First Response with Bob Plaschke Episode: 26: Chief Art Acevedo (Ret.) - Leadership, Ethics and Relational Policing

First Response with Bob Plaschke, Episode 28: Rajiv Maan, Expert in Threat Mitigation, Counterintelligence, Cyber Security, National Security Strategy & Policy

Most people judge counterterrorism by what they see on TV: explosions, raids, and last-second saves. The truth is almost the opposite and that’s what makes it so hard to appreciate. When the FBI gets it right, nothing happens, and the public may never learn what was stopped or how close it came.  We sit down with Rajiv Maan, a retired FBI leader with more than 20 years in the Bureau and 31 years in law enforcement, to talk about how prevention actually works. He explains how counterterrorism investigations balance evidence, timing, and risk, and why Joint Terrorism Task Forces matter so much when the stakes are mass casualties. We also get personal about the mission-driven mindset it takes to run toward danger, the pressure of never wanting to fail, and the professionalism that comes from training built on research, constitutional law, and repeatable tactics rather than heroics.  Maan also walks us through major chapters of his career: the post 9-11 shift that brought him into the FBI, the reality of working state-sponsored terrorism, and what overseas assignments really look like when you’re operating openly through an embassy and coordinating with partner services. Finally, we dig into hostage recovery and the Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell, an interagency effort that pulls together intelligence, defense, diplomacy, negotiation, and family support to bring Americans home and pursue justice when possible.  If you value clear-eyed conversations about public safety, national security, and the people doing the work in anonymity, subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review so more listeners can find the show.  https://www.pepperball.com [https://www.pepperball.com]

First Response with Bob Plaschke, Episode 27: Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office Training Officer Andrea Alt - More Than the Bite: Inside Police K9 Teams

A police cruiser door pops open, a K9 rockets out, and the “bad guy” goes from confident to panicked in seconds. That viral moment is real training, and it opens the door to a bigger question: what do police K9s actually do all day, and how are they controlled when everything is loud, fast, and dangerous? We’re joined by Andrea Alt, one of the leading voices in police canine work, to walk through the mechanics and the judgment behind K9 deployment. We talk about why the professional term is "K9,” how working dogs learn commands in Dutch or German alongside English, and why tone and consistency matter more than any single word. Andrea also explains the difference between apprehension and detection, including how “bite and hold” is trained to target limbs under legal standards, and why that jaw pressure is the part people underestimate. From there, we dig into the less visible side of K9 units: tracking that recovers discarded clothing and DNA, passive alerts for firearms or explosives, and barking alerts used to locate hidden people during building searches. We also cover the practical realities of running a K9 program, including how many teams might operate in one area, what it costs to equip a dog, and why ballistic and stab-resistant K9 vests can be out of reach for some departments. Andrea closes with the mission behind her  nonprofit, the K9 Creed Armor Program, which helps fund protective vests for K9 teams in need. If you care about police transparency, K9 training, and public safety, subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find these conversations. https://www.pepperball.com [https://www.pepperball.com]

First Response with Bob Plaschke Episode: 26: Chief Art Acevedo (Ret.) - Leadership, Ethics and Relational Policing

You can’t understand modern American policing by looking only at headlines. The real story lives in the everyday moments: a traffic stop, a tense protest line, a hard conversation with a mayor, a decision to de-escalate instead of escalate. That’s why we sat down with Aurora CO, Chief Art Acevedo, (Ret.) one of the most decorated big-city police chiefs (Austin TX, Houston TX, Miami FL) of the last few decades, to talk about what actually builds trust and what quietly destroys it. We start with Art’s American journey, arriving from Cuba on the Freedom Flights, and how his family’s push to assimilate and embrace diversity shaped the way he leads. From there, we get honest about the trust gap around law enforcement, why police are still judged as part of government, and what changed after George Floyd. Art explains why mass crowd tactics can backfire, why precision and restraint matter, and how leaders earn credibility by showing up and leading from the front. The heart of the conversation is leadership and ethics. Art lays down a blunt rule for anyone chasing the top job: don’t become a police chief unless you can afford to lose the job, because integrity is the only thing you fully control. He also breaks down “relational policing” and his TREAT framework (transparency, respect, engagement to build emotional capital, accountability) as a practical blueprint for better outcomes, safer officers, and stronger community relationships. We close with why professional associations matter in a nation with 18,000 separate agencies but one Constitution. If you got value from this, subscribe, share it with a friend who cares about public safety, and leave a review.  https://www.pepperball.com [https://www.pepperball.com]

Special Episode - CEO Bob Plaschke as a Guest on the Officer Roll Call Podcast with LT Frank Borelli (Ret.)

A lot of agencies are being asked to lower use of force complaints while handling more mental health calls, addiction-related incidents, and day-to-day disorder with fewer people on shift. That squeeze creates a simple operational question: how do we keep officers safe and still resolve resistance without defaulting to higher-force tools? Lieutenant Frank Borelli sits down with PepperBall CEO Bob Plaschke to dig into what command staff are asking for right now and why “non-lethal at distance” is becoming central to modern de-escalation. We get specific about the street realities: why creating 35 to 50 feet of space can change decision-making, reduce panic, and keep officers out of the close-range danger zone. Bob explains how less-lethal launchers are being used to drive behavior change, what the effects feel like, and why shorter decontamination time matters for both subjects and officers. We also talk about the situations everyone dreads, like noncompliant vehicle occupants and barricaded subjects, and how distance-based tools can reduce the need for risky hands-on extraction or blind entries. Along the way, we connect tactics to the bigger picture of community policing and officer wellness. Fewer injuries, clearer body-camera narratives, and less lifelong “baggage” after violent encounters aren’t abstract benefits, they shape careers and trust. If you care about police officer safety, law enforcement de-escalation, and practical less-lethal options that work in the real world, this conversation is for you.  https://www.pepperball.com [https://www.pepperball.com]

First Response with Bob Plaschke- Episode 25: Col. Frank Milstead, Chief of Police, Mesa, AZ (Ret.); Colonel, Arizona Department of Public Safety (Ret.): Body Cams And The Burden Of Proof

Video has become the new witness, and that changes everything for public safety. PepperBall CEO Bob Plaschke sits down with retired Colonel Frank Milstead, former Mesa Police Chief and former head of the Arizona Department of Public Safety, to get brutally practical about body-worn cameras: why they took off, why “recording” is only step one, and why agencies that do not review footage are setting themselves up for failure in court and in public trust. This episode also digs into what cameras can’t do. A body cam is a single viewpoint that can be blocked by hands, steering wheels, or the officer’s own movement, and it will never recreate the full perception of a high-stress moment. Frank connects that reality to today’s fast-moving headlines, especially around ICE operations, where multiple videos can trigger instant judgment while the real facts still require time, review, and investigation. Plaschke and Milstead talk about how quotas and poor arrest planning can raise risk, and why accountability has to be aimed at leadership decisions as much as front-line actions. From there, the discussion steps back to modern policing’s hardest workload: mental illness, addiction, and homelessness calls that officers are not truly equipped to solve with a vest, cuffs, and a sidearm. Milstead also calls out public safety technology that gets overhyped through data overload, and he makes a strong case for drones as first responder as the next big tool, plus the coming need for counter-drone defense. If you care about police transparency, body cameras, ICE oversight, and the future of public safety tech, subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find the show. https://www.pepperball.com [https://www.pepperball.com]