“I want to be as clear as I can be on this. Mental health is one of the largest problems we have in society today.” – James Espinoza
Lt. James Espinoza is a 25-year veteran of the Wichita Police Department. His father, John Espinoza, who came from a large Mexican-American family in Hutchinson, Kansas, was also a career police officer. James and Rolf attended Wichita North High School together in the 1980s.
In this episode of Deviate, Rolf speaks with James about his decision to become a police officer (2:30); community policing (11:05); being a rookie on the police force (18:15); dangers involved with the job (25:30) bad police officers versus bad administrative policies (30:00); changes in policing and technology (34:40); mental health (39:15); and what is misunderstood and underappreciated about police officers (43:15).
Notable Links
- Broken windows theory
- Rodney King
- Community policing
- PR24 nightstick
- Police body cameras
- Fleeing felon rule
- Police crisis intervention team (CIT)
- Wichita Massacre (the Carr Brothers)
- BTK Strangler (serial killer)
- USA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal
- Stephen Schneider case
- COPS (TV show)
- The Wire (TV show)
- Baltimore Rising (HBO documentary)
- “Smoke & Ride” by Cadence, featuring Ace Trill & Twansac
The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber.
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