Episode #10 – Black and Blue: The Role of Race in Police Culture - Heather Taylor

The Five-0 Podcast

On this episode, Heather Taylor talks about navigating a career in policing as a woman of color. She discusses her youth in St. Louis, becoming an officer, the challenges the career presented, and what comes next in her life. Heather Taylor retired in October of 2020 from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. She was the president of the Ethical Society of Police from February of 2015 - October 2020. Taylor currently serves as a consultant with the ESOP as the Business Manager and Spokesperson. Taylor was the night watch Homicide Sergeant with the Metropolitan Police Department, City of St. Louis (SLMPD). Taylor has also worked in Sex Crimes, Child Abuse, Police Academy Instructor, Juvenile; as well as undercover, in Anti-Crime and Crime Suppression.

In 2016 and 2020, Taylor co-authored the Ethical Society of Police’s one hundred and fifteen-page and sixty-page Comprehensive Evaluation of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. The evaluation detailed race-based issues in the community and internally with arrests, racial profiling, promotions, hiring, and discipline. Taylor has received twelve national and local awards for her humanitarian work as an officer/activist for police reform and for her advocacy for victims of violent crime.

On the Five-0 Podcast, co-hosts Randy Shrewsberry and Thomas Baker interview authors, activists, academics, practitioners, and individuals impacted by the U.S. criminal justice system - all with a focus on the problems we face and how we can change things for the better. Randy is the founder and current Executive Director of the Institute for Criminal Justice Training Reform. He’s a former police officer, Crash Reconstruction Investigator, and Certified Fire & Explosion Investigator. He has spent over 30 years in both the public and private sector criminal justice field and has attended basic police training in Ohio, South Carolina and Indiana as well as 100’s of advanced training in investigations as well as other specialized areas in law enforcement. Randy has been a lecturer on criminal justice matters and has been admitted as an expert in the State of California, State of South Carolina, and the State of Indiana in Criminal and Civil court. Thomas is a Pat Tillman Scholar and a Ph.D. student in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. His research is dedicated to improving our understanding police related deaths and their social implications. He’s a U.S Army veteran and worked as a police officer for almost nine years. Thomas is also a member of the Board of Directors at the Institute for Criminal Justice Training Reform.

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