Jason Lacayo: Policing and Race in America
Listen Here: iTunes | Spotify | Overcast
My guest today is Jason Lacayo. Jason is an Emergency Services Unit officer with the White Plains Police Department. He started his career with the NYPD and has more than 15 years on the job.
In this episode, Jason and I discuss the specifics of SWAT teams, police training, why people don't want police in their neighborhoods, interacting with police as a black person, the foolishness of defunding police, and much more. Regardless of your thoughts on policing and race in America, I think you'll learn something from this conversation. I know I did.
Show notes:
00:55 - How I started following Jason
3:00 - How Jason got into Crossfit
5:00 - How Jason became an ESU (Emergency Services Unit) officer
9:41 - The transition from patrol officer to ESU officer
20:00 - Training time for police officers
21:46 - Proactive policing and stop and frisk
"Places that have high criminal activity need police presence. I have family that lives in bad neighborhoods, and they appreciate it."
25:10 - Why people don't want police in their neighborhoods
26:48 - Specific functions of a SWAT team
29:48 - No knock warrants
31:36 - The effect of the current political environment on day to day actions of police officers
34:05 - How COVID changed the dynamic of police work
41:00 - Preventing assholes from becoming police officers
48:37 - Breakdown of the Garrett Rolfe/Rayshard Brooks situation
55:10 - What BLM supporters might be surprised to learn about police
56:20 - The idiocy of defunding the police
"They're sitting there pointing fingers at the police, but what are you doing...to make your community a better place to live in?"
1:04:15 - "The Talk" black parents give their kids about interacting with law enforcement
1:13:23 - The importance of gratitude in Jason's life
1:15:20 - Jason's top 3 strength training exercises
1:16:39 - Jason's most gifted book
1:17:48 - Jason's advice to recent college grads
1:18:50 - The kindest thing anyone has ever done for Jason
1:19:53 - Where to connect with Jason
