He Survived a Shotgun Ambush Then the System Failed Him - Part 2

He Survived a Shotgun Ambush Then the System Failed Him - Part 2

"Three years. That's all it took for my shooter to get away with it."

===============

**EDITOR'S NOTE:** This is Part 2 of Tom Weitzel's story, originally released on YouTube in December 2025. We're now making it available on all audio platforms.

===============

In Part 1, Tom Weitzel told us how he survived a gang ambush during a traffic stop in 1987. Part 2 is about what happened when the justice system failed him.

When ATF agents finally identified Tom's shooter years later, Illinois law said it was too late to prosecute. The statute of limitations for attempted murder of a police officer? Three years. For writing a bad check? Forever.

Tom went to Springfield and got that law changed. But he didn't stop there.

Now, as three of his own sons serve in law enforcement, Tom is fighting for something bigger: making line-of-duty deaths federal crimes—with federal investigation, federal prosecution, and the death penalty in all 50 states.

In this episode:

  • Why the current system fails officer families
  • What's happening at the ICE facility near Chicago
  • Tom's federal crime proposal that the Biden administration ignored
  • His collaboration with Citizens Behind the Badge to take it to Congress

If Part 1 was about survival, Part 2 is about making sure other officers don't face the same injustice.

Haven't listened to Part 1 yet? Find it in your podcast feed from December 16, 2025.

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(68)

Morgan Wright — What the JonBenét Ramsey Crime Scene Actually Says | Part 2

Morgan Wright — What the JonBenét Ramsey Crime Scene Actually Says | Part 2

Morgan Wright is the founder and CEO of the National Center for Open and Unsolved Cases, a nonprofit that works cold cases toward resolution rather than commentary. A former detective who went on to t...

13 Aug 34min

Morgan Wright — Reinvestigating JonBenét Ramsey From First Principles | Part 1

Morgan Wright — Reinvestigating JonBenét Ramsey From First Principles | Part 1

Morgan Wright is the founder and CEO of the National Center for Open and Unsolved Cases, a nonprofit that takes on cold cases and works them toward resolution rather than commentary. He is a former de...

11 Aug 37min

Bill Buford — He Owed It to the Men He Lost at Waco | Part 2

Bill Buford — He Owed It to the Men He Lost at Waco | Part 2

In Part 2 of this two-part conversation, retired ATF agent Bill Buford takes listeners back inside the gun room during the February 28, 1993 raid on the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas. He w...

30 Jul 25min

Bill Buford — Surviving the Waco Raid as an ATF Agent | Part 1

Bill Buford — Surviving the Waco Raid as an ATF Agent | Part 1

Bill Buford spent nearly three decades in federal law enforcement, first as a Green Beret in Vietnam, then as a Special Agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. In 1993, he ...

28 Jul 41min

Jim Freeman — Inside the Unabomber's Cabin | Part 2

Jim Freeman — Inside the Unabomber's Cabin | Part 2

Jim Freeman spent 32 years as an FBI Special Agent, rising to Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau's San Francisco field office. In the final two years of the 17-year hunt for the Unabomber, Freeman ...

16 Jul 33min

Jim Freeman - Leading the FBI's Hunt for the Unabomber | Part 1

Jim Freeman - Leading the FBI's Hunt for the Unabomber | Part 1

Jim Freeman spent 32 years as an FBI Special Agent, rising to Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau's San Francisco field office. In the final two years of the 17-year hunt for the Unabomber, Freeman ...

14 Jul 42min

Rick Harcrow — Inside Attica: The Stats, the Families, and the Hidden Cost | Part 2

Rick Harcrow — Inside Attica: The Stats, the Families, and the Hidden Cost | Part 2

Rick Harcrow spent 37 years as a correctional officer at Attica Correctional Facility — home of the deadliest prison riot in American history. In Part 2, the conversation goes deeper: from the daily r...

2 Jul 32min

Rick Harcrow - Inside the Attica Prison Riot: What Really Happened | Part 1

Rick Harcrow - Inside the Attica Prison Riot: What Really Happened | Part 1

Rick Harcrow spent 37 years as a correctional officer in the New York State prison system — 30 of them at Attica Correctional Facility. He wasn't there on September 9, 1971, when the riot began. But h...

30 Jun 44min

Populært innen Politikk og nyheter

giver-og-gjengen-vg
aftenpodden
aftenpodden-usa
forklart
stopp-verden
popradet
nokon-ma-ga
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
rss-gukild-johaug
det-store-bildet
hanna-de-heldige
dine-penger-pengeradet
rss-penger-polser-og-politikk
rss-ness
aftenbla-bla
frokostshowet-pa-p5
unitedno
rss-borsmorgen-okonominyhetene
grasoner-den-nye-kalde-krigen
ta-dokumentar