Summary: What do you think of cops? I mean, what do you really think of cops? Chuck Rylant — a former SWAT member, cop, and detective — believes the media creates a perception of police shootings that’s very different from reality. That’s why he wrote <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0983963746/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=chuckrylantco-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0983963746&linkId=cd1d619a212ac269b504117b9b4aa72e" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shots Fired</a>: to offer his unique perspective to a sensitive situation.<br> For 15 years, Chuck covered homicides and is now a “use of force” expert. This means the defense show him what a cop did, and then asks him if it’s an excessive force or not.<br> In this episode, you’ll learn:<br> <br> * Stories that police officers don’t get to tell<br> * How complicated shootings really are<br> * The consequences that extend far longer than you’d imagine<br> <br> <br> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0983963746/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"></a>Get Chuck Rylant’s new book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0983963746/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Shots Fired</a> on Amazon.<br> Find out more at <a href="http://chuckrylant.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ChuckRylant.com</a>.<br> <br> <br> The Big Idea Behind Shots Fired<br> Charlie: Who is your audience? Is it the general public you want to know about this or is it psychologist? Who are you aiming for?<br> Chuck Rylant: I had three audiences in mind when I wrote it. The first would be the public, to help them understand just how complicated it is for an officer and how much of a consequence there is to the officer after he or she pulls the trigger. That was one audience.<br> The second audience was for the officers that actually have shot somebody, because they’re really isolated. They’re alone, they’re not able to talk to anybody, and when you read the book, you’ll see, they’ve gone through some hardships and they feel alone.<br> <br> The feedback I get from those guys is “Wow, I didn’t realize I wasn’t the only one going through this stuff.”<br> <br> They’re usually ashamed to admit a lot of the problems they have.<br> Then the third—I teach at the police academy, and there’s no training for these officers before they get into a shooting. Sometimes there’s a guy in the book who shot somebody after he’d been working only a few months and then he’s being advised of his Miranda rights. It’s very shocking to a young officer that doesn’t know to expect that they’re doing their job, they think they do everything right, and now they’re being treated like a criminal. It’s very startling.<br> I wanted it for those three people, all of those combined.<br> <br> Charlie: What is the big idea that you really hope people take away from this? <br> Chuck Rylant: Well, I guess I’d give you three answers for the three different audiences. I really hope the public reads it, and the feedback I’m getting from them is really what I hoped—the idea of “Wow, there’s so much more to this, I had no idea.”<br> What I hope the civilian will take away is to read it and when they see a video online or on the news to just not necessarily jump to judgment but just pause and say: “You know, there’s probably a lot more to the story.”<br> For the officers, I kind of mentioned it previously, I’m hoping that they get that, “Hey, I’m not alone in this and that these experiences that I’m going through are ‘normal’ for somebody who has gone through this kind of traumatic situation.”<br> The Importance of Officer Support<br> Charlie: What happens to the officers who do kind of stay in their own head? Why is it so important that they need to have this reassurance?<br>
