APB American Police Beat

Not all top cops have the time to respond to ordinary distress calls, but in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, Police Chief Bryan Taylor stepped up to help visitors who lost control of […]

Mother’s Day is supposed to be a day of celebration, but for Olivia, a resident of Kansas City, Missouri, the day marked a series of unfortunate events. First a thief […]

Like so many Chicagoans, Sergeant Christoria King headed to the cooling waters of Lake Michigan during the July Fourth holiday weekend. She was enjoying a few days off from the […]

It’s true, alcohol gives the illusion of effectively making problems go away through numbing. It is easy to forget the sack of problems that police officers carry around in this […]

As a retired peace officer and experienced law enforcement instructor, I have found that the profession is constantly evolving, whether it be equipment, report writing or tactics. And with new […]

Sometimes the greatest lessons about policing don’t come from a policy manual, a leadership seminar or even years on the street. Sometimes they come from a story. Sometimes Hollywood gets […]

People ask me all the time what I do for a living. The short answer is that I’m a police psychologist. The longer answer is that even after I explain […]

Last October, I wrote Part 1 of “Training dipshittery” (apbweb.com/2025/10/training-dipshittery). After much fanfare, ticker-tape parades and a couple emails of support, it’s time for Part 2 of what is quickly […]

I still remember the first time I faced an internal affairs investigation and had to surrender my badge and gun. That first time, it honestly felt like, along with the […]

Four-year-old Charlee Lacey of Rock Springs, Wyoming, has been through a lot in her short life — and it’s already taught her so much about the importance of first responders […]

“The only comparison I should be making is with myself. Will I be better tomorrow than I am today?”  — Ryan Hawk Answer this question: I’m not where I would […]

Human trafficking is a crime in which people are forced, manipulated or coerced into labor, services or sexual acts. Coercion may be physical or psychological, direct or subtle. Any commercial […]

Tactical medicine is “good medicine in bad places.” It is a specialized medical discipline that provides immediate, lifesaving care to personnel in high-threat environments — officer-down situations, active shooter scenes, […]

Over decades at the executive level and through scores of discussions, I have stumbled across a strategy that I have found to be especially helpful in addressing contentious issues, sometimes […]

Your simulator is capable of far more than most agencies ask of it. Most agencies that invest in simulation start in the same place: the time-honored shoot/no-shoot scenarios. That’s a […]

Editor’s note: This is Part 7 of a nine-part series reflecting on the September 11, 2001, terror attacks ahead of their 25th remembrance this year. Retired Port Authority Police Officer […]

A veteran patrol officer sits in a squad car at the end of another 12-hour shift. The officer is not thinking about the arrest that was made, the report waiting […]

Law enforcement work exposes officers to situations that can have a lasting impact. The uncomfortable emotional and physiological responses that can develop are not evidence of defectiveness; they are deeply […]

More than a year after Los Angeles Police Sergeant Shiou Deng was struck and killed by a speeding vehicle in the early morning hours of June 23, 2025, the Los […]

It was a call from one of our city officials. Yeah, I picked up. After all, I’m an elected LEO labor leader, and officials like him have the power to […]