Frontline Trauma, PTSD, and How to Win the Battle
Explicit content warning
08/04/22 • 71 min
In this episode of the podcast, I talk with retired Police Sgt. Michael Sugrue. Michael is an Air Force (Security Forces Raven!!) veteran. He was involved in an on-duty shooting that
caused incomprehensible PTSD issues that ultimately led to divorce, custody battles, lawsuits, health issues, and suicidal ideations. Michael survived his ordeal and wrote a book
about it to help first responders and the military. We discuss all this and more. I hope you enjoy it.
Here is a little more in-depth rundown of Michael: Michael Sugrue began his law enforcement career in the United States Air Force as a Security Forces Officer in 1998. As a Security Forces Officer, Michael specialized in Law Enforcement, Global Force Protection, Anti-Terrorism, Nuclear Security, Foreign Air Field Assessments, and Air Base Ground Defense.
Michael served in a variety of assignments including Flight Leader, Flight Commander, Senior Watch Officer, Chief of Command Post, and Chief of Security Forces.
Michael served all over the United States, Europe, the Middle East and South America. He was also a Security Forces Phoenix Raven with the unique identifier of #1173. Michael honorably separated from the Air Force as a Captain in 2004.
Immediately after the Air Force, Michael was hired by the Walnut Creek Police Department where he served in a variety of assignments including: Patrol Officer, Driver Training Instructor (EVOC) Field Training Officer (FTO), SIU Detective, Undercover CA DOJ Narcotic Task Force Agent (Contra Costa County), Public Information Officer (PIO) and Patrol Sergeant.
Michael was awarded the Walnut Creek PD Distinguished Service Medal in 2014 for his heroic and life-saving actions during a Fatal Officer Involved Shooting in 2012.
Michael ultimately medically retired in 2018. He is now a Peer Volunteer at the West Coast Post Trauma Retreat (WCPR) and an Ambassador for Save A Warrior (SAW).
Michael is a dedicated advocate for awareness, prevention, education, and training on Post Traumatic Stress Injury (PTSI) and First Responder Suicide Prevention. Michael continues to speak at law enforcement agencies all over the United States.
In his BEST-SELLING book, RELENTLESS COURAGE: Winning the Battle Against Frontline Trauma, along with Dr. Shauna Springer, Ph.D., they tackle the complexity of trauma within the law enforcement community, uncovering the unspoken barriers, and outline a path to healing.
RELENTLESS COURAGE released in Spring 2022 and has been described by Lt. Col. David Grossman, best-selling author of On Killing and On Combat as “one of the most important books of our time” and “the natural successor to On Combat.”
⬇️ HIS NEW BOOK IS AVAILABLE HERE ⬇️
amzn.to/3vDZvSw
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Please see our Youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/c/TwoCopsOneDonut
In this episode of the podcast, I talk with retired Police Sgt. Michael Sugrue. Michael is an Air Force (Security Forces Raven!!) veteran. He was involved in an on-duty shooting that
caused incomprehensible PTSD issues that ultimately led to divorce, custody battles, lawsuits, health issues, and suicidal ideations. Michael survived his ordeal and wrote a book
about it to help first responders and the military. We discuss all this and more. I hope you enjoy it.
Here is a little more in-depth rundown of Michael: Michael Sugrue began his law enforcement career in the United States Air Force as a Security Forces Officer in 1998. As a Security Forces Officer, Michael specialized in Law Enforcement, Global Force Protection, Anti-Terrorism, Nuclear Security, Foreign Air Field Assessments, and Air Base Ground Defense.
Michael served in a variety of assignments including Flight Leader, Flight Commander, Senior Watch Officer, Chief of Command Post, and Chief of Security Forces.
Michael served all over the United States, Europe, the Middle East and South America. He was also a Security Forces Phoenix Raven with the unique identifier of #1173. Michael honorably separated from the Air Force as a Captain in 2004.
Immediately after the Air Force, Michael was hired by the Walnut Creek Police Department where he served in a variety of assignments including: Patrol Officer, Driver Training Instructor (EVOC) Field Training Officer (FTO), SIU Detective, Undercover CA DOJ Narcotic Task Force Agent (Contra Costa County), Public Information Officer (PIO) and Patrol Sergeant.
Michael was awarded the Walnut Creek PD Distinguished Service Medal in 2014 for his heroic and life-saving actions during a Fatal Officer Involved Shooting in 2012.
Michael ultimately medically retired in 2018. He is now a Peer Volunteer at the West Coast Post Trauma Retreat (WCPR) and an Ambassador for Save A Warrior (SAW).
Michael is a dedicated advocate for awareness, prevention, education, and training on Post Traumatic Stress Injury (PTSI) and First Responder Suicide Prevention. Michael continues to speak at law enforcement agencies all over the United States.
In his BEST-SELLING book, RELENTLESS COURAGE: Winning the Battle Against Frontline Trauma, along with Dr. Shauna Springer, Ph.D., they tackle the complexity of trauma within the law enforcement community, uncovering the unspoken barriers, and outline a path to healing.
RELENTLESS COURAGE released in Spring 2022 and has been described by Lt. Col. David Grossman, best-selling author of On Killing and On Combat as “one of the most important books of our time” and “the natural successor to On Combat.”
⬇️ HIS NEW BOOK IS AVAILABLE HERE ⬇️
amzn.to/3vDZvSw
Get Outlook for iOS
Please see our Youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/c/TwoCopsOneDonut
Previous Episode
Can Learning Human Behavior Lower Use of Force?
In this episode, I speak with Left of Greg Podcast crew, Greg Williams and Brian Marren. Greg is prior law enforcement out of the Detroit, Michigan area and a Behavioral Science expert. Greg is also an Army veteran with several deployments. Brian is a prior Marine Corp Sniper with several deployments himself. Both talk about the importance of recognizing signs and symptoms of human behavior to not only lower the use of force for police/military but prevent it altogether. Greg and Brian claim through their training system, they can help the general public avoid violence and recognize the signs before they escalate. I see a great potential to help domestic violence victims through their training. This was a great episode and the time flew by. We even had some technical difficulties, but never lost the flow. Enjoy
Be sure to check them out @ https://linktr.ee/Left_Of_Greg
Also, try this episode's sponsor Dyno Climbing, visit them at https://thedynocompany.com use the code: DONUT10
and get 10% off your purchase.
Please see our Youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/c/TwoCopsOneDonut
Next Episode
Police Holding Police Accountable
In this episode, I talk with the founder of 221b Tactical, Suresh Madhavan. He is prior to law enforcement and started his own business while still working the streets on patrol. He has a tough conversation about internal conflicts he had with his old department, racism, and other things the public rarely gets to hear. This was a wild conversation as Suresh and I was friends long before this pod and we just flow. We flowed so well, that we outlasted the video recording portion. If you happen to check out the YouTube/Rumble version, the last 7 minutes is just audio lol. I have since remedied this issue so it won't happen again. Always learning as we improve.
Be sure to check out Suresh at https://www.221btactical.com/
or
Instagram: @suresh_actual
Please see our Youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/c/TwoCopsOneDonut
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