Episode 22 | Parkland, Florida

Parkland, Florida.
One of the deadliest school shootings in American history.

Chief Mike Hawkins and Chief Scott Hughes talked with Zack Scott and Richard Sessions about the tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Zack was one of the lead detectives.

This episode is about capturing the truth of what happened, beyond headlines, hindsight, and sound bites.

We talk candidly about chaotic scenes, communication breakdowns, leadership accountability, and the lasting mental toll these incidents take on responders. Most importantly, we focus on what law enforcement must learn and apply moving forward when it comes to training, preparedness, and unified response.

A few takeaways:

➡️ Communication failures change outcomes.
➡️ The SRO role is complex — and critical.
➡️ Mental health support after critical incidents isn’t optional.
➡️ Training must be proactive, not reactive.
➡️ Unified response matters.
➡️ Leadership accountability matters even more.
➡️ Lessons learned only matter if we actually apply them.

If you care about officer preparedness, leadership, and telling the real story behind critical incidents, this episode is worth your time.