Straight Talk on Leadership with Dean Crisp

Episode 15 (Part 1): Surviving the Unthinkable | Sgt. Michael Walker

December 15, 2019 Dean Crisp/ Sgt. Michael Walker of the Baldwin County Sheriff Office, AL Season 1 Episode 15
Straight Talk on Leadership with Dean Crisp
Episode 15 (Part 1): Surviving the Unthinkable | Sgt. Michael Walker
Show Notes

EPISODE 15 (PART 1):

"Surviving the Unthinkable | Sgt. Michael Walker"

It’s every law enforcement officer’s concern AND it’s every law enforcement family’s worst nightmare – the dreaded call from your family member’s department informing you that your father, son, mother, daughter, or spouse has been shot in the line of duty. Your first questions are: Will they live? Where are you taking them? Then, if, and after, the initial trauma of the incident wears off, you are concerned for your family member’s emotional, mental, and physical well-being. 

This episode starts a 3-part series interviewing a man who not only survived such an incident, but has learned to thrive with the life-changing complications it brought. Dean first met Sgt. Michael Walker in the summer of 2018 at an FBI-LEEDA training. It was less than nine months since the incident. As they got to talking during a break, Dean learned of Sgt. Walker’s remarkable story of being shot in the face, surviving multiple surgeries, and adapting to his new reality. And as if that wasn’t a badge of honor in and of itself, he returned to his position at the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office just two months after the incident! The story is truly one all listeners will enjoy and it will offer a glimpse of the many courageous acts our law enforcement officers do daily from traffic stops to armed robbery: these men and women truly keep us safe in our communities.

In this first of three episodes, Dean will introduce you to Sgt. Walker and you will hear about that fateful December night in 2017 - just days before Christmas when Sgt. Walker responded to a domestic case of a woman having been thrown off a bridge. The couple was notorious for being a constant source of calls in Baldwin County AL, a very rural county on the southeastern edge of the state bordering Florida. After having served as a Marine and a municipal police officer for more than a decade, Sgt. Walker (within this episode and the two following it), tells us about the incident, what it taught him about leadership, and how he’s adapting to his new reality. It’s a truly inspirational story of personal determination, discipline, and leadership. 

I want to also invite each of you to watch the interview on our YouTube channel: Leaders Helping Leaders Network, so you can see for yourself what kind of officer Sgt. Walker is. 
We hope you enjoy this series!

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