After Losing His Son and Taking Two Lives, This Officer Nearly Lost Himself
Our American Stories
iHeartPodcasts
4.6 • 817 Ratings
🗓️ 18 May 2026
⏱️ 28 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
On this episode of Our American Stories, Charles Scott dreamed of becoming a police officer from the time he was a child growing up in California’s Central Valley. Years later, while serving with the Lompoc Police Department, Scott endured a devastating series of tragedies in just 16 months: two officer-involved shootings and the death of his teenage son Noah from leukemia. As grief and trauma pushed him into a dark emotional spiral, Scott began to question whether he could survive personally or professionally. With help from 911 At Ease International, he slowly found a path back to healing, family, faith, and police work.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is an I-Heart podcast. |
| 0:02.6 | Guaranteed Human. |
| 0:14.0 | This is Lee Habib, and this is Our American Stories, and we tell stories about everything |
| 0:19.7 | here on this show, including yours, send them to Our American Stories, and we tell stories about everything here on this show, including yours. |
| 0:21.6 | Send them to Our American Stories.com. |
| 0:24.5 | They're some of our favorites. |
| 0:26.1 | Today we have this story of police officer Charles Scott brought to us by 911 at ease |
| 0:31.4 | International. |
| 0:32.7 | 911 Eddies International provides first responders and their families. Access to free and confidential trauma informed counseling. |
| 0:42.2 | Officer Charles Scott grew up in the Central Valley of California, |
| 0:46.1 | and from a young age, he knew he wanted to be in law enforcement. |
| 0:50.1 | Here's Charles with his story. |
| 0:57.0 | So that's always a question they start with in the academy is, |
| 1:00.0 | why do you want to do this? |
| 1:02.0 | And I was always one that didn't have an answer because it was just always something I've wanted to do. |
| 1:06.0 | My mom has an essay I wrote in first or second grade, |
| 1:09.0 | What do you want to be when you grow up? And it was always a police officer. |
| 1:12.6 | So, I mean, at this point where you get to drive fast, |
| 1:15.6 | carry a gun, and they pay you to fight with people, |
| 1:18.6 | sign me up. |
| 1:19.6 | So that's why I did it. |
| 1:21.6 | It seemed like it was better than working in a bank |
... |
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