Locked In with Ian Bick - I’m a Connecticut Cop — Here’s What Police Really Deal With | Taylor Prahach

Episode Date: March 12, 2026

Taylor Prahach’s life was shaped by loss and resilience long before she ever put on a police uniform. After her mother passed away when she was just five years old, Taylor was adopted and eventually moved to Connecticut where she grew up determined to build a better future. Her experiences led her to study criminal justice in college and ultimately pursue a career in law enforcement. In this episode of Locked In with Ian Bick, Taylor shares her journey from a difficult childhood to becoming a police officer in East Hartford, Connecticut, offering an inside look at what it takes to serve on the front lines of policing. She opens up about the realities of the job, the challenges officers face every day, and how her personal experiences shaped the way she approaches law enforcement and helping people in her community. _____________________________________________ #ianbick #lockedinpodcast #connecticutcop #policestories #lawenforcement #truecrimepodcast #policeinterview #behindthebadge _____________________________________________ Thank you to GOLD DROP SELTZERS for sponsoring this episode: Head to https://www.thedryoak.com/ and use promo code LOCKEDIN at checkout for 10% off your order. _____________________________________________ Connect with taylor Prahach: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/taytay__31?igsh=aDAzanhmZ3U0NHZj&utm_source=qr Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@taylormarie148?_r=1&_t=ZP-94PZxuvkOYY _____________________________________________ Hosted, Executive Produced & Edited By Ian Bick: https://www.instagram.com/ian_bick/?hl=en https://ianbick.com/ _____________________________________________ Shop Locked In Merch: http://www.ianbick.com/shop _____________________________________________ Timestamps: 00:00 Police Officer Shares Wild First Encounters on the Job 02:00 Earning Respect as a Rookie Police Officer 04:00 Childhood Loss and Family Background 10:00 Growing Up Independent and Working Young 15:00 College Life and Early Career Goals 22:00 College Internships and Choosing Law Enforcement 27:00 The Reality of Modern Policing in America 33:00 Police Field Training and Proving Yourself 39:00 Life on Patrol: What Police Officers Actually Do 45:00 First Arrests and Surprising Police Calls 51:00 Adjusting to Police Work and Memorable Incidents 57:00 Female Police Officer Perspective on Domestic Calls 01:03:00 Handling Trauma and Being a Police Parent 01:09:00 Most Common Police Calls and Crime Trends 01:15:00 Frustrations Police Face with Laws and Policies 01:22:00 Social Media, the Future of Policing, and Final Thoughts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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And then I go get in my cruiser to go pull it over and the car takes off. What was the first hard call you had to respond to? People assume things about everyone. and people assume things about me based on the way that I look. When Taylor Preyak was just five years old, her mother passed away and her life changed forever. Years later, after being adopted and starting over in Connecticut, she chose a path that would put her on the front lines of danger,

becoming a police officer. Originally, I'm from Texas. My mom worked for American Airlines, and anytime she got a promotion, we moved. So after Texas, I lived in Arizona, then Boston, then Rhode Island. close to Providence. And then her last promotion was at JFK. So that's why we lived in Connecticut. And unfortunately, like, she was on her way to work one day. And she got into a car accident. And she passed away when I was only five. So after that had happened, I was adopted by a family member.

And then I mostly grew up in New Melford, Connecticut. Oh, wow. I'm sorry to hear that. Thank you. Yeah. It was like my mom and I, like, we kind of, we did things on a whim, like when she was alive. I remember one time, like, she'd like, oh, want to go to Puerto Rico for the day? Like, because she, it was before 9-11. So, you know, rules were different back then. So we'd, like, do little trips like that together. And I would always like, I liked going to work with her. And I had my little suitcase, like I'd bring on the plane and just be happy as a clam sitting there.

Where was your dad? Was he not in the picture? He wasn't in the picture. And it's like, you know, he was a lot younger than my mom. She was 25 when she had me and he was only, I think, like, 20 or 21. So she had said to him, like, look, I know, you're young and like he was in the Marines and it just she was like you don't need to be like involved like I'm going to have her but like you don't have to be so you know they did that and

I guess I did meet him once when I was like two and a half but I don't remember that and I just met him for the first time like in 20 right before COVID it was like in right end of 2019 I believe yeah and I found out I have a brother who is 15 younger 15 years younger than me oh wow are you guys close now. Yes, we are. They live in New Hampshire, so it's like we don't see each other all the time. And, you know, I think it's like in your head if you haven't met your parents. So it's like you just wonder what they are. And it was really, it was weird meeting him for the first time because we look a lot alike. And like, we look a lot alike. Like, we look so much alike. And, you know, I mean, my hair is not naturally blonde. But like I, even if I had brown hair, like, you know, we look alike. But I see them a couple times a year. And my brother, he's a senior in high school. and he's going to join like the National Guard. So I'm happy, you know, to have met them and knowing that, even though we don't see each other, like as often as I would like. You know, it's still nice to know them.

And it just, it was, it's very interesting, like growing up, you know, and even though you have one parent alive, like, you still end up being, like, getting adopted. And when my mom passed away, I did have a sister who was like only six months old. So it was like really hard when she passed because, and it's like I just felt like at five years old felt like the pressure had taken care of her and whatever. So like to me I always say like my childhood kind of ended when I was five and like I've always just been had to grow up way before like I should have. So that's something like I've always been very just like resilient and kind of just like independent because of that.

Aside from those traits, how else would you have described yourself as a kid? Definitely very, I was very quiet. I was a hard work. worker. You know, my first entrepreneur job, I went around the neighborhood at like eight or nine and we were raking leaves and like doing that. And then I've always worked and I used to clean out like Habitat for Humanity Houses and they would pay us cash. So I think like just being like hardworking, I would say. And I loved reading too. What was the favorite book as a kid? Favorite book is a kid. I think I really liked all the like, uh, Junie B. Jones it was called. It was this whole like mystery series and then there was like the

Nancy Drew books. So like that's kind of when I was young. Once I started reading like, you know, the mystery solving problems and doing all that, I kind of like that was kind of my thing. But I definitely spent a lot of time reading. But then as soon as I could like work like a real job, you know, and I worked at Agway and New Malford. And then I spent most of the free time there. Like I always said to them like, oh, whenever you have a shift, like I'll take it. So once I started working like I didn't read as much. At that age, or your teenage years, what was your plan for the future? Did you see college? Did you see a certain career? So my mom, like, even though she passed away when I was only five, I knew education was really important to her. And we actually lived together at LaSalle,

like college in Massachusetts. They had like a dorm for like single moms. So I lived at college when I was like young. I was really fun. All of the moms would trade like babysitting and I got to live with other kids. And yeah, I remember that very fondly. But I always knew I wanted to go to college. I had toyed with the idea of, you know, being a lawyer and like being a detective. And but to be a detective, you always have to start out as a police officer. So I would say like I, I knew I was like, oh, like, you know, if I don't become a lawyer, like I become a cop. But I really like solving things. and I just, I feel like I've always had like a strong sense of like if there's like a wrong and or someone being taken advantage of, even outside of being a cop and way before I always would be the one to like try to help them make it right or like figure out the situation or, you know. Do you think your mom's death had something to do with that?

I definitely think it did. I, you know, that was such an unfair like thing to happen, especially only being five like you're a kid like you don't understand that much. but I just felt like that was some way, I guess, maybe to like make things right, like in my head and my own way of going about things, definitely. Where'd you go off to college? So I got my undergrad at Westcon, you know, state tuition was good pricing. And I graduated with Justice and Law Administration. And one of like my top professor there was like Dr. Jordan. Like she's awesome. And I still keep in contact with her, just like life updates, whatever.

But she's someone I really, like, looked up to and admired. And I then went to John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City, and I got my master's there in public administration. Yeah, and in another life, I wanted to become an FBI agent. And I wanted to go to John Jay and do all of that. Yeah. No, I even growing up to, I would always be like, oh, like, yeah, it would be so great to work for the FBI and, like, you know, to do the federal thing.

And I think, you know, yes, it sounds great. But doing something like that, you know, I think it's like you got to know the right people and know this. And like none of my family is in law enforcement. And, you know, I have some family who's been in the military, but a lot of like blue collar type stuff. So it's like I didn't like know anyone or like have connections. What do you think is the most important lesson you learned during schooling, the college years that you took on to the job? I think something I really learned is like time management and just like the discipline. of doing things you don't want to do to get where you want to be.

And that's something, it's like, there were so many times when I just was working so much in college. And my every hour of my day was, like, accounted for. And, like, when I think about college, like, it's not something like, oh, my gosh, that was so fun, like, so great. So many memories is like, no, it was like, college was like another job. And I was already working a lot. So it just was, like, so much pressure of, like, time and just not having enough time to, like,

devote to studying and whatever. And when I did my undergrad, like, I was a B student. Like, I just didn't have the time to be an A study time to be an A student. But definitely time management. And it's like I've always said, and no matter anything I do, sometimes you have to do stuff you don't want to do to get where you want to be. And that's kind of like my biggest lesson, like thing that I've always told myself and that like has really pushed me far in life. And I feel like does set me apart from a lot of people. When you were in college, did they let you do like an internship or a along with the police department at all? So I did actually do a class.

Like Westcon, they had a class where you could get credits for doing an internship. So I did an internship at a local police department in Malford Police Department. And it was 250 hours. And usually every shift I would like get assigned to like an officer to do like the ride along. And they would have to like write notes on the day and like submit that to Westcon. And that was something I was definitely, you know, valuable, good and kind of just like is another way to do the job or like. do something else other than, you know, taking another random class. What do you think hooked you into the job while you're doing those ride-alongs?

So I definitely liked, I liked the idea of like being able, you know, to investigate things and go about things. And now even that was, when did I do that? In like 2014, I think. So like, you know, a really different time than now. And, you know, then it's like you didn't have to worry about like, oh, logging every body can. and logging every dashboard activation. And then, like, you know, obviously you still had to keep track yourself and do reports and, like, CAD remarks. But it's like you didn't have to do so much administrative paperwork for, like, every little thing.

And I kind of like the idea of, like, being able to work your way up and, you know, pursue different things. And, like, if you wanted to be a sergeant to do that, and that's what I kind of, like, liked about it. What's interesting is that that wasn't even that long ago. You know, that's only 2014. Yeah. And it really isn't. But like there's nowadays, especially in Connecticut, we, it is one of the most difficult states to become a police officer in as far as like the requirements and like what you need to pass in order to become a cop here. And in addition to that, like every year, there's twice a year there's like all these legal updates. So even from when I became a cop in the beginning of 2020 to now is drastically different. And just as far as like, you know, pursuit policies and then like different use of force requirements and it's just, it's really crazy how in such a short amount of time, like how different policing is. Do you think that's needed? Oh, I definitely think there was a lot that was needed. I think, you know, maybe an unintended consequence of some of it is like there's really not as much proactive policing. and then it's I literally have had a situation where I was on patrol.

I wasn't even getting sent to a call, whatever. I went to a gas station and go get a snack, probably like a hostess cake if I was working a double. That was like my, that's like my weakness. And anyway, go in, get it, come out, and then a car gets stolen right in front of me. And then I go get in my cruiser to go pull it over and the car takes off. So I have to shut off my lights and sirens. and I had to pull to the side of the road and, like, say on the radio that, like, I'm not pursuing it, whatever, where the car went.

You know how is like, and the people are like, what are you doing? Like, how come you're not doing anything and whatever? And I'm like, I'm sorry, like, where, you know, the laws like we're not allowed to chase cars for property crimes. So you couldn't follow, like, slowly? No, because that could still be interpreted as you were, I was the reason that they were, like, maybe driving 65 miles an hour or, like, 70 miles an hour on, like, a 25 mile an hour road. So in a case like that, do they end up catching the person? Nine times out of ten, like, well, I don't want to. Usually not now.

If it's something where it's like the same group, and I say kids, I mean like probably like a lot of times like in the Hartford area, it was like 16, 17 year olds, like young kids, even younger than that 15. You know, if it's the same group of them and you could kind of tell like if they're all like they usually kind of like stuck in the same little niche. but, you know, it becomes like a bigger thing, like where it's like, oh, not just like one stolen car. It's like four or five. And then if you're just, if I say just stealing cars, but if you're only meaning to steal cars and then you steal five cars, but then the sixth car you go to steal, someone gets hurt in it. Like, you know, someone you didn't mean to get hurt, then it becomes a more serious problem. So it's like sometimes when you have circumstances like that, then, okay, you're going to catch them. and then it takes a lot of back-end investigative work to kind of catch them.

And then the other thing is it's not, yeah, we might catch them, but it's not going to be from me, a patrol officer, chasing after them and whatever. It's going to be, okay, we see them on the cameras. They're going here, here and here. Okay, this car is here. So then it's like other, whether it be like certain specialized units or like an agency in another jurisdiction, they might catch the kids or, the people stealing it, but not the patrol officer. And I guess the problem is social media then

takes that picture. Are you pulling over on the side of the road not pursuing and no one ever follows up that the bad guys got caught? Yeah. So it's like, you know, you have stuff like that. And then it's more so like I have the people, the car got stolen, like whatever, you know, are you kidding me? Like you can't do anything. Like you guys suck. You're useless. And it's like, listen, like your hands are tied. And of course there's always circumstances where like let's say they, I saw, like as a police officer, I saw them, like, have a firearm in their hand. And, like, you know, if they pointed it at the person to get the car, okay, there's circumstances like that where you could, you know, be allowed to pursue them. You have to get permission from, like,

your supervisor. So you'd say that on the radio. But, you know, it's like, you have a situation like that going on. You're making all of these decisions in such a short amount of time. And, like, I feel like a lot of times, like, if you don't know what the rules are or the law, are, like, if really know them as a police officer, that's where you could get, like, some people maybe hesitating or, like, unsure what to do or, you know, that's where I think, like, sometimes, like, people can get, like, in... Bonjour, compadre. It's the...

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Get this new must-have concealer at Sephora or at Sephora.com today. Their head a lot. Yeah, how do you even remember all the rules and process them? Like on day one, you get handed a book or some type of rules. How do you even know that? So you're never going to know everything. And they know that. And like not that FTO, like it's called field training, like the field training program.

Then you have an FTO like the field training officer. It's like they know that you're going to mess up a lot and you're going to make mistakes. So it's like the biggest thing my FTO taught me, it's like always know where you are. And at the end of the day, like, you know, officer safety, you just always have to know where you are. So if something happens, you're able to tell me, like tell someone where you are. And like there would be things like, he knows I don't know where I am. And so that's the time he's going to ask me like, hey, where are you? Or like, hey, where are we?

And if you don't know, then it's like, you know, stop the car, get out, make you go walk back to the street sign and tell them where you are. So it's like stuff like that, like they know when they got you good. And it's like they'll not make you pay for it, but they're going to be like, okay, now you have to do this. But FTO for me, because of the way I look and, you know, I had a master's degree. Like people that like, oh, this girl, like she's not going to be good. And everyone thought it was going to suck. and I was going to be a good cop. So they put me with someone specifically who, like, was one of the hardest FTOs and, like, did fail people for not, you know, being up to standard.

And I owe him a lot because he taught me, like, so many amazing things. And just, like, officer safety stuff, like, that I will always remember. But I feel like having him as my FTO really did help me because it did make me a better cop. and it's like I really had to like prove myself and work for it. And I kind of like that aspect, I always feel like I've had to like fight for everything in life. And there's so many things that have just been like a struggle like personally that it's like I'm always, I'm used to having to do that. So it was like a challenge. And if someone thinks I can't do something, oh, I'm going to prove you wrong.

So that's one thing about my personality that's always suited me well. And, you know, it's like sometimes it's like you could go the opposite way with it where like, okay, you're getting like a little obsessed. But, you know. How did you decide where you wanted to go after college? As far as like becoming a police officer. Yeah. Or which direction you want to take. So I had applied to literally over 200 jobs in the New York, like in the New York for New York, working for New York City.

I was trying to get jobs in like the inspector general's office and do. that type of work where it's like still investigative work but you're not like carrying a firearm or whatever um so i had tried to do that and it's like i could not get an interview i didn't know anyone like no family members or people like that so it's like some things it's like if you don't know the right people you're not going to get it so that was the case and then you know just wanting to get a house and like have somewhere to like really have be like home base i kind of was like you know I was like, well, I could be a cop and then I could, you know, do like, you know, try to be a detective in a few years. So let me just do that.

So then when I applied to places, it was like, who's going to hire me first and do the process first? So out of all the departments I applied to, and I literally applied to like 20, the only people who like rejected me were the state police. But they said I didn't have the personality to be a state trooper, which is fair because I don't. I heard that's hard to get into right away. they tell you to go and be a normal cop first, like a city cop? Yeah, the state troop or being a state, like working as a state trooper, like, it's, it's just different. And the personality they want is not me. And honestly, I'm really happy that that's not the route that I went on because it's like a lot of traffic enforcement and doing all that.

And that's just really not, that's not my passion. So I don't, I think it was a blessing. and like, what is that, a blessing in disguise. Yeah. So where do you end up? So I ended up in East Hartford. It was between Harvard and East Hartford and East Hartford had a better schedule and not better pay, but a way better schedule and seemed to have like a better morale.

No, at that time period, what was the, what were people saying about Hartford in general? Just like very short staffed, always getting ordered and just like being worked. wait like just like without a break and like you know i just was like well if i'm commuting all the way to like to one of the heartford's i was like i'd rather have it be where it's a four three schedule so i'm like not having a work like a five two schedule or whatever so that's why i went with east harford and um east harford it's it's like 120 something officers and you know they still the town is like closer to glastonbury's more quiet you know that type and then there is a lot of activity in the rest of the town. And I really liked, I liked being a police officer there, like, so, so much. And, you know, I made a good name for myself. And I had tested to be a detective and I did really well. You know, I have nothing, like, bad to say, like, I liked working there. And I still see some of my old coworkers, like a lot of events in Connecticut, just doing, like, I do accreditation. So a lot of that is with, like,

you know, the command staff and the chiefs. So I'll see them and so like, you know, talk to them. But I definitely, I definitely was like, I can't do this drive anymore with 84. It was just I had reached to the point where I'm like, yeah, this isn't working. Is Hartford or East Hartford considered a dangerous area in Connecticut? Hartford definitely is like there's the most shootings and then your most violent activity or part one crime where it's like, you know, robbery shootings, like, like sex assaults, that type of stuff. And then East Hartford, we get a lot of the spillover from Hartford.

West Hartford's the nice Hartford. Yeah, West Hartford's the nice food selection there. Top tier. Top tier. Yeah, they got nice parks. They got nice everything. Yeah, no. They have really good food.

But yeah, so it was definitely like there's a lot of calls, like a lot of shooting calls and more serious type crime. And there's, you know, a couple times where it's like I, you get sent to something and it's like, hey, I have a half-dress person in the street. Okay, well, that could mean a lot of different things. And like there was one, you know, I'd gotten sent to that. And of course I was eating breakfast at a diner and I said, I'm never eating here. I can't ever eat here again because I feel like it's like cursed. But it was Sunday morning at like nine.

and it was really quiet. And there was this got the call. I was like, okay. So I went there and the guy was eating breakfast with. He was like, oh, I'll just walk there because it's right there. I'm like, okay. So I go see this person and he is like 6 to like bald, like really muscular guy. And I'm like, oh, damn, he's like, he's pretty big.

And I go up to him and he was chill at first and then was like, started saying like, I'm not fucking kill you. like I want to strangle you and watch the life drain out of you. And at that time, the only person he was being aggressive towards was me. And with the way the use of force is in Connecticut, if you was, if the only person he's being a threat to is me, you have to do something to separate yourself from the threat. So what I literally did was like, I got back in my cruiser and he was like literally punching the cruiser windows and like he got blood all over the car too.

And then he stopped and looked at me and smiled. and then started running towards someone's house. And like this was in the day. So like people were home. It was Sunday. It wasn't like a working day. And so when that happened, then I'm like,

oh shit. So I like hopped out of my cruiser, slammed it, let the radio know. And then I was like screaming at these people. It was like, get in your house. Get in your house.

And I end up chasing him into the woods. And I'm like trying to say like where we are, whatever. And then it's like sinking mud. So it's November. It's freezing cold. And him and I are, like almost like stuck in this mud. So finally people will come. And when you're in a situation

like that, 30 seconds feels like an actual eternity. And we ended up trying to tase him, didn't work. Like there was so many like brambles, like all those. So the wires got in there, but we were trying to do that. And it was kind of a mess. And he finally looks at me and the other guy was with him, which was like, okay, I'm done now. And like was like, I'm ready. So we're like, okay, is this a trap? So we're ready for him to fight, but no, he's just like done. He's like, I just wanted to have some fun. But he was doing cocaine and I drank a lot and didn't sleep all night. This episode is brought to you by Gold Drop Seltzers, and this is one I actually drink. Gold Drop Seltzers are clean, crisp and refreshing, no alcohol, no heavy sugar,

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No, in a situation like that, do you see the community responding to help you, or is everyone kind of just on the sidelines quiet? As far as, like, officers? No, just regular people. Like, if they saw you alone getting, you know, you're in the car and this guy's banging on you. That specific situation, it's normally for stuff like that, like I feel like this specific station, no one did anything. And, you know, I wouldn't expect them to because I'm like, you have this like deranged person who's like on a lot of drugs and doing. that. So there has been times, though, where I've been very thankful. I always tried to be, like, a chill cop or just, like, not be an asshole just to be an asshole because I was a cop.

But, like, I'm very grateful for that because that genuinely helped me in a couple situations where I had, where I was by myself, because I, you know, for whatever reason, like, that moment I was by myself or waiting for backup, whatever. And, like, there was someone who, we had arrested him before, and I had arrested him before, but I was, like, chill with him. he had come over to help me out because I was like fighting with someone and waiting for the backups and so he literally came over to like help like help and he like grabbed the guys like legs from me and just held his legs like while I was trying to like get his arm like out of his waistband and that saved me a lot so I always try to be chill with people because you never know you never know

yeah when you first graduate the academy and you start at west or east Hartford are you by yourself or do people or there are others so i went to the academy with seven other officers um i think six of us are still cops uh and when you graduate the academy you get paired with the fto and so you're always in the cruiser with the other officer and they're like watching you and when you first start you're kind of almost like shadowing like where you don't do and then it's like comes where it's like okay you're doing 50% of the work then you're doing 75% of the work is the trainee and like every little thing you do is graded like if you go through a light that's yellow, red, whatever, that's graded. If you, um, you know, take the wrong turn graded. If you're not

responding fast enough to a call and like, so you get literally every aspect of you is graded every single day. So for me, I mean, I was like stressed the whole time because you're like, oh my God, like I got to, you know, do this like to the T and be on point. And, um, you know, you're going to mess up when you're on FTO. Like, I literally got in my first ever accident when I was on FTO. It's a Dodge Charger. I hate driving this. But...

You crashed it? Yeah. Well, yeah, I was doing a U-turn, and then someone hit the back of the car. How did your officer respond to that? He was just, he was screaming at me. And I was just like, I know, I know. And so it's like when something like that happens, like, I had to repeat the phase. And then, like, a supervisor always responds anytime there's any type of accident with, like,

police officer and then they made me uh you have to take like a eight hour like computer course on like driving safely and stuff so one of my favorite shows is the rookie okay have you ever watched it i haven't i know it's like i know a lot of people like that but i haven't watched it's like funny but it explains a lot of the stuff that you're talking about because they go through that process uh there's always like a new rookie in every season and it's funny because like it's you know everyone always once that happened like people people just called me crash and everyone always took like, oh, you're a horrible driver, you're a horrible driver.

But it's like when something like that happens, you just go along with it and like don't get all that shave and I just let people call that. But guess what? You just got to wait a little while and someone else is going to do something. Is it hard to learn all the gadgets in the car while you're driving? Like you have sirens, you have lights, you got the computer, everything. How do you navigate all that? So it's especially hard at first.

And like, according to policy, it's like you're not supposed to type on the computer, like, when you're driving, like, because it's distracted driving, you know. So you're not supposed to do that, especially when you first become a cop. Like, I feel like the lights were always like, okay, you just turn on the lights. But if you don't want the sirens on yet, like, let's say I'm just like, you know, working a construction job and I don't want to turn on the sirens. Like you don't switch them over all the way. You just turn on the lights a little. So it's like when you're new to. to a job and you have all these pressures and you're like, oh my gosh, I have to be good today and

make sure I'm doing it. That's when you're going to make mistakes. Every time you accidentally like turned it on the siren and then did stuff like that. But for me, like I always like researched everything before I did it. So then I'm like, okay, I want to be like the most prepared I can be. But that's like, that's a blessing and a curse because being like being like that it helps me do well in things, but it's like my mind is always going. And I'm a horrible sleeper because of it because I just like at night is when my mind comes alive. But that's also like ADHD. When do you think was that first moment that you earned the respect of your field training officer? When I, we had, we had gone to like a party or like party slash domestic where it's like,

you know, people were fighting, whatever. And like, there was a lot going on. And I was like almost pretty new whatever, but I saw like the person I was like instigating it and like, you know, it's fighting or whatever. And I just like, I just went to do, like to do it. Like I wasn't, or like I wasn't timid or afraid where it's like, okay, like you could, you could be chill, but then you could get louder, get like more aggressive when you need to be. And I don't mean aggressive as in like whatever. I just mean like, you know. like not sound like a timid mouse like when you're telling someone to do something. So I think like once he saw me do that and he was like, oh, okay, like you actually, if something

needs to be done like you do it and you're not like, you know, hesitating. What was the first hard call you had to respond to? Like that real first police moment? I believe it was, I'm trying to remember. I don't know if it was the exact first, but the one that's coming to mind. It was like, it was around when someone had passed away and like we weren't there for the person passing away, like their body had already like, you know, been removed by the medical examiner and like, you know, and was at the funeral home or wherever. But we had just had gone there because there was like a argument and it was like people fighting over like who's who was going to take this or who was going to take that. And it was a mess.

Like it was probably like at least like 20 family members. and there was just it was just really chaotic there was a lot going on and like someone allegedly like had like a weapon but we weren't sure who it was or it was very vague so that was like somewhere at first time I was like oh shit I was like okay like got to lock in and like like you know try to figure out what's who's what whatever and like separate everyone but it's a lot if you're just two people going somewhere and there's 20 family members arguing like how do even, like, what's the right way to do? Pool days call for cookouts and lots of laundry.

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Deal with that first. How long did it take to earn the respect of your other co-workers since you were a new recruit? And you said they were a little, I guess, standoffish with you? Yeah, or I think, like, you know, rightful. And trust me, like, I get it. Like, you know, people, people assume things about everyone. And people at assume things about me based on the way that I look.

And I always just let people think whatever they want to think about me. And I'll show you who I am, like, when the time is, like, right or, like, you're going to see how I am. But, like, I'm not going to. I feel like people will always have their opinions or assumptions about you. And so I try not to let that, like, deter me from doing anything. But I definitely think once you like completed FTO and like got through everything and trust me, like I said, like I made mistakes. Mistakes were made. But I never gave up and I always still came back the next day, ready to go and tried to like just be like, all right, we need to dial in and figure out like, you know, just take a day by day.

How long is the FTO program? So it's 16 to 18 weeks. And, like, for me, I got extended because of the accident that I was in the little accident. Oops. So mine was, I think, like, 20 weeks then or 21 weeks, something, something like that. And once you complete it, are you assigned to a partner or is it all solo? No, you're all solo. There are some police departments in Connecticut, like, who do two-door car, like Hartford, New Haven.

I believe Bridgeport does as well. And I'm not sure about Waterbury. I can't speak to they do it. I'm not sure. But yeah, you're always by yourself. Now in a place like East Hartford, like you, if someone pulls over a car, like dispatch will automatically start like a backup unit. And it's like there's certain types of calls like a check welfare, which could be for someone's mental health or, you know, if someone isn't answering the door and their mail is piling up, like that could be a check welfare. And any type of like domestic or fight or an alarm. And all of that, like that you always get sent to, to people because you never know what it's

going to be. And there's sometimes when it's like, oh, I'm, I'm just going to this. But I'm just going to this can turn into an absolute mess really quick. And like there was a police officer. He, he was killed actually in East Hartford in 2001, I believe his name was Brian Azleton, but he was responding to like a noise complaint. And it was just supposed to be a noise complaint. but then it ended up being like a home invasion, like robbery situation. And so he was shot and killed by someone. But he was like, he didn't wait for like backup. And I'm not speaking ill of him in that regard at all.

But I think it's like sometimes people, you know, get complacent. They're like, oh, it's just this, you know, when we go take care of it. So that is something you cannot afford to do as a police officer because it's always going to be like very bad things could happen, like where you're, oh, I'm just supposed to go and do this. But that's what makes it hard being a cop because you're balancing that versus like the community like caretaking aspect of like, you know, the amount of calls you get sent to for like neighbor disputes where it's like people are literally mad at someone for like the leaves going in their yard or, you know, their bushes are too high and the branches or the branches touching my fence or something. So on a call like that though, are you still on high alert because anything could change in a matter of seconds? No, no, I think it's just like, I'm personally not. I think it's just like, okay, like if it's something where, yeah, I'm not just going to like not be, pay attention or be alert, but if something where it's like, okay, I have a whatever 50-year-old person who's upset about the leaves and like, you know, they're waiting outside for me, like you're not going to just, I feel like sometimes if you go on a high alert to a situation where it's like you want to see more calm,

that can like aggravate things. So I always try to like go in more just like chill and then see where things go. So a call like that when it comes in, you always have to respond to that? Yes. Even if it's something like that. Just because they requested police. Yes. And you know, a lot of times the dispatchers will be like, you know, if it's something like that, listen, like it is like if this is a civil issue and this is all it is, like the cops can't make your neighbors take the leaves out of your yard or do anything like that. So a lot of it is explaining to people the stuff that we can't do and we're not allowed to do. And they probably get frustrated with that. Yes, people get very upset. And it's just like, you know, you can't make

everyone happy. And people, you know, it's like, I feel like there's a section of you always like, you guys barely do anything. Like you guys suck. You're not. We always call you, but you don't actually help us out or whatever. And then there's the other camp that people like think the police are too involved in things. So it's like very big balance, you know, between the two. What do you think is the most common call that doesn't need to be a call, but people call anyways to the police? I would, honestly, I would say a lot of parents calling the police

because, like, their five-year-old doesn't want to go to school or their six-year-old doesn't want to go to school. Wait, really? That's a thing? Yes, it's an actual thing. It's older, too, like a six, seven- or eight-year-old. but like you could tell your kid they have to go to school and make them go to school. Like you want me to, like what do you want me to do?

And, you know, you have to so go and make sure like that kid isn't her or there's not some like situation going on at school like involving like abuse or something like that that could be an outlier. But it's I can't speak for everywhere. But like a lot of times with those types of incidents, it's usually like the same people like calling all the time. And, you know, unfortunately, there really needs, I wish there was more services for families who maybe, like, have, like, a child with, like, behavioral issues or things like that where it's kind of, like, too much for them. And, you know, we'll help them out, be like, okay, like, call 21, you know, 401 or 2-1 to, like, get mental health services or to try to get resources. And you can make, like, a DCF report that's, like, not an emergent report, just ask if the family, like, needs services or

something. So a lot of times, like, you just do that, you know. Do you give the kid, like, the scared straight talk? I remember my parents used to say the truant officer's going to come. Yeah. So I, so I personally don't, like, sometimes I try to be, especially if it's, if it's like a girl, like I'll try to be more, like, you know, big sister vibes where it's like, hey, like, you know, you got to go to school. Like, it's just try to just talk to them and see, like, if there's, you know, maybe something going on with a couple girls at school is, like, bullying them. Or if it's, like, even if it's a boy, I always like, hey, like, what's going on? And sometimes I find, like, just, like, talking to people and just, like, I don't know, just being chill. Like, it can kind of

make the kids seem like, oh, right, fine, I'll go to school. So now your first day on your own, what's that feeling like after, you know, you go through the training, the schooling, the program, and you're on your own? And honestly, it's like a weight slipped it off of you. That's what I felt like. So I'm like, okay, perfect. So then if I don't know where an address is, I could just put in my GPS and then there we go. Because that's for me. I'm like our day and age, like, how many times have you used a map to find somewhere? Just, we used map.

I was in the day of MapQuest. Yeah. Like when you were a little. Yeah. And you'd always have to print it out and go through it. But even then my dad like bought it. The GPS is a little square ones or like five or six hundred bucks at best by it. Like the Garmin one that would go on the left or whatever that would talk to you.

Yeah. And like, so I felt like Christopher Columbus with my, I went to Staples and got like my map laminated. because they can laminate like bigger things. So then you have that map and like you're literally looking at it and trying to like, okay, I got to take this road to the, you know, to get there. That to me was the most stressful part. Like the cop stuff was fine. It was just like, all right, I got to use this map to get somewhere.

Yeah. How do you even navigate that? I like, I would be stressing. And then like at the end of the shift like when I was on FTO, if I like really messed up for like, okay, I didn't know where this road was like so I would drive it like afterwards. after my shift was over just to like memorize it. And I'm like, okay, I think I know. But to me, that's just part of it.

It's like, unless you grew up where you're working, it's like, you're probably not going to know, like, every single road, whatever. But I'm not geography inclined. So, you know, maybe other people that might be more their strong suit. What's something that surprised you about the job that you weren't expecting? How much paperwork there is. And it's like, it got, it's getting more. more and more even from when I started to now. And not, this is the thing. There's a lot of stuff that's very good that it's like the data is being collected and then, you know, for statistics

and to look at crime trends and all of that kind of stuff. But some of it, it's just like, it bogs you down so much where it's like literally if you arrest someone nine times out of 10, like they literally get to leave before you do because you're going to be there doing all the paperwork and whatever. So that's one thing. I knew there was going to be reports, of course, but I'm just like, man, now you got to do all these forms. And then it's like for the evidence, like if you collect like, you know, you go somewhere where there's like a stolen phone that you have to take, you know, you're taking in and you're logging in this evidence.

And then it's like you have to fill out this form called the JDCR 18 in some places. Use like a literal typewriter, like an actual typewriter to do it. And I had never used a typewriter before. So like I feel like stuff like that. I'm just like, man, this is hard. I used my first typewriter in prison. They had the mechanical ones and then they had the electronic ones too. Okay.

So like what's the difference between each typewriter? Well, I think the electronic one you can delete. You could backspace. I guess maybe you could on the other one. Yeah, the other one like stamps it and removes it, but this electronically removes it. Okay. And it's cheaper the ink. All right.

So that's the one that I was used to using. It wasn't electronic because you had to press this thing. But you could only press it. like once or twice or then it would like ruin the page. Yeah, like removes the ink and it's very delicate in that paper if you hit it, like if you try to delete a word or read, uh, put a letter on it, it can ruin it and rip it. Yeah. So that, see, stuff like that, like I'm fine with all the police stuff, but like that just thinks you want to rip my ear out. I'm like, oh my gosh, I can't with this typewriter.

Do you remember your first arrest? Yes. So it was, so I'm not counting like, I did give like a misdemeanor someone, someone for, I think it was like driving with the suspended license. not counting that. But like an actual arrest, like bringing someone in and doing all that, it was, it was just like for a domestic, like, um, which those, like in Connecticut, it's like a mandatory arrest law. So even if like the person, like the victim says, oh, I don't want you to arrest them. Like, we have to. So that was, uh, that was like the first like arrest that was mine. Now, like, one of the things I'll never forget, I was like my first time having to like pat someone down and

he was getting arrested, but it wasn't my arrest. And I'm like feeling in all his pocket. And it's whatever and I'm like oh I felt something like in his um like pant pockets so it's like oh what is it and it kind of I thought it was like the handle to like a knife or like some kind of container it ended up being his penis and it was like and I was so embarrassed but I got a good grade that day for uh for my searching but I was like he had it wrapped it was very large like not to be too graphic but I was like I was like oh my God because he said that and I was like I didn't believe him because I'm like, no, I didn't. And I was, I was like, oh my God, this is embarrassing. So people made fun of me about it for a while. But, you know, this is the thing.

Like, people, like, have literally will stash, like, a gun, like, in their crotch, like, and they fit it there. So, you know. So do people get squat and coughed in the police station? Because I remember when I got, like, arrested at just normal jail, like for a misdemeanor, there was no, like, search like that. Yeah, no, you don't do anything. Like, you don't do that in, like, Like when you get arrested, like for municipality, if it's just like a normal, whatever arrest now, like if you, if someone had said something like, or there was a thought that they had stashed like drugs or something like that and a nook and cranny somewhere, then it's like, okay, then that you like you could do it like a search like that. But I've only done like the coughing and the spreading and all that when there's been like a search warrant, like a judge signed a search warrant for like a strip search for someone. and that's usually something where it's like drug related or, you know, beyond like, beyond like a patrol level investigation where it's like maybe like a federal agency's involved and they're

doing like a longer thing, like that type of stuff you more so get with like strip searches. But yeah, and that's very strict in Connecticut. It's like for female doing like it has to be a female same sex searching. And then that's one of the only times you cannot. have your body camera rolling and you cannot be in an area that there's any cameras like because most of the like jail cells are booking areas like have cameras interesting do they have a metal detectors in the booking yeah so we have like wands like that you would get you know if you go through TSA so we do that and then it is like there's a rule like I always have like if anyone ever goes

into my cruiser I'm searching them before they go in because like you're responsible for that person once they go in your cruiser. And like my FDO, he always said that to me. He's like, never let someone put someone on your cruiser. And so like even if someone else pats them down, like quick, it's like I still always do just because I feel like it's just you don't want to have that one once in a million chance where like something happens. And then it's like you're, you're at fault, you know? Yeah, I remember one time I got arrested. They didn't search me and I had my phone on me. So I have my hands around my back and I'm dialing my dad to meet me at the police stationed with the mail money. Yeah. So it's like, you know, things like that or people will have

whatever stash, like drugs and stuff. Or even like there's certain knives that are so small. Like, you know, they'd be, it's easy for people to like manipulate stuff like they have in their pockets to where it's like if you're padding someone down and they're hiding it. Or if it's like a girl and she has a bra, it's like you could fit so much stuff in your bras. So you really like, that's one thing. You always have to really make sure you're padding down because like it's easy to you don't put stuff on the side of your bra. No, if say you don't search them and they were able to throw it in the car, whose fault is that?

So before every shift, you always have to, like, you know, do like a cruiser inspection. So it's like you open the back and you look in to see if there's anything that gets left. Because, you know, people are human. Like, everyone makes, like, mistakes. And, you know, if something happened where, like, something came out of someone's pocket or whatever. And it's like, whether it be money or drugs or, like, an ID. whatever, it's like you just want to make sure that nothing's left there. Because then let's just say you arrest someone that shift and you put them in there and you see the drug there,

then that would create like an issue or a problem because, you know, they really weren't. But it's like more often than not, like everything is so recorded, like even the in-car cameras that are in the cruiser, it's like you get like really good angles because there's like several of them and they're very good cameras. So it's like really, I feel like maybe that's something that used to happen like back in the day, but more so now, like, things are so, there's so much being recorded that it would really be, you know, difficult to miss certain things. How long do you think it took you to get adjusted to the job and really feel confident in the role?

I would say, so for me personally, I would say probably like a year after FTO. Now, what I like being good at, I like being the best at things and I like knowing what I'm doing. So the way I get that is like doing reps and like, you know, like just like repeating. So I worked a lot of patrol over time. I didn't really work any road jobs like doing the construction, whatever at first because I wanted to get better at being a cop. And I really think doing that helped me advance, like, quicker and like just like learn more. The more chances you have to do something that's like you're exposed to different calls.

And there's certain things that happen that's like. So random, like you couldn't replicate it even if you tried. So that's something I really, you know, think I did correctly. And I'm happy I did it because it did help me get better faster. What do you think was the strangest call you responded to? Hmm. Off the top of my head, I think I'm going to have to say. So I got sent to an untimely, which is like someone passes away.

Like it doesn't have to be, you know, a violent or whatever. There's not alive anymore. So I go to the call and the lady, like I remember, you know, okay, yep, she's been here for a while, whatever. So you have the paramedic come do that. And I couldn't get in touch with like the husband, well, coming up of the lady because he ended up being at his girlfriend's house. So it took him a while to like get to the place. And then like I had a lot of family members coming to the house. And I was trying to like keep them out.

So I did a backup come because it was getting like people were starting to argue over stuff. And someone ends up taking. this lady's car like a family member and I'm like get out of here so I told like I was like get your cousin on the phone now and I was like get that car back here immediately I was like I was like what is wrong with you I'm like and I probably did cuss at them and I definitely swear at them I just was like disgusted that they were like arguing over this woman's possessions and she was still literally in the home and like any time where like if someone's like 50 something or whatever and they don't have any big known medical conditions and that kind of thing or it's like if you know if if alcohol is involved

especially like normally the opposite of the medical examiner like you call them and they come and take the person and um you know do their autopsy and all that stuff just to make sure nothing like weird happened and any time like that someone does pass away and you're an officer getting sent there even if it's something like where it's you know a elderly person passes away in their sleep like a patrol supervisor or a supervisor always comes just to make sure, like, you know, there's nothing that you're missing or there's nothing odd that should be noted and that you did everything you needed to do. So that call, I just, I couldn't believe the amount of family members who just kept coming and trying to, like, and were angry

at me and, like, yelling at me to, like, get in the house so they could start going through this stuff. And I just was like, I was like, are you insane? And I was just, I was so disgusted by humanity at that point. I was like, get business done with the new American Express Graphite Business Cash Unlimited Card with unlimited 2% cashback on all eligible purchases. Unlimited 5% cash back on flights and prepaid hotels booked through American Express

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Must be 21 or older to purchase alcohol. Product availability varies per regency app for details. Yeah, that was pretty bad. Who do you think are more respectful suspects, females or males? Males. Males. More respectful? Yes.

Yes. Women hate, hate to see other women. who are doing better than them. And I'm not saying I'm better than people at all, and I don't want that to get misconstrued that. But like if the women that you're dealing with, if they, let's just say they don't have a lot going on for them, maybe they are in between things or not happy with their romantic partner or romantic life situation, they hate you. And there just is a lot of jealousy and pettiness, and especially women who are older than you. So I'm, I think I'm how old was I mean, I came up.

I was like 25, like just turned 26, I think. Yeah. And, you know, anywhere that's older than you and you're, like, doing better than them because you have a career and, you know, whatever. If they think, like, you're in a better place, like, they really are the worst. Now, don't get me wrong. There's times with men where it's like, like, the guy who was, like, half naked and, like, punching the kids. I knew. I'm like, listen, if we ended up getting into it and he wanted, like, he's telling me,

I'm going to strangle you and, like, to kill you. Of course. Like, look at it. He's on drugs. He's huge and he's very muscular. Like that situation, I'm obviously at a serious physical disadvantage. But it's like you, I feel like being being a police officer, it's like you need to be smart about things. And it's like for myself, like I always try to calculate risks and risk versus reward.

But, you know, you can't let that factor of someone being bigger than me, stronger than me, ever get in the way of. doing your job or like protecting someone or doing what you need to do. And it's like that's the difference between I feel like some, you know, female, a lot of people have people have a lot to say about women in law enforcement. And I think being a police officer and being a woman, like, I know for myself, like, I feel like you always have to work just a little bit harder to prove yourself and, you know, make sure you're really squared away and so that people do respect you. But, and part of being a like female police officer. It's like you want to make sure you're physically fit and like you're, you know, you're able to keep up. But there you have, I'm sorry, I can do all the crossfit in

the world and be the strongest person. But like there are like men who are larger than you. Yes, they do have a physical advantage. So it's like there's certain times where you might have to, you know, do what you have to do to get out of that situation. But like, for example, that guy, like I knew if I stayed out of my cruiser and did not get in my cruiser, because, you know, he's only trying to attack me. He's not trying to attack any, you know, innocent person or civilian. That's a different story. And if that was the case, then I'll do what I have to do to do my job and not be a coward. But, like, doing something like that, that is where it's like you need to be smart. And it's, especially in today's, you know, how policing is today, you have to be very, like, cautious about those types of situations. Have you ever had a suspect to underestimate you?

Yes, I would say like, you know, especially like people try to do whatever if you have someone who's like, okay, like, dude, like you probably know like you're getting arrested. Things are going to they're like trying to like stash something or get rid of something. So it's like you're just like looking at what they're doing out of the corner of your eye and you're like, okay, that's that's like come on now. But, you know, those things like I'll let people, you know, think whatever they want to think about me. And I'm not going to, like, correct you until it's like already, you know, I do what I need to do. But I definitely think people really do underestimate you based on, like, how you look and, like, your appearance. So I try to use that to my advantage. And if there's a situation where, yeah, like, I don't have the upper hand.

And you look at me and you're like, oh, look at this stupid blonde. Like, she's probably really dumb. Like, I'm going to let you think that. And then I'll move you wrong. But do you find that as a female officer, it's. easier to respond to, say, a domestic dispute because the woman might be more comfortable with you? No. I don't, I think that, like, I don't really find that to be true in my experience. I will say this. I think anything, like, with children, I will say children, generally speaking,

do, like, find women or female police officers, like, more comforting or, like, not as scary as, you know, a male police officer. So I will say, I think. like for dealing with calls with children that it definitely is nice or like puts you at an advantage if you need to, you know, try to talk to a kid to like help them or like figure out what's going on or, you know, if they're hurt or like they don't want to like leave a room. And I remember going to a call like it was a Chuck welfare. So someone I called because like they didn't, they had seen like eight or whatever kids like in this house and they're like, we don't ever see like food there or like adults really there. And we just want to make sure the kids are okay. And like,

I still don't forget the smell of like how like when I walked into the front door, like, just like urine and like the ammonia smell. And like it was so hard for me to even be in there. Like as a cop just going to like check on these kids and like the filth that these children were living in, it's like horrible. And me and my coworkers ended up buying them, the kids pizza and like whatever. And that's something like we didn't have to do it, but we were just like felt sorry for them. and we're like, you know, we obviously contacted DCF and did all that and tried to figure out why that situation was like that and why there was all these kids here.

But yeah, I definitely think in situations like that, like I was the person and they were like, hey, Taylor, go talk, like, go try to talk to the kids to get them to come out because they didn't want to leave a room because they were like nervous about what was going on. So, you know, situations like that, I definitely will usually be the, if there's no other female officers, I'll be like, okay, hey, go talk. I'm like, okay. In those situations, do you find that drugs are the main cause? That has a lot to do with it, I think, yeah. I think, you know, unfortunately, like, seems like a lot of, and it's sad, like, that when you go there and you kind of feel, like, useless as a cop, like,

that you can't really do anything, like, change the kid's life in a way of other than, like, oh, the only thing we can do is, like, oh, we'll buy you pizza, so you at least have food. And then, like, you know, we, I, my supervisor at that call did, like, because I had called them as like, hey, like, this is really bad to me. I'm like, you know, you're the supervisor. And so he even said, yeah, this is bad. So, like, that situation, they, like, do have, like, more like, hey, DCF, we need you to come out here right now. So, like, the DCF person, like, will go out there, you know, and do what they have to do. So, you know, sometimes it's hard, I think, not getting to know, like, what happened, you know.

Like, what was the resolve or, like, did those kids ever, like, are they still living in that horrible house? Do you ever follow up on your own? No, no. There are, there's one person who, they've, like, emailed me to just, like, tell me how they are. And, like, she was, like, a victim of, like, a sexual assault. Like, and I, like, that's one case. I actually, I, you know, testified in and went, like, had to go to court and everything for and that kind of thing. like she'll she's reached out to me since then but I I never have like follow up on people or

anything I think sometimes it's like just one I don't want to break any rules or like make any you know and do things are not supposed to do as far as like cunning people and any of that and too I just feel like there's so much bad stuff that you see all the time that it's like you know it's it's like you try to for me I try to just like cleanse my brain of it if that makes sense or forget it but like there's some type of kids like seeing infants that are like not breathing and not alive anymore to me that has was really difficult when I became a new mom of like I literally was like not crazy but like I was so worried about like my daughter like you know stopping breathing in the middle of the night and like like cids and all

of that where it's like I just had seen that so many times that it's like I was just like a little too like worried about it but I think it's not normal to see. like a baby not breathing. Like, so I think for your brain to deal with that level of like trauma or like traumatic incidents can be like definitely challenging. As a police officer, how hard is it to stay driven and motivated when, you know, you have a successful day, you make some arrests, you stop the bad guys, but then the next day it just repeats itself.

It never ends. Yes. So that's one thing I will say like there's certain, there's certain police. certain people who are police officers, like, you know, they don't let that bother them and, like, they just keep going day after day. To me, I can, I personally find that to be a little, like, demotivating. And I think for myself, like, one of the things, like, I've shifted to doing is I do, like, accreditation for police departments, which is, like, writing the general orders, like the policies and procedures and helping doing auditing of all the records. Like, that's something

for my brain and the way my brain. brain works is I like completing tasks and like things being done and things being orderly and like feeling like, okay, I did all of that. So I kind of like doing that aspect better because it's something where I can be like, okay, like I checked it off a box and like I did it. And to me it's like you have more sense of control over things doing that as opposed to like going to calls day to day and then just like kind of feeling like burnout. But that's I think one of the number one things as a cop, like, don't spend your whole life at the police awareness. Like, have a life outside of being a cop. And I think if you can do that and you at least try

to do it, it's sometimes hard when you get ordered and like your shift sucks and there's stuff beyond your control. But like, I think having a life and a personality outside of being a cop can help prevent you get burned out because it is very easy too. Was it hard for you to shut that off? You know, you go home to say your husband's 6 p.m. dinners on the table. table at seven, but you had a crazy day. Yeah, it definitely, it, you know, if people say it doesn't affect your relationship, then I want to know what you're doing because let me learn from you. It definitely puts a strain on your relationship. And I think being like even from my husband's on a police officer, he does elevator construction. And it definitely does put a strain on your

relationship. And I think it's the shift work. Then it's like you kind of start to have a more cynical not everyone, myself. Like, you can have a more cynical outlook on people and you're always kind of like expecting the worse and like just being more like defensive. So I find like you have to actively like untrain yourself to be like that. And it can definitely be hard doing that, shutting it off, I would say. Do you find sometimes that maybe a partner doesn't understand what the person's going through?

I think that, yeah. I think that definitely can happen. And, you know, my, it's like what I consider normal, like, you know, being exposed to, like, you know, dead people or like seeing kind of like going to like a car accident and seeing a really bad, you know, mess up scene and doing all that. It's like I don't want to pour to put too much of that on my partner because they didn't choose to be a police officer and, you know, they don't want to be around that or be exposed to that every day.

But for me, like, I find like I share. like I share like some parts of it. And, you know, I did like, especially when I had my daughter and like, I did explain to my husband. I was like, this is really hard for me because I like just can't. I'm like just so worried that like she's going to not breathe or like stop breathing and whatever. And you know, that's something where it's like I was very open and like just upfront about because it just, that part and, you know, postpartum like you're dealing with becoming a mom. and doing all of that. But like for me, I don't think I could ever go through that again, like having another kid because I just can't do that again. Because you're a mom and a cop at the same time,

do you feel like you're going to be more overprotective of your child or stricter or raise them differently? You know, I will say, so when I was adopted, I was adopted into a very, like, strict family, like you weren't allowed to do stuff. And I feel like if you restrict your kid from doing, like, anything, they're going to like do the most, like in the opposite way. So, I definitely don't see myself being like that. Now, there's certain things, like, I won't, I'm not comfortable with, and I think like certain things like sleepovers and doing that. And even, like, when I chose my daughter's daycare,

I had very specific, like, requirements that it had to have, like, a single family home, no large dogs, like, pit bulls, rottweilers, whatever. And I'm like, I know not all pit bulls are bad, but, like, I feel like when you've seen, like, people be mauled by them a few times, it changes to your perspective. And then, like, you know, no older, like, teenagers or other adults, like, living in the house and, like, you know, so little stuff like that. Like, I have my own little checklist of things. I'm like, okay, cool, there's not this, this and this.

You can't prevent everything from happening. And I think, like, this also has to do from, like, childhood trauma. Like, I always, I feel like in my head, if I did everything I could to prevent something from happening, you know, and it does end up happening, then I'll be okay in Zikes. I know I did what I could. So I feel like that's kind of like something I'll try to like check off enough boxes or, you know, do what I can. Aside from the daycare aspect, what do you think are the best tips for a parent to keep their children safe? Keep your teenagers away from Snapchat. I am, I've continuously been shocked at like 12-year-old girls and 13-year-old girls communicating with men who are 30s, 40s, older.

and like literally making plans to like meet somewhere or like telling people where they live or like agreeing to go into an Uber that they're having at their school at this amount of time. Do not let your kids be on Snapchat unfiltered. And I think to any of gaming like games or whatever where you can have like an open chat with like random people, that is something where predators or like child predators like will wait for kids. And then the other thing with like, you know, sleepovers, I think you should be very selective about where you allow your child to sleep at night because even, you know, not necessarily other adults. It could even be other kids. That's something where you should really need to be cautious because a lot of like not great things happen.

And then too with dogs, my big thing about dogs is like kids are annoying. Toddlers are annoying. They are a little bit pesty with like, you know, if you tell them to do something, not to do something, they're going to do it again. Like, don't have your kid annoying like a dog, like, you know, grabbing their tail, whatever. It's like, what do you expect? Like if the dog's tail gets grabbed 20 times, like, you know, it's going to be upset about it. And it's not a human. It's a dog. So it's like just like that kind of stuff, I think it's just like to be conscientious of. Do you think that those, you know, predators and types of people were always there and we just, you know, growing up maybe just didn't come across it or turned a blind eye because when I was a kid, you know, we would get dropped off at the mall or, you know, have sleepovers and it's just one phone call with the parent. Granted, there was no Snapchat back then. Yeah. Facebook was just starting. You had MySpace. But were those, you know, individuals are always there?

You know, I think, I think social media and like online stuff has given. given them a platform to be able to reach people and like victims can be more accessible that way. Do I think, yes, there was always people there, but it could have been, you know, geographically, like, harder for them to communicate with victims because there wasn't that online thing. And, you know, it used to be, I feel like, easier for people to get away with things because there used to not be computers and everything, you know, used to be more like face to face and, like, just not online. But, you know, the other thing I will say, too, is, like, teaching your child out of swim, like, that is something that's, like, super important.

And, you know, like, a lot of, it's crazy to me. A lot of kids don't know how to swim. And having to go, like, you know, to drownings where, like, the person was, like, 13 years old. And that's, like, really traumatic and, like, horrible. I mean, and drownings are usually very silent with younger kids, like, toddlers. that's something like especially you're at a pool party. There's a bunch of adults around. And that is the time where children drowned. Because when everyone's watching, no one is.

And literally that's one thing I'll be very like anal about is like if my kids in the pool, I'm the one watching them or whatever. Because it's it just, it's crazy how that is the scenario where children drown the most. When there's all these adults around. But so now you've been a cop for over 10 years now? No, no, only since 2020. So only six years. Okay, because of the training aspect and everything.

What do you think is the most common call you've responded to in that time period? I would say check welfare. So like whether, hey, we haven't heard from this person for like X amount of days and like they didn't show up to work. You know, sometimes those are legitimate. Other times, and this is where things get a little tricky is it could be. an ex-boyfriend, you know, wanting to just, like, know where someone is or, like, or an ex-girlfriend, like, who, you know, maybe they just broke up and, like, they didn't get back to them. And the guy just wants to be left alone and she keeps blowing up his phone, whatever. And so, like, you know, those situations, like, where it's, like, gets a little tricky because then it's like, okay, you're just using the police because you want to know, like, where they, like, where they are. But I would say check welfare's. But check welfare's can be. very broad because it could start out like where, okay, we haven't heard from this person, whatever, and then it turns into a missing person. Or if someone had like an incident happen in their house

and then they're like passed away in their house and then you go in and, you know, check welfare s could be nothing or they could be something. And then people will just call like, oh, I saw this like person running on the side of the road like they just seemed chaotic and like they didn't know what like there was a problem. And then like I've had that before. where it was literally like a person was like running outside, like just jogging and someone thought that was... This episode is brought to you by Redfin. You're listening to a podcast,

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Have your human visit Perfect. Bistro.com. It was weird. And so you're like, no, like people can dog. Like, it's okay. I feel like everyone's just on high alert now with everything going on. Yeah. And that's kind of like the other big thing too.

Like people will sometimes call the police. Like even, you know, most of the time people are understanding. Like if, let's just say there's someone who's doing a work on someone's house, but they're in like, you know, a black sedan or a black, you know, work van that doesn't have like a decal, whatever on the side. People get suspicious and they're like, what is this car doing in my neighborhood? So people will call about, you know, that type of stuff or like, oh, can you just check and see what they're doing? Now, it's like, there's certain times where you go to that and it's nothing. It's just someone's like, you know, just someone parked, like or doing work and

has a legitimate reason to be there. And then I had a time where someone called because a U-Haul was in a gas station parking lot and they just thought it was there. for a long time. So I was like, okay. And when you run a plate, like a you all, like, you know, it's obviously like a rented car, so it's just going to come back to you all. So you don't really know, like, who's in there? Who could be in there? So I've had time where it's like, oh, shit, I look in the, the window after it's like a truck, you have to like get up. And there's someone who's like knocked over, like, you know, over the thing with like a rolled up dollar bill and whatever. And so like they were doing drugs and they had passed away. So it's like,

you know, you break like break the window. locked, whatever, get them. But like that time, like, I could tell like they had been passed away for a while where it's not like, you know, couldn't do CPR or anything on them. How long do you think a car sits for before someone calls it in for being suspicious? Definitely depends what area. So a gas station, I would say probably four to six hours, then, you know, someone, like, especially even an employee, like, if they're busy and they notice, like, oh, whatever, some you all's there. And then, like, if they go on break four hours later or, like, at the end of their shit, they see that car's there. They're like, oh, that's

weird. So like, you know, that's a situation where I feel like, okay, like that makes sense. But for certain, like, more residential neighborhoods, like, I feel like sometimes people will call, like, an hour after a car's there or something. We go to the airport a lot and we're talking. We're like, how do they even figure out how long a car has been sitting here before? Like, imagine if there's just a body in it. Yeah. And so I will say this, like, and not to be too, like, morbid, but like, you know, as a crab, like, I can tell when I go on a Czech welfare. And I have felt horrible for the families. I try not to, like, you know, show phase or whatever, when you get sent to a Chuck

welfare and it's like, I already know the person's passed away because they're just like this distinct, like odor. And I always like, you know, telling, oh, like, just stay out here. Like, let me. I'll let you know, whatever. And so you go in and you're like, damn it, like, you know. But I feel like at the airport, like, if it. if like that situation, it would like, you have to be driving right by it or walking right by it to see. And I don't know what their protocols are for like, you know, cars and whatever. But you said the airport and like being up in East Harvard, I had a guy one time where he had a warrant. And like I had arrested him before and not a warrant where like he knew who I was and like whatever. And I had seen him like around town like after and like he would do like, oh, hey, whatever. You know, so I'd say I. And I like, hey, I know you have a warrant. And I know you have a warrant. And I know you.

you work at the, I know you work at the airport. I'm like, please come and turn yourself in. Like, I have to serve this by the end of this week. Like, please do not make me come up to your job and get you because I don't want to embarrass you. Like, so of course he didn't like do that. And I ended up having to like call the same things. I'm like, hey, so-and-so works there. I was like, I have a warrant. Can you go get him? But I had to serve it because it was a domestic. Do you feel like most cops give people that opportunity to turn themselves in? Um, you know, I think it's like in certain situations, yes, but there's certain times where you can't give people the opportunity just because of like the rules and stuff. And like this situation, it happened like this was years ago. And like it wasn't, it was more so like someone they were pretending to be like their ex on dating profiles. And it was this whole big like thing. But yeah. So that that's what that kind of was. So it wasn't like a typical like the first. time I arrested him was like a typical domestic. And like those, it's like a lot of times you have to be

careful about like how you do things. And there's like a state, Connecticut has like a state model policy that like everyone has to follow. And it's like you have to be very like by the book there. And honestly it's like I know like every, like you do not want to play around when it comes to domestics. And like it's as a police officer, it does get very frustrating when it's like you see that this person has been arrested for, like, violating conditions of release, like how many times? And then it's like that happens again. And like, you know, there's certain times where that gets very frustrating. Do you find that restraining orders are effective? Is it the safe option? You know, it's a piece of paper. That's all it is. It's a piece of paper.

If someone wants to do something to someone and they're emotionally charged and they're, you know, if they want to do wrong, they're going to do wrong. And that's where it's like, yes is the legal, like, right way to do things and you want to, you know, have if you have your, you know, your eyes dotted and your T's crossed. But at the end of the day, it's just a piece of paper. And if someone does want to do something to harm you, it's like, are they going to let a piece of paper? stop them? Probably not. But that's just like my opinion on it, you know? And it's like I have family members who have been in like abusive relationships and whatever. And like I've always said to them. I was like, you still should call, get things done right. So you could just have just in case something happens like you never know. And so it's still important to have. But at the end of the day,

it's like it is just a piece of paper. How do you personally feel about policing now? So I, you know, I always like to challenge myself and I like to continue to push and grow and, you know, doing accreditation and doing that type of work. I've realized what a good skill it has. And not a lot of people have that skill or the ability to do it. And, you know, I think I can see in the future, like, if I were to do something on like the private sector with like accreditation and like getting hired as a consultant by departments, I can see that. And to be honest, like I actually started, um, doing like social media like in October of 2025. And I posted my first TikTok and I've posted 10 a day since. And I'm now like a silver TikTok shop affiliate. And honestly, I could like I could see myself like doing that full time in the future if like things go well. I mean, I can't say that what is I am going to do. And I know it's like people watching this, oh my gosh, you're going to create your job to be TikTok.

No, I'm like there's so much. TikTok is just the tip of the iceberg. And it's like starting out on TikTok, companies saw me talking about different various products. And I didn't realize like advertising and companies literally will buy what I find companies like for me is buying my videos to run his ads on like, you know, Facebook or YouTube. And that's kind of where I've started to shift like my focus to. And I like doing TikTok shop is honestly.

opened up so many possibilities for me. And, you know, even sitting here today with you, like, I probably wouldn't have done this or, like, had the opportunity to get to do it had it not been for TikTok. Yeah, we met on Instagram. Yeah. So it's like, I, growing excites me. And my brain, I always need a challenge. And I like hitting goals. And I like, like, seeing, seeing like growth and I really think that this could turn into something for me. And, you know, I got invited to go to TikTok shop headquarters because I'm like a health and wellness vertical creator, which is like, what is that? So that means like a lot of my shopable videos are about like, you know, supplements and wellness

stuff and companies like that. And that's a huge industry. And like content creation, that it's like a most. hundreds of billions of dollars like industry and it's only growing. And I think if you're like smart about how you market yourself and what separates me from other people who do it is I am disciplined and I have disciplined because I've been a police officer and I went through like a six month academy and like I'm used to real pressure where it's like you have split seconds to make decisions. So I think with, you know, companies like, oh like, okay, like,

Like you've had like a career job. Like you're someone who's relatable like every day. Like you work full time and you're doing this. Like that seems aspirational to people and like adds a sense of like legitimacy instead of just some random blonde person talking about, oh, you should buy this because it's, you know, it's good for you. But obviously not everyone likes the police. And I don't make my social media like, oh, I'm a cop. Like, you know, I have posted in uniform here and there. like if I'm in a cruiser and I like am making a protein shake, like I've taken a video of like,

this is a protein butter I use when I'm busy and like don't have time to eat a whole meal. And you know, when I do that, like I take off my patches so it's not showing and whatever. And of course, did that create a stir with some yes, but it's like I'm not doing anything that's like violating policy or like, you know, immoral or illegal. It's protein powder. It takes 20 seconds or less to film a TikTok. So it's not like I don't spend all shift doing it. There's literally so many police officers on social media that you see them in full uniform.

The names, a lot of them do have badges on. I know some departments don't let you, but it just they make TikToks with the K-9s. Yeah, there's so much stuff you could do with it too. And it's funny. Like I actually are like, we like talked a little, it's like he's a cop and he's like Texas, like the Texas cop and then he has like the Texas Zap 2.0. And so like we've talked and he does his like all of his social media and like, you know, full uniform, whatever. And like, being a cop in Texas is very different climate than being a cop

in Connecticut. So it's like, I feel like a lot of, there's more like restrictions and things you can and can't do as a police officer in Connecticut versus like other states like Florida or Texas, you know. Yeah, a lot of the sheriffs now have cops. I don't see any like chiefs in Connecticut that are on TikTok or something. Oh, yeah. No, I know. I was like, and people now I make jokes at work. I'm like, oh my gosh, you got to get that. And, like, someone will be like, I love these. It's called, like, caffeine candles chaos, like these loaded teas and loaded waters. And, like, I've gotten a bunch of people on them.

And someone's like, what is that? I'm like, well, it's a low calorie beverage with 400 milligrams of vitamin C and B12 in it. And there's only five calories. So, and they're like, oh, my gosh, can you stop? And I was like, okay. What's something you know now as a cop that you wish you knew on day one? I wish I told I wish I told myself like honestly I was way too overstress and I wish I could have like said to my old self like hey like you're going to make it and you're going to be good like don't don't let people tell you otherwise and don't let them get in your head like that you know you're not cut out for this or you're not you know up to standard or whatever so I wish I didn't like get in my head so much about that because I feel like deep down like I knew I was in a movie. good. I was like, yeah, like, I'm good. But I think it's like when you have so many people telling you that or

expecting that out of you, it like does get a little difficult to like not let that seep in to some extent. But, you know, I just, I was always always always, I was like, never give them the satisfaction of you not doing well. So, yeah. Taylor, I appreciate you coming on the show today. Thank you so much. Yeah, it was so fun. You did so good. You had nothing to worry about. I know. I was like, I was like, damn, I don't know. This is like, you know, I was, again, nervous, like, just like, oh, am I going to be good at this? Or is this going to be entertaining to people? Because you have so many great guests on here.

So I was like, you know, a lot to live up to. No, people love the law enforcement ones and different perspectives. It's like the people that have been in the prison, you could tell the same type of story multiple different ways. That makes sense. So it's just a different perspective. And we have a lot of law enforcement that listen to the show too. And so it's good. Yeah.

Well, thank you so much for having me. Of course. Thank you.