briefly mentioned above that every situation that we go to is different. One of the things that makes Justin so valuable to our unit is his "street smarts" or his common sense. Flying in the helicopter presents its own challenges and trying to use all of our tools to the benefit of the mission would test the abilities of any Trooper. Justin has the ability to overcome these challenges and be very effective. He has great ideas on where we could be of most use, and what we need to do to be effective.
Kind - I know that this is usually not something that people think of when they think of Police Officers. When we rescue people they are having a very bad day. The whole situation can seem intimidating, they are embarrassed that the helicopter had to be called. It would be very easy in these situations for the TFO to just load the victim into the helicopter and transport them the couple of minutes to the command post and then leave. Justin goes out of his way to make sure the victims are comfortable with the situation and that their needs are met before we depart.
There is a lot more I could say about what Justin adds to our unit, but to avoid sounding like this is a eulogy I will end there with the bullet points. Justin has been on numerous rescues where his actions have directly affected the outcome of the mission. There are people alive in this state because of the things that he has done. Last September he was on the mission to search for a missing hiker on Lone Peak, the hiker was located but deceased. Recovery efforts were underway when the rope from one the rescuers on the ground was pulled into the main rotor causing significant damage. The helicopter spent about 15 seconds rotating very rapidly and hitting into the side of the mountain, but was able to fly away and land safely. Justin suffered a severe concussion and whiplash from this incident. Even though he has been out of work since the incident, he usually doesn't let more than two days go by without calling me to see how things are going in the unit, with an idea on how to improve, and express a desire to get back to work."
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Officer Elayne Franco
Beyond the Badge
08/08/16 • 1 min
KSL Beyond the Badge: Officer Elayne Franco, Logan City Police Department The following nomination letter was written by Lieutenant Brad Franke of Logan:
Officer Franco is a first generation US citizen. Her family emigrated to the United States from Guatemala before she was born. Officer Franco was raised in the Logan area and made the decision to seek a career in Law Enforcement after talking to local officers and learning of ways she could help her community. After sponsoring herself through the Utah Police Academy, Officer Franco applied and competed against many other applicants to become a Law Enforcement Officer for her home community. Officer Franco speaks fluent English and Spanish and takes great pride in her combined American/Latino heritage.
Officer Franco has served with Logan City for 2 1/2 years and very early in her career earned a reputation as a positive and energetic person who is highly respected by her coworkers, as well as anyone she comes in contact with. Her reputation though the department led her to be selected as a field training officer for new hire officers. Very early in her career she is already using her skills and abilities to train the newest generations of officers.
Officer Franco has served as a liaison to the Hispanic community of Cache Valley by participating in a Spanish Radio program to help inform Spanish speaking people of Utah's laws and helping to share crime prevention tips. Each week a specific topic was presented and then calls were taken from the public. This outreach by Officer Franco helped to share a positive message and answer questions to a some members of our community who otherwise would not feel comfortable interacting with an police officer.
Officer Franco has a heart and personality which causes her to serve everyone she comes in contact with. Recently she met with a local citizen at in a parking lot. This gentleman was with two small children and had left the residence he was staying after learning of ongoing drug use in the home. The man had very little money and found himself with nowhere to go for the weekend. After learning of the difficulties, and finding one of the children had physical special needs, Officer Franco transported this small family to a local motel and paid for a room with her own money. Officer Franco felt this man was trying to do the right thing for his children and she wanted to help support those decisions.
Officer Franco was recently recognized for her work in the new officer field training program and was also awarded as a Patrol Officer of the year for 2015 for our agency. She has the ability to be proactive and a statistical leader in productivity while constantly treating everyone with respect and kindness. A recent example of Officer Franco's service was shown when she contacted a local citizen during a graveyard shift. After learning the man had warrants, Officer Franco treated him with patience and kindness while still performing her duties. She took the extra time to help find a person to take custody of the offender's bicycle so he could still have his only transportation after his release. Later this man took the time to write Office Franco a letter thanking her for treating him respectfully and for taking the time to help him make arraignments before going to jail. It is quite rare for an officer to receive a thank you letter after taking someone to jail.
Officer Franco is a truly rare and exceptional person. She has the ability to hold people accountable for their actions while maintaining a kindness and personal attention which shows everyone she interacts with how much she cares about them. She is an outstanding example to the employees of our agency and our entire community.
http://www.ksl.com/?nid=462&sid=40949652&title=officer-elayne-franco-logan-city-police-department
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Officer Stan Penrod
Beyond the Badge
07/25/16 • 1 min
KSL Beyond the Badge: Officer Stan Penrod The following nomination letter was written by Lieutenant Heath Rogers of the Syracuse Police Department:
Officer Stan Penrod teaches DARE in all of the Elementary Schools in Syracuse. Officer Penrod’s passion for helping youth and his teaching style are well known within the DARE community. The quality of his program is so well known that DAR UTAH requested that he serve as an instructor and mentor on the State team that teaches new DARE officers. Officer Penrod has been a keynote speaker as part of his partnership with DARE UTAH at graduation ceremonies for newly trained DARE officers.
Officer Penrod seeks out “at risk” youth in our community and works diligently to build relationships and trust with them. Officer Penrod has a unique way of working with these “at risk” youth. Officer Penrod often stops by to personally visit with them at their school and home, just to see how they are doing and to find out if there is anything he can do to help them be successful. Officer Penrod builds lasting bonds with these youth who often feel abandoned by the school system, friends, and sometimes their own parents and family. Teachers have commented on what a huge difference they see in a youth’s attitude when Officer Penrod mentors them.
Officer Penrod is so respected and looked up to by the youth in Syracuse that a large following of his DARE students and their parents attended this year’s Guns and Hoses charity game. Many brought handmade posters clearly showing their love and appreciation for Officer Penrod.
On January 23, 2014, at approximately 5:00 pm, Officer Penrod responded to a report of a child who had fallen through the ice at Jensen Pond. When Officer Penrod arrived he noticed the young boy struggling in the water. Officer Penrod grabbed a rope from his vehicle and threw it to the boy, but unfortunately the rope was too short. Officer Penrod stepped out on the ice in an attempt to get closer to the boy. The ice was not strong enough to support Officer Penrod and he fell into the freezing water. With some help from several bystanders, Officer Penrod was able to grab the boy and safely pull him to shore. Because of Officer Penrod’s heroic actions, by risking his own safety, a tragic outcome was avoided.
Officer Penrod has spent numerous hours over the years coaching youth in baseball, football, and wrestling. Officer Penrod spent six years as a volunteer assistant wrestling coach at Legacy Junior High in Layton. Officer Penrod is currently the head wrestling coach at Syracuse Junior High.
Officer Penrod has created a DARE TO BE GREAT Facebook page, which has many pictures of him going above and beyond his duty as he interacts with the youth in our community. Officer Penrod receives positive comments on this page due to the high level of respect that he has earned in the Syracuse Community with his work as the DARE Officer along with the other youth mentoring in which he is actively involved.
http://www.ksl.com/?nid=462&sid=40762224&title=officer-stan-penrod-syracuse-police-department
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Officer Dallas Smith & Officer Cory Lewis
Beyond the Badge
09/19/16 • 1 min
The following nomination letter was written by Steve Adams, Spanish Fork City Chief of Police:
First use of Narcan by Officers of the Spanish Fork Police Department: Spanish Fork Police Officers were recently issued NARCAN an opioid reversal drug to be used on victims overdosing on an opioid such as heroin or synthetic drug. They had been caring NARCAN for two weeks when they had their first opportunity to use the life saving drug. On 05/25/16 at 2217 hours officers Dallas Smith and Cory Lewis responded to a home in Spanish Fork on a report of an overdose. Upon arrival the patient was found to be in cardiac arrest. . Officer Smith performed chest compressions while Officer Lewis provided air. While performing CPR, questions were asked of those present in an effort to determine why the patient was in cardiac arrest. In plain view officers observed heroin and other drug paraphernalia related to its use. Because of the evidence in plain view and information from those present Officers choose to administer Narcan. The first dose of Narcan was administrated without success of reviving the patient. Officers continued CPR and gave a second dose of Narcan. A short time later the patient began to have a heartbeat, breath on his own and was even communicating. His life was saved!
Officers Smith and Lewis are truly here to "Protect and Serve". Among many other things they have taken the time to be educated and be skilled in CPR and the use of Narcan. Because of their response and skills used this patient will have another day to change the path and direction of his life. He has been given a second chance that many others have not afforded that find themselves in this same position.
http://www.ksl.com/?nid=462&sid=41502048&title=officer-dallas-smith--officer-cory-lewis-spanish-fork-police-department
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Sergeant Joe Cyr
Beyond the Badge
05/16/16 • 1 min
Nominated by Police Chief Mike Brown:
"Sergeant Joe Cyr currently supervises the Homeless Outreach Service Team (HOST) and the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) for the Salt Lake City Police Department. Joe has a wide range of experience as a leader.
Joe continually goes above and beyond in his role with the most marginalized members of our community. The homeless, drug addicted, and mentally ill struggle in many aspects of their lives. Joe has embraced the paradigm of officers attempting to solve the "root" problem as opposed to the symptoms.
Joe has built extremely valuable relationships with many of homeless and knows them by name. Joe epitomizes the Henry Thoreau quote "There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root."
As a police sergeant, Joe has a significant influence over newer officers. Joe, and his entire team, has made a difference to those in need and is a true asset to our Department and the community as a whole."
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FAQ
How many episodes does Beyond the Badge have?
Beyond the Badge currently has 94 episodes available.
What topics does Beyond the Badge cover?
The podcast is about Government, Podcasts and Society & Culture.
What is the most popular episode on Beyond the Badge?
The episode title 'Officer Preston Casey - Centerville' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Beyond the Badge?
The average episode length on Beyond the Badge is 2 minutes.
How often are episodes of Beyond the Badge released?
Episodes of Beyond the Badge are typically released every 7 days.
When was the first episode of Beyond the Badge?
The first episode of Beyond the Badge was released on May 2, 2016.
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