I Was a Cop Involved In Multiple Shootings — Then I Lost Myself to Alcohol | Michael Martinez

Locked In with Ian Bick

Ian Bick

Society & Culture

4.8 • 743 Ratings

🗓️ 3 December 2025

⏱️ 183 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Michael Martinez grew up in San Diego and started getting into trouble as a teenager before turning his life around and heading to Hawaii for college. His goal was to serve and protect — but his past made getting into law enforcement a challenge. While waiting to be accepted, he worked animal control in San Diego County before finally joining the San Diego Police Department. Within his first two years, Michael was involved in three officer-involved shootings, an experience that led to severe PTSD, alcoholism, and a complete personal breakdown. This episode dives deep into the reality behind the badge — the trauma, the toll, and the long road to redemption. Michael opens up about how he rebuilt his life, saved his family, and learned that asking for help isn’t weakness — it’s survival. #PoliceStory #TrueCrimePodcast #AddictionRecovery #FormerCop #PoliceShootings #MentalHealthAwareness #LawEnforcementLife #redemptionjourney Thank you to BLUECHEW, AURA FRAMES & PRIZEPICKS for sponsoring this episode: BlueChew: Get 10% off your first month of BlueChew Gold with code LOCKEDIN. Visit https://bluechew.com/ for more details and important safety information Aura Frames: Exclusive $35 off Carver Mat at https://on.auraframes.com/LOCKEDIN. Promo Code LOCKEDIN Prizepicks: Visit https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/IANBICK and use code IANBICK and get $50 in lineups when you play your first $5 lineup! Connect with Michael Martinez: Email: mmztrainingandconsulting@gmail.com Hosted, Executive Produced & Edited By Ian Bick: https://www.instagram.com/ian_bick/?hl=en https://ianbick.com/ Shop Locked In Merch: http://www.ianbick.com/shop Timestamps: 00:00 Trauma Begins: Michael’s Early Struggles & Childhood Impact 01:27 Who Is Michael? Upbringing, Family Life & Early Influences 05:57 Growing Up Tough: Life Lessons, Trouble & Survival Skills 10:44 The First Turning Point: School, Identity & Finding Purpose 13:05 Starting Out: Security Work, Corrections & Law Enforcement Dreams 17:02 Becoming a Cop: The Application Process & Early Obstacles 24:58 Craziest Animal Control Stories + The Career-Changing Phone Call 27:32 Rejection, Pressure & Balancing Family Expectations 34:13 Joining San Diego PD: Training Academy & Rookie Life 43:54 First Days on Patrol: Real Calls, Adrenaline & Family Adjustments 51:40 The Rookie Reality: Hardest Challenges New Officers Face 01:00:00 First Officer-Involved Shooting: What Really Happens 01:17:38 The Aftermath: Trauma, Marriage Strain & Drinking Begins 01:31:04 Workaholism, Emotional Distance & Alcohol Escalation 01:39:07 Second Shooting: Inside an Active Shooter Incident 01:55:53 PTSD Symptoms: Nightmares, Paranoia & Home Life Collapse 02:01:39 Third Shooting: Risk-Taking, Burnout & Hitting Rock Bottom 02:16:06 The Breaking Point: Career Consequences & Support Arrives 02:23:11 Intervention, Treatment & Admitting the Problem 02:33:21 Recovery Journey: Rebuilding Family & Helping Other Officers 02:52:11 The Power of Police Wellness Programs & Mental Health Support 02:55:30 What He Learned: Advice for Officers, Families & Survivors 02:56:46 Fourth Shooting Revealed: How His Recovery Came Full Circle 03:01:00 Gratitude, Support Systems & Final Thoughts on Healing Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	It was horrible. Like it was those nightmares, the paranoia, the clearing my house at two or three or four o'clock in the morning. Do you think those years of waiting to actually become a cop made you a better cop in the long run? I felt like my sweat was like as thick as syrup. Like it felt like it felt like slime coming out of my pores. What do you think was the hardest thing to adjust to as a rookie cop? I was like hyperventilating.
0:22.5	I was trying to take deep breaths
0:23.7	and I felt like I couldn't get enough slime coming out of my pores. What do you think was the hardest thing to adjust to as a rookie cop?
0:21.2	I was like hyperventilating. I was trying to take deep breaths and I felt like I couldn't get
0:24.7	enough air in my lungs. Tell us about the first significant event that happens in your career.
0:29.0	The alcohol never ever filled me. It worked every single time.
0:32.4	It's in his first two years as a San Diego cop, Michael Martinez was involved in three separate shootings. The trauma
0:39.0	nearly destroyed his life, turning a decorated officer into an alcoholic on the edge of losing
0:44.6	everything. But what happened next might be the most powerful comeback story we've ever heard.
0:52.9	Michael, welcome to locked in. Thanks so much for flying all the way out from San Diego to be here today.
0:57.1	Oh, man. It's an absolute pleasure. Thank you for, thank you for having me.
1:00.2	Yeah, and thanks to Steve Murphy connecting us with another great law enforcement officer.
1:04.3	We love these law enforcement stories. They're great. And the audience loves them too.
1:09.0	Yeah, shout out to, shout out to Steve Murphy. He's a solid, solid guy. And I ran into him,
1:15.7	I ran into him doing a Southern California game conference. And he reached out to me and,
1:23.6	and we got this all. I went on his podcast and he recommended me to you. And he was like, dude, these guys are doing good, good stuff for law enforcement. And so I'm all about it. Yeah. Any introduction by Steve we know is like the real deal. Awesome, awesome. He'll tell us when someone's not the real deal. I hope so. No, he won't even bother introducing. He goes through like a whole vetting process. He's very like interesting in that regard. Like before I even got introduced to any of his people in a circle, I did his show and he got to know me and then we had him on here first. Because you don't want to vouch for someone and then you have a bad experience on that person's show. Like if you came all the way out here and it wasn't a legitimate podcast or something that would suck. Yeah. Yeah. And thanks to your wife for the chocolates. Oh, yeah, absolutely. She, uh, she's from Hawaii. So that's, that's her thing. She gets, she takes chocolates everywhere we go. She's, uh, she, you know, she meets new people. She passes those out. And, uh, and so for when I came out here,
2:18.9	she's like, hey, are you, are you taking chocolates? I was like, I'm not taking chocolates. Like, these guys don't want any chocolates. And she's like, take them a freaking chocolate. And I was like, no, I don't have any room in my bag. She's like, take them a freaking chocolate. I'm like, all right, let me take them.
2:31.3	Well, tell her we said, thank you very much.
2:32.9	I will.
2:33.0	I will.
2:33.3	And we're not going to turn down chocolate.
2:35.4	Where are you from?
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Ian Bick, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Ian Bick and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.