Is 19 Too Young To Be a Police Officer?

Law Enforcement Talk: True Crime and Trauma Stories

Bleav + Law Enforcement Talk - John J Wiley

True Crime, News, Politics, News Commentary, Documentary, Society & Culture, Education, Law Enforcement, Self-improvement

5.0 • 6.7K Ratings

🗓️ 21 December 2025

⏱️ 37 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Is 19 Too Young To Be a Police Officer? A Florida, USA Perspective on Trauma Impact and PTSD. Special Episode. At just 19 years old, Michael A. Laidler was already wearing a badge and responding to some of the most intense calls a police officer can face. Sworn in as a police officer in Tallahassee, Florida, USA, his early entry into law enforcement placed him on the front lines at an age when most of his peers were still navigating college life or their first civilian jobs.

Transcript

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0:00.0	He's a career law enforcement officer.
0:01.8	He started in police work at the age of 19.
0:04.9	A couple very, very traumatic incidents had a profound impact on him, his personal life,
0:11.0	and his career path.
0:12.9	Welcome to the Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show.
0:16.2	In the Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show, we are joined by special guests talking about
0:20.6	their experiences
0:21.8	their realities of investigating crimes plus those have experienced horrendous trauma police
0:27.3	first responders military and victims of crimes share their stories hi i'm john j wiley in
0:33.7	addition to being a broadcaster i'm also a retired police sergeant be Be sure to check out our website, LETRadio.com, and also like us on Facebook.
0:42.7	Search for the Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show.
0:46.0	You can find us on Facebook.
0:47.6	Look for and like the Law Enforcement Talk Radio Show Facebook page.
0:52.4	Calling us from Texas, we have Michael ladler on the phone
0:54.6	Michael is a career law enforcement officer he has been in the business since he was 19
1:00.0	yeah he started as a police officer in Tallahassee florida at the ripe old age of 19
1:06.1	michael thanks for being guests on the show very much appreciated thanks for having me jay
1:10.1	before we go into your career i'm going to thank you for your service, but also one of the people know a little bit about you. Michael has gone into federal law enforcement. He is a speaker. He has a book coming out. Go to his website, Michael A.laidler.com. That's spelled L-A-I-D-L-E-R. Michael, first of all, the thought of
1:32.3	going into police work at the age of 19 kind of blows my mind. Yes, I actually had the passion
1:38.0	from when I was a young man in the 90s and I saw the OJ Simpson trial, and that's kind of where all of it started out for me.
1:46.4	It was something about that chase, something about the trial that just made me want to become
1:51.1	actually a detective for the L.A. Police Department, and I didn't really know what that meant as a
	...

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