Ep. 110: The Calls We Carry

There are calls you answer during a law enforcement career—and then there are the calls that never really leave you.

In this deeply personal episode of the Street Tales Podcast, Tyler and Mo sit down for an unfiltered conversation built around three questions:

What was the call that changed you?What was the call that almost made you quit?What was the call that reminded you why you wanted to keep doing the job?

What follows is much more than a collection of police stories.

Mo takes listeners back to the beginning of her career and a devastating fatal crash that left a mother dead after she pushed her infant child out of the path of an oncoming vehicle. As a brand-new deputy still in field training, Mo was tasked with delivering the death notification to the woman's husband—a moment so overwhelming that she went home questioning whether she could ever do the job again.

That experience ultimately taught her something different: the fact that the job hurt meant she still cared. That compassion followed her throughout her career and influenced not only the deputy she became, but the kind of field training officer she wanted to be.

Tyler shares the calls that changed his own perspective—from encountering death and unimaginable loss early in his career to a child-abuse investigation that left him furious, helpless, and questioning the system he was working within. The conversation explores what happens when officers do everything they believe they are supposed to do but still leave a scene wondering, "What are we even doing?"

But this episode isn't only about tragedy.

Mo remembers a domestic violence call around Christmas that ended with deputies pooling their own money, filling patrol cars with presents, and returning to give children a Christmas they otherwise might not have had. For her, seeing those children's faces was a reminder that policing wasn't only about putting people in handcuffs—it was also about recognizing a need and doing something about it.

She also recalls working with a young student who had rarely seen a police officer who looked like him. A simple promise involving good grades, good behavior, lunch, and Mo letting down her dreads became an example of how seemingly small interactions can create a ripple effect far beyond a single day.

The conversation also ventures into undercover work and the complicated humanity behind the badge. Mo describes the moment a confidential informant—who knew only her undercover identity—called her during a family emergency because she believed Mo was the only friend she had. It forced Mo to confront the reality that behind the labels of "cop," "criminal," "informant," or "bad guy" are still human beings carrying their own stories, families, pain, and circumstances.

Throughout the episode, Tyler and Mo examine the things that don't disappear when the shift ends: a person's voice, the sound of a garage door opener, the faces of children, the feeling of helplessness, and memories that can remain decades after the report has been filed.