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Police Helicopters are quickly becoming a thing of the past. When the helicopters themselves cost anywhere from 500,000 to 3 Million dollars to purchase and have operating costs around 400 bucks per hour to fly nobody can afford them anymore. Not that anyone outside of a handful of major metropolitan police departments ever could.

But that doesn’t take away the fact that having eyes in the sky can and does offer incredible advantages when it comes to public safety.

In 2025 that means drones.

Over the last decade we have seen drone use increase among police department across the US. Starting with search and rescue functions the use of drones has continued to grow just as the technology has improved and today we have full time drone pilots in agencies all over the US.

I had the pleasure to speak with Matt Rowland. Since 2017 Matt has been a member of the Unmanned Air Support Unit with the City of Fort Wayne, Indiana. He is currently a full-time drone pilot and an advocate of the technology.

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Author Willet Ryder said “Hobbies are both a mystery and a delight. They’re a mystery because many people with hobbies don’t always share them with others. They’re a delight because of the pure joy they provide to the hobbyist, making hours pass like minutes!”

But don’t take my word for it, listen to the experts.

First, hobbies help improve your mental health. Hobbies are a powerful tool to manage stress and improve your mood. Creative hobbies such as writing, painting, and yes roleplaying can substantially reduce depression, anxiety and stress. Studies have linked creative hobbies to lowering Cortisol levels (a stress hormone) and improving mood.

Second, physical hobbies will keep you alive. Moving everyday is important and taking on physical hobbies such as cycling, skiing, kayaking, running, hiking, or even walking can have significant effect on your retired self. You will be amazed at how fast your physical health can get away from you after retirement. You don’t have to fit into a uniform anymore and since people aren’t trying to kill you everyday you don’t “need” to stay in shape. But never forget that couch is a killer.

Third, mentally stimulating hobbies like learning a foreign language, taking up a musical instrument, or solving puzzles can significantly improve your cognitive function including memory and can reduce the risk of dementia later in life.

Fourth, hobbies can significantly improve our social life. If you’re a cop then most of your friends are cops and I have some bad news for you, the day you retire will be the last day you hear from those friends.

Do not underestimate the importance of social connections after retirement and hobbies are one of the best ways to meet people and interact with them.

And fifth, as a cop we always felt a sense of accomplishment. It’s one of the most rewarding jobs you can have. From locking up the bad guy, to changing a lady’s tire, everyday you were able to take something away from that job, something important, what you did mattered.

When you retire do you really matter anymore?

These are just a few of the benefits of having hobbies.

Check out my roleplaying podcast:

https://oddfishgames.com/pages/the-epic-adventure-podcast

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William Osler was a Canadian physician and one of the “Big 4” founders of John Hopkins Hospital. He created the first “residency” program for training physicians and he has been called the father of modern medicine.

I think it’s safe to say he knows a thing or two.

Osler once said “No man is really happy or safe without a hobby.”

That is especially true for law enforcement.

The stress of law enforcement can cause tremendous mental and physical problems if not addressed and hobbies go a long way to help alleviate that stress.

Not only does it help on the job, but once retirement rolls around and you hang up those 12-hour days on the emotional rollercoaster, you better have something to occupy your time.

Otherwise, that couch will be calling your name.

And that couch is a killer.

I wanted to talk to a retired officer that mastered the art of hobbies and one name rose right to the top.

David Rhodes.

Dave started with the Indiana University Police Department in 1980 and spent the next 40 years patrolling, investigating, and training new officers. He retired as the Lieutenant in charge of training at IUPD, and while his law enforcement career is impressive his off-duty life is just as interesting. In my opinion Dave mastered the art of hobbies. From martial arts, to music, to becoming a published author, Dave is never bored.

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Road School.

That’s what my wife calls it.

In 2017 we tuned into Netflix’s new series Mindhunters, based on the book by John Douglas and Mark Olshaker. In the premier episode, directed by David Fincher, the FBI agents in the series are traveling across the country and teaching police departments how to identify serious violent offenders. They called it Road School and it stuck with my wife.

By then I had been doing that very same thing, albeit the topic was a little different, for 17 years. She even had “Bye Bye BPD, Hello Road School” put on top of my retirement cake.

My second career since my retirement didn’t happen overnight. I didn’t retire on Monday and then start teaching on Tuesday…well, actually I sort of did just that, but in reality, the ground work had started 20 years earlier.

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It’s amazing what getting a job will do to you.

I was still taking classes at IU, but the Bloomington Police Department had already given me a call and confirmed that I was going to be hired in a few months.

My first full time job.

At the time I was working as a part time officer for IUPD while going to school and I was making about 7 bucks an hour. That was great, because at the time minimum wage was 4.25 an hour. Even then paying rent, putting gas in a car, and eating was about all I could afford.

That call changed everything. In just a couple of months I was going to be making 41,000 dollars a year as a first-year officer. That might not sound like much, but in today’s money that would be over 86K a year and I don’t think anyone would sneeze at that salary for a rookie.

That’s when my buddy hit me up.

Want to go to Florida for Spring Break?

Silly question, but in the past, I didn’t have any money, and while I still didn’t have any money, I had a big-time job coming and I had this little plastic thing in my pocket I had just picked up, a credit card.

I wouldn’t recommend putting a week’s spring break vacation on a credit card.

That was just the beginning of my troubles.

Right after swearing in, I bought my first brand new car. No more barely running rust buckets, but a nice shiny brand-new Geo Storm sports car…don’t judge me.

It was a budget sports car coming in at 12,000 dollars, see I was being frugal. And, just to put it in perspective that would be just under 30,000 bucks in today’s money.

My spending habits didn’t get any better.

As a matter of fact, I look back on about my first decade of policing and wonder.

“Where did all my money go?”

Financial Stability isn’t something that comes natural to cops. As a matter of fact, my story isn’t unusual. Actually, I did a pretty good job compared to some of the things we see new officers do with their money.

Since I decided to focus this season on retirement I new that I had to talk to a financial planner, someone who understood not only money, but the special issues that money brings to cops, and ultimately how to retire.

So, I reached out to Nick Daugherty at Financial Cop

Nick is the President/owner at FinancialCop LLC and Serve & Protect Financial Texas, a full service, fiduciary only financial service firm owned and operated by first responders for first responders. They are also the largest financial wellness training group for first responders nationally, having taught over 30,000 first responders from over 3,000 agencies, police academies, and conferences nationwide.

Currently Nick is a reserve officer for the Grand Prairie Police Department after 14 1/2 years as a full-time officer / sergeant.

https://financialcop.com/

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The Gold Watch

The Brass Ring

Retirement

You know … Winning

It’s a simple topic, one that everyone should be interested in and one that everyone should applaud. Ask a retiree if they regret getting out, odds are 100 to 1 that they will just laugh in your face.

Easy days of putzing around the house, playing golf, and waking up whenever you feel like it. No calls, no emergencies, no trauma, no adrenaline, just boring day in and day out.

I guess it’s a little more complicated than that.

With a decentralized law enforcement system in the United States, it is easy to guess that the retirement requirements and compensation differ across the country. Every state is different, and depending on the type of agency you are serving in, the retirement package for one officer in the county could be different from another officer in the county. Add in State Police and Federal Law Enforcement and retirement benefits quickly become difficult to navigate.

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I am blessed with friends.

I am blessed to have neighbors that rushed to my home to make sure that we were safe. I am blessed that I have people who will be there for me and my family in the darkest moments. I am blessed that I have friends who will reach out and provide moral and actual support when needed. I am blessed that I have met some amazing people over my career and they will take the time to chat with me on this podcast and I am blessed that people like you take the time to listen.

This is a heartfelt thank you to all of my friends out there, for everything they have done and will continue to do. I can never truly repay you with anything but my own friendship. I love all of you very much.

I hope you have enjoyed Season 5 of Blue Canary. As usual we are going to take a couple of months off and start planning for next year. If you have enjoyed Blue Canary please do me a favor and rate and review us on your favorite podcast platform. We are also now on YouTube so make sure you like and subscribe not just on your podcast app, but also on YouTube so that we can continue to help you tell your stories. And finally, like and subscribe so you don’t miss an episode.

We will be back in the spring with Season 6 of Blue Canary. What are we going to focus on for next season, well you will just have to subscribe to find out.

And remember, take a few minutes to make friends. They are everything.

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Jared Altic is a police chaplain in Kansas City, focusing his work in the patrol divisions of the Kansas City Kansas Police Department (KCKPD). He attends roll calls, goes on ride alongs, teaches at the police academy, and responds to homicides, suicides, and accidents in the city. Jared's passion is encouraging officer wellness among cops, which he also does through his podcast, Hey Chaplain.

I had the pleasure to talk with Jared about informal leadership and his role as a chaplain.