An armed hold-up in Surry Hills leads to a tense search and an unexpected discovery. Roger Mayer recalls a dangerous night that had more than a few surprises in store.

We also catch up on Roger’s weekend in Wellington with Loose Leads Dog Training and look ahead to his upcoming NT Police muster.

In a heartfelt moment, Roger pays tribute to young Constable Mia Lay on the day of her funeral, with thoughts for her family, friends and police colleagues.

And we celebrate Roger’s 70th birthday—a special milestone following his recent world jiu-jitsu championship win.

Why doesn’t Roger like guard dogs? Deb asks him about a comment from an earlier episode, and Roger explains his concerns for the dogs themselves, as well as what happens when constant barking or repeated alarms become easy to ignore.

That leads to a new story from the revised edition of Roger’s book. In Sydney, a “Mr Big” and his crew used repeated alarms to draw security out, hide and wait until the alarms were dismissed as false. Roger’s arrest of Mr Big for trespass then took unexpected turns involving the National Crime Authority and an Internal Affairs investigation.

The story also raises a serious question: what do you do when someone senior directs you to do something you believe isn’t lawful?

Roger is back from Japan with a world title (gold medal), a silver medal and plenty of stories from the trip. He shares what it was like competing at the SJJIF World Championships before we turn to a question from one of our listeners, Jeannette: what is the funniest hiding place or chase you have ever had with a dog?

That question takes us back to the Dog Squad. Kancho tracks down crooks after a break-in, Roger recalls falling through one roof and getting stuck on another, and Dax the Rottweiler joins him for a bushcraft course with a lesson in camouflage.

Have a question for Roger about policing or dog training? Send it in for a future episode of Tall Tails & True.