Central KY police major publishes book about time on the force, aims to ‘bridge the gap’
Former Maj. Josh Hale faced many challenges during his 20 years with the Richmond Police Department.
He worked on several high-profile cases. He grappled with the realities of the opioid epidemic in Kentucky. And he was dealt a devastating loss in 2015 when one of his fellow officers died.
Now, Hale has detailed his experiences, including the demands of the job and his personal struggles on the force, in a book. Titled “Protected,” it emphasizes the importance of mental health support for first responders.
The goal, Hale said, is to humanize police officers and help “bridge the gap” between people’s perception of officers’ daily lives and the reality of working the job.
“I hope to educate people — bridge that gap, if there is one — between law enforcement and the community,” Hale said. “I just want to let people know that although we are imperfect people, we are still just people.”
Hale said he didn’t always know he wanted to be a police officer. There was no “defining moment.”
“I just knew that I had been called to serve, and that was the career I had been drawn to,” Hale said in an interview. He couldn’t get enough of shows like “COPS.”
But Hale learned that the reality of policing was different than what was depicted in the shows. There was adrenaline and a thrill, like depicted on shows, but then there was stress and a “cortisol dump” afterward, he said, that wasn’t shown.
“You have the front-row seat to the best and worst show on Earth,” Hale said.
”Protected” begins with Hale’s experience as a young officer and continues with stories of leadership, working through the opioid epidemic and, eventually, retirement in Aug. 2023.
Hale started to compile his experiences after retirement, and he realized he had a book on his hands.
One of the main things he noticed was how much had changed since he was hired as a police officer.
There was the increase in the size of the police budget — when he started, he said, new police hires had to purchase much of their own gear. That was no longer a problem.
And there was the change in how people viewed officers’ mental health. Services increased, and mental health slowly became less of a “taboo topic,” he said.
Hale also wrote of how Madison County and Richmond rallied behind officers in 2015 when officer Daniel Ellis was ambushed and killed while searching an apartment for a robbery suspect. Ellis died two days later, leaving behind a wife and young son.
“Most of the time, we are working with people on the worst day of their life, and so, most people don’t have that law enforcement interaction, and a police officer can see more in a day than some people see in their whole lifetime,” Hale said. “So it is good to have that community support.”
“Protected” can be purchased online on Amazon or Barnes and Noble.
