The Hangar Z Podcast
A podcast where we explore the personnel and equipment behind the missions in Public Safety Aviation.
The Hangar Z Podcast
How Has Modesto’s New Air Unit Made a Positive Impact on Public Safety? Part 2 | Ep 373
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Welcome back to the Hangar Z Podcast, brought to you by Vertical HeliCASTS, in partnership with Valor Plus.
In this episode we are heading to Modesto, California, to hear how a brand-new air support unit was built from the ground up, and how it’s already changing the way the department fights crime, protects officers, and serves the community.
Lt Mike Hicks and Lt Kalani Souza were both involved from the opening decision to start an air unit. They share the process and the many challenges involved within funding, airframe choice, acquiring the airframe, and then finding to right crews members.
They also discuss the immediate benefits of air support in supporting patrol operations including a dramatic reduction in crime.
Thank you to our sponsors BLR Aerospace, Dallas Avionics and Robinson Helicopter.
The Hangers Podcast welcomes Lieutenant Mike Hicks and Lieutenant Kalani Sousa of the Modesto Police Department.
SPEAKER_05I turn northbound down a street and lo and behold, what uh what passes by, the suspect vehicle. We make eye contact and flip around and the pursuit's on. You know, he he kind of starts baiting us in. Now here's the most interesting part of the story. I didn't know this trainee. Well, this trainee, this was his very first call in his very first hour of ever being a police officer. So he knows nothing. I tell my trainee, nah, don't get out of the car yet. Guy takes off again. We chase, pulls into his wife's driveway, hops out of the car, we stop a little short. So I'm prompting him as we're doing this: like, hey, get out of the car, get your gun up. This is gonna go bad. Just be ready. Guy hops out of the car, starts walking towards the front of the residence, like he's gonna jump over the fence with a uh gun in his hand, turns around to us, and officer involved shooting occurs.
SPEAKER_02Welcome back to the Hanger Z podcast, brought to you by Vertical Helicast and partner with Vertical Valor Plus. In this episode, we are heading to Modesto, California to hear how a brand new air support unit was built from the ground up and how it's already changing the way the department fights crime, protects officers, and serves the community. Thank you to our sponsors, BLR Aerospace, Robinson Helicopter, and Dallas Avionics.
SPEAKER_01Welcome to the Hanger D Podcast, brought to you by Vertical Helecast. The Anger D Podcast is the first and only podcast dedicated to promoting and exploring the personnel and equipment behind the missions in public safety aviation.
SPEAKER_03Okay, the guy he's running through the house, jumping the fence, through the shotgun, through something out, grabbing the shotgun, don't go over that fence, don't go over that fence, grab the shotgun again. If he is armed, stay there, hold your position.
SPEAKER_04I want to stick to that internal marketing piece for a minute and get some advice from you guys. The internal marketing piece of what we do in AirSport is so important, and a lot of agencies overlook it entirely. But you know, when I was doing the weekly and monthly activity reports, I was shocked as a member of AirSport how many great incidents we were a part of. I'd write these reports up. I'm like, holy cow, I had no idea we were a part of all this stuff. Uh and kind of extrapolated that across the country and then the world. I'm like, wow, public safety aviation is doing really outstanding work every day, saving officers' lives, saving you know, lives of citizens. And it was it was shocking to me. Uh so what I've thought through is you know, how how do we as an agency uh internally market that good work we're doing? There's some some good uh pieces of advice I've I've heard from agencies, but from your guys' perspective, how do you market that good work that your own folks are doing?
SPEAKER_06You know, we use a uh yeah, we record everything. You know, um we record everything, everything gets uploaded into evidence.com. And a lot of those recordings are played back in briefings. Not only sometimes they're just played for fun, you know, if you see something fun that happens, but also for training aspects, you know. We have mobile spikes, we you know, we can pip cars here, and so uh you know, we play the videos all the time and show them the capabilities, and it just amazes these officers and it and they get excited every time every time I'll go to a briefing or one of the TFOs or go to the briefing with a with a with a new video. I mean, it's it's it's exciting to them. The other thing too is is the more you can publish stats or the more that you can um uh put your wins out there throughout social media and through into the public's eyes, uh it builds a sense of pride. It it's a huge sense of pride for me. Uh and Kalani, I know as well, uh, but also the officers that know that you know this tool is working. Uh it's a tool that they're a part of as well. And so Yeah, I got I got asked early on because we we started sharing videos almost immediately. And I had another department call me and said, Hey, you guys are sharing those before these cases are adjudicated. Do you see any issues with that? And uh that could be another podcast as well. Um we're selective about it, you know. Uh but 95% of the times we'll show up, we'll put them on there because uh I tell you this last uh fireworks season we used the airplane to identify illegal fireworks. I think that the last total was you know $266,000 in fines and so we record them and uh we send them a ticket in the mail, you know.
SPEAKER_05The marketing piece uh, you know, to John, you kind of asked for me when I first started was really getting the buy-in uh not just from the guys but from the command staff and the executive team. So it was a lot of going into meetings, a lot of highlighting what the team was doing, what what Mike and the TFOs were doing, you know, looking for opportunities to deploy. I know uh Mike and I were very fortunate. Uh just a few months after purchasing the plane, I actually ended up as the uh up in investigation. So Mike and I, our offices were next door to each other. So we uh we called ourselves the uh the hangar north because uh air support was right there, uh, which worked out really, really well, you know, long term for the air support unit. But if we had something going on, whether it was a uh dope buy, some sort of operation, critical incident, uh, I would pull Mike and we would get a pilot and I'd send them up in the air. And, you know, just showing that, hey, we're always there. Uh, but really it was just talking about it. But then even before that, it was finding the right people to put up into place uh and not making it about uh, oh well, this person gets everything, or uh they just picked him because of this. Like we had to pick people that were respected, uh, and had that street cred, you know, and and having uh both Mike and I going in there from what our backgrounds were and uh being known as always being down in the mix. Uh I think guys knew what to expect and even from the leadership team, and and it really helped with that buy-in. So having the right people in place, but then uh not being afraid to highlight the unit, but for the right reasons. We all know the people that highlight things for the wrong reasons, uh, but we highlighted it for the right reasons to show what the team was doing, and that that really got the buy-in. And uh with the city council that really got it out there, uh our PIO, she really helped us out getting our stuff out there. So it was really a team effort, but uh having the right people in place and the right team with with Mike and the TFOs was getting that buy-in early, and that's probably the best marketing piece that we could have done.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, that that's huge. I I feel like it's a it's a big uh diversion from a lot of the quiet professional mantra that most law enforcement agencies have when it comes to specialized units. You know, when you're in SWAT, canine, other specialized units, a lot of folks operate under that. We do a good job, we don't have to talk about it, we don't need pats on the back. But in in aviation, it's it's different, right? We have to talk about, we have to promote the work that we're doing. Otherwise, folks don't have no idea. A lot of folks in our own agencies have no idea what airsport does. They just know that when they call and ask for us, we can't go because of weather. Yeah. A static display at at like uh a street fair or something, you know?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_04So I I I love that you guys are doing that. Really good points that you brought up. Uh the the culture development is really important. And I think what you what you do through the videos is is really cool too. You know, people consume information in so many different ways today, but video consumption of information is I think the primary way that people consume information now. And I think back to those weekly activity reports that I wrote, and I I I slid those across the desk of uh the chain of command every week. And now I wonder how many of those actually got read. Probably not very many, you know. But the videos that you talk about, uh you disseminate those videos, and I guarantee people are watching those because they're interesting. John Nielsen actually was was the one we talked about that on on the podcast with him. He talked about creating a highlight reel that they would disseminate through their agency and through the ranks, and you know, it it showed the return on investment and the good work they're doing, but it also uh developed interest in the airsport program from the folks patrol that were seeing those videos. Like, oh, I can be a part of that and and do that. That's that's really interesting. So love what you guys are doing there, and and I will be sure to take some bits and pieces of of what you guys are doing and share that in some of the conversations we have in the future.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it's good stuff, man. It's uh and it's necessary in today's world, especially. Well, we've been talking about the city of Modesto, the city of water, wealth, contentment, and health. Now, Kalani's going, how does Jack know that? I've known that since 1983, Kalani. Because of Van Diemen. Uh our mutual friend Dave Van Diemen uh was a classmate of mine in LA, and our entire class knew that saying before graduation. Uh so it's just funny, it's one of those funny things that Dave and I still talk about, but uh, and you both worked with Dave for many years. He left LA, went back to his hometown, and retired a captain a while back. But uh so Kalani, tell us about Modesto. Give us the the stats and the overview of Modesto, the city.
SPEAKER_05Yeah, so uh Modesto, we're centrally located in in the state. We're blessed because uh we're about two hours, hour and a half, two hours from everything. So you go two hours, you're in Yosemite. You go two hours, you're in Sacramento, go two hours, you're uh on the coast, you know. So we're we're just right right in the heart of California. Uh we're a population of about 218,000, uh very much a farming community. We kind of talk about how we're a big city with a small town feel. That's really really what we are. 46 square miles, demographics, uh a lot of farms. Gallo, most people are familiar with Gallo. Gallo's base of operations is here. So, you know, we have uh one of the biggest wine manufacturers in the world right here in our backyard. Uh, in fact, their uh their private hangar is just uh down the way from ours, so which is uh which is kind of neat. So yeah, very nice, unique little community, kind of a uh a melting pot here in the valley. Uh hot in the summer, cold in the winter, uh fog, uh, you know, you you joked and talked about weather earlier. You know, we deal with uh with weather here quite often. Uh but just a very unique community, and we're we're fortunate that we're very supported here. Law enforcement is very supported here within our community. We passed uh Measure H a couple years ago, which is a uh it was the majority of that funding coming to public safety, which is one of the big reasons we were able to uh purchase this aircraft and continue to go. And uh Mike and I now have the uh well, Mike now has the uh very fortunate sense of not being told no very often when it comes to air support because of Measure H. So uh that's just the community support that we we enjoy and goes back to the culture of our department. Uh department wide, we're uh we're a pretty equal representation of what our community is. So uh it very unique little community.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it is. And I'd love the I love the saying that it's a a big city but small, small town feel, and it it is that. I've been there many, many times, of course, over the years, either teaching or hanging out with Van Diemen. And uh it it is, it truly is that that area. So, Mike, let's uh uh switch gears to Modesto PD. Tell us about the police department and uh the the the personnel, mission pro you know, what units, all that stuff about Modesto PD.
SPEAKER_06Uh you know, it's it's uh Modesto PD is my second agency. I actually started in the Sheriff's Department in Tawanga County, which I loved. I loved it up there and then uh had the opportunity to come down here and work. And so it's a great department. Uh we have great men and women uh that work here. We have a great support staff that supports our mission every single day about what we do, quite protect and serve. You know, and our our mission here is to keep Metesto safe and make it a safe place to work, live, and play. And so that's the culture of the men and women in the Modesto Police Department, is is that very simple concept is you know, make Modesto safe, you know. We got a great chief, we got a great command staff, uh we have a lot of great things that going on here that uh a lot of other agencies don't. You know, we have mental health clinicians built into uh the department to go out with the officers. We have a community health team that's uh sits right here in the department that goes out and deals with all the mental health issues with people, finds, you know, uh tries to identify resources for them so the officers don't have to do that, you know. We have numerous special assignments you can uh go to and work at, you know, and but at the same time, we're a young department, you know, and as you know, uh being a young department, there's growing pains. Sure. And sometimes we just have to realize get back to the basics, you know. We're constantly hiring a lot of us uh who've been here for a long time or uh gonna retire here in the real near future. But it it's just a great place. Uh I have the honor of uh being a day shift watch commander and working with all these young guys, you know. I know I'm not a cop anymore, and I'm okay with that. I was a cop for 30 years and then finally they did this, you know. And the great thing about this position is it lets me serve in a different way where I feel I think it impact more people and make a difference uh to the officers themselves so that again, so that but also a safe place to work and play.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. How many personnel are you at right now? Uh cloning what's that number? 212. Okay. Yep. And how how things as far as retention and recruitment, you guys at your numbers you want to be at?
SPEAKER_05So retention has gotten a lot better over the last several years. Yes. Uh recruitment, you know, we we're in the fortunate position where we've added positions, so that's actually why our numbers uh seem a little low. I think authorized right now we're at 222, so we're only about 10 down. Oh, that's that's not bad at all. It's not bad at all, but so that's sworn professional staff. I think total we're just under 400. Uh is like 383 or so is uh full department size. Okay. But like Mike said, we have a lot of retirements. In fact, we have uh just this this coming week, we'll we'll be promoting a couple new lieutenants, three new sergeants. So uh now we're losing people to retirement, which is the thing that we all want to see. And uh my Mike here is uh probably holding on for a couple more years, but uh you know, we we joked earlier he is the uh number one seniority in the uh in the entire department. Um so but uh yeah, we're we're we're doing good right now.
SPEAKER_02Good, good. Well that that's really good. Being about 10 under in a department of 200 plus, you guys are way ahead of the game. There are departments that are would would would kill for that number, you know, whether they're 40 down or 50 down. Heck, my old department, they're they're down at they're under 8,500. And they were close, they were close to 10,000 at one time. 8,500. I I look at it and go, how in the world do they even function on a daily basis? I I don't know. I mean, I I don't know. I've even when I asked the chief, you know, we've had Chief McDonald on and he's a friend from a long time ago, and he goes, I don't know how we do it. It's because our people are are good, you know. We have good people that just get the job done and they don't worry about the numbers. And I said, Yeah, but the numbers it it it still means something. I mean, I mean, if you're down 1,500 officers and it's not getting any better. So well done, modesto. You guys are doing something right there.
SPEAKER_06Uh great thing too is that uh economically, and I don't know that a lot of departments can say this, but uh, we can work and live in the same city uh economically because we get paid well enough to be able to do that. You know, that's important. It that's a very important thing because you you can work and live and play in the same place. You don't have all that commuting going on. And so I think that our salary uh range allows us to do that. Whereas you know, you look at a lot of other HCs, you can't work and live in the same place because you can't afford it.
SPEAKER_02That's right. That's right. That includes Los Angeles. And but it certainly includes a lot of the Bay Area, the Bay Area departments. A lot of those coppers live in Modesto and Stan Sloss County, don't they? They travel all the way through that ridiculous traffic when they could be going to work right there in downtown Modesto. I mean, yeah, you guys are getting it right uh in a lot of ways. So while we're while we're talking about this, let's talk about something else that Modesto's getting right that's helping with all of this, and that's reduced crime. I will say that one of the reasons that got me rolling to really reach out to to you guys and to have you on wasn't just uh John Nielsen who highly recommended it, but it was in addition to that, it was your chief. I saw uh a social media clip with the chief sitting behind his desk in uniform, looking sharp, talking about crime stats from last year. And I I sat here and watched that and I played it a second time because it was like, whoa, whoever wants to take the lead on this, talk about last year, especially uh about the crime stats and what that means to the department. And then I'm gonna have a follow-up with aviation, but let's just talk about the crime stat reduction from last year and how big a deal that was.
SPEAKER_05Well, that uh well, Mike and I were both very fortunate. We were in investigative services the last what two and a half years together, so we were able to see that the drive down in the crime rates firsthand. But it really was a department-wide effort, and aviation plays a huge part, so I'll I'll kick it. I'll have Mike take uh take the lead on that part. But department wide, the initiatives that we were able to uh implement, we stood up a uh fourth division within our department, the area command division, and that area command division really encompasses and bridges the gap between patrol and detectives, right? Where there's so much patrol, uh we're all very good patrol officers, we've all all been on the streets. Patrol is go there, deal with the problem, and leave. There was no long-term solution. Uh it was just very much deal with the initial problem, arrest if you could and leave. And then you had detectives, investigations, which is the long-term, more in-depth, you know, uh very specialized investigations, but we were missing that gap, and that's what area command did. So uh Mike mentioned our uh our mental health workers, our uh clinicians, all those things. Code enforcement, we took code enforcement from the city, brought them over, and they're in our area command division. Animal control, parking citations, our crime reduction team, our traffic safety unit, and that really is what area command is. They look for uh solutions that is going to be a long-term problem. Yeah. Uh so we we took that even a step further by our patrol officers and our patrol watch commanders, uh, all being assigned into areas and taking ownership of your beat in your specific area and partnering with those teams in area command. So those were the biggest components. And then on the investigative side, uh Mike and his team, uh, we had a uh rather large ORT grant that we got over the last couple years. And uh we coined the phrase, Mike's team coined the phrase, not in Modesto. So if you come to Modesto and commit a crime, you're gonna go to jail. We don't cite and release, we don't, uh we're not an agency that's afraid of being proactive. Many agencies during COVID, you know, were very standoffish because the jails weren't taking people, or uh, you know, they were afraid of getting sick or just hey, go sit in a parking lot. And we have never been that agency. We we tell guys when they come in for the recruitment process that if you want to be a parking lot cop, then you got to go to a different agency because that's not us. We if we stop you, you're going to jail. Uh, we take zero tolerance. ORT, we took very, very seriously while Mike and I were up there. We had a very good time doing that. We actually, Mike and I both got to feel like cops then again. Um, you know, and that's just a that's a stance department wide. Our violent crimes unit went out there. We had zero homicides during 2025. Uh repeat that, Kalani.
SPEAKER_02Repeat that, Kalani. Zero homicides for the calendar year of 2025. Incredible. Now, correct me if I'm wrong. It wasn't unusual over the years to be 15 to 25 and even even have numbers beyond San Jose in homicides, and it was zero last year. Wow.
SPEAKER_01Wild. Thanks to our sponsor, Dallas Avionics, who provides innovative products to law enforcement, the Department of Defense, Homeland Security, Military, Air Medical, Search and Rescue, and Special Missions Operations. Dallas Avionics distributes OEM equipment, including communications equipment, digital audio systems, TA systems, flight tracking, and other mission critical devices. Visit Dallasavionics.com for more details.
SPEAKER_05Yes, it it it wasn't uncommon, and and Mike was actually a homicide detective during those years, and I think that's actually where all his hair went was uh during those times. Um we had we had zero homicides for 2025, and and that uh you know it's worth celebrating within our community because that really was a community effort, and we know that not every year is going to. be like that and this year you know we've we've had some unfortunate incidents but uh you know that's that's something that's that we're proud of that the community should be proud of that absolutely you know and and even Mike and I were both up in ISD and Mike I think we ended up going it's like 16 months 15 16 months without a homicide uh total and you know it was just it's one of those things that uh we could celebrate we know that we're gonna continue to move forward and and uh you know we there's still a lot of work to do but that's something that we really want to celebrate with our community is being able to do that. But in addition to that you look at all of our crime rates we we just keep dropping our we were number number five number three number one at one point in auto theft in the nation uh per capita I remember those days yeah we're not even we're not even in the top hundred anymore you know we've we've been able to to drop out of that uh property crimes we see year over year reduction down in the 30 40 percent year after year for the last three years uh violent crime down you know historically not just homicides but violent crime is down so it really is a collaborative effort between the entire department and uh every initiative that we we take on with aviation our blue light camera program that we have we have cameras Mike I think we were up to 164 lenses something like that uh cameras uh throughout the city when Mike and I both wrote rotated out of investigations just everything that we do we're really able to to drive down that crime rate well that's something you should all be proud of and I agree is not one thing that changed that changes that you listed a long list of things but Mike let's come back to you what you can give your opinion here you can give stats or whatever you like how do you think the air unit being still in its in its opening years here is affecting those stats oh it's 100% affecting those stats you know again being first on scene uh recognizing what crime is occurring getting that information to those officers and you know and then the the thing that's occurring when we're responding to the calls for service nowadays is is they're not just responding uh by driving there they're responding by checking city cameras checking LPRs doing background checks on the house you know figuring out who's living there what's what's the phone number you know and so you know if if you're a a command staff member and you're and you're listening now being first on scene like I said you know whether it's a camera a UAV an officer or an airplane saves so much money on the back end.
SPEAKER_06I can remember you know I was a homicide detector for 13 years and uh we didn't we didn't have these same the same technology. We chased people and it would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to be able to chase these people you know and so being first on scene with the aircraft the DOI crashes getting these people into custody getting them out of those cars taking away that potential safety hazard to the rest of the citizens you know uh it's it's just enormous every aspect of it everything you know yeah you know the other thing too is I'm gonna mention this is that I when I was in the property crime unit the philosophy was in the beginning you know we're gonna do directed enforcement to burglars thieves in the middle of the night in hopes that we were going to catch them and then uh we ended up with this uh ORT grant and what we found was we threw that concept out the window and what we do is is we got do these ORT operations where we sit in front of these businesses, you know, the targets, the Walmarts, the Costco's, the the Bebmos, the TG, you know all these businesses wait for them to steal, get them into custody where it's a controlled environment. But these are the same people that are stealing cars. These are the same people that are ripping you off at the middle of night for breaking into your car. They're the same people that are committing homicides they're the same people that are committing violent felonies and violent assaults and so we're we're we're putting these people in jail just a different way. And so we we rested uh I'll give you one story uh during this last week we do this thing called Holly operations where we go for 30 days uh around uh between uh Thanksgiving and Christmas where we sit out in front of these businesses and so one particular night we're sitting out in front of a Target and uh we get the call from the store hey these two guys just came in the store they stole underwear doesn't seem like a big deal so uh we get them into custody uh take them down well finds out that they just uh killed two people and injured one over in Gilroy and we're on the run. It's important to know that ORT is a big deal. You know you want to solve crime in your city start with ORT is it's the safety and hold them accountable and put them in jail.
SPEAKER_02What a concept unbelievable I mean isn't it amazing that that there are so many agencies across this country right now that are not doing that at all. They they've gone into firefighter mode and they're not proactive and they're they're not technology driven and they're they're just like oh well you know it'll be okay. No it's not it and it works. You guys have just described that beautifully and and one last thing on this is uh news flash bad guys know about all this stuff too they know there's cameras out there they know there's an airplane there now they know that the sheriffs have a helicopter they know that modesto is proactive and hey don't go there I guarantee you there are bad guys right now that are talking about going out and doing something and they go eh not Modesto and and why because of everything we're talking about they know about all of it and the deterrence factor of an aviation unit alone get rid of all the other stuff aviation alone is is incredible. Can you quantify it? It's difficult if if not impossible but we all know the four of us here know and everybody in law enforcement aviation knows that uh the fact that you're present and especially the way you guys are doing it proactively and being up a lot uh bad guys know it and it affects where they go to to do their crimes and how often they do their crimes and what they're gonna do. So Modesto PD should be very proud. I mean Kalani you said it you know we're very we're proud of it you guys should be from top to bottom that is a gr that is great to hear. It can you tell that it I'm excited about that because it it proves what I screamed for years. Proactivity is a difference. And I go I traveled a lot I can name the proactive departments you know that I've been to and all of them have similar stories of great crime reduction. But most departments I go to they're they're not in that mode anymore. They they they do they just respond they don't do anything proactively and they wonder why there's so much crime there. I mean you gotta deter it. You gotta let bad guys know that you're doing it. So John anything to add on this before we get to their backgrounds here? No Mike go ahead.
SPEAKER_06Prop 36 changed things for a lot of people in California you know Prop 36 when when the citizens of California uh approved Prop 36 and you guys are familiar with Prop 36 explain what Prop 36 is for those people outside California. Prop 36 brought back a lot of the penalties and the charging sections for people committing retail theft and it brought back uh 666 was petty theft with a prior and uh it really you know Prop 47 really tied our hands for a lot of these sentences to hold people accountable. What Prop 36 did, and well Prop 36 in California overwhelmingly passed because people were tired of seeing people steal at stores and nobody doing nothing. And nobody holding them accountable. And so what Prop 36 did is it brought back the the 666 PC section meaning if you had a number of prior theft arrests now you're gonna go to prison.
SPEAKER_02Now you're gonna be held accountable so funny how that happens yeah Prop 47 uh that that changed everything for the worse overnight it was unbelievable my wife was a retail manager for her whole career at different places Prop 47 happened and it is the reason she got out of it and left she was tired of dealing with people coming in with bags into an Ulta and taking all the fragrances and dumping them into bags and on the way out laughing at her you know because they knew go ahead call the police they're not even going to show up she had that said to her I mean many of the times they turned into robberies where they would threaten her you know and she got tired of it became dangerous and uh and sure enough crime went through the roof throughout California John you saw it we I saw it before you know before we got out of it thank god the the 36 came around and got support right but uh you know 47 was a a bad experiment and everybody warned too weren't they all of our police departments warned the public don't pass this 47 and of course it's California and they just listened to their governor and to the AG and I said oh no this is wonderful and it was the worst thing to happen to California in my in my time there. Uh so that's good to hear 36 kicked in and is working again. So let's let's shift gears here to the two of you we we gotta learn we we've heard about a little bit about your backgrounds but uh let's learn take a deeper dive Mike you're the senior officer here by by far. I mean the senior officer in the whole department Mike tell us about you know where where did it all begin for you?
SPEAKER_06How did you get into law enforcement uh all that stuff give us a thumbnail of uh your background oh man so I grew up watching cops on television loved it waited for it uh I have nobody in my family with any type of law enforcement background at all uh early on in my my life I be I thought I wanted to be a fireman graduated high school uh went to work for its time California Department of Forestry and was a fireman and what I found was is I loved public service. What I didn't like was sitting around doing nothing. Yeah sorry you all you firemen out there. Not you all but all of a sudden the recliners listening right now. Right right and so uh that kind of really uh wanted me to be uh serve in some type of manner and so you know I decided I want to be a police officer. Well at the time you know I was I was married I had a uh a young child and I had to work I'd worked there in the day and I'd go to school at night and and I was able to achieve and get my uh reserve level one certificate and uh I went to work for the Tawmi County Sheriff's Department and they they gave me a great opportunity you know in in the Tuame County Sheriff Department back then we were talking like 1992 93 uh you worked as a full functioning deputy you know it so I learned a lot of experience worked out there in the middle of nowhere you really learned how to talk to people and so I decided that I wanted to make the transition and again I was just a reserve and so I would work contracts uh around a lot of lakes and I'd worked patrol and I decided today I wanted to make this a life changing career so I applied for the Modesta Police Department and I was lucky that uh they would hire me and put me through the academy in 1996 and so I went to the academy graduated and then started my career here. Obviously we all started as patrol officers worked at for about five years became a field training officer and decided I wanted a a furry friend as my uh partner. Good choice.
SPEAKER_02Good choice.
SPEAKER_06Uh so I was a canine officer and uh back then we were using big shepherds and so probably and I'm sure Klein's gonna tell you the same thing one of the best jobs I ever had here was a canine officer great great great opportunity. However sometimes you know it it does kind of just delay your career as well. Had one of the first cross-tained dogs here as well and uh had one of the first dogs in the special assignment so I was able to take my canine his name was Toro by the way and uh I uh got uh selected for our tactical patrol unit which was I think a a concept that came from LAPD through uh Dave Van Diemen you know yeah yeah and so he he brought that that concept here tackle patrol unit and so I worked tackle food patrol unit with my dog and then uh once he retired I uh had the opportunity to go up and work investigations as a vice officer and uh worked my way my way through investigations uh into homicide uh whereas a homicide detector for 13 years.
SPEAKER_00Uh great opportunity a lot of work didn't have all the technology that we have here today so it was a lot of pounding the streets knocking on doors and writing a lot of reports had a lot of great opportunities as well as special assignments you know collateral assignments as well and just started promoting through the ranks uh promoted to sergeant in 2019 and once you promote here you you all go back to patrol so I think it's that way in a lot of departments worked uh the streets for you know a while and then uh was selected for the property crimes unit uh sergeant position and took on the air support unit and our camera team and then promoted to lieutenant here just this year and uh back over to patrol yeah it was like you you made lieutenant the week that I started texting you said that was that was cool I because John said contact uh you know sergeant Hicks and then Van Diemen said no that's Lieutenant Hicks to you Jack and I'm like oh he said yeah he just made lieutenant so while we were texting you had just made lieutenant I think my first text to you was congratulations lieutenant yeah you don't know me but uh that's great well you've had a long career there Modesto you've done a lot of different things and it's good that there's light at the end of the tunnel too uh for your career but Kalani same thing walk us through where did you where'd you grow up and how'd you end up uh on Modesto PD thank you to our sponsor Robinson Helicopter Company for over 50 years Robinson has been a cornerstone in vertical lift dedicated to making helicopter missions accessible reliable and safe by maintaining a vertically integrated manufacturing base in the United States Robinson delivers practical high performance tools for difficult missions whether it's the legendary R-22 where so many pilots began their journey the versatile R-44 and R-66 or now the new 10-speed R-88 Robinson continues to set the standard now through Robinson Unmanned the company is expanding into autonomous and remotely piloted aircraft for civil, commercial and defense sectors. Robinson Helicopter Company committed to efficiency reliability and supporting your mission whatever it may be visit RobinsonHeli.com or RobinsonUnmanned.com to learn more.
SPEAKER_05Climb higher we actually are Valley Transplants my uh my parents moved us out here I was born in in Hawaii spent the first uh few years out there came to the valley by way of the bay uh my dad was a uh Bay Area native so moved back out to the Bay where he became a uh Alameda County Sheriff's Deputy so that's uh kind of where my law enforcement comes from moved out to the valley so grew up in Ceres which is just south of of Modesto it's our neighboring agency and actually started there as a police explorer back in 1996. So started as a police explorer canine runs in the family my dad lateral to series PD started the canine program at Ceres PD and uh so I started working with dogs at a very young age out of uh necessity because they couldn't find anybody to get bit so uh you know son go hide in that go hide in that bush my uh my dad being the uh the loving father police officer father that he was was like hey I got a job for you so started doing that uh right about the same time as soon as I started driving and uh that really you know kind of kicked off my itch became a police explorer yeah worked my way through the ranks as a police explorer actually met my wife as a police explorer so uh her and I have been married now 27 years but uh yeah became a uh self-sponsored myself to the police academy back in 2001 back then nobody was really uh hiring and putting through the academy you know you had to self-sponsor sorry self-sponsored and actually got picked up with Gustine Police Department which uh most people have never heard of uh if you know where P Soup Andersons is if you're from California on the five uh we're about 12 miles north uh northeast of P Soup Anderson so a small agency kind of like Mike of uh you know you learned how to uh deal with people very quickly and that was either uh that was either with uh your your hands and your skills or that was with your mouth so uh was out there for a handful of years got to do the things gang officer DTAC uh all those things and made the decision to lateral to Modesto in 2005 uh my dad was like hey don't come back to series you know you can only drive up and down uh a small agency so many times you know Whitmore and Hatch and all these things for those that are familiar uh we had some friends that went to Modesto and he he really pushed me to come to Modesto and said hey that's gonna be a good fit for you so came to Modesto in 05 and uh just really haven't looked back done all the things kind of like Mike my uh most of my time was spent in canine though I've been a patrol guy the majority of my career I was assigned to patrol I I worked uh three different dogs I was on uh handler for just shy of 10 years before I promoted to uh to sergeant but while I was a handler I got to work with SWAT got to work with uh our dope teams got to do interdiction got to work a lot of things uh field training officer which uh was probably one of the best times of my career was being an FTO I've seen a lot of uh people through my car that have promoted now through the ranks uh but promoted to sergeant in 2016 didn't have to go back to patrol because I was already assigned to patrol so stayed on patrol for a couple more years took on the canine team uh as the uh supervisor trainer spent uh another seven years with uh with those guys so uh my life revolved around dog hair and uh and all the all the fun things but uh was blessed when I became a sergeant I got to go to uh recruitment so I was our full-time recruitment guy for several years up until COVID was not a cop during that time so it was very much uh you know just hiring and all the administrative things that uh we never think about especially as dog guys I went from uh ramming a gem into that and then uh promoted to lieutenant in 2023 got handed the air support units uh which was a uh a blessing was super excited about that went over to investigations a short time later that's one of the things I always wanted to do but never got the opportunity to uh got to work alongside Mike up there and a handful of other very squared away guys and uh had a great time doing investigations and came back to patrol recently just as a uh pit stop and uh actually right now I'm transitioning over to uh internal affairs so I'm going over and taking over IA but uh yeah it's uh it's been definitely a career I've got 25 years on now I actually my son works for our department so he's uh 26 he's on the SWAT team got out of the Marine Corps as an aviator he was uh aviation electronics worked on C-130s a couple uh deployments under his belt so uh so he works here my other son is 25 he's a cannon handler up in Twalamy County so I've got one on one uh doing doing a little bit of everything uh my youngest boy's uh a firefighter so he's one of uh he's a volunteer and just come down the day so he could turn 21 and do what he does and then uh my daughter is uh actually got aspirations to become an FBI agent so boy she graduated high school so I was just gonna say I knew that your daughter just graduated from high school I was gonna say when does she start the academy Kalani and she's she does want to do that. Yeah she is actually texting me uh it's caught me looking at my phone a little bit ago she's uh applying to our explorer program right now so smart smart young lady yeah so she uh yeah law enforcement uh very much runs in my blood I've got cousins that retired from Costa Mesa PD down south that were both sergeants down there. Uh I've got a lot of my Hawaiian side was either uh cops or firefighters over in the island so uh kind of kind of born into it I guess you could say wow that's exciting and now I have to ask you how many times did your kids hide in the bushes for your dog? Um so maybe once or twice a lot no you know uh actually funny story we were getting ready for a uh canine trial under the competitions and uh we had got some insider info on potentially where the hide was gonna be and it was in a uh underground grate. Well uh my boy was the only one who could fit down there so guess where my boy ended up hiding hiding down in the grate. That's great. So my 25 year old actually uh he did some work with me and my 20 year old actually was a uh force option simulator instructor with me so we'd go out to the Explorer program and he knew more about That thing than I did. But yeah, so I've just, you know, kind of been lucky in the way things work out.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Fantastic. What a what a great story and great families. So time is flying here, and and you guys are being very generous with your time. So Mike, let me come back to you and ask you in the all the years that you've been serving, we we always ask, what's the most impactful thing that's happened to you? And impactful can is defined by you. I always caveat that because it can be uh the the most exciting, the most, the funniest, the the statest, it could be anything you want, but it impacted you. It's a story that you'll take take to the end and where you'll say, I'll always remember that. It really affected you in some way.
SPEAKER_06You know, I mentioned it earlier. Uh I was a homicide detector for 13 years. That assignment, it's you know, it's a burden. Yeah, it's a it's a burden to, you know, do a proper investigation. It's it's a burden to be bringing some type of uh justice to the families. It's a burden to get answers for them that you don't have. You know, I get used to get asked all the time. And I still do, you know, when when people realize I was a homicide detective, you know, how many cases uh have you solved? I couldn't tell you. I can tell you how many I didn't though.
SPEAKER_07You know, yeah.
SPEAKER_06And that impacts me uh still to this day. I still every once in a while think to myself, I'd like to go back and rework that case with the technology and advancement in the DNA and stuff like that. And so but it was a it was a great experience because you know, we we uh we were able to arrest a lot of people, prevent a lot of crimes, and uh do a lot of things for people. And so you know, I've had a great career here. You know, I've I've had a career that a lot of people will never have. Just it's it's a great place. But you know, when when you talk about impactful, uh that unit and that uh that type of work uh really has really affected you know uh affected me. I learned this concept. Uh I use this concept every single day now in in my personal life and also uh uh with the officers around here. And I try to pass it on uh to as many people as I possibly can. And it's it's very simple, you know. There may be a reasonable explanation for something, but unless you ask, you don't know. You know, and I I learned that concept by talking to these terrible people that do very terrible things, you know. And what it does is it allows me my mind to think that maybe you know there is a reasonable explanation, or maybe not what it's done for me too is is it's uh helped me listen more. Listen instead of just respond or listen instead of just judge, you know. Plus, uh a lot of times uh as investigators, as officers, just as people, it's easy to uh come to some type of determination and only see the facts or the evidence to support that determination or that result. And by using this concept, you know, it it helps me my mind up. And so I I cast that on to a lot of people around here. A lot of people around here know me for it too, because you know, I'll do something like this and and they all know what I'm gonna say. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02So that's a great thing to pass on. And I I I appreciate what you're saying there. I think I think many times uh when we're talking about uh how things impact us personally and and our mental wellness and all that stuff, people forget about the homicide detective. And if you're working homicide for that long, I mean, there are I'm sure that you can remember very rewarding moments as well where where it you got a guy that that probably shouldn't have been caught, but you did through great work, and it's very rewarding. But I understand why you said uh the ones that you didn't that you didn't solve, you know, those are the ones you remember and wish you had another shot at them. It's a hard job. That's one of the most demanding jobs in law enforcement in so many ways. And it it takes special people to do that. And if you did it for 13 years, that that's amazing uh that you did that, Mike. Well done. And uh wow, that's certainly impactful. Kalani, this is the I'll I'll tell our audience that uh this is the first time I've ever done this where I'm picking Kalani's story. Even though he may have other very impactful stories, a little bird told me that I needed to ask you this. And once I learned more about it, this is an amazing story that Kalani, with his permission, I asked his permission to ask him about this. And when you listen to the story, you're gonna understand why. I asked. Uh, but Kalani is gonna share with us an officer-involved shooting he was involved in, but it's not about the shooting that we're gonna spend most of our time on. It's the circumstances of that day, that morning, that roll call. Kalani, walk us through as a field training officer, that OIS.
SPEAKER_05Jack, I'll start off by saying thank you because I was have been trying to think of what my most impactful was, and it's easy. Would you pick it for me? So uh I will say thank you for that. Okay. 2016, end of March 2016, I was a uh a senior FTO, senior guy at 15 years on. Uh just come back from uh from a school, actually Force Options Simulator used to force instructor school. And uh the Sunday morning come in. I'm a canine guy assigned a day shift as an FTO, one of the the handful of canine FTOs that we actually had at the time. And uh we just had an academy class graduates. We have a lot. I think we actually had probably more brand new people in our briefing than we did officers working because it's a Sunday morning. I come in, I'm getting assigned a uh FTO, you know, so it's gonna be another couple weeks of not being able to run my own car and do those things. So mentally preparing myself, go into briefing. Uh we all get assigned our our trainees, and uh we make them stand up, introduce themselves, right? So my trainee stands up, says, Hey, this is who I am. So like, okay, that's that's my trainee. Never seen him before, don't know the guy, nothing. So finish up briefing. I say, Hey, if my canine car is parked out right outside the back door there, you can't miss it. Uh go out there away from me. I'll be right out. Grab my stuff and I'll meet you out there. So I get out there as I'm walking out, and uh a call gets BOL'd. So it's a holdover from graveyards. It is a uh estranged husband armed with a gun trying to kick in the front door of his uh wife's residence. It's the wife, uh, her mother, and the kids are all home. So she called earlier in the night saying he was driving up and down the street. Now she's calling back saying, hey, he's still around. Call has been pending for several hours and says, Hey, he's trying to kick in my door, he's armed with a gun. So I hear the call come out as a good canine guy. I'm thinking, oh, canine use, right? Like we all we all want to do that. So my trainee is standing out there nervously, anxiously uh awaiting my arrival, hoping he's at the right car because there's two canine cars out there, so he's got a 50-50 shot. And so I said, said, Hey kid, I'm Kalani. Get in the car, we got a call. And he just, you know, eyes get uh probably about 10 times the size of uh normal, and he's like, What did I just get myself into? And I said, Let's go, you know, get the car. So get in the car as we're going over there, we're getting updates. Hey, he's driving up and down the street, he's waving a gun out the window. So I said, Okay, we're on route. And uh my partner is coming from across town. He had he had logged on and went the other way. So uh he's trying to catch up to me. And as we're coming in the neighborhood, I I turn northbound down a street, and lo and behold, what uh what passes by, the suspect vehicle. So one of those we drive by, we make eye contact and flip around, and the pursuit's on. You know, he he kind of starts baiting us in, digging around, obviously digging around for something, which we learn later, uh, and I'll share that part, but we learn later that he had a uh stage three malfunction in his firearm. So uh he was trying to clear it, is what we learned later on, or what we're assumed later on. But the pursuit's on, he's trying to bait us in. Uh now here's the most interesting part uh of the story. You know, I made comment that I didn't know this trainee. Uh well, this trainee, this was his first day of field training, his very first call in his very first hour of ever being a police officer. So he knows nothing. He knows that he's got a gun on and uh that he signed up for a job, that he just graduated out of the academy, but he doesn't know anything. As we're in pursuit, I'm given given updates, you know, pertinent officer safety updates, but I'm telling my trainee, hey, turn your camera on, put your seatbelt on, do this, do that, get a pursuit. Long story short, guy pulls over, tries to bait us in. I tell my trainee, no, don't get out of the car yet. Like there's something, something hinky here, something's going on. Uh, guy takes off again, we chase, pulls into his wife's driveway, uh, hops out of the car, we stop a little short. So I'm telling him, I'm prompting him as we're doing this like, hey, get out of the car, get your gun up. This is gonna go bad. Like, this guy is doing something. Get your gun up, just be ready. Guy pulls into the driveway, throws it in park, hops out of the car, starts walking towards the uh front of the residence, like he's gonna jump over the fence with a uh gun in his hand, uh, turns around to us, and officer-involved shooting occurs uh with me, my trainee, and then uh a very senior officer, very good friend of mine, uh Dave Wallace, who who retired a couple years ago. Yeah, so my trainee, day one, hour one, call one, never had any human interaction with anybody in our community as far as being a police officer, uh, had to be involved in an officer-involved shooting. So, yeah, very uh very interesting morning, to say the least.
SPEAKER_02Incredible. I mean, incredible. When I heard about this, uh it just it just hit me. And I was like, that's amazing. I've heard stories similar, similar stories in the past, and I've been preaching for years. You could this is a dangerous job. You can get killed on your first call, and I can give examples of that. And you can get killed in in your 35th year on your last call. I remember a chief going out on a call with with somebody to a domestic saying, that's my last day. I'm gonna go out on a call with you, and he gets killed at the front door, and then everything in between. But this is so incredibly unique in that you didn't even have an introduction to the partner in your car, a proper introduction, and you are in pursuit, and you're in an OIS. That you you obviously did a phenomenal job there. So did your partner, Wallace, and so did your trainee. But that is really unique, Kalani. And uh I I just I love I love that you were willing to share it to our listeners because that's it shows it shows so many things about this job, uh, how dangerous it can be. And it doesn't, and there's no rules as to when it happens. John, your your wheels are turning.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, the the first thing that comes to mind is your famous quote, and I'll let you quote it, Jack.
SPEAKER_02When the time to perform arrives, the time to prepare has passed.
SPEAKER_04Thank you to our sponsor, BLR Aerospace. BLR Aerospace's revolutionary Fastfin system improves performance and enhances safety across various helicopter platforms. This cutting-edge aftermarket solution improves tailwind effectiveness, stability, and payload capacity, while reducing fuel consumption and pilot fatigue. Trust that globally, Fastfin delivers unmatched control, efficiency, and reliabilities for diverse helicopter operations. Learn more at BLRAerospace.com. And that applies whether you're a first day patrol officer in FTO training or day one TFO, sitting in the front seat with the controls in your hand, trying to figure out how to manipulate everything. You've you've got to be prepared, mentally prepared, to engage in something to that level the moment you step into that role. You know, and it's it's hard to think through. But I think through you, Colani, and in your experience as a canon officer, we talk about how, you know, whether you're in canon or airsport, you're over almost every critical incident that takes place in the city. And those reps are what make you proficient at what you do. Had he been with somebody who wasn't as proficient in critical incidents, being a part of a pursuit, and all the things that you had been a part of, that FTO's ability to, with divided attention, you know, respond to the suspect, but also give direction to that to that trainee at the same time would have wouldn't have been to that same level, I don't think. So for for him to have you as an FTO in that particular incident was huge. You know, and so I give kudos to you and your ability to both respond to the suspect, but also take care of your trainee in that moment. I think we talked about it a little bit offline, but that trainee, where where is he today?
SPEAKER_05He's an absolute stud. He is currently assigned up uh in our gang unit as one of our gang investigators. Uh, he's actually the countywide expert when it comes to all things gang related. He is such a stud, so very uh unique personality. He's got a mechanical engineering degree, so I always tell him, like, dude, why what are you doing in this job? But uh what really you know, what really helped him out uh through all that and able to respond uh the way he did was uh his background. So he's got a background in BJJ, he's a black belt. Uh and at the time, that's what he did for fun. He went and fought in MMA fights. So uh that really uh helped him out through that. So as much as uh you know, some sometimes I would like to think it was me, it wasn't. It was actually all him. You know, he had that ability and that training in him. Uh, he just needed a little bit of guidance to the cop side of things, and and that's all all that was. But uh he's an absolute stud. He's been here 10 years now. Uh, got pulled up into the gang team pretty quickly uh and solidified his spot as as a gang investigator. Him and I are are still friends to this day. But yeah, it taught uh taught us both a lot of things, and the aftermath of that was really what was more interesting was I had to teach him that not everybody wanted to kill him after that, you know. Um you know, being being on FTO is uh you know, I really had to hone in on uh uh the kindler, gentler side, you know, like hey, you know, have that plan to to do what needs to be done, but we you need to learn how to talk to people, you need to know that that's not the norm.
SPEAKER_02You know, he came in but sir, 100% of the people I've had contact with have tried to kill me.
SPEAKER_05Yes, and like getting him getting him out of that, and you know, I mean this was our Monday, so we went on days off after that, and um, you know, having to come back to work after a week and and just make sure everything was good there, and and uh it it was definitely a good experience. It was a good learning experience for me and uh taught me a lot about myself, about uh, you know, just what um my leadership capabilities are. In fact, the uh chief at the time I promoted to sergeant just about six months after that, uh, before even being cleared for my shooting, uh, he was putting stripes on my arm, so obviously he wasn't too worried about it. And uh he said in my promotion ceremony that that is what solidified me as a leader, that him watching, because everything we do is captured on PVRS, obviously. And and he said, watching you perform through that with everything you did, and not the shooting, because uh you know, canine handlers were were tried and true, we're tested. Um, but he said, not the shooting, but what you did with that trainee to get him to what he needed to do. He goes, that's that solidified your spot as as a leader within the organization.
SPEAKER_02So no doubt. No doubt. And I I echo what John said. That that was your your experience helped get everybody through that. I know you're you're humble about it, but uh, and giving him credit, and he gets credit, but uh having being able to do both and focus on both things, that's that's canine stuff, that's air support stuff, that's SWAT stuff, you know, that's advanced uh tactics. But uh but in the time we have left, I want to get back to you, Mike, for a question, but I want to ask you one last thing about this, Kalani. Um what was the number one takeaway for you after that incident and all the dust settles, even months later, you look back. What's the number one lesson that you'd want to share?
SPEAKER_05You kind of actually touched on it just the uh the humility side, just recognizing that it's bigger than you. That that really in the the days and weeks to follow was really about what everybody else went through. You know, I wasn't I wasn't concerned. There were some other things that had happened. My wife had woken up early in the morning, which was weird, and when I called her, she was like, Oh, something happened. I know it did. So she already knew what was going on. Um, my trainee, you know, uh everything he was going through. So uh it was really pushing me to realize that the the aftermath, the impacts of that. And I think that's really where I developed that my sense of of people and really caring for uh my teams, and uh that's what's helped me develop over the years, and and really I credit that towards caring for the people in the air support program and and why the air support program has has gone the way it has, because it's not me, it's Mike, and it's the rest of the guys, and being able just to bring them together and and do that. So uh that that was the biggest takeaway for me. That's incredible what you just said, Kalani.
SPEAKER_02That that that says a lot about you as a human. Uh and uh boy, oh boy, I didn't see that one coming. Well said, and I love it. Very, very nice. Mike, I want to ask you, as you weren't, I don't think you were at that scene, but that that resonated through the department. Obviously, Van Diemen uh is the one that told me about this. He said, Oh, you gotta ask Kalani this. He said, That that's to this day is disgust, you know. What you as an outsider to that incident, what was your takeaway after hearing the story of Kalani and Wallace and his partner?
SPEAKER_06You know, it was it was uh really a testament uh to Kalani and the type of leader he is, and you know, the courage and the forethought of getting his trainee uh uh ready for battle in a moment's notice, you know. And also it's it's it's truly is, and I think Klani will agree to me as well, is that it's truly is a testament to this department and the uh amount of hard work, the dedication that we put into training uh everybody every single day. Uh this is a great uh training department, and you know, we have we have officers go to other departments and uh shine heads and shoulders above everybody else because of the amount of training, the amount of experience they get. And so we take training very seriously here. And uh we don't just train to train either. We we train real-world topics, uh current trends, crime, and we make mistakes and we learn from our mistakes. And I'd like to think also that we're on the cutting edge of uh training as well, because uh we constantly have to be on top of things with uh case laws and uh de-escalation and when you use force and not force, and so that uh we're caring about our people, you know, and caring our about our people doesn't does doesn't mean that we we love them and want to give them time off. And it means that uh we care about their careers as well and make sure they're doing the right thing all the time and uh making sure they have a long, healthy career. And so caring means just a lot more than that, but the training here, you know, and and and this uh one incident and uh and again it it's a testament to Kalani and uh his courage under fire and the training in the department which helped him get there.
SPEAKER_02Outstanding, Mike. Thank you for that. John, uh wow. I can't believe how the clock ticks on these things. Sometimes we I want to keep going, but uh you've been very generous with your time. So, John, closing thoughts for Mike and Kalani here.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, it's been really cool talking to you guys. It's it blows my mind how similar your agency is to mine in in terms of size, population size, everything. Ontario, it was like you, we were the wild west in the 80s. A lot of crime was taking place in Ontario. Uh, the city stepped up and and wanted to create a safe city, so they put a lot of efforts into public safety. And now Ontario is an entirely different city, and Modesto's followed that that same plan, and and it's really cool to hear you guys talk through the development of of that and and how air support works in through that. It's been really cool talking to you guys and hearing your stories. Uh, thank you for taking the time to to talk to us. You know, both of you are are working. Mike's the actual watch commander, so his his phone's been blowing up and he's asking uh as we've been a part of this conversation. But honestly, thank you guys. It's it's been an honor and a privilege to talk to you guys.
SPEAKER_02It it really has. I'll I'll wrap up by just saying thanks very much, Kalani. Thank you very much, Mike. We we really appreciate your time. Uh I knew this would be good, but again, we we do these all the time, and we're constantly wowed, I mean, at the people out there, uh, the professionalism, the people, the courage, the hard work, the determination. The list goes on. Uh, you're two both of your outstanding representatives from Modesto PD and law enforcement. And uh it it's just it was really fun to learn. More about the backstory behind creating this unit and behind both of you. And uh Kalani, thanks for sharing that that final story. That's very it's incredible, it's unique, and it's a good lesson for everybody. And it it crosses so over into aviation so well. I mean, you've got to be ready every minute of every day that you're up in an in an aircraft to handle something. You don't know when it's gonna happen. Nobody has a crystal ball that says, wow, today's the day I'm gonna have an engine out. Today's the day I'm I'm gonna have a problem with something or whatever it is. Today's the day I'm gonna have a shooting with my brand new probationer whose name I don't know yet. I mean, you don't we don't control any of that in law enforcement. And it's what makes this job exciting. It's also what makes this job very um difficult and stressful and risky. Appreciate that you sharing that, Clani. So with that, uh I wish you all the best in Modesto with continued um luck with your air support unit that you've created. It's going places, there's no doubt in my mind. John and I both will talk about this later and say, Oh, they're going places. That second aircraft's coming. I mean, you're you're proving you're proving how to do it right. I mean, and we talk to a lot of people, and we have our own experiences in this area, and you should be very happy with where you're at in the time you've done it, and um and it's gone, it's gonna expand even more. So with that, to all our listeners, thank you so much for listening. And our sponsors, thank you, thank you so much. And we have two of our listeners right here, John, which is really cool. Uh so thanks, Mike and Kaladi, for listening to the Hanger Z and for being guests on the Hanger Z. And with that, everybody out there, stay safe. You don't know when the bad things are going to happen. You gotta stay safe, be very diligent every day, all the time. But stay safe, and we will catch you the next time on the Hanger Z Podcast.
SPEAKER_04Thanks for joining us for this episode of the Hanger Z Podcast. Don't forget to like and subscribe to hear more stories that promote the personnel and equipment behind the missions in public safety aviation. Lastly, stand by for a message after we're from our sponsors. Cheers.
SPEAKER_01Thanks to our sponsor, Dallas Avionics, who provides innovative products to law enforcement, the Department of Defense, Homeland Security, Military, Air Medical, Search and Rescue, and Special Missions Operations. Dallas Avionics distributes OEM equipment, including communications equipment, digital audio systems, PA systems, flight tracking, and other mission-critical devices. Visit DallasAvionics.com for more details.
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