Jan. 28, 2026
S6 E4 Healing The Wounded Blue with Guest Randy Sutton
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In this episode, we speak with retired Lt. Randy Sutton, a man whose own life is a testament to the trials faced by those in blue. Founder of The Wounded Blue, Randy sheds light on the stark reality of physical and emotional injuries sustained on the job, illuminating the journeys of the more than 17,000 officers he has helped.
A catalyst for change in Law Enforcement, Randy discusses the impactful services provided by The Wounded Blue and unpacks the powerful motto, "Never forgotten, never alone." We also touch on the poignant themes from his compelling book, "Rescuing 911: The Fight for America’s Safety." Tune in for an eye-opening discussion that promises to resonate well beyond the final word.
Now available! Helping the Helpers: A Guide to Supporting First Responder Mental Wellness, our new book that equips you to support the mental wellness of those who serve and protect our communities. https://a.co/d/dm0VS4Q
Thanks to our resource partner, CRACKYL. Download the FREE CRACKYL App: http://crackyl.respondertv.com
FightCamp: build strength and decrease stress through interactive boxing workouts, streamed to your device on demand. Use code RR10 for a 10% discount on FightCamp packages and accessories. Go to https://joinfightcamp.com/shop/
Contact Randy Sutton:
Website: http://thewoundedblue.org/
Facebook: @thewoundedblue
Instagram: @thewoundedblue
Contact Responder Resilience:
Phone: +1 844-344-6655
Email: info@respondertv.com
Our website with past episodes and more: https://www.respondertv.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ResponderResilience
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/responder-resilience-podcast/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/responder.tv/
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00:00 - Opening Stories And Identity
00:45 - Show Intro And Guest Setup
05:15 - Early Career And Vegas Baptism
11:20 - Life-Saving Call And Writing Begins
16:20 - The Stroke That Ended A Career
19:20 - Betrayal And A Systemic Problem
21:52 - Founding The Wounded Blue
24:30 - Post-Traumatic Growth And Legacy
31:50 - Mentors And The Make-A-Wish Blueprint
36:30 - Peer Support And Survival Summit
40:35 - A Mystery Donor And Big Wins
WEBVTT
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I'm in the prime of my life.
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I want the experiences of being a big city cop.
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So I literally started my career all over again.
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I went out to Las Vegas and I literally felt my brain slowing down.
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And I knew I was having a stroke.
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In 24 years of my life, I almost gave my life on more than one occasion.
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And he said, Randy, this isn't personal.
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It's just business.
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Cops are reaching out to me with these terrible stories.
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Heartbreaking stories.
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And I realized, wait a minute, this isn't just me.
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This is happening to cops all over the country.
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You think that if you get hurt in the line of duty, your brotherhood, right?
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The agency's gonna be behind you 100%.
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They're gonna take care of you.
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And then to find out the reality was absolutely devastating.
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Welcome to Respond to Resilience, along with Bonnie Rimley, LCSW, EMTB.
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I'm David Dashinger.
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Join us as we speak with retired Lieutenant Randy Sutton.
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He's the founder of The Wounded Blue.
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We're gonna be speaking about the challenges faced by law enforcement officers who are physically and emotionally injured in the line of duty.
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We'll discover how the wounded blue has supported over 16,000 officers and hear insights from Randy's extensive career, including the vital work being done to aid law enforcement professionals.
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We'll also be talking about Randy's book, Rescuing 911: The Fight for America's Safety.
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We invite you to like and subscribe, YouTube Responder Resilience, Facebook, Responder TV, or on LinkedIn, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and go to our website, respondertv.com, past episode to guest information.
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We'll be right back to speak with Randy after this.
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Ask a first responder who they are, and you're likely to hear I am a police officer.
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I am a firefighter.
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I am a I am a 911 communications operator.
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I do this work.
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But I am going to ask a clinician why they work with first responders.
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And they may say, There's no fire space.
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Join us in shaping a culture where mental health, wellness, and leadership are prioritized, not with it.
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Support is a sign of strength, and where no one has to carry the weight alone.
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Welcome to Responder Resilience.
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We shine a spotlight on the unseen battles of first responder reality.
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And celebrate the powerful wins that come from the grit of post-traumatic growth.
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We understand the culture, honor the trust, and bring you conversations from the change makers, passionate about helping first responders come home whole.
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With your host, retired Lieutenant David Dashinger, Dr.
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Stacy Raymond, and Bonnie Roomley, LCSW EMT.
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Post-traumatic stress is is very serious because it causes changes.
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And that's the most difficult part.
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Law enforcement job in itself is very difficult and stressful, but uh post-traumatic stress, in my opinion, kind of changes the game.
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Sometimes I felt sad.
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Like being on a playground and nobody wants to play with you.
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You know, when you were a kid and one day they're your friends and the next day they're not, and it's it's hard as a kid to, you know, go through that stuff.
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But it's kind of like that, and you know, that might sound silly to some people, but unless you've walked in those boots, you just don't know how that feels.
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You absorb this stuff in, you can't get it out.
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You know, and when something traumatic like that happens, when you're lying on a floor bleeding out, and you're wondering, is this it?
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This morning, is that the last time I went to see my wife and my kids?
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So our guest today is Lieutenant Randy Sutton.
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He's a seasoned law enforcement professional with 34 years of experience.
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Randy served 10 years with the Princeton, New Jersey Police Department, and then 24 years with the Las Vegas Metro Police Department, where he became one of the highest decorated officers in the department's history, receiving medals for valor and multiple lifesaving awards.
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He's the founder of The Wounded Blue, an organization that's provided support to over 16,000 police officers in the past seven years.
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And he's also the author of several books, including Rescuing 911, The Fight for America's Safety.
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And he hosts the podcast, A Cop's Life, which shares insights and stories from the law enforcement community.
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Randy, warm welcome to Responder Resilience.
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Thank you so much for having me.
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I appreciate it.
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And I want to just say that um when in in your introduction you talk about post-traumatic stress growth.
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And I'm really glad that you that you uh center on that because that's going to be part of our conversation today.
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And it's not spoken about enough, and it is really truly one of the most important topics in law enforcement.
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Perfect.
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Well, thank you for your time, Randy.
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I'm really eager to jump in and talk to you a bit and ask some questions about your background and would really also love to hear about you founding the wounded blue and and what led you down that path.
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Sure thing.
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I've got I've got nothing but time for you guys.
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I have a I have a guest here.
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I've got one on the couch too over here.
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Let's split the royalties 50-50.
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That's right.
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So um I I feel very blessed.
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I had a I had a fantastic career in law enforcement.
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Um, I always knew what I was gonna be from the time that I was a kid.
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My uh grandfather was a deputy sheriff who was shot in the line of duty, survived, but was actually shot by a poacher.
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Um I was fascinated by that big scar he had from the shotgun blast in his in his abdomen, and uh and the tales of his being a deputy sheriff in in rural New York State.
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Um and my parents were both court reporters, so I grew up listening to you know the stories of cases and murders and all kinds of stuff.
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And and I always knew from the time I was a child um where what my path was going to be.
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In fact, I was a protector even as a even as a kid.
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Um I got I got uh in fact, it was from being a protector and actually getting getting suspended from high school that began my police career, if uh, which is kind of funny.
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Um I got thrown out of school a lot.
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And I was in I was in a very uh liberal community of Princeton, New Jersey, and of course, you know, where the university is, and that's my hometown.
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And um, every time that I got in a fight with somebody, it was because I was protecting somebody else.
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And the principal knew it, but remember there was this was a time when uh, you know, no school violence, you know, there was no tolerance.
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So you got in a fight, you got canned.
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So I was getting suspended pretty frequently.
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And uh and but but the principal actually knew um why I was fighting and and respected it.
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So there was no animosity between us.
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He was doing what he had to do, and I was doing what I had to do.
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But one afternoon I'm a junior, I just it was the beginning of the junior my high school year, and each year the Princeton High School Um gave an internship to the Princeton Borough Police Department, the town, the town police.
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And each year a junior was chosen to be an intern.
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They called him a cadet, but basically a coffee boy, you know, that kind of thing.
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And and I'm in the principal's office getting suspended again, and waiting for my mother to come pick me up again.
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And uh, and he and he takes a phone call, and I can tell from the phone call that he's speaking to the chief of police about choosing the next cadet.
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And I'm going like this, I'm pointing at myself, jumping up and down.
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And and the principal got this funny look on his face and a smile.
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He said, Chief, I think I have the I think I have the perfect cadet for you.
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And and that's how I got my introduction into law enforcement, and wound up in a um, I graduated from high school early and wound up becoming a police officer in that town um at the ripe old age of 19, believe it or not.
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They had just changed the age of majority from 21 to 18, so you could drink, you could vote, you could become a cop.
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What you couldn't do though, you couldn't buy ammunition because you had to be 21.
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So here I am getting ready to go into the New Jersey State Police Academy, one of the toughest academies in the country.
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And I had to ask my mom to go buy my bullets for me.
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It was a humbling experience.
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Um, so that began my police career.
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I did 10 years in Princeton, six years as a patrolman, that was our rank at the time, patrol man, and then that's uh four years as a detective.
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And then um, I gotta tell you, it was a great place to work if you didn't like action.
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But I wanted action.
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You know, here I am.
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I'm I'm I'm in the prime of my life.
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I want the experiences of being um a big city cop.
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So I literally started my career all over again.
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I went out to Las Vegas.
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I'd heard about what a great department it was and growing.
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And at that time, Vegas was the fastest growing city in the country.
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And uh came out here, took the test, got hired, and never looked back on that decision because it afforded me exactly what I was looking for.
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First of all, more action.
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Uh and and well, let me illustrate that with a story.
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Um as a cop in Princeton, I think I drew my gun maybe five times, uh, never used it.
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And in Vegas, I was still on probation when it was when I was in my first shooting when uh a 15-year-old tried to ambush me uh during a foot pursuit.
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He just stolen a car, and I'm you know, I'm chasing this kid at two o'clock in the morning in a low-income housing area, and he goes around the corner, and I go around the corner, he's waiting for me, and I'm looking down the barrel of his gun and uh instantly fired a shot.
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The shot, he was right next to a building, the shot zinged by his ear and hit the building, and a piece of stucco came off and hit him in the head, and he thought he was shot, so he couldn't throw that gun down fast enough and wound up taking him into custody, and then I realized this kid's 15 years old, and he's willing to kill me.
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And that was my be careful what you wish for, because you're not in Kansas anymore, Toto.
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You're trained to help people heal, but first responders, they carry trauma that's buried under silence, stigma, and stress.
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Helping the helpers gives you the framework to connect, to speak their language, earn their trust, and actually make an impact.
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From the experienced team and clinicians behind the Responder Resilience Podcast, this isn't theory.
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It's real-world support for the ones who need you most.
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And this book isn't just for clinicians.
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If you're an agency leader, peer support team, chaplain, EAP, wellness program coordinator, or family member, helping the helpers will equip you with the tools, language, and insight to make a difference.
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Be the resource they can count on.
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Order your copy of Helping the Helpers on Amazon today.
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Um, what what were you seeing on the job that kind of sparked the idea for the wounded blue that made you realize that was something that was needed out there?
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Well, like everything else in my life, it was uh it was shown to me.
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Um, if you had told me 10 years before I retired or five years before I retired that my path would be the wounded blue, I would not have believed it.
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Um I had my path lined out, I thought.
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Um, but you know, there's there's a lot of things that take place in your life, life-changing moments, and I've had a number of them.
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Excuse me, little girl, thank you.
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And uh so let's talk about about a little bit about the pathway.
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So, first of all, the um the television show cops, um, I became um one of the most featured officers on that show, and that actually created a whole bunch of different um opportunities for me that I never would have gotten otherwise.
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In fact, if you look back on on how the wounded blue wound up getting um formed all those years later, a lot of it's because of being on the TV show cops and being so recognized.
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I was on numerous seasons.
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I was I think I was most featured officer on the show.
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And uh from that um got an opportunity to be in the movies.
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I wound up in uh in a great role in the movie Casino with uh doing a scene with Robert De Niro and Sharon Stone.
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That's how I got in the Screen Actors Guild, and I've been doing movies and TV ever since.
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Now, that would never have happened had it not been for the TV show cops.
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Also, every cop I know has life-changing experiences on the job.
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And one of those life-changing experiences was saving the life of a uh one-month-old baby who'd been shot in the face during a drive-by shooting.
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And I happened to come upon the scene, it was these three gangbangers pulled up alongside this car with an innocent mom and dad in it and a baby.
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And in a gang initiation, we later found out, just opened fire on the car for no reason.
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And I happened to drive up minutes after it happened.
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It wasn't dispatched, I just saw a car up on the sidewalk and people running around screaming.
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Radios for backup jumped out of the car, and then somebody screamed, Oh my god, the baby's been shot.
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And there's this little one-month-old infant who'd been hit in the face.
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And of course, you know, our protocols call for the ambulance, right?
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EMTs, and lock down the scene and you know, do the investigation.
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But I realized that that baby wasn't breathing.
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And if I waited for the EMTs, that baby was gonna die.
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So I grabbed the first police car that got there, scooped the baby up, I said, get to the medical center.
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And um all when the baby got hit, all this tissue and stuff went down to her throat and choked her.
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So I was able to clear her airway, give her mouth-to-head resuscitation basically, and bring her back.
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And because I was there literally within minutes, no brain damage.
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And that little girl survived.
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And that night was such an impactful night for me.
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Um, you know, I finished the shift, like we all do, even after, you know, a traumatic situation like that.
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Went home and me and a bottle of Johnny Walker Black uh wrote the story called her name was Jackie.
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And I didn't have anything to do with it.
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I just felt like I needed to write it.
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Got the old yellow pad out and a pen, you know, the old the old-fashioned way, and uh and wrote the story.
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And I put it in a drawer, and it sat in that drawer for three years, and then the World Trade Center was attacked, the deadliest day in law enforcement history with 72 officers killed.
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And I was so frustrated at not being able to help.
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I was thinking, you know what?
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I got an idea.
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Every cop I know has a story like the one that's sitting in that drawer right there.
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And I'm gonna ask them to write that story, and then I'm gonna put it in a book, and I'm gonna donate all the proceeds to the Widows and Orphans Fund for the police officers who were killed.
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And that's exactly what I did.
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That book became my very first book called True Blue, Police Stories by Those Who Have Lived Them.
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Sold very well, and that launched my writing career.
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And of course, that writing career continues to this day.
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None of this was planned, it was just the pathway that was shown to me.
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So let's flash forward 24 years into my police career with Las Vegas Metro Police, I'm now a lieutenant.
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Lieutenants are the last rank that you can actually still be a cop in Vegas.
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Everything else, you're an administrator, not my forte.
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So I spent 14 years as a sergeant, and then I spent uh um six years or five years as a uh as a lieutenant, street lieutenant on the graveyard shift in Vegas, because that's where the action is, right?
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And I love the action.
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So one night I'm uh I'm on patrol and I was the watch commander, which meant I was the highest ranking officer on duty, and I would always take a patrol officer with me so I could get to know my people, because Vegas is a very big police department.
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So I had this young man with me, it was the first time he'd ever ridden with me.
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And it's 2:30 in the morning, we're driving down Las Vegas Boulevard in front of Valley's Hotel, and I'm talking to him like I'm talking to you guys, and suddenly I found myself talking slower.
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And I literally felt my brain slowing down, and I knew I was having a stroke.
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And um, I stopped the car, I said, get me medical, I'm having a stroke.
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And I got out of the car to go around to the passenger side in case he needed to get me to the hospital and started speaking gibberish.
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And I knew I was speaking gibberish, but I couldn't control it.
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And then I lost the ability to speak, and I lost the ability to move, and I crumpled to the pavement, and I lay there absolutely helpless, um, conscious, aware, but unable to move or talk or communicate.
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And I wasn't afraid of dying.
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I was actually praying to die.
00:17:55.440 --> 00:17:58.319
Um rather than live like that.
00:17:58.319 --> 00:18:04.000
And um, once again, that angel had spent on my shoulder, my entire crew was with me again.
00:18:04.000 --> 00:18:10.960
They got me the hospital, the clot went through my brain, did some damage, uh, but certainly not what it could have done.
00:18:10.960 --> 00:18:14.240
But it did effectively end my police career.
00:18:14.240 --> 00:18:18.960
And uh three weeks before that, my mother died in my arms.
00:18:18.960 --> 00:18:22.319
Um, two months before that I was in another fatal shooting.
00:18:22.319 --> 00:18:26.720
So there was a lot going on, but they found out that I had a serious heart condition.
00:18:26.720 --> 00:18:29.519
So I'm in the hospital.
00:18:29.519 --> 00:18:35.839
This doctor comes and he sits next to the bed and he says, How you feeling, Randy?
00:18:35.839 --> 00:18:38.079
I said, Quite honestly, I feel pretty good.
00:18:38.079 --> 00:18:52.240
And he says, I'm happy to hear that, but I don't want you to think that anything we did here is gonna preclude you from walking out of here and have and not having another heart attack or stroke because you have a severe heart condition and that's what caused your stroke.
00:18:52.240 --> 00:18:56.319
And that's not exactly what I had anticipated hearing.
00:18:56.319 --> 00:19:03.359
And then he gave me the then he gave me the final words you need to prepare yourself for your own mortality.
00:19:03.359 --> 00:19:06.559
Not something that I had anticipated.
00:19:06.559 --> 00:19:09.200
And it was a very reflective moment.
00:19:09.200 --> 00:19:11.279
Now I just lost everything.
00:19:11.279 --> 00:19:21.039
My mother died, I lost her, I've now lost my career, I've lost my identity, and um it was a very dark time.
00:19:21.039 --> 00:19:35.200
Um and then what happened next was was really um shocking, and that is that my own agency turned its back on me and said, We're not paying your medical bills and we're not giving you your benefits.
00:19:35.200 --> 00:19:38.559
And I said, Well, wait a minute, you can you can't do that.
00:19:38.559 --> 00:19:40.240
It's the law.
00:19:40.240 --> 00:19:42.240
I said, Yeah, well, make us.
00:19:42.240 --> 00:19:45.359
And it was it was absolutely devastating.
00:19:45.359 --> 00:19:47.359
Talk about a feeling of betrayal.
00:19:47.359 --> 00:19:51.920
Um, suddenly, you know, like I went to go see the sheriff who I worked with for 24 years.
00:19:51.920 --> 00:19:54.319
And I said, How do you treat me like this, man?
00:19:54.319 --> 00:19:59.759
I gave twenty four years of my life, I almost gave my life on more than one occasion.
00:19:59.759 --> 00:20:02.960
And he said, Randy, this isn't personal.
00:20:02.960 --> 00:20:04.880
It's just business.
00:20:04.880 --> 00:20:07.839
He was telling me the truth.
00:20:07.839 --> 00:20:08.960
It was just business.
00:20:08.960 --> 00:20:10.799
You see, I was no longer an asset.
00:20:10.799 --> 00:20:13.440
Now I'm a financial liability.
00:20:13.440 --> 00:20:16.640
Never concerned, never thought about it, right?
00:20:16.640 --> 00:20:21.519
If you're a cop, you think that if you get hurt in the line of duty, your brotherhood, right?
00:20:21.519 --> 00:20:23.440
The agency is going to be behind you 100%.
00:20:23.440 --> 00:20:25.119
They're going to take care of you.
00:20:25.119 --> 00:20:29.440
And then to find out the reality was absolutely devastating.
00:20:29.440 --> 00:20:32.240
And uh it was a lonely place.
00:20:32.240 --> 00:20:34.319
It was a very dark place for me.
00:20:34.319 --> 00:20:39.519
Um very felt very alone, felt forgotten.
00:20:39.519 --> 00:20:55.440
And um, and then um, you know, I had to go get a lawyer, I had to take him to court, and a year and a half later, I won, as they knew I would, and they had to give me my benefits, they had to pay my bills, but they ruined my credit, you know, the bill collectors are knocking on the door.
00:20:55.440 --> 00:20:59.599
And um, it was devastating.
00:20:59.599 --> 00:21:01.359
It was devastating.
00:21:01.359 --> 00:21:15.839
Um, but then because of being on the TV show cops and being a police trainer for years and writing books and being so visible in the media, cops started reaching out to me, mostly on Facebook.
00:21:15.839 --> 00:21:23.680
Randy, I know you don't know me, but I was shot in the line of duty and my chief never even visited me in the hospital and not paying my medical bills.
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