We were lucky to catch up with JOE KING recently and have shared our conversation below.

JOE, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’re complete cheeseballs and so we love asking folks to share the most heartwarming moment from their career – do you have a touching moment you can share with us?

In my role within the Dallas PD Wellness Unit and with the Assist the Officer Foundation I have had the opportunity to work with many officers and their families. Some of these officers are in crisis. One story i will never forget we were talking to a group of officers in a detail and one officer came and sat down next to me and I could tell that she was annoyed, distress, uncomfortable…All of the above with our presence and the information we were giving.
I made an intentional point to hand her a business card, i had never met her before. She took the card and did not even say thanks and put it in her pocket.
Fast forward to two weeks later, I was preparing to record a podcast and was waiting on my guest to arrive. I got a phone call from an out of state number i did not recognize and i nearly sent to voicemail but something told me no I better answer because it could be my guest calling from another number.
I answered and there was a long pause and then they said” you came and spoke at our detail and I need help. I could tell she had been crying. I then returned to my desk to focus and they I asked where they worked and their badge. While talking I typed in her badge so I could see who it was and I saw the picture. I then asked ” I sat next to you in detail didn’t I?”
She said “Yes”. then broke down. Then proceeded to tell me a story about their plan to not be on this Earth anymore. Without going into longer details to protect their identity I will be brief with this description.

After meeting them that day we were able to get this person help and, over time, they are thriving and we still remain in contact to this day.
I remind them they we are connected now in life and the life is much more interesting with them in it.

This is one of many stories I am proud of doing this type of work.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I have been a Police Officer in Dallas for over 27 years and currently work in the PD’s Wellness Unit that is designed to help first responders and their families through struggles. I have found that helping my peers to be far more gratifying than drug arrests I made while I was in the field as an Officer. Helping another officer or their families then seeing them thrive or be in a better place in life down the road is extremely rewarding and gratifying. To help change or influence another life is powerfully rewarding.
I also serve on two non profit boards, the Assist the Officer Foundation and the Dickey Foundation, and both are organizations that raise funds to help first responders.
I started a podcast for the ATO to promote mental health awareness, education, and assist with fostering better relationships with the community and the first responder world.
We launched ATO: Bridging the Divide in August of 2021 and have released nearly 100 episodes and have been downloaded in over 80 countries and has been downloaded in every state. According to Listen Score, a ratings website, we have crawled up to the top 1.5 % globally.
I have received countless messages from police, fire, military, and citizens from all over the world telling stories of how the show has helped get them into rehab, counseling, made them more empathetic, and provided better cultural understandings.
The growth and the reach has far surpassed my initial vision. We look forward to continuing telling stories and making connections around the world through this platform. I have the mindset that if you can help one life with your mission, the mission is worth it. With all of the messages and responses I have received I do feel the mission is worthy and valuable.
Also, being a non profit charity, I frequently fundraise to continue our mission.
I am married to a Child Abuse Detective and parent to a beautiful 10 year old daughter. Being a parent and instilling structure and a loving environment to another human, that I help create, is my greatest success. I try to be the hero that my daughter believes that I am. I rarely achieve this, because she has great expectations of me, but I try my best to do this because she is the last person I want to let down. She is my legacy.
I grew up loving comic books, Marvel/DC, Star Wars so yes I am a nerd.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Losing both parents at a young age was challenging and I believe helped me form a work ethic that I use to this day. I had to develop a sink or swim mentality with my work and life. I had friends that chose the route of sinking as they got into drugs, alcohol and did not really care about professional success. I had to learn to cut influences out of my life that were not aligned with my dreams and goals. This was very difficult as I had more negative influences as a teen than I did positive from certain friends. This loss and grief, at a young age, helped me become more intentional in dealing with positives, failures, and successes later in life. I had to understand that there are pressures of success and I have to be intentional in my approach to setting boundaries and also managing the expectations that I have placed on myself to have continued success.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

One lesson I had to unlearn was trusting more and overcoming abandonment issues. Understanding death and loss is a part of living and that all life is finite, and you must understand that this will be your path. Grief, loss, failing is a huge part of growing. I had to make myself understand that amazing people and unhealthy people and personalities will enter your life’s path and know that some personal relationships are not permanent. And in some cases these finite relationships are a good thing. Early on I found myself not trusting people and situations and avoided them so that I would not be disappointed. Now I see these life circumstances as, potentially, being an opportunity to grow as a person and look at each person I encounter as a huge opportunity to not only better myself but also an opportunity to help others in their lives. No matter how long the encounter or relationship lasts.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://atodallas.org
• Instagram: ato_bridging_divide
• Facebook: ATO Bridging the Divide
• Twitter: @ato_divide
• Youtube: @joeking7919
• Other: ATO: BRIDGING THE DIVIDE PODCAST AVAILABLE ON ALL STREAMING PLATFORMS.

Image Credits

Dallas Police Department