Blue Canary: For Cops By a Cop
By Steve Kellams
Who approaches the scene first risking their lives for the safety of others? We do. The blue canaries, law enforcement. We allow others to tell our stories. It's time for us to tell our own stories. Blue Canary is a show for cops by a cop, retired Captain Steven Kellams. In each episode, Steve goes behind the scenes of a police department. Giving you real-world insight into why decisions are made, what obstacles are ahead, and how the answers to your questions aren’t always found in the news. It’s unfiltered, it’s relevant and it’s for anyone brave enough to wear a badge.
Send us Fan Mail BCS7E10 A view from the other side. This season on Blue Canary, we’ve spent a lot of time talking about police reform. And I’ve been asking every guest essentially the same question: If you could wave a magic wand—if you could be king for a day—and make one meaningful change to policing in America, what would it be? I’ve heard some great answers. But most of those answers have come from people who have worn a badge, worked inside the criminal justice system, or spent their ca...
Send us Fan Mail When we talk about police reform, most people immediately think about body cameras, use-of-force policies, civilian review boards, or new laws. Those are important conversations. But today I want to start somewhere different. I want to start with what I believe is one of the biggest problems facing modern policing. We've become exceptionally good at responding to crime. We've become much less capable of preventing it. Think about that for just a second. When someone calls 911...
Send us Fan Mail This week I talk to Patrick Kreuzer. Patrick is a disabled United States Marine Corps veteran and retired police officer with more than 20 years of combined service to his country and community. Originally born in Germany and naturalized as an American citizen at a young age, Patrick felt a strong calling to give back through a life of public service. His military and law enforcement careers reflect his unwavering dedication to protecting and supporting others, demonstrating ...
Send us Fan Mail About twenty years ago I was sitting in an administrative meeting at my police department. The chief had made a promise to the city council that we were going to increase our in-service training. It sounded great. Everybody around the table agreed that more training was important. Then reality hit. We didn't have enough officers to cover the street if people went to training. We couldn't pull officers off shift because there was nobody to replace them. On top of that, the cit...
Send us Fan Mail When I first joined The Thin Line Rock Station, I did what I think every new DJ should do—I listened. I wanted to hear what everyone else was bringing to the station, what made this place special, and why people kept coming back. One of the first voices that really caught my attention belonged to Erin Nugent. Every Tuesday and Thursday from 2 to 4, she hosted a show called Holding Space. And every time she'd open with, "I'm holding space for your darkness." Man...that stopped...
Send us Fan Mail When we talk about police reform, we usually talk about body cameras, policies, accountability, or use of force. Those are important discussions, but I think we're missing something much more fundamental. What if one of the biggest police reform issues isn't what officers do? What if it's whether they're physically capable of doing the job in the first place? Let's be honest about what police work actually is. A police officer may spend most of his shift writing reports, answ...
Send us Fan Mail It was poker night. Once a month the shift would get together and play poker. It rotated from house to house and this time it was my turn. My living room was crowded with about a dozen people. Eight of us were playing at the table and I was tucked back in against the wall. We were all drinking and having fun. Cory stops bye. He liked to be the life of the party so when he came in it was high fives and greetings all around. Now Cory was a young officer, only been on the depart...
Send us Fan Mail I attended the police academy at Indiana University. At the time, it was one of the only academies outside the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy in Plainfield that the state officially recognized as a full police certification academy. The program itself was unique. While a full-time student with Indiana University you had to apply for the IU police department. The application process was very similar to getting hired by a police department. If accepted they put you through the...
Send us Fan Mail When I decided to talk about police reform I immediately thought of Brad Seifers. I had the pleasure of working extensively with Brad over the years and new that if anyone had solid thoughts on police reform it would be Brad. Brad recently retired from law enforcement after a 32-year career. He started at the Indiana University Police academy in 1994, then spent over 22 years in municipal policing. He served in every roll from patrol officer to lieutenant of patrol and detect...
Send us Fan Mail Real reform requires honesty. It requires evidence. It requires experience. And most importantly—it requires conversation. Not lectures. Not slogans. And not screaming people into silence. That’s what this podcast is about. Not defending bad policing. Not pretending problems don’t exist. But talking honestly about what real police reform should actually look like—from the perspective of the people doing the job. Because for too long, police reform has been happening to office...
Send us Fan Mail https://www.thethinlinerockstation.com/ In October of 2025, I got an email that made me pause for a second. It was from James Hathaway who said that he was one of the owners of The Thin Line Rock Station, an online radio station that was specifically designed for public safety. He had heard my podcast and thought I would have a great voice for their station and would I be interested in being a DJ. I started doing a little digging and when I typed in The Thin Line Rock Station...
Send us Fan Mail We find ourselves once again at the end of a season. This caps off Season 6 of Blue Canary and it’s been very interesting. I had been thinking about retirement for a couple of years. Once the greatness of it started to settle and the things you missed started to creep back in past the walls you built telling yourself it was the greatest decision you ever made, reality raised it’s ugly head. Don’t get me wrong, I am very happy I am retired. But there are things I miss. I mean ...
Send us Fan Mail “The Hollow Call” a Halloween Special. Let’s just add a little more spook to an already spooky tail. I received this email from a user who went by Mallory98. The email didn’t have anything in it but this attached story. I tried several times to reach out and get more information, but every time I sent an email it bounced back as an invalid address. Every time. Through every email provider So, I just decided to share it in its entirety. We will call this one, "The Hollow...
Send us Fan Mail Jessica Flores served as a police officer and detective in the Kansas City Missouri area, but was forced to retire early due to medical issues. That left her struggling to find purpose and meaning in the post law enforcement world. That all stopped one day when she realized she could help other officers find their purpose after law enforcement. That’s how Next Shift was founded. Today Jess runs Next Shift to help coach officers leaving the profession to help them find purpose...
Send us Fan Mail When an officer retires, whether it’s after 20, 25, or 30 years, there’s often a handshake, a plaque, maybe a party. Then the uniform goes in the closet, and that’s it. After decades of service—after countless nights on patrol, after seeing humanity at its worst and sometimes at its best—suddenly, you’re just… done. There’s no transition program. No debrief. No structured counseling. No real roadmap for what comes next. Contrast that with the military: service members who ret...
Send us Fan Mail Every day’s a Saturday. That’s one of those great retirement sayings. What it means is you get to do what you want, when you want. After thirty years of being told where to be, when to be, and how to be, it’s very liberating. My wife was at work and I had finished all of the little chores I wanted to get done around the house. I sat down and fired up the streaming services. I was looking for a little movie I could put on and probably take a nap. My search stopped on “The Fast...
Send us Fan Mail When I retired from the Bloomington Police Department, I was done. I knew that, walking out the door. There was no way I was going to go back to the department and work for them again. I was moving on with my life. But, to be fair, it was easy for me. I had prepared for retirement. I had followed the Dave Ramsey financial plan and was debt free save for my home mortgage. I had a substantial emergency fund and I had a job, teaching. I started traveling the country and teaching...
Send us Fan Mail 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 2...
Send us Fan Mail 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 y...
Send us Fan Mail 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 ho...