Podcast by 2 Saskatoon police officers tackles trauma, addiction, burnout

Yahoo

2 days ago

It's a low-tech setting for a high-stakes conversation.
Two casually-dressed men with microphones sit in a basement in white mesh chairs, a laptop computer on a low table between them. The room is filled with plants. Soft, natural light filters in from the ground-level windows.
The men are Saskatoon police officers Dylan Kemp and Jason Garland. On May 15, they began broadcasting The Quiet Fight, a podcast they bill in promos as "the show that talks honestly about what the job does to your mind, your body, your identity as a man."
"We're here for the ones who show up, who carry the weight, and who often suffer in silence. No shrink talk, no fluff. Just real conversations about burnout, trauma, addiction, leadership, and life beyond the badge."
They do not identify themselves on the show as Saskatoon police officers, and use only their first names.
The reach of the podcast has slowly grown since that first episode, which featured Garland and Kemp talking about childhood trauma and the expectations of the job.
By Episode 6, it had gone from an audio-only podcast on Spotify to video episodes available on Youtube, TikTok and Instagram. They now sell branded T-shirts, hoodies and coffee mugs online.
Episode 6 featured a two-and-a-half hour conversation with Sam Kosolofski, a Regina police officer shot by another officer while executing a search warrant on April 26, 2024. It's the first time Kosolofski spoke publicly about the shooting and, to date, the episode has been viewed 1,800 times.
The Saskatoon Police Service does not want to talk about the podcast, or Kemp and Garland. It refused to answer questions on its social media policy, whether it approved the podcast or even whether Kemp and Garland are active members.
Kemp and Garland have not responded to requests for comment on their podcast.
The Saskatoon Police Association, the union representing more than 600 members, is not as reticent.
"Yes, they are part of the association," union president Chris Rhodes said.
Rhodes is aware of the podcast.
"From our perspective, it's important," he said.
"If people are suffering, we can't stifle their voice. We have to give them a chance to speak, to say they need help, to talk about their experiences and hopefully get better."
'Shots fired, officers down'
The episode with Kosolofski is the first one where Kemp and Garland speak with someone identified as a police officer. Previous guests had spoken about addiction and trauma, but they were not first responders.
The Regina Police Service investigated Kosolofski's shooting, but until CBC asked about the podcast interview, it had never released the findings of its internal investigation.
"The Regina Police Service Major Crimes Unit conducted a thorough investigation of the incident. Following that, the RPS Use of Force Review Board conducted a thorough review of the incident based on that investigation. The Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT), an independent, civilian-led organization, monitored the investigation," spokesperson Lindsey Hoemsen wrote in an email.
"The conclusion following thorough investigation was that it was an accidental discharge. Tactics and training were assessed and changes were made to reduce the chances, and hopefully eliminate the chances, of something like this happening again. This was not a situation where discipline/punishment was deemed appropriate."
In the podcast, Kosolofski describes how he was part of a team executing a high-risk warrant that Friday in April. The street gang unit and the tactical support unit were going into a house on Retallack Street.
"I was the first operator going through the door that night. Basically the door went in, and I ended up flat on back."
Kosolofski didn't realize he'd been shot until he tried to stand and felt a warm liquid running down his leg.
"For whatever reason, I couldn't get up and a couple seconds go by and I heard somebody else kind of yell, 'shots fired, shots fired, officer down,'" he said.
"That was when I realized, OK, like, I got hit. But I'm not feeling anything."
Kosolofski speaks frankly in the podcast about his immediate fears of dying, how he wondered whether he should leave a voicemail message for his wife and kids in case he didn't make it through surgery, how he almost lost his leg, and his long road to recovery.
He also talks about why he is sharing the story with other police on a podcast.
"Hopefully [this] can resonate and help some other people, as a lot of the stuff that you guys have already been doing sort of resonated with me," he said.
'The person inside the uniform'
Rhodes is not surprised at the growing popularity of the podcast, especially the Kosolofski episode.
"After all is said and done, the person inside the uniform is human and they're going through that experience, whether it's acute or whether it's chronic or a length of time or it's just a sudden event," he said.
"Stress is stress, and people can relate to that factor that somebody shows up in a uniform, whether they're a firefighter or a police officer or an EMT or a paramedic or a nurse or health-care professional, there's a human being in that uniform and they're going through that experience."
It's the humanizing of the people in uniform that gives the podcast its value and power, he said.
Rhodes said the union is aware that the SPS has a policy on social media. The question is whether the podcast is deemed an on-duty or off-duty event.
"There is policy around social media and there's policy around how you represent yourself in social media and that's understood for every officer that works there," he said.
"But that doesn't limit you in your personal voice. So it would have to be looked at, I guess, on a case-by-case basis how we would respond to that."