August 14, 2025 • 31 mins
When Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office Detective Danny Morales co-founded the non-profit Bleeding Blue in 2022, it was initially to provide financial support to law enforcement families during times of hardship. But its mission soon expanded to address mental health and wellness among his fellow officers. He speaks to Enrique about the toll his work as a homicide detective takes, what he does to maintain his own mental health, what to look for in a therapist, and other resources available to those who may need them.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
From School of Humans and iHeart podcasts. This is Cold
Case Files Miami. I'm your host, Endriques Santos.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
So.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
Today we're talking with Detective Danny Morales, a homicide detective
of the Miami Dade Sheriff's Office. In twenty twenty two,
Danny and his brother, Sergeant Brandon Espinosa, founded a nonprofit
organization called Bleeding Blue, which supports law enforcement families during
times of need. Bleeding Blue also provides mental health and
wellness resources to officers, which is something I'm especially passionate about. Danny,
(00:41):
Thank you so much for joining us today. Let's start
with your story. What drew you into law enforcement in
the first place. How old were you when you first
became an officer?
Speaker 3 (00:52):
And thanks for having me Andndy que. We go back
to twenty seventy. I was working out a pharmacy at
the time. We did about three years to get a
phone call from the Miami Dad Police Department at the
time now the Sheriff's Office, And one day I look
at my phone, I have an email and I was like, Hey,
I'm going to the police coudiyam out. And that's been
great ever since started the police academy there, spent about
(01:16):
two and a half years on the road on road
patrol in like the west Chester area of Miami Did County,
and then I went and straight into investigations that led
me to where I'm at now as a homicide detective
and I've been on the department for about eight years.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
Interesting, so I'm I'm an officer turned broadcaster and you're
a pharmacist turned officer.
Speaker 4 (01:35):
Pretty cool.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
Yeah, I guess we can say I was pushing pills
legally back then.
Speaker 1 (01:43):
What made you want to work specifically in homicide, which
is what you do now?
Speaker 3 (01:48):
So it was an interest of mine once I learned
what they do. So I was given the opportunity to
go to general investigations in the Person's and Property unit,
and essentially I was handling shooting investigations basically where somebody
didn't tie. So if someone contact shootings, non contact shootings,
but as long as they didn't die, it was handled
(02:09):
at the district level, which is where I was at
at the time. And essentially we were doing the same
exact job, just homicide is a little bit more intense,
a lot more documenting things of that nature. So you know,
the opportunity presented itself again to go to homicide. I
got a phone call, and you know, three years on
the department, that was a no brainer. I couldn't say
no to that, so I took the opportunity, and you know,
(02:30):
I haven't looked back since.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
Do you remember the first case that played a big
role in you played a big role in solving and
what was that like?
Speaker 3 (02:41):
That was intense? You know, it was not a call
that we expected to handle was a homicide. It was
actually it came out as an accidental shooting where someone
passed away, and little by little, working with the Medical
Examiner's office, working with the state attorney, we were able
to determine that this was a you know, an intentional
act and even if there wasn't intentional, it was, you know.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
A reckless act.
Speaker 3 (03:06):
And working in that capacity as a rookie homicide detective,
you know, I definitely had to learn a lot very quick.
That was probably two months on the job. At the
same time that I transferred to the homicide bureau, we
had the surf side and building collapse, so there was
a lot of running around, lack of manpower, so we
(03:26):
were handling that homicide essentially with only two people and
that's not normal. So that that was very big, very
early on in my homicide career.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
Being a cop, especially one who works in homicide, is
a very stressful job, like you're describing, and you see
a lot of terrible things. What do you think the
general public might not know or miss about these kinds
of situations that you'd like them to know?
Speaker 3 (03:52):
You know, I had this conversation with someone recently and
they and they kind of it was a little frustrating
because just having the the general public, Yeah, they may
accept us, they may understand the job that we do,
but a lot of the mindset that are out there,
are you signed up for this And I didn't sign
up to you know, grab a dead body and then
(04:13):
being a baby multiple times in my career. I didn't
sign up to get shot at. I didn't sign up
to play with blood.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
I didn't you know.
Speaker 3 (04:21):
I signed up to bring closure to those family members,
to the people that can't speak anymore, be their voice
in court, and bring justice to those that are that
are deceased. You know that we're murdered, and unfortunately that
that comes with the job. You know, the stress comes
with the job, that trauma comes with the job, you know,
dealing with the the families at a personal level. These
(04:42):
people that you've never met before, but now you are
their lifeline and you're spending hours on the phone with
them throughout you know, this investigation. They're calling you on
the holidays, they're calling you on the victim's birthday because
you are the only person that is going to bring
them closer. So that is you know, Unfortunately, the the
(05:04):
job is great, I love it, don't get me wrong.
The traumas that come with it and the stress that
comes with it, the hours that come with it are
something that the public is never going to see. And
although they may appreciate our job there, unless you do it,
you know, you're really not gonna not.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
This show deals a lot with cold cases, and we've
talked to family members about the toll it takes on
them to not have someone prosecuted for their loved one's death.
On your side, what is the emotional weight of not
being able to give families answers or the answers that
they want, the answers they deserve.
Speaker 3 (05:41):
Something that I learned very early when when I actually
learned it from a senior detective, was that where to
promise the family anything, and it's it's very accurate because
unfortunately we can't solve every case. You know, if that
was the case, you know we would have it would
it would be great, you know, we would love to
do that. You can't sell every case and you can't
promise the families anything, but you try your best to
(06:04):
work with them. You try your best to be there
and be very transparent. And I always put myself in
their shoes. What is it that I would want if
I was the person on the other side of the phone,
what is it that.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
I will want the detective to tell me?
Speaker 3 (06:14):
Well, what would I expect them to, you know, give
me information on and unfortunately, you know, sometimes depending on
the case, we.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
Can't really give out all that information.
Speaker 3 (06:24):
But you try your best to you know, kind of
involve them and give them that sense of purpose that
they're actually doing something to assist you on the investigation.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
You mentioned about not being prepared to face death, especially
of babies. It's probably one of the hardest thing of
dealing with law enforcement, and if for any first responder
to have to deal with death of young people, innocent babies.
Training obviously prepares you for a lot, but a lot
(06:54):
of police work. Can only you know a lot of
the stuff you can only learn on the job. Right,
have there been challenges and stresses that you weren't expecting in.
Speaker 3 (07:04):
I remember my first bigy death, and I mean I
remember all of them, infant child, you know, they have
the names and grains in my mind. They they're true
victims any and some of them obviously are dying of
natural causes. You know, maybe they had some disease when
they were born, but it's just the it's not supposed
to have. I think we hear it all the time
where it's like a parent should never bury their kid.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
And I think when they're so young and so.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
Not in control that it takes a bigger toll on people.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
So I mean, it definitely wasn't prepared for all that.
Speaker 3 (07:36):
I mean, I think that I walked into and thinking
I was like, hey, I don't have kids. I know,
I'm a single man, I'm young, I just started my career.
This isn't gonna affect me like it's going to affect
somebody else that has kids. And I think it hits
you the same exact way. And I think we're human
beings at the end of the day, and for us
to be able to do this job, I think.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
You have to be, you know, compassionate. You have to
be able to level.
Speaker 3 (07:59):
With these families and understand what they're going through so
that you can put just as much effort into solving
their case or helping the period.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
You've put so much effort into helping other first responders. Specifically,
when it comes to mental health and dealing with these issues,
do you feel that your training prepared you for the
four mental and emotional mental and emotional toll that this
kind of work takes.
Speaker 3 (08:22):
I don't think training prepared me for that. I think
training prepared me for the job that I do. I
think life experience kind of prepares you for everything that
you're going through, and whether that's your upbringing, whether that's
your family dynamic, whether that's your walk with God. I
think that those are all very important factors when it
comes to your mental health in this career. There's no
(08:45):
textbook that's going to tell you what you're going to
walk into tomorrow. I had a buddy of mind in
the police academy that one week on the job got
into a major shooting. The textbook doesn't tell you that,
you know the textbook tells you that you don't know
when things are going to happen. But that emotional toll
of being a rookie not knowing what you're doing. Now
you're firing your guns.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
That's huge.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
You have family and law enforcement, including your stepfather who's
now retired. Did he give you any advice when when
you decided you wanted to work in law enforcement?
Speaker 2 (09:15):
Yeah, he told me not to do it.
Speaker 4 (09:17):
That happens a lot. Are you hear a lot in
law enforcement?
Speaker 1 (09:20):
You get a lot when when you ask policemen or
women or sheriff's deputy, you know what do you recommend?
Speaker 4 (09:27):
Applying be a fireman instead? Is what you get? A lot?
Speaker 3 (09:32):
Yeah, I couldn't do it. I couldn't do it. I
grew up around this world. I remember as a kid
going to the law enforcement memorial every May, going to
the police rodeos and motorcycle rodeos, going to these luncheons,
and just walking around the police station. I mean I
even went to a police and fire school, so some
of my teachers were firefighters and police officers. So this
was something that I was born into. Apparently I used
(09:54):
to I was a swat officer every year as for Halloween,
I didn't go that route because the gym isn't for me,
but he definitely gave me some advice. He definitely guided
me in the right direction. I mean, to this day,
I still call him and, you know, just talk to
him and make sure that he's okay. But at the
same time, it's kind of like my way of saying like, hey,
this is what I went through.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
Just hear me out.
Speaker 4 (10:16):
Sure did he ever talk to you about the emotional
toll this kind of work takes on.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
I don't remember those conversations. I know that.
Speaker 3 (10:24):
I just remember seeing them. I remember him coming home exhausted.
I remember him wanting to be left alone. He's very
big into motorcycles, so I know he would go on
his bike rides by himself, and we always asked like, hey,
where's where's I'm alo at? You know, where's you know?
Is he is he okay? And after a long day
at work or just a shower, go straight to bed.
And you would see those things as we grew up
(10:45):
with him. I mean, it's my stepfather. He raised me
since I was three years old, you know, so I
definitely saw it. And as you get older, you start
to realize on your own, like, hey, this is this
is coming from the job. There's there's nothing going on
at home, so where else is it coming from?
Speaker 1 (10:58):
You know, it's the stressors from the How do you
balance protecting your family from your work well also not
closing yourself off emotionally.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
Yeah, it's definitely a tough stateleent.
Speaker 3 (11:09):
You don't want to bring things home and burden your
family with the stuff that we see, especially in homicide.
You know, my girlfriend is not part of any type
of law enforcement or older in this field at all,
So I don't want to expose her to the things
that I do and scare her, but at the same
time be open enough to discuss, Hey, this is what
I'm going through. Can you just listen to me, maybe
(11:32):
get some help, maybe just go to dinner or something
and just tell you about my day. So it's a
tough balance between what do I share and what do
I don't share, But it needs to happen, you know, Unfortunately,
you know, you have to be able to be open
with your partner about what you're going through and your
family period. So my mom calls me and checks in
on me if she's something on the news or maybe
(11:54):
I'll post something in the family chat and like, hey,
I'm working them on a scene, and she doesn't hear
from me from.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
A couple hours.
Speaker 3 (12:00):
It's not a couple it's actually like twenty thirty hours
because those are lengths of our shifts. But you know,
she'll call me and she'll check in and say, hey,
like what's going on?
Speaker 2 (12:08):
What are you working?
Speaker 3 (12:09):
You know, and that kind of gauge is where you're
at mentally. You know, if it's just physical exhaustion from
working those long hours, or is it there's something There's
something more there.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
We need to take a break, but when we're back,
we continue this conversation with Detective Danny Morales. In twenty
twenty two, you and your brother Brandon, who's a sergeant
with the Mammi Dade Sheriff's Office, decided to start a nonprofit.
Speaker 4 (12:37):
Bleeding Blue. What was the motivation behind this?
Speaker 3 (12:43):
Some Bleeding flu started after the loss of a little
officer from Miami Day Police Department. He was shot and
killed in the nighte of duty, and we saw a
need to just raise money for the family and bring
awareness to his name to his incident that occurred. And
I worked that case in a homicide capacity, and the
individual that was killed was my brother's boarding and at
(13:05):
the time, so it was close to home.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
You know.
Speaker 3 (13:07):
I spent a very intimate couple of days with the
family as they were dealing with the loss of a
loved one at the hospital. And I never knew these
people at all, and I felt like I was part
of their family, and now I am. Now they're part
of mine, and I'm part of theirs. Three years later,
so we started fundraising and that kind of just sparled
(13:28):
into starting this organization, trying to do things a little
bit more legit, gaining donations, and you know, here we
are almost three years later.
Speaker 1 (13:37):
A large part of Bleeding Blues mission is to provide
financial support to law enforcement families during times of loss
or injury or other hardship, but the mission has also
expanded to address mental health and wellness amongst law enforcement officers.
Speaker 4 (13:51):
Can you talk a little more about this.
Speaker 3 (13:53):
We've seen an increase in suicides in the law enforcement community,
and unfortunately this is based on on the job stressor's
personal issues that we may be going through. And I
think that as a first responder, I would say ninety
percent of us or alf of males and females, and
we don't want to address the fact that Hey, I'm
(14:15):
going through something, Hey I need help, Hey I'm talking
to a therapist, or hey I'm talking to Hope, your
support guy. And you bottle that stuff inside and you
start to drink alcohol, you start to use drugs, you
start to gamble, and it's just a slippery slope when
you add everything together. And we've seen an increase in suicide.
The numbers don't lie. So we started the mission in
(14:35):
efforts to raise awareness, and we started a mental health conference.
We brought together about four hundred and twenty five first
responders with three speakers, twelve vendors, and it was a
very successful event. And at that point, that's when we
decided to make this our mission to continue on the
mental health side of the organization.
Speaker 1 (14:56):
Do you think officers today feel more comfortab we'll talking
about their mental health or is there's still stigma around it?
Speaker 4 (15:03):
Do you think that's changing?
Speaker 2 (15:06):
I definitely see a change. There's definitely a change.
Speaker 3 (15:08):
And even at the leadership level, we see now a
couple more chiefs that are a lot more open to
hosting mental health workshops and events, sponsoring you know, different
trainings for their officers to go to that are mental
health related, and I think that comes with everybody as
a whole, you know, just doing their part, you know,
(15:31):
and it starts from the top at the at the
end of the day. In this profession, you know, if
our leader is doing something, we're all going to follow.
But at the same time, you have people boots on
the ground that are trying to push it upwards as well.
Speaker 2 (15:42):
So a lot of a lot more peer support teams.
Speaker 3 (15:44):
You have now a Miami DAT Multi Agency Peer Support Team,
which is just officers and different agencies that have come
together during crisis moments, and you know, that's new within
the last two years as well.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
So we're definitely seeing a change.
Speaker 3 (15:58):
I think that at the officer level we don't see
the conversation happens as often as it should, but I
definitely have seen the change and I see it. In
the Homicide Bureau, we definitely talk about cases. You know,
we have a table there what we call the pit,
and the fit is where you know, you have meetings,
(16:18):
where you have lunch where you just have a conversation,
you have a roll call and occasionally you'll you'll hear
a couple of conversations like, hey, this is the call
I went to, and then you start diving into that
call that you went to and you responded to, and
you kind of dig with that detective or you dig
with that officer like what is it that you went through?
And it just becomes a natural conversation and at the
end of the day, that's all we need, you know,
(16:40):
get it off your chest, talk about it, and you know,
as a peer to peer conversation, I think that goes
a very long way.
Speaker 4 (16:48):
Could you talk to me about bleeding blues? Just ask? Initiative?
Speaker 3 (16:54):
So that started as a quick access resource guide, Right,
I personally did not know who to go to when
I wanted to go to therapy and I thought that
I needed therapy, and I spent hours on our insurance's
website trying to find a therapist that was covered by
the insurance, and once I found some, I spent hours
(17:15):
trying to get a.
Speaker 2 (17:16):
Hold of those therapists.
Speaker 3 (17:17):
So it was a little frustrating to know that, yeah,
my insurance covers this, but where do I go? So
it was more of a quick action's guide to provide
those resources that are out there. Those are individuals and
companies that are vetted and that have experience in dealing
with first responders, and they're you know, the phone numbers
there you can call them. Some of them are twenty
four hour hotline, so you never know when your partner
(17:40):
may need somebody. And it's three four in the morning,
you know there is a suicide hotline on there that
is tainer to first responders. You know, on the other
side of that phone, you're going to get a retired
first responder, You're going to get an active first responder,
someone that understands what you're going through. That way, they
can walk you through that night and then lead you
to you know, getting the right that you need.
Speaker 1 (18:00):
Talking about help in therapy, Danny, I'm curious if you
wouldn't mind sharing with us, what do you do personally
to deal with the stress and psychological toll of your
line work.
Speaker 3 (18:12):
Yeah, so something that works for me is breathing, reading techniques.
I tend to sit in my car for like, let's say,
for instance, after a tough call or after a shift,
I sit in my car and I just try to
bring that blood pressure down. I try to breathe, and
country music is my way to go a nice long
(18:34):
drive home with some smooth country music. A lot of
people make fun of me all the time because they
listen to what I listened to in the car and
they're like, dude, are you depressed or something? And I'm like, no,
it's just it's just listening to that smooth like soft
music and not listening to the regadong and the Spanish
music and all that stuff that gets you pumped up.
Speaker 2 (18:54):
That works for me.
Speaker 3 (18:54):
I'm also an athlete, so I play a competitive sport
and I make sure that I dedicate time to doing
that to be able to get away from work.
Speaker 1 (19:01):
How do you see your fellow officers dealing with this stress?
Not everybody has that amount of control and discipline and
the routine that you have. Unfortunately, so many of our
brothers and sisters turn into alcohol and other methods that
are detrimental.
Speaker 3 (19:17):
Yeah, Unfortunately, alcohol is something that it's very common. You
can literally vote anywhere nowadays and be offered a drink.
And there's nothing wrong with drinking, right, There's nothing wrong
with drinking and moderation. And you know, you have a
drink once a week, twice a week, there's nothing wrong
with that. And I don't like to say that there
(19:39):
is something wrong with it, because then you make people
feel as if they're doing something wrong. But drinking at
an excessive level or going to those additional methods is
where you start going downhill. And unfortunately that in our
line of work. I think that is a very common
way to cope is acohol. That's why they turn to it.
(20:00):
But there's programs out there. You know, there's people, there's retirees,
there's people that have suffered that addiction themselves and have
gotten out of it that are willing to help. You know,
I have a lot of good resources and people that
are trustworthy that can just guide you. And and it's
a matter of just reaching out. You know, when you
see yourself going through this and maybe not maybe you
won't see it, but maybe your coworker sees it, maybe
(20:20):
your family member sees it. And that's essentially what we're
trying to do with Bleeding Blue is bring that awareness
out there that there is resources for that officer, for
the family, for those kids, and you know, just guide
you in the right direction.
Speaker 1 (20:32):
Talking about family, what would you recommend to family members?
What can friends and family members do more to better
understand and support first responders?
Speaker 3 (20:42):
I mean, to begin with, there's plenty of trainees out
there that are that are open to families. I know
that concerns of police survivors. COPS is a very large
organization that's out there and nationwide they host a couple
of trainings. Locally, we have a bunch of them as well.
And you know, it's just there's something wrong with extending
your knowledge. It's like going into a new career that
(21:04):
you've never done before and taking a couple of trainings.
Speaker 2 (21:07):
Maybe that's not the career you're going to be in
for forever. You're going to do twenty five thirty years.
Speaker 3 (21:12):
But this is your family if you have them for
the next fifty sixty seventy years, So why not invest
in them? And I think that talking about it, maybe
bringing up some just communication, talking about it and bringing
up those signs that are you know, troublesome to you
as a partner, you know, addressing it with your partner specifically,
or maybe going to his best friend and being like, hey, listen,
this is what I'm seeing at home.
Speaker 2 (21:32):
You know, maybe you can bring it up to him.
Speaker 3 (21:34):
Just different avenues of getting that person that's dealing with
that issue to see it themselves.
Speaker 1 (21:41):
Talking about dealing with those issues. There might be somebody
listening right now who's feeling overwhelmed, it feels burnt out.
Speaker 4 (21:49):
An officer, a first responder.
Speaker 1 (21:51):
What advice would you give to them.
Speaker 3 (21:54):
This is a bump, a speed bump in your life.
I think that actually, as human beings, we all struggle
with different hurdles in life. Whether it's a financial hurdle,
whether it's a death in the family. I think that
there is ways to overcome almost everything in life.
Speaker 2 (22:16):
And if you.
Speaker 3 (22:17):
Are faith based, pray on it. God is going to
give you guidance and good isn't to give you peace.
If you are not faith based, reach out to a peer.
There's people around you and your circle that care about you.
Your squad mates, your supervisor, your best friends. Whether it's
picking up the phone and just reaching out to somebody,
squirrel down your phone, liess and call that person and
just say listen to me, hear me out.
Speaker 2 (22:38):
I need to talk about something.
Speaker 3 (22:40):
But this is I always I always use this analogy,
and it's it's just a speed bump in your your path.
Speaker 1 (22:47):
You obviously, Danny number one, congratulations for what you do.
Thank you for what you do and you started bleeding
blue out of a true necessity that I'm curious in
the process, what did you find? What kind of mental health,
health and wellness resources are available, We're available or we're
not to law enforcement officers and first responders, not only
(23:07):
in South Florida but nationwide.
Speaker 4 (23:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (23:10):
So, I mean there's a lot of agencies out there,
specifically like our agency. There are largest agency down here
in Miami Daue County that has psychological services. And it's
just finding those therapists that are culturally confident, that understand
the job that we go through and are aware of
the traumas and just not They're not just going to
sit there and listen to your job and be like, oh, wow,
you're a homicide detective. That's pretty damn cool. Like I
(23:33):
don't care to tell you about my day to day job.
I want to tell you about what I went through.
So it's finding those right therapists that are that are
out there in the local community.
Speaker 2 (23:41):
And maybe it's not a.
Speaker 3 (23:41):
Therapist, maybe it's just a peer support specialist. And by
that I mean someone that has gone through this life
experience and is willing to help another peer. And we
have those members on leading blues Board. There's different local
police departments that holds peer support meetings as well, and
the resources that are out there. It's just a matter
(24:02):
if you want need to get the help.
Speaker 1 (24:04):
So I'm curious what do you mean when you say
a therapist that is culturally competent?
Speaker 3 (24:11):
Right, So, like the example I just gave you, and
and I'll speak from personal experience as well.
Speaker 2 (24:15):
You know, going to a.
Speaker 3 (24:16):
Therapist that I found online. I didn't want to go
through insurance. It was a website that we found. You
sign up, you register your schedule, the appointment. You start
talking in this person, and then I get into a
little bit about like what do I do for my
day to day job, how do I get into homicide?
What is it that I do in homicide? And what
kind of creatures have I handled. I don't want to
talk to you about my day to day job to
(24:39):
interest your hour of our conversation, right, I want to
talk to you about what it is that I do
for a living and why it is that I'm here.
And culturally competent therapists are already going to understand what
it is that a firefighter or what an EMS worker,
what a dispatch for police officers are going to go
through and through understanding that prior to even speaking to
(25:02):
a FIRSTS founder, you know, they have done the training,
they have experienced what it is that we go through.
Speaker 2 (25:08):
You know, right now.
Speaker 3 (25:09):
Leading Blue is hosting a culturally competent course and the
goal of that is to expand their provider list of
culturally competent therapists in Miami Datee County. And part of
that training is for them to attend a sixteen hour
right along. So basically have two ships and right along
with a police officer or firefighter. There's no better way
(25:30):
of them in understanding what we do than sitting in
the car right next to us.
Speaker 1 (25:35):
So, Danny, what's one change, big or small that you'd
like to see in how mental health is addressed within
law enforcement?
Speaker 2 (25:42):
Thanks, that's tough. That list is long.
Speaker 4 (25:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (25:47):
I think it just starts with, you know a lot,
having officers drop the pride in their egos and just
even sharing a social media post, you know, going out
of your way too to ask a buddy, are you okay?
Speaker 2 (26:02):
I think it starts.
Speaker 3 (26:03):
At you know, a lot, a lot of and I
think I said this earlier, it starts at the top,
but it also starts at the bottom level. You know,
stop at the top of the food chain and at
the bottom level. If the leadership is giving you the resources,
then the officers need to do everything. If the officers
are trying to make this happen, the leadership makes the
back door officers. So it's kind of a two way street.
But I think personally, I would like to see officers
(26:27):
just care a little bit more about what it is
that their friends are going through.
Speaker 1 (26:30):
I remember in the police academy there being a whole
block about this and to seek help if you needed,
and then it was there. But I feel it that
was it's insufficient. It was insufficient in my time. Do
you feel the same. Do you think that there's an
opportunity for new recruits in the police academy?
Speaker 3 (26:50):
Yeah, I mean that's that's that's the start of your career,
and I think at that point in your career, you
really don't know what you're walking into. Like I said,
at that point, you're doing push ups, you're getting screened at,
but you're also going home to the test.
Speaker 2 (27:00):
And you're coming back and repeating that.
Speaker 3 (27:03):
The same day, So you really don't know until you
you hit the road and you start experiencing these these
calls for service that are going to trigger certain things.
But that doesn't come to say that those trainees aren't
already experiencing trauma in their personal lives. You know, maybe
it is a hardship that led them to where they're
at now in the seat of a trainee, and all
(27:25):
it takes is one bad call to trigger some response
that they've gone through in the past.
Speaker 2 (27:30):
So I think that it.
Speaker 3 (27:31):
Is very important to start, you know, instilling this mindset
in their in their during their their training phases. And
I have the opportunity to teach as well in the
police Academy, and that's one hundred percent.
Speaker 2 (27:44):
Whether it's on the curriculum or not, I'm gonna mention it.
Speaker 1 (27:47):
What are Bleeding Blues goals for the future and what
would you like to see out of your organization?
Speaker 3 (27:54):
That, my friends, is a constant battle with me. I
have so many goals I have, So I'm very business
person and thankful to our board of directors that kind
of keeps me straight. But our goal is to continue
helping first responder families, you know, fundraise as much as
possible that way, God forbid, when the day does come
that we need to donate money to one of these families,
we have it readily available. And on the mental health
(28:17):
side is to continue that organization of the provider network
providing first responders with culturally competent therapists, you know, expanding
as far as doing workshops, different trainings, and just.
Speaker 2 (28:33):
Overall just growing the organization.
Speaker 3 (28:34):
I think that, you know, there's different ways to do this,
but we have to be very strategic and make sure
we cater to our crowd of first responders, you know,
provide to them what it is that they need. And
thankfully our boarder Directors is a group of first responders,
so we understand what that.
Speaker 4 (28:51):
Need is before we close.
Speaker 1 (28:53):
Is there anything you wish more people understood about the
mental health challenges officers face today?
Speaker 2 (29:01):
It's different for everyone.
Speaker 3 (29:02):
I think it's you know, unfortunately you don't you never
know exactly what it is that someone has gone through
and their their walk of life, and you know, it's
hard to you can't judge anybody for what they're going through.
And we see in these moments of suicide, when an
officer commits suicide, it's very unfortunate to see the lack
of representation from police officers and the departments, and typically
(29:26):
you only see family.
Speaker 2 (29:27):
Go out to these funerals.
Speaker 3 (29:29):
That if someone gets shot in the nine of duty,
you have thousands of people traveling down to these funerals.
So why isn't that these individuals are honored for their
sacrifice for what it is that they've done thus far,
you know, and we can't judge them for committing this
act and unfortunately taking their lives.
Speaker 2 (29:49):
So it's it's frustrating to see that.
Speaker 3 (29:52):
I'm hoping that that's something that we're actively working on changing,
is honoring the life of someone that commits suicide and
honoring what they've done thus far. You're not honoring their
act of committee suicide, you're honoring their service that they
did prior to that. And you know, even when we
do do that, who are we to judge what it
(30:13):
is that they did.
Speaker 2 (30:15):
We don't know what they went through.
Speaker 3 (30:17):
So rather than bashing it, let's try to learn from
these instances.
Speaker 1 (30:23):
Miami Day Sheriffs Hopicide Detective Morales, thank you so much
for your time today sharing your story and also talking
about such an important topic.
Speaker 4 (30:32):
Thank you, Danny for everything you do.
Speaker 2 (30:34):
Thank you again for having me.
Speaker 1 (30:41):
Cold case files Miami is a production of Iheart's Michael
Duda podcast Network and the School of Humans. I'm your host,
Imdriques Santos. This show was written and researched by Marissa Brown.
Our lead producer is Josh Thain. He Elis Perees is
our senior producer, sound design and mixed by Josh Thain,
back checking by Savannah Hugley. Our production manager is Daisy Church.
(31:04):
Special thanks to Jula Ramirez from my production team. Our
iHeartRadio executive producers including me Endrique Santros, carl Cadel and
Arlene Santana, and Virginia Prescott, Brandon Barr and Elsie Crowley
from School of Humans. For more podcasts, listen to the
iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your
(31:25):
favorite shows.
From School of Humans and iHeart podcasts. This is Cold
Case Files Miami. I'm your host, Endriques Santos.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
So.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
Today we're talking with Detective Danny Morales, a homicide detective
of the Miami Dade Sheriff's Office. In twenty twenty two,
Danny and his brother, Sergeant Brandon Espinosa, founded a nonprofit
organization called Bleeding Blue, which supports law enforcement families during
times of need. Bleeding Blue also provides mental health and
wellness resources to officers, which is something I'm especially passionate about. Danny,
(00:41):
Thank you so much for joining us today. Let's start
with your story. What drew you into law enforcement in
the first place. How old were you when you first
became an officer?
Speaker 3 (00:52):
And thanks for having me Andndy que. We go back
to twenty seventy. I was working out a pharmacy at
the time. We did about three years to get a
phone call from the Miami Dad Police Department at the
time now the Sheriff's Office, And one day I look
at my phone, I have an email and I was like, Hey,
I'm going to the police coudiyam out. And that's been
great ever since started the police academy there, spent about
(01:16):
two and a half years on the road on road
patrol in like the west Chester area of Miami Did County,
and then I went and straight into investigations that led
me to where I'm at now as a homicide detective
and I've been on the department for about eight years.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
Interesting, so I'm I'm an officer turned broadcaster and you're
a pharmacist turned officer.
Speaker 4 (01:35):
Pretty cool.
Speaker 3 (01:37):
Yeah, I guess we can say I was pushing pills
legally back then.
Speaker 1 (01:43):
What made you want to work specifically in homicide, which
is what you do now?
Speaker 3 (01:48):
So it was an interest of mine once I learned
what they do. So I was given the opportunity to
go to general investigations in the Person's and Property unit,
and essentially I was handling shooting investigations basically where somebody
didn't tie. So if someone contact shootings, non contact shootings,
but as long as they didn't die, it was handled
(02:09):
at the district level, which is where I was at
at the time. And essentially we were doing the same
exact job, just homicide is a little bit more intense,
a lot more documenting things of that nature. So you know,
the opportunity presented itself again to go to homicide. I
got a phone call, and you know, three years on
the department, that was a no brainer. I couldn't say
no to that, so I took the opportunity, and you know,
(02:30):
I haven't looked back since.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
Do you remember the first case that played a big
role in you played a big role in solving and
what was that like?
Speaker 3 (02:41):
That was intense? You know, it was not a call
that we expected to handle was a homicide. It was
actually it came out as an accidental shooting where someone
passed away, and little by little, working with the Medical
Examiner's office, working with the state attorney, we were able
to determine that this was a you know, an intentional
act and even if there wasn't intentional, it was, you know.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
A reckless act.
Speaker 3 (03:06):
And working in that capacity as a rookie homicide detective,
you know, I definitely had to learn a lot very quick.
That was probably two months on the job. At the
same time that I transferred to the homicide bureau, we
had the surf side and building collapse, so there was
a lot of running around, lack of manpower, so we
(03:26):
were handling that homicide essentially with only two people and
that's not normal. So that that was very big, very
early on in my homicide career.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
Being a cop, especially one who works in homicide, is
a very stressful job, like you're describing, and you see
a lot of terrible things. What do you think the
general public might not know or miss about these kinds
of situations that you'd like them to know?
Speaker 3 (03:52):
You know, I had this conversation with someone recently and
they and they kind of it was a little frustrating
because just having the the general public, Yeah, they may
accept us, they may understand the job that we do,
but a lot of the mindset that are out there,
are you signed up for this And I didn't sign
up to you know, grab a dead body and then
(04:13):
being a baby multiple times in my career. I didn't
sign up to get shot at. I didn't sign up
to play with blood.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
I didn't you know.
Speaker 3 (04:21):
I signed up to bring closure to those family members,
to the people that can't speak anymore, be their voice
in court, and bring justice to those that are that
are deceased. You know that we're murdered, and unfortunately that
that comes with the job. You know, the stress comes
with the job, that trauma comes with the job, you know,
dealing with the the families at a personal level. These
(04:42):
people that you've never met before, but now you are
their lifeline and you're spending hours on the phone with
them throughout you know, this investigation. They're calling you on
the holidays, they're calling you on the victim's birthday because
you are the only person that is going to bring
them closer. So that is you know, Unfortunately, the the
(05:04):
job is great, I love it, don't get me wrong.
The traumas that come with it and the stress that
comes with it, the hours that come with it are
something that the public is never going to see. And
although they may appreciate our job there, unless you do it,
you know, you're really not gonna not.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
This show deals a lot with cold cases, and we've
talked to family members about the toll it takes on
them to not have someone prosecuted for their loved one's death.
On your side, what is the emotional weight of not
being able to give families answers or the answers that
they want, the answers they deserve.
Speaker 3 (05:41):
Something that I learned very early when when I actually
learned it from a senior detective, was that where to
promise the family anything, and it's it's very accurate because
unfortunately we can't solve every case. You know, if that
was the case, you know we would have it would
it would be great, you know, we would love to
do that. You can't sell every case and you can't
promise the families anything, but you try your best to
(06:04):
work with them. You try your best to be there
and be very transparent. And I always put myself in
their shoes. What is it that I would want if
I was the person on the other side of the phone,
what is it that.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
I will want the detective to tell me?
Speaker 3 (06:14):
Well, what would I expect them to, you know, give
me information on and unfortunately, you know, sometimes depending on
the case, we.
Speaker 2 (06:21):
Can't really give out all that information.
Speaker 3 (06:24):
But you try your best to you know, kind of
involve them and give them that sense of purpose that
they're actually doing something to assist you on the investigation.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
You mentioned about not being prepared to face death, especially
of babies. It's probably one of the hardest thing of
dealing with law enforcement, and if for any first responder
to have to deal with death of young people, innocent babies.
Training obviously prepares you for a lot, but a lot
(06:54):
of police work. Can only you know a lot of
the stuff you can only learn on the job. Right,
have there been challenges and stresses that you weren't expecting in.
Speaker 3 (07:04):
I remember my first bigy death, and I mean I
remember all of them, infant child, you know, they have
the names and grains in my mind. They they're true
victims any and some of them obviously are dying of
natural causes. You know, maybe they had some disease when
they were born, but it's just the it's not supposed
to have. I think we hear it all the time
where it's like a parent should never bury their kid.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
And I think when they're so young and so.
Speaker 3 (07:30):
Not in control that it takes a bigger toll on people.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
So I mean, it definitely wasn't prepared for all that.
Speaker 3 (07:36):
I mean, I think that I walked into and thinking
I was like, hey, I don't have kids. I know,
I'm a single man, I'm young, I just started my career.
This isn't gonna affect me like it's going to affect
somebody else that has kids. And I think it hits
you the same exact way. And I think we're human
beings at the end of the day, and for us
to be able to do this job, I think.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
You have to be, you know, compassionate. You have to
be able to level.
Speaker 3 (07:59):
With these families and understand what they're going through so
that you can put just as much effort into solving
their case or helping the period.
Speaker 1 (08:06):
You've put so much effort into helping other first responders. Specifically,
when it comes to mental health and dealing with these issues,
do you feel that your training prepared you for the
four mental and emotional mental and emotional toll that this
kind of work takes.
Speaker 3 (08:22):
I don't think training prepared me for that. I think
training prepared me for the job that I do. I
think life experience kind of prepares you for everything that
you're going through, and whether that's your upbringing, whether that's
your family dynamic, whether that's your walk with God. I
think that those are all very important factors when it
comes to your mental health in this career. There's no
(08:45):
textbook that's going to tell you what you're going to
walk into tomorrow. I had a buddy of mind in
the police academy that one week on the job got
into a major shooting. The textbook doesn't tell you that,
you know the textbook tells you that you don't know
when things are going to happen. But that emotional toll
of being a rookie not knowing what you're doing. Now
you're firing your guns.
Speaker 2 (09:04):
That's huge.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
You have family and law enforcement, including your stepfather who's
now retired. Did he give you any advice when when
you decided you wanted to work in law enforcement?
Speaker 2 (09:15):
Yeah, he told me not to do it.
Speaker 4 (09:17):
That happens a lot. Are you hear a lot in
law enforcement?
Speaker 1 (09:20):
You get a lot when when you ask policemen or
women or sheriff's deputy, you know what do you recommend?
Speaker 4 (09:27):
Applying be a fireman instead? Is what you get? A lot?
Speaker 3 (09:32):
Yeah, I couldn't do it. I couldn't do it. I
grew up around this world. I remember as a kid
going to the law enforcement memorial every May, going to
the police rodeos and motorcycle rodeos, going to these luncheons,
and just walking around the police station. I mean I
even went to a police and fire school, so some
of my teachers were firefighters and police officers. So this
was something that I was born into. Apparently I used
(09:54):
to I was a swat officer every year as for Halloween,
I didn't go that route because the gym isn't for me,
but he definitely gave me some advice. He definitely guided
me in the right direction. I mean, to this day,
I still call him and, you know, just talk to
him and make sure that he's okay. But at the
same time, it's kind of like my way of saying like, hey,
this is what I went through.
Speaker 2 (10:15):
Just hear me out.
Speaker 4 (10:16):
Sure did he ever talk to you about the emotional
toll this kind of work takes on.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
I don't remember those conversations. I know that.
Speaker 3 (10:24):
I just remember seeing them. I remember him coming home exhausted.
I remember him wanting to be left alone. He's very
big into motorcycles, so I know he would go on
his bike rides by himself, and we always asked like, hey,
where's where's I'm alo at? You know, where's you know?
Is he is he okay? And after a long day
at work or just a shower, go straight to bed.
And you would see those things as we grew up
(10:45):
with him. I mean, it's my stepfather. He raised me
since I was three years old, you know, so I
definitely saw it. And as you get older, you start
to realize on your own, like, hey, this is this
is coming from the job. There's there's nothing going on
at home, so where else is it coming from?
Speaker 1 (10:58):
You know, it's the stressors from the How do you
balance protecting your family from your work well also not
closing yourself off emotionally.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
Yeah, it's definitely a tough stateleent.
Speaker 3 (11:09):
You don't want to bring things home and burden your
family with the stuff that we see, especially in homicide.
You know, my girlfriend is not part of any type
of law enforcement or older in this field at all,
So I don't want to expose her to the things
that I do and scare her, but at the same
time be open enough to discuss, Hey, this is what
I'm going through. Can you just listen to me, maybe
(11:32):
get some help, maybe just go to dinner or something
and just tell you about my day. So it's a
tough balance between what do I share and what do
I don't share, But it needs to happen, you know, Unfortunately,
you know, you have to be able to be open
with your partner about what you're going through and your
family period. So my mom calls me and checks in
on me if she's something on the news or maybe
(11:54):
I'll post something in the family chat and like, hey,
I'm working them on a scene, and she doesn't hear
from me from.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
A couple hours.
Speaker 3 (12:00):
It's not a couple it's actually like twenty thirty hours
because those are lengths of our shifts. But you know,
she'll call me and she'll check in and say, hey,
like what's going on?
Speaker 2 (12:08):
What are you working?
Speaker 3 (12:09):
You know, and that kind of gauge is where you're
at mentally. You know, if it's just physical exhaustion from
working those long hours, or is it there's something There's
something more there.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
We need to take a break, but when we're back,
we continue this conversation with Detective Danny Morales. In twenty
twenty two, you and your brother Brandon, who's a sergeant
with the Mammi Dade Sheriff's Office, decided to start a nonprofit.
Speaker 4 (12:37):
Bleeding Blue. What was the motivation behind this?
Speaker 3 (12:43):
Some Bleeding flu started after the loss of a little
officer from Miami Day Police Department. He was shot and
killed in the nighte of duty, and we saw a
need to just raise money for the family and bring
awareness to his name to his incident that occurred. And
I worked that case in a homicide capacity, and the
individual that was killed was my brother's boarding and at
(13:05):
the time, so it was close to home.
Speaker 2 (13:07):
You know.
Speaker 3 (13:07):
I spent a very intimate couple of days with the
family as they were dealing with the loss of a
loved one at the hospital. And I never knew these
people at all, and I felt like I was part
of their family, and now I am. Now they're part
of mine, and I'm part of theirs. Three years later,
so we started fundraising and that kind of just sparled
(13:28):
into starting this organization, trying to do things a little
bit more legit, gaining donations, and you know, here we
are almost three years later.
Speaker 1 (13:37):
A large part of Bleeding Blues mission is to provide
financial support to law enforcement families during times of loss
or injury or other hardship, but the mission has also
expanded to address mental health and wellness amongst law enforcement officers.
Speaker 4 (13:51):
Can you talk a little more about this.
Speaker 3 (13:53):
We've seen an increase in suicides in the law enforcement community,
and unfortunately this is based on on the job stressor's
personal issues that we may be going through. And I
think that as a first responder, I would say ninety
percent of us or alf of males and females, and
we don't want to address the fact that Hey, I'm
(14:15):
going through something, Hey I need help, Hey I'm talking
to a therapist, or hey I'm talking to Hope, your
support guy. And you bottle that stuff inside and you
start to drink alcohol, you start to use drugs, you
start to gamble, and it's just a slippery slope when
you add everything together. And we've seen an increase in suicide.
The numbers don't lie. So we started the mission in
(14:35):
efforts to raise awareness, and we started a mental health conference.
We brought together about four hundred and twenty five first
responders with three speakers, twelve vendors, and it was a
very successful event. And at that point, that's when we
decided to make this our mission to continue on the
mental health side of the organization.
Speaker 1 (14:56):
Do you think officers today feel more comfortab we'll talking
about their mental health or is there's still stigma around it?
Speaker 4 (15:03):
Do you think that's changing?
Speaker 2 (15:06):
I definitely see a change. There's definitely a change.
Speaker 3 (15:08):
And even at the leadership level, we see now a
couple more chiefs that are a lot more open to
hosting mental health workshops and events, sponsoring you know, different
trainings for their officers to go to that are mental
health related, and I think that comes with everybody as
a whole, you know, just doing their part, you know,
(15:31):
and it starts from the top at the at the
end of the day. In this profession, you know, if
our leader is doing something, we're all going to follow.
But at the same time, you have people boots on
the ground that are trying to push it upwards as well.
Speaker 2 (15:42):
So a lot of a lot more peer support teams.
Speaker 3 (15:44):
You have now a Miami DAT Multi Agency Peer Support Team,
which is just officers and different agencies that have come
together during crisis moments, and you know, that's new within
the last two years as well.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
So we're definitely seeing a change.
Speaker 3 (15:58):
I think that at the officer level we don't see
the conversation happens as often as it should, but I
definitely have seen the change and I see it. In
the Homicide Bureau, we definitely talk about cases. You know,
we have a table there what we call the pit,
and the fit is where you know, you have meetings,
(16:18):
where you have lunch where you just have a conversation,
you have a roll call and occasionally you'll you'll hear
a couple of conversations like, hey, this is the call
I went to, and then you start diving into that
call that you went to and you responded to, and
you kind of dig with that detective or you dig
with that officer like what is it that you went through?
And it just becomes a natural conversation and at the
end of the day, that's all we need, you know,
(16:40):
get it off your chest, talk about it, and you know,
as a peer to peer conversation, I think that goes
a very long way.
Speaker 4 (16:48):
Could you talk to me about bleeding blues? Just ask? Initiative?
Speaker 3 (16:54):
So that started as a quick access resource guide, Right,
I personally did not know who to go to when
I wanted to go to therapy and I thought that
I needed therapy, and I spent hours on our insurance's
website trying to find a therapist that was covered by
the insurance, and once I found some, I spent hours
(17:15):
trying to get a.
Speaker 2 (17:16):
Hold of those therapists.
Speaker 3 (17:17):
So it was a little frustrating to know that, yeah,
my insurance covers this, but where do I go? So
it was more of a quick action's guide to provide
those resources that are out there. Those are individuals and
companies that are vetted and that have experience in dealing
with first responders, and they're you know, the phone numbers
there you can call them. Some of them are twenty
four hour hotline, so you never know when your partner
(17:40):
may need somebody. And it's three four in the morning,
you know there is a suicide hotline on there that
is tainer to first responders. You know, on the other
side of that phone, you're going to get a retired
first responder, You're going to get an active first responder,
someone that understands what you're going through. That way, they
can walk you through that night and then lead you
to you know, getting the right that you need.
Speaker 1 (18:00):
Talking about help in therapy, Danny, I'm curious if you
wouldn't mind sharing with us, what do you do personally
to deal with the stress and psychological toll of your
line work.
Speaker 3 (18:12):
Yeah, so something that works for me is breathing, reading techniques.
I tend to sit in my car for like, let's say,
for instance, after a tough call or after a shift,
I sit in my car and I just try to
bring that blood pressure down. I try to breathe, and
country music is my way to go a nice long
(18:34):
drive home with some smooth country music. A lot of
people make fun of me all the time because they
listen to what I listened to in the car and
they're like, dude, are you depressed or something? And I'm like, no,
it's just it's just listening to that smooth like soft
music and not listening to the regadong and the Spanish
music and all that stuff that gets you pumped up.
Speaker 2 (18:54):
That works for me.
Speaker 3 (18:54):
I'm also an athlete, so I play a competitive sport
and I make sure that I dedicate time to doing
that to be able to get away from work.
Speaker 1 (19:01):
How do you see your fellow officers dealing with this stress?
Not everybody has that amount of control and discipline and
the routine that you have. Unfortunately, so many of our
brothers and sisters turn into alcohol and other methods that
are detrimental.
Speaker 3 (19:17):
Yeah, Unfortunately, alcohol is something that it's very common. You
can literally vote anywhere nowadays and be offered a drink.
And there's nothing wrong with drinking, right, There's nothing wrong
with drinking and moderation. And you know, you have a
drink once a week, twice a week, there's nothing wrong
with that. And I don't like to say that there
(19:39):
is something wrong with it, because then you make people
feel as if they're doing something wrong. But drinking at
an excessive level or going to those additional methods is
where you start going downhill. And unfortunately that in our
line of work. I think that is a very common
way to cope is acohol. That's why they turn to it.
(20:00):
But there's programs out there. You know, there's people, there's retirees,
there's people that have suffered that addiction themselves and have
gotten out of it that are willing to help. You know,
I have a lot of good resources and people that
are trustworthy that can just guide you. And and it's
a matter of just reaching out. You know, when you
see yourself going through this and maybe not maybe you
won't see it, but maybe your coworker sees it, maybe
(20:20):
your family member sees it. And that's essentially what we're
trying to do with Bleeding Blue is bring that awareness
out there that there is resources for that officer, for
the family, for those kids, and you know, just guide
you in the right direction.
Speaker 1 (20:32):
Talking about family, what would you recommend to family members?
What can friends and family members do more to better
understand and support first responders?
Speaker 3 (20:42):
I mean, to begin with, there's plenty of trainees out
there that are that are open to families. I know
that concerns of police survivors. COPS is a very large
organization that's out there and nationwide they host a couple
of trainings. Locally, we have a bunch of them as well.
And you know, it's just there's something wrong with extending
your knowledge. It's like going into a new career that
(21:04):
you've never done before and taking a couple of trainings.
Speaker 2 (21:07):
Maybe that's not the career you're going to be in
for forever. You're going to do twenty five thirty years.
Speaker 3 (21:12):
But this is your family if you have them for
the next fifty sixty seventy years, So why not invest
in them? And I think that talking about it, maybe
bringing up some just communication, talking about it and bringing
up those signs that are you know, troublesome to you
as a partner, you know, addressing it with your partner specifically,
or maybe going to his best friend and being like, hey, listen,
this is what I'm seeing at home.
Speaker 2 (21:32):
You know, maybe you can bring it up to him.
Speaker 3 (21:34):
Just different avenues of getting that person that's dealing with
that issue to see it themselves.
Speaker 1 (21:41):
Talking about dealing with those issues. There might be somebody
listening right now who's feeling overwhelmed, it feels burnt out.
Speaker 4 (21:49):
An officer, a first responder.
Speaker 1 (21:51):
What advice would you give to them.
Speaker 3 (21:54):
This is a bump, a speed bump in your life.
I think that actually, as human beings, we all struggle
with different hurdles in life. Whether it's a financial hurdle,
whether it's a death in the family. I think that
there is ways to overcome almost everything in life.
Speaker 2 (22:16):
And if you.
Speaker 3 (22:17):
Are faith based, pray on it. God is going to
give you guidance and good isn't to give you peace.
If you are not faith based, reach out to a peer.
There's people around you and your circle that care about you.
Your squad mates, your supervisor, your best friends. Whether it's
picking up the phone and just reaching out to somebody,
squirrel down your phone, liess and call that person and
just say listen to me, hear me out.
Speaker 2 (22:38):
I need to talk about something.
Speaker 3 (22:40):
But this is I always I always use this analogy,
and it's it's just a speed bump in your your path.
Speaker 1 (22:47):
You obviously, Danny number one, congratulations for what you do.
Thank you for what you do and you started bleeding
blue out of a true necessity that I'm curious in
the process, what did you find? What kind of mental health,
health and wellness resources are available, We're available or we're
not to law enforcement officers and first responders, not only
(23:07):
in South Florida but nationwide.
Speaker 4 (23:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (23:10):
So, I mean there's a lot of agencies out there,
specifically like our agency. There are largest agency down here
in Miami Daue County that has psychological services. And it's
just finding those therapists that are culturally confident, that understand
the job that we go through and are aware of
the traumas and just not They're not just going to
sit there and listen to your job and be like, oh, wow,
you're a homicide detective. That's pretty damn cool. Like I
(23:33):
don't care to tell you about my day to day job.
I want to tell you about what I went through.
So it's finding those right therapists that are that are
out there in the local community.
Speaker 2 (23:41):
And maybe it's not a.
Speaker 3 (23:41):
Therapist, maybe it's just a peer support specialist. And by
that I mean someone that has gone through this life
experience and is willing to help another peer. And we
have those members on leading blues Board. There's different local
police departments that holds peer support meetings as well, and
the resources that are out there. It's just a matter
(24:02):
if you want need to get the help.
Speaker 1 (24:04):
So I'm curious what do you mean when you say
a therapist that is culturally competent?
Speaker 3 (24:11):
Right, So, like the example I just gave you, and
and I'll speak from personal experience as well.
Speaker 2 (24:15):
You know, going to a.
Speaker 3 (24:16):
Therapist that I found online. I didn't want to go
through insurance. It was a website that we found. You
sign up, you register your schedule, the appointment. You start
talking in this person, and then I get into a
little bit about like what do I do for my
day to day job, how do I get into homicide?
What is it that I do in homicide? And what
kind of creatures have I handled. I don't want to
talk to you about my day to day job to
(24:39):
interest your hour of our conversation, right, I want to
talk to you about what it is that I do
for a living and why it is that I'm here.
And culturally competent therapists are already going to understand what
it is that a firefighter or what an EMS worker,
what a dispatch for police officers are going to go
through and through understanding that prior to even speaking to
(25:02):
a FIRSTS founder, you know, they have done the training,
they have experienced what it is that we go through.
Speaker 2 (25:08):
You know, right now.
Speaker 3 (25:09):
Leading Blue is hosting a culturally competent course and the
goal of that is to expand their provider list of
culturally competent therapists in Miami Datee County. And part of
that training is for them to attend a sixteen hour
right along. So basically have two ships and right along
with a police officer or firefighter. There's no better way
(25:30):
of them in understanding what we do than sitting in
the car right next to us.
Speaker 1 (25:35):
So, Danny, what's one change, big or small that you'd
like to see in how mental health is addressed within
law enforcement?
Speaker 2 (25:42):
Thanks, that's tough. That list is long.
Speaker 4 (25:44):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (25:47):
I think it just starts with, you know a lot,
having officers drop the pride in their egos and just
even sharing a social media post, you know, going out
of your way too to ask a buddy, are you okay?
Speaker 2 (26:02):
I think it starts.
Speaker 3 (26:03):
At you know, a lot, a lot of and I
think I said this earlier, it starts at the top,
but it also starts at the bottom level. You know,
stop at the top of the food chain and at
the bottom level. If the leadership is giving you the resources,
then the officers need to do everything. If the officers
are trying to make this happen, the leadership makes the
back door officers. So it's kind of a two way street.
But I think personally, I would like to see officers
(26:27):
just care a little bit more about what it is
that their friends are going through.
Speaker 1 (26:30):
I remember in the police academy there being a whole
block about this and to seek help if you needed,
and then it was there. But I feel it that
was it's insufficient. It was insufficient in my time. Do
you feel the same. Do you think that there's an
opportunity for new recruits in the police academy?
Speaker 3 (26:50):
Yeah, I mean that's that's that's the start of your career,
and I think at that point in your career, you
really don't know what you're walking into. Like I said,
at that point, you're doing push ups, you're getting screened at,
but you're also going home to the test.
Speaker 2 (27:00):
And you're coming back and repeating that.
Speaker 3 (27:03):
The same day, So you really don't know until you
you hit the road and you start experiencing these these
calls for service that are going to trigger certain things.
But that doesn't come to say that those trainees aren't
already experiencing trauma in their personal lives. You know, maybe
it is a hardship that led them to where they're
at now in the seat of a trainee, and all
(27:25):
it takes is one bad call to trigger some response
that they've gone through in the past.
Speaker 2 (27:30):
So I think that it.
Speaker 3 (27:31):
Is very important to start, you know, instilling this mindset
in their in their during their their training phases. And
I have the opportunity to teach as well in the
police Academy, and that's one hundred percent.
Speaker 2 (27:44):
Whether it's on the curriculum or not, I'm gonna mention it.
Speaker 1 (27:47):
What are Bleeding Blues goals for the future and what
would you like to see out of your organization?
Speaker 3 (27:54):
That, my friends, is a constant battle with me. I
have so many goals I have, So I'm very business
person and thankful to our board of directors that kind
of keeps me straight. But our goal is to continue
helping first responder families, you know, fundraise as much as
possible that way, God forbid, when the day does come
that we need to donate money to one of these families,
we have it readily available. And on the mental health
(28:17):
side is to continue that organization of the provider network
providing first responders with culturally competent therapists, you know, expanding
as far as doing workshops, different trainings, and just.
Speaker 2 (28:33):
Overall just growing the organization.
Speaker 3 (28:34):
I think that, you know, there's different ways to do this,
but we have to be very strategic and make sure
we cater to our crowd of first responders, you know,
provide to them what it is that they need. And
thankfully our boarder Directors is a group of first responders,
so we understand what that.
Speaker 4 (28:51):
Need is before we close.
Speaker 1 (28:53):
Is there anything you wish more people understood about the
mental health challenges officers face today?
Speaker 2 (29:01):
It's different for everyone.
Speaker 3 (29:02):
I think it's you know, unfortunately you don't you never
know exactly what it is that someone has gone through
and their their walk of life, and you know, it's
hard to you can't judge anybody for what they're going through.
And we see in these moments of suicide, when an
officer commits suicide, it's very unfortunate to see the lack
of representation from police officers and the departments, and typically
(29:26):
you only see family.
Speaker 2 (29:27):
Go out to these funerals.
Speaker 3 (29:29):
That if someone gets shot in the nine of duty,
you have thousands of people traveling down to these funerals.
So why isn't that these individuals are honored for their
sacrifice for what it is that they've done thus far,
you know, and we can't judge them for committing this
act and unfortunately taking their lives.
Speaker 2 (29:49):
So it's it's frustrating to see that.
Speaker 3 (29:52):
I'm hoping that that's something that we're actively working on changing,
is honoring the life of someone that commits suicide and
honoring what they've done thus far. You're not honoring their
act of committee suicide, you're honoring their service that they
did prior to that. And you know, even when we
do do that, who are we to judge what it
(30:13):
is that they did.
Speaker 2 (30:15):
We don't know what they went through.
Speaker 3 (30:17):
So rather than bashing it, let's try to learn from
these instances.
Speaker 1 (30:23):
Miami Day Sheriffs Hopicide Detective Morales, thank you so much
for your time today sharing your story and also talking
about such an important topic.
Speaker 4 (30:32):
Thank you, Danny for everything you do.
Speaker 2 (30:34):
Thank you again for having me.
Speaker 1 (30:41):
Cold case files Miami is a production of Iheart's Michael
Duda podcast Network and the School of Humans. I'm your host,
Imdriques Santos. This show was written and researched by Marissa Brown.
Our lead producer is Josh Thain. He Elis Perees is
our senior producer, sound design and mixed by Josh Thain,
back checking by Savannah Hugley. Our production manager is Daisy Church.
(31:04):
Special thanks to Jula Ramirez from my production team. Our
iHeartRadio executive producers including me Endrique Santros, carl Cadel and
Arlene Santana, and Virginia Prescott, Brandon Barr and Elsie Crowley
from School of Humans. For more podcasts, listen to the
iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your
(31:25):
favorite shows.
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