When the System Turns on You- Rusty Myers on Tattered

Episode 23: When the System Turns on You- Rusty Myers on TatteredWhat happens when a routine foot pursuit turns into 141 days of silence, a criminal investigation, and a fight to save your career, your marriage, and your life?In this episode of Blue Leader Nation, I sit down with Arthur "Rusty" Myers III, a 23-year law enforcement veteran and former Charleston PD lieutenant, whose new book Tattered: When the Blue Line Frays tells the story of a body cam review, a rumor about "kicked rocks" that never happened, and an internal affairs process that nearly cost him everything before it ultimately made him the leader he is today.Rusty walks us through the whole arc: the incident itself, the two-and-a-half-year administrative leave, the SLED investigation, the misconduct hearing in front of the state training council, and the slow, brutal unraveling of due process along the way. But this conversation goes deeper than the case. Rusty gets honest about the accumulated trauma he was carrying long before that day, the drinking he used to quiet his mind, and the moment his wife's frustration became the wake-up call that got him into counseling. It's a hard conversation, and an important one.We also dig into what real leadership accountability should look like: the difference between a mistake and misconduct, why internal affairs should be your best people and not a punishment assignment, and why "discipline is training" rather than punishment for its own sake.If you lead officers, supervise an investigation, or have ever wondered what it actually feels like to sit on the other side of one, this episode is for you.📖 Grab Rusty's book, Tattered: When the Blue Line Frays: https://amzn.to/4fhP11O🎙️ New to Blue Leader Nation? Subscribe for real conversations with the next generation of law enforcement leaders.⏱️ Timestamps 0:00 Introduction 2:00 The foot pursuit and the use of force 9:00 Two weeks of silence, then SLED gets involved 14:00 The "kicked rocks" allegation 17:00 The Law Enforcement Training Council hearing 19:00 Getting back on the job and running internal affairs 23:00 The suicidal spiral and the phone call that changed everything 27:00 Accountability vs. abandonment 30:00 The leadership lesson every chief needs to hear#BlueLeaderNation #LawEnforcementLeadership #InternalAffairs #OfficerWellness #Leadership