Beyond the Badge Finding Purpose and Joy After Policing

Beyond the Badge Finding Purpose and Joy After Policing

Author: Citizens Behind the Badge November 6, 2025 Duration: 32:08

What happens when the badge comes off?

When the mission changes, but the heart that served still needs a place to go?

In this second part of a powerful two-part conversation, Heroes Behind the Badge host Dennis Collins continues his discussion with David Berez, Dave Howe, Bill Erfurth, and Craig Floyd—exploring what comes after awareness: rebuilding purpose, identity, and joy beyond the uniform.

They share stories of recovery, leadership, and rediscovery—how faith, family, and service become anchors in a life that once revolved around duty.

This episode isn’t about what’s been lost—it’s about what can still be found


Guests:

  • David Berez (author, retired police lieutenant)
  • Dave Howe (U.S. Army Lt. Colonel, Comfort, Peace & Freedom Foundation)
  • Bill Erfurth (retired Miami-Dade detective, filmmaker)
  • Craig Floyd (Citizens Behind the Badge)



Topics include:

  • Finding identity and purpose beyond law enforcement
  • The power of life planning and gratitude
  • Leadership as service, not authority
  • Healing through faith, family, and freedom
  • Building a culture that values wellness over silence


Presented by: CitizensBehindTheBadge.org

Podcast Series: Heroes Behind the Badge


Timestamps:

00:00 – Shifting Gears: Life Beyond the Badge

03:45 – Stewards of the Badge

06:10 – The Power of a Life Plan

13:45 – Leadership Isn’t About You

16:40 – Leadership Is Service

23:50 – Faith, Family, and Freedom

27:15 – Learning to Re-Love

30:00 – Closing Reflections


#HeroesBehindTheBadge #BeyondTheBadge #PoliceWellness #FirstResponderResilience #PoliceLeadership #LifeAfterPolicing #PositivePsychology #OfficerSupport #PoliceMentalHealth #LawEnforcement


Heroes Behind the Badge is a podcast that brings you the untold stories of America's law enforcement community, from the front lines to the final call. Guided by Craig Floyd, who spent 34 years working alongside police officers across the nation, and joined by veteran facilitator Dennis Collins and law enforcement expert Bill Erfurth, the show cuts through misconceptions and focuses on the real people behind the badge. In each episode, listeners can expect candid conversations, hard-earned insights, and powerful moments that highlight service, sacrifice, and the realities of the job. If you want to listen episodes that go beyond headlines and hear stories shaped by experience and respect, Heroes Behind the Badge by {author} offers a clear, grounded perspective on the law enforcement community.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 52

Heroes Behind the Badge
Podcast Episodes
CPR on "Superman": The Partner Rick Rossman Couldn't Save — Part 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:01
Part 1 ended on the Thanksgiving 1983 murders of Rick Rossman's Metro-Dade partners Richie Boles and David Strzalkowski — shot with their own service weapons by ex-con Charlie Street — and Rick's admission that in more t…
He Called It Suicide. By 2:14 AM, Two Partners Were Dead | Part 1 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:17
Thanksgiving weekend, 1983. Only five officers were assigned to cover an entire Miami-Dade, Florida district that night. Before his first call, Rick Rossman told his sergeant it felt like suicide going out that short-sta…
She Was Taken to the Wrong Hospital While Her Husband Died | Part 1 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:16
On August 24, 1984, U.S. Capitol Police Sergeant Chris Eney was shot and killed in a training exercise — accidentally, by a fellow officer and friend. When his wife Vivian got the call, she was told someone was coming to…
Officer Deaths, Safety, and the Hard Questions [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:23
What does it actually mean to say officer deaths dropped below 100?In Part 2 of this two-part conversation on Heroes Behind the Badge, we sit down again with Bill Alexander, CEO of the National Law Enforcement Officers M…
The Story Behind the National Law Enforcement Memorial [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:19
Before the names are etched in stone, there are lives. Families. Communities forever changed.In Part 1 of this two-part conversation on Heroes Behind the Badge, we sit down with Bill Alexander, CEO of the National Law En…