Daniel Malek is a Marine in the United States Marine Corps. He served between 2000-2008 as a corporal and served in Iraq as an OIF Vet. He Joined the LAPD in 2005 where he has worked patrol, the gang unit & is now a field training officer, where he trains probationary officers.

Malek and I have worked patrol at the same precinct for the better part of 10 years. Him and I have always had intense conversations about what it takes to be on patrol. Through the years I have seen his progression and maturity develop as we have gone through politically murky times.

He’s a genuine warrior, father and a real cop’s cop. After podcasting with him I can truly say that both young coppers AND brass can learn a ton from his insight and approach to policing.

Thanks for listening and supporting what we do.

I hope you enjoy this podcast.

TIMELINE:

00:02:00 - The Beard: Yay or Nay

00:05:00 - Tradition: Marine Corp vs Law Enforcement

00:08:00 - The "Dragon Wagon"

00:14:00 - Training: Applying USMC principles to law enforcement

0018:00 - Transitioning: From Marine to Street Cop

00:28:00 - Caliber of Probationers, then vs now

00:37:00 - "Shogun” by James Clavell

00:44:00 - Transformation

00:47:00 - Muay Thai

00:55:00 - Physical Fitness

00:58:00 - Retirement

00:59:00 - Hypothetically speaking, advice and insight to his daughter the police officer.

01:08:27 - In honor of Marine Sgt. Major Robert J. Cottle, Killed in Action March 24, 2010

THE FALLEN BUT NOT FORGOTTEN PODCAST:
“The Bloodhound Warrior: Pain, Peace and the Facade of Perfection, with Joe Cirrito”
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I sat down with my friend and fellow street copper, Joe Cirrito. We take a deep dive into how he gets through the pain of his endurance runs and extreme workouts.

Joseph Scott Cirrito was born and raised in New York. He went to Lona College where he played football and studied abroad at Trinity College Dublin Ireland. Before his illustrious carreer in law enforcement, he was a teacher at Herman Lehman High School and coached football, track and baseball

He worked alongside his friend, fallen officer Dominic Pezullo, who tragically died in the line-of-duty when the Twin Towers fell on 9/11. Both Joe & Dominic spoke about becoming police officers together. Joe then moved to Los Angeles to fulfill that pact with the Los Angeles Police Department. While in the hiring process, he taught for the LAUSD 2002 to 2005 before starting the LAPD Police Academy in March of 2005.

Joe has been assigned to patrol in 3 different geographical areas of Los Angeles, “Safer Cities”, gang unit for 2 different precincts, Senior Lead Officer, Gang & Narcotics Division as a K9 bloodhound handler and now works as a field training officer where he trains probationers.

Joe conceptualized and built a homeless outreach program in the Koreatown area of Los Angeles, which he coined, H.O.P.E. (Homeless Outreach Partnership Endeavor ). The program was a success & would ultimately be adopted by the LAPD and implemented city-wide.

Joe ran over 400-miles with Kristina Tudor, and a volunteer support team of 30 officers, from Los Angeles to Sacramento in full uniform to honor fallen officers. This run was called “Project Endure”. His efforts raised funds for the nonprofit, Bluecoat Foundation, a 501(C)(3) that supports families of law enforcement agents who have died in the line-of-duty.

Since then, Joe has continued his passion for running ultra marathons and endurance runs while honoring fallen officers. He completes a yearly 24-hour nonstop workout, (yes…24-hour nonstop workout), that he dedicates to his friend, Dominic Pezullo, and all first responders who perished on 9/11.

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TIMELINE:

00:02:15 - Tobacco Pipes
00:08::00 - Finding peace in a frenzied mind
00:11:00 - Trail runs & daydreams
00:13:20 - Laziness
00:14:20 - Pain
00:17:35 - Inspiration
00:20:20 - “The inner governor” -Goggins
00:23:00 - The spirit of a bloodhound
00:24:00 - Extreme measures
00:28:00 - The power of people
00:36:46 - The bond with Kristina Tudor
00:38:20 - Lt Humphries
00:39:45 - Mileage count vs humility
00:42:25 - The treachery & the beauty of California’s “Grapevine”
00:49:45 - Books & leaderships. “The Need to Lead” by Dave Berke & books by Jocko Willink.
00:55:00 - Perfection in policing
00:59:50 - Figure it out
01:04:27 - Skittles galore & brown piss
01:07:30 - Project Endure 3 and shark repellent
01:08:10 - What’s next?
01:13:00 - Joe shares a heartfelt dedication to Deputy Andrew Nunez of San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department End of Watch October 27th 2025



#thefallenbutnotforgottenpodcast #bluecoatfoundation #endurancerun #ultramarathon #thedom #dominicpezullo #projectendure #officerjoecirrito #nonprofit #deputyandrewnunez #sanbernardinosheriffsoffice #davidgoggins #jockowillink #daveberke #theneedtolead #policeofficer #podcast #lawenforcement

On this episode I have a conversation with Ismael Carlos. Ismael has worked as an officer for Santa Monica College PD and is currently a police officer fo the Los Angeles Police Department. He served in the United States military as a tanker in the Marine Corps and served in Combat in Iraq. Carlos dedicates this podcast to his Godson, Ethan Carlos, who passed away recently at a very young age. Please support the Ethan Carlos Foundation, a nonprofit organization, by going to ethancarlos.org.

This podcast holds a ton of value for all of us in law enforcement and for those in the military. Please listen, tell us what you think and share this episode with someone you think it can help.

Timestamps:

00:01:25 - 1999: Joining the US Marine Corps
00:03:00 - Rio Hondo: Paying your own way through the academy
00:05:00 - We got a tanker job, "Sign me up!”=
00:06:00 - Straight outtta Whittier
00:08:00 - From Tankers to Black & Whites
00:10:00 - Deployment after the September 11th attack
00:12:30 - Warriorhood
00:14:00 - Pushing in, arriving in Kuwait
00:17:00 - The “Death Letter"
00:19:00 - Faith and survival
00:21:00 - Survival mode, training, completing the mission then processing
00:23:00 - Maturity and self-awareness
00:25:00 - Being scared vs Cautionary fear, mental preparedness of a warrior
00:27:00 - Experiencing loss during combat
00:31:00 - Appreciation
00:33:00 - The newer generation of officers
00:36:00 - Leadership
00:45:00 - Getting into a shooting
00:46:36 - An officer's wellbeing is part of the department's assets
00:48:00 - Burnout
00:49:00 - 2020 Riots
00:51:00 - Empathy-forward leadership
00:53:38 - Self reflection: What type of leader will I be?
00:55:00 - Dedication: Ethan Carlos

#thefallenbutnotforgottenpodcast #bluecoatfoundation #usmc #policeofficer #podcast #lawenforcement