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This is our Christmas Bonus Episode for 2025! Today's guest is police chaplain Mark Femmel from St Louis. We're talking about the goodness of police officers, ride alongs, Christmas services at church, and Mark has a special Christmas message for you.

Music is by Audionautix and by Kevin MacLeod

Hey Chaplain Bonus Episode 47

Tags:

Christmas, Chaplains, Church, Holidays, Ministers, Morale, Police, Kansas City, St Louis, Kansas, Missouri

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When we talk about traumatic experiences, we usually go straight to the shootings and the car accidents, the grisly murders and crimes against children. What often gets left out of that list is getting the threatening lawyer letter that says you're getting sued and whole life is about to be destroyed. Today's guest is police chaplain Mark Clements who has received these letters over and over and over again. Why does someone want to sue him? For being a chaplain in the first place of course. Mark talks about getting sued and why police chaplaincy should NOT be in danger getting shut down for violating the constitution or some other nonsense. But even if you're not connected in any way to the legal and historical argument for law enforcement chaplaincy, I hope you'll listen in to a conversation with someone who has opened those scary lawyer letters… and survived.

Music is by Chris Haugen

Hey Chaplain Podcast Episode 129

Tags:

Chaplaincy, Attorneys, Court, First Amendment, ICPC, Lawsuit, Legality, Ministry, Police, Religious Freedom, Supreme Court, Threats, La Crosse, Mansfield, Wisconsin, Ohio

The hosts and guests, including any discussion of personal legal experiences, lawsuits, constitutional issues, or Supreme Court decisions, are providing general information and commentary, not specific legal counsel.

Listening to this episode, reading the shownotes, or interacting with us does not create an attorney-client relationship between you and any of the hosts, guests, or the Hey Chaplain podcast.

Legal outcomes, including the handling of lawsuits and court decisions, are highly dependent on the specific facts of each case. The discussion of personal experiences or historical court cases may not be applicable to your situation.

If you have a legal issue, have received a lawyer's letter, or need advice regarding constitutional law, please stop listening to podcasts and go consult with a qualified legal professional licensed in your jurisdiction. Do not rely on anything you hear on a podcast as a substitute for competent legal advice.

Hey Chaplain has not received any kind of compensation or benefit from First LIberty Institute and this is not a paid advertisement for First Liberty Institute or any other law firm or legal representation. If you are still very very angry and feel compelled to bring a lawsuit, let me know and maybe I can get you in touch with Chaplain Mark, because he's been waiting for you with bated breath.

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It's mailbag time!

Use the link above to leave a comment or a question and we might use it on a future show!

Music is by Chris Haugen

Hey Chaplain Update Episode 4Q 2025

Tags:

Chaplaincy, Chaplains, Email, Law Enforcement, Mail, Podcasting, Radio, Chicago, Kansas City, Illinois, Kansas

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Today we are talking about Critical Incident Debriefs. I had an officer walk into a debrief one time, take one look at the chairs, and say, "this is a circle meeting?! I hate circle meetings!" Well, typically a modern, well-run debrief will prove its value by the end of the meeting, even reaching most of the skeptics… as long as they go to the meeting in the first place.

So our guest today is Major Jamison White from Maryland Heights, Missouri. He's a commander who understands what it's like to be on both sides of a debrief and the critical incident stress that it's meant to help address. He has some encouraging words about how debriefs have developed in recent years and you're going to want to hear this.

Music is by Chris Haugen

Hey Chaplain Podcast Episode 128

Tags:

Debriefs, Counseling, Critical Incidents, Depression, Leadership, Police, Psychology, School Shooting, Stress, Substance Abuse, Trauma, Wellness, Maryland Heights, Missouri

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Today we return to our conversation with Sheriff Sonny Byerley and his wife Mikaela. This is part two, so you if you haven't heard part one, you definitely need to go back and catch Episode 127 and hear some of the wild stories of Sonny's career: getting shot and stabbed, going through a dramatic officer involved shooting and witnessing the hatred and violence of a big city riot. But in this part of the conversation we see the vulnerable side of the Sheriff and what Mikaela saw in her husband as the years of trauma began to affect him, eventually leading to a medical retirement.

Music is by the Mini Vandals and by Chris Haugen

Hey Chaplain Podcast Episode 126 Part 2

Tags:

PTSD, Family, Health, Medical, Mental Health, Relationships, Retirement, Sacrifice, Trauma, VA, Missouri

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Today we're talking to Sheriff Sonny Byerley and his wife Mikaela. I met Sonny and Mikaela because they have begun traveling to police wellness conferences to share their experiences about PTSD. Sonny is a cop's cop: strong, independent, and self-reliant, but he's also a cop who has survived being shot and stabbed on multiple occasions and has endured all kinds of other traumas that a lot of officers can relate to.

In today's interview we're going to focus on Sonny's story and a few of the traumatic incidents he's experienced. But then I'm going to produce a part two episode for next week that will look at the effects that thirty years of trauma began to have on Sonny and Mikaela. So part one will be all the gruesome stories, part two will be the impact it had on the Sheriff. You're really going to want to hear both sides.

Music is by Wes Hutchinson

Hey Chaplain Podcast Episode 127, Part One

Tags:

PTSD, Career, Injuries, Police, Rural Policing, Sheriff, Shooting, Stabbing, Trauma, Branson, Ferguson, Missouri

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In the summer of 2025, one of my patrol officers, Hunter Simoncic, was struck by a car and killed in the line of duty. As part of the grieving process, we are sharing our experiences with you that you might be better prepared for the impossible tasks that immediately follow a line of duty death.

One of the most difficult is that of family liaison officer. A family liaison is assigned to the family of a fallen officer, to advocate for the family's needs, to communicate to them about police traditions and the departments needs, and be the point of contact for the countless questions that arise when everyone has just had their worst possible day.

Our guest for this interview is friend of the show Captain Gregg Dorsett. Captain Dorsett was asked to be a family liaison officer for the Simoncic family and he agreed to let me debrief him and share his experience with you. To go from police commander and decision maker to family advocate in the midst of strongest possible emotions… well, that's a journey I think everyone can gain from hearing about.

Concerns of Police Survivors can help families and coworkers. Their website is https://www.concernsofpolicesurvivors.org

Music is by the Westerlies

Hey Chaplain Podcast Episode 126 Part 2

Tags:

Family Liaison, Coroner, Family, Funeral Homes, Hospital, Memorials, Morgue, Murder, Paperwork, Planning, Police, Post-Mortem, Processions, Sympathy, Kansas City, Kansas

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In the summer of 2025 my hometown of Kansas City, Kansas, lost two officers murdered in the line of duty: Deputy Elijah Ming and Officer Hunter Simoncic. Because they were killed just 30 days apart, we had two large, complex, line of duty death funerals at the local major league soccer stadium, one funeral just a few weeks after the other. We are still grieving and trying to process these losses, and as part of that process I wanted to offer our experiences as a resource to other agencies.

The guest for this interview Captain Shenee Davis-Kross from the police department. She was involved in the logistics and planning for both funerals, starting with the motorcycle escorts for the fallen and extending to an almost endless list of other responsibilities in the Op Plan. Though Captain Davis was just one part of a much larger team, I felt she represented the group's experience really well and I think you'll learn a lot from what she went through.

Music is by the Westerlies

Hey Chaplain Podcast Episode 126

Tags:

Line of Duty Death, Ceremonies, Family, Funeral, Helicopters, Liaisons, Logistics, Motorcycles, Murder, Police, Sheriff, Snipers, Sporting KC, SWAT, Taps, Kansas City, Kansas

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Thanks for Listening! And, as always, pray for peace in our city.

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• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hey-chaplain/id1570155168
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2CGK9A3BmbFEUEnx3fYZOY

Email us at: heychaplain44@gmail.com

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