15 Shootouts, 219 Medals, and the NYPD’s Toughest Detective, Ralph Friedman
Zone 7 with Sheryl McCollum
iHeartPodcasts and CrimeOnline
4.4 • 696 Ratings
🗓️ 19 February 2025
⏱️ 31 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this episode of Zone 7, Crime Scene Investigator, Sheryl McCollum, sits down with retired detective Ralph Friedman, a legendary figure in law enforcement with over 2,000 arrests and 15 shootouts to his name. Ralph shares his unexpected journey into the police force and his experiences in the infamous 41st precinct, known as "Fort Apache." Ralph describes the undercover operations using taxi cabs and milk trucks to a life-threatening shootout in a darkened apartment. He also shares the wisdom gained from life-or-death encounters, the lessons that changed police protocol forever.
Ralph Friedman is the most decorated detective in NYPD history, with 2,000 arrests and 219 medals to his name. He is the author of Street Warrior: The True Story of NYPD’s Most Decorated Detective and the Era That Created Him and was featured in the television series Street Justice: The Bronx.
Listeners can learn more about Ralph Friedman at his website, on IG @bronxstreetwarrior
Street Warrior: The True Story of NYPD’s Most Decorated Detective and the Era That Created Him
Show Notes:
- (0:00) Welcome back to Zone 7 with Crime Scene Investigator, Sheryl McCollum
- (0:10) Sheryl introduces guest, retired N.Y.P.D detective Ralph Freeman
- (2:00) How a spontaneous decision led to a legendary career
- (4:00) Ralph’s first encounter with a police officer shooting
- (6:00) A detective’s death changes police protocol forever
- (7:00) Using taxis, milk trucks, and even a Harley to catch criminals
- (12:30) The brotherhood of the NYPD
- (16:00) Saving a partner’s life
- (17:00) ”The other side of the coin is that, if you're taking a life, you're definitely saving at least one life.”
- (19:30) Near-death encounters
- (22:00) Unexpected career-ending incident
- (24:30) The most gangster thing detective Ralph ever did
- (25:45) A gun deal turns into a deadly rooftop shootout
- (31:00) “ The rush is worth the risk.” -R.Freeman’s back tattoo
- Thanks for listening to another episode! If you’re loving the show and want to help grow the show, please head over to Itunes and leave a rating and review!
---
Sheryl “Mac” McCollum is an Emmy Award winning CSI, a writer for CrimeOnLine, Forensic and Crime Scene Expert for Crime Stories with Nancy Grace, and a CSI for a metro Atlanta Police Department. She is the co-author of the textbook., Cold Case: Pathways to Justice. Sheryl is also the founder and director of the Cold Case Investigative Research Institute, a collaboration between universities and colleges that brings researchers, practitioners, students and the criminal justice community together to advance techniques in solving cold cases and assist families and law enforcement with solvability factors for unsolved homicides, missing persons, and kidnapping cases.
Social Links:
- Email: [email protected]
- Twitter: @ColdCaseTips
- Facebook: @sheryl.mccollum
Instagram: @officialzone7podcast
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | We have with us the most decorated detective in the history of the NYPD. |
| 0:14.0 | Retired Detective Ralph Freeman has over 2,000 arrests, 6,000 assists, |
| 0:21.6 | 100 of those arrests were off duty. |
| 0:26.6 | He's been involved in 15 shootouts. |
| 0:29.6 | He has protected the lives of innocent people |
| 0:33.6 | eight separate times, four of them fatally. |
| 0:38.5 | He has been awarded 219 medals. |
| 0:44.7 | Y'all, he's gained other awards and commendations and certificates. |
| 0:50.9 | I don't even know how many. |
| 0:52.7 | He was part of the Bronx 4-1, Fort Apache, y'all. |
| 0:57.4 | Welcome to Zone 7. |
| 0:59.9 | Thank you. |
| 1:00.4 | Thank you for having me, Cheryl. |
| 1:02.0 | When I watched the series Street Justice the Bronx, I mean, this is your career. |
| 1:08.2 | These are your cases, your area, your zone, your people. |
| 1:12.9 | And it is unbelievable, not just Fort Apache, but when everybody says, hey, you know, |
| 1:19.5 | he worked in the murder capital at the time, he worked in a war zone, the toughest, just area of New York, a hellhole. Tell us just kind of a little bit |
| 1:35.1 | about how you got started and what your thoughts were when you first rolled into the four-one. |
| 1:40.3 | Well, I never thought of becoming a police officer. It was just a fluke. In those years, |
| 1:46.2 | back in the late 60s, there was a walk-in test. You didn't have to file first or anything like that. |
| 1:52.3 | And I was out with a few friends on a Friday night. And I said, oh, what are you doing tomorrow? |
| 1:57.7 | And they said, oh, we're taking the test for the police department. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from iHeartPodcasts and CrimeOnline, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of iHeartPodcasts and CrimeOnline and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.