Jonathan Hickory: Police Officer & Author of "Break Every Chain"

If you have spent any time working in law enforcement, you realize that every day brings something new.  At least, it seems like that.  Then, after a while, you realize that things really are not all that different.  The faces, the addresses, and the underlying themes are similar.  The problems of society are like a scratch in a vinyl record.  Once that needle gets caught, that painful process begins and repeats itself over and over and over.  The needle will stay stuck until something intervenes.  

For those of you who have taken fewer trips around the sun, a record is something we listened to before there were Spotify, iTunes, CDs, cassettes, and 8-track tapes.  The new version of the old phonograph, the LP, the long-play vinyl record!  It was, and still is, one of the coolest ways to listen to music.  But I digress.

When the LP skips, a little bump of the needle can get it unstuck.  The music plays on.  In police work, a scratch in an officer's psyche might not be so simple.  It can linger.  Some cuts in the vinyl run deeper than others.

This week's guest on the Coptimizer Podcast is Jonathan Hickory.  His story needs to be told so others can learn from it.  In fact, Jonathan realized he could help others by sharing his story, so he wrote a book about it.  Then, when the story struck the right cord, it became a movie.  Not every cop has a movie told about their life, especially one that stars Superman.  

If you stop now, you might be thinking this is the story of the hero’s journey.  The good cop takes on the bad guys and maybe wins in the end in an epic Hollywood gun battle scene.  And you would only be partially correct.  It is a story about a good cop.  But his battle is not against the bad guys, it is a battle against his own demons.  This is the story that Hollywood rarely tells even though it is the most common battle cops fight every day across America.  

In fact, stories like Jonathans inspire the reason for the Coptimizer concept.  How do we face the day-to-day trauma and despair that policing will bring and remain happy, hopeful, and healthy?  We start by knowing and believing that it is achievable.  Despair is not inevitable, but it can chip away at your soul if you don’t protect yourself against it.  We can’t bury our heads in the sand, or worse, a bottle of alcohol or pills, and pretend it is not a tough job.  Instead, we can prepare our officers for what they will face and give them the resources to survive and thrive.  

Resilience is a choice.  We can build it or destroy it by the little decisions we make every day.  The prefrontal cortex is an amazing gift of nature.  It gives us the option to learn from the mistakes of others instead of making them all ourselves.  Through Jonathan’s story, we can see the power of resilience and make ourselves, our agencies, and communities better by learning from his battles.  

Enjoy this episode.  Once you hear Jonathan’s story, go a step further and buy a copy of his book and then watch the movie, Break Every Chain.  Then, share it with all of your police friends. 

You can watch this podcast on our YouTube channel by clicking here.