Heroes Behind the Badge4 Juni 2025

The story behind the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial.

In this special episode, we turn the tables on Heroes Behind the Badge founder Craig Floyd, making him the guest instead of the host. Join Dennis Collins and Bill Erfurth as they explore the remarkable 34-year journey of the man who built America's National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial and Museum from the ground up.

Featured Guest

Craig Floyd - Founding CEO of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (1984-2018), Founder and President of Citizens Behind the Badge, recipient of the John Ashcroft Distinguished Service Award

Key Topics Covered

The Beginning (1980s)

Working as legislative assistant to Congressman Mario Biaggi, NYC's most decorated police officer
How a simple congressional project became a lifetime mission
The pivotal meeting with survivor Vivian Ney that changed everything

Building the Memorial (1984-1991)

Starting with just $44,000 raised in two years when millions were needed
Nearly losing congressional authorization after struggling with fundraising
Learning from Vietnam Memorial creator Jan Scruggs about full-time commitment
The 1991 dedication ceremony with 25,000 attendees

Creating Police Week Traditions

Origins of the candlelight vigil in 1989 with Susie Sawyer
Growth from 125 people at first ceremony to 40,000 today
The Police Unity Tour and its $40 million in donations
Supporting 6,000 survivors annually through grief counseling and ceremonies

The Museum Challenge (1998-2018)

20-year journey to raise over $100 million
Multiple moments of near-failure and last-minute saves
Motorola Solutions' $18 million donation breakthrough
Bill Bratton calling it "the house that Craig Floyd built"

Personal Memories & Impact

The Griffiths brothers becoming Boston police officers after their brother's line-of-duty death
Martha Wood dancing with a young survivor at the memorial
The memorial growing from 12,561 names to nearly 25,000 today

Modern Mission (2020-Present)

Launching Citizens Behind the Badge during the "defund the police" movement
Continuing advocacy work in retirement
Receiving the John Ashcroft Distinguished Service Award in 2025

Notable Quotes

"If a letter of condolence would mean that much to a survivor, what would a national monument mean?" - Craig Floyd on meeting Vivian Ney

"I got to meet thousands of officers. I got to meet the survivors of the fallen, got to know their families really well, got to know their loved one who died really well, even though I'd never met them." - Craig Floyd

"It took a village to make the memorial, the museum and everything else we did happen." - Craig Floyd

How to Support

Visit CitizensBehindtheBadge.org to sign the Declaration of Support
Subscribe to Heroes Behind the Badge podcast
Donate to Citizens Behind the Badge advocacy efforts
Attend Police Week ceremonies in Washington, DC (May 12-15 annually)

Det här avsnittet är hämtat från ett öppet RSS-flöde och publiceras inte av Podme. Det kan innehålla reklam.

Avsnitt(60)

Tom Lange — The OJ Simpson Case: What the Jury Never Heard | Part 2

Tom Lange was the lead homicide detective for the Los Angeles Police Department assigned to the OJ Simpson murder case — one of the most watched criminal trials in American history. In this second par...

18 Juni 34min

Tom Lange — Lead OJ Simpson Detective on the Evidence the Jury Never Heard | Part 1

Tom Lange was the lead homicide detective for the LAPD on the night of June 12, 1994. When a call came in about a double homicide on the west side of Los Angeles, Lange and his partner Phil Vannatter ...

16 Juni 38min

Sheriff Mike Neal — The Walmart Shooting and What He Brought Home | Part 2

Sheriff Michael Neal was a wildlife officer with no business being at a West Memphis crime scene the afternoon of May 20th, 2010. He was over an hour away when two police officers were shot and killed...

4 Juni 30min

Sheriff Mike Neal — 16 Years of Survivor Guilt After the West Memphis Ambush | Part 1

Sheriff Michael Neal is a law enforcement officer, a combat veteran of one of the most dramatic police incidents in modern American history, and today the elected Sheriff of Lee County, Arkansas. In M...

2 Juni 34min

Rafael A. Mangual - The Data Behind "Criminal [In]Justice" | Part 2

In Part 2 of his Heroes Behind the Badge conversation, Rafael Mangual opens with the story that drove him to write his book. In July 2019, Brittany Hill, 24 years old, holding her one-year-old daughte...

21 Maj 39min

Rafael A. Mangual - Why Killers Walk While Cops Go to Prison | Part 1

Rafael A. Mangual is a senior fellow and head of research at the Manhattan Institute's Policing and Public Safety Initiative, and the author of "Criminal [In]Justice." He is one of the most data-drive...

19 Maj 33min

Blake Boteler — The Bounty, the Arrests, and the Funeral That Never Happened | Part 2

Blake Boteler is a retired ATF Special Agent and former petroleum geologist whose two-year undercover infiltration of the Sons of Silence outlaw motorcycle gang stands as one of the deepest and most s...

7 Maj 28min

He Spent 2 Years Undercover With the Sons of Silence (Part 1) | ATF Agent Blake Boteler

What does it actually cost to go undercover for two years with one of America's most violent outlaw motorcycle gangs?Blake Boteler knows. He's the retired ATF special agent who spent two years as "Bo"...

5 Maj 39min