"Three years. That's all it took for my shooter to get away with it."

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**EDITOR'S NOTE:** This is Part 2 of Tom Weitzel's story, originally released on YouTube in December 2025. We're now making it available on all audio platforms.

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In Part 1, Tom Weitzel told us how he survived a gang ambush during a traffic stop in 1987. Part 2 is about what happened when the justice system failed him.

When ATF agents finally identified Tom's shooter years later, Illinois law said it was too late to prosecute. The statute of limitations for attempted murder of a police officer? Three years. For writing a bad check? Forever.

Tom went to Springfield and got that law changed. But he didn't stop there.

Now, as three of his own sons serve in law enforcement, Tom is fighting for something bigger: making line-of-duty deaths federal crimes—with federal investigation, federal prosecution, and the death penalty in all 50 states.

In this episode:

• Why the current system fails officer families
• What's happening at the ICE facility near Chicago
• Tom's federal crime proposal that the Biden administration ignored
• His collaboration with Citizens Behind the Badge to take it to Congress

If Part 1 was about survival, Part 2 is about making sure other officers don't face the same injustice.

Haven't listened to Part 1 yet? Find it in your podcast feed from December 16, 2025.

Most people think the Beltway Sniper case ended with a dramatic takedown.

It didn’t.

It ended with a quiet rest stop, two officers, and a decision that sounds backwards: don’t rush in.

Retired Maryland State Police Lieutenant Dave Reichenbaugh was there, the on-scene commander during the capture of John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo. In this episode, he explains the real friction inside the manhunt:

• Why the public wasn’t just “panicking”… they were the missing asset
• The Fed vs. State vs. Local disagreement that changed the entire play
• The moment forensics confirmed it was one gun (fast) and why that made it worse
• The clue that shattered the terrorism theory: a tarot card that said “Call me God”
• And the chilling detail that still follows him: the last bullet “twirling… and the tinkle on pavement.”

This isn’t a retelling. It’s a firsthand account from the person standing at the edge of the decision.

If you thought you knew the Beltway Sniper case… you knew the headlines.

This is what happened between them.

Guest: Dave Reichenbaugh, retired Maryland State Police Lieutenant

Topic: The Beltway Sniper arrest, the I-70 rest stop standoff, and the “last bullet” moment

Editorial Note: A statement made by the guest regarding John Allen Muhammad’s ideological influences reflects his personal perspective and is presented as commentary, not as a conclusively established fact.

Learn more or get involved: https://citizensbehindthebadge.org

Listen to more episodes of Heroes Behind the Badge.

Like, Subscribe, and Share to support the men and women who serve behind the badge.

On January 6, 2021, the failure wasn’t a lack of warning.

It wasn’t a lack of experience.

It was a failure of permission.

In this episode of Heroes Behind the Badge, former U.S. Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund takes listeners inside the command center as the attack on the Capitol unfolded—minute by minute, decision by decision.

Chief Sund explains what he saw in real time, why requests for reinforcements were delayed, and how structural and legal constraints prevented immediate action while officers were being overrun. He walks through what has since changed, what has not, and where accountability still remains unclear.

The conversation also examines the aftermath: political fallout, scapegoating, nondisclosure agreements, unanswered questions about intelligence and response, and the personal cost of being reduced to a single day in history.

This is not a partisan argument or a retrospective built on hindsight. It is a sober, first-hand account of leadership under constraint—and a candid discussion about what happens when responsibility is assigned without authority.

By the end of this episode, the listener is left with a clearer understanding of how fragile public safety becomes when systems fail, and what leaders must do to protect both their people and the truth when the pressure is highest.

Learn more or get involved:

• https://citizensbehindthebadge.org
• Listen to more episodes of Heroes Behind the Badge.

Like, Subscribe, and Share to support the men and women who serve behind the badge.

This episode reflects the first-hand experience, perspective, and professional judgment of former U.S. Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund, as shared during this recorded conversation.

Where topics involve ongoing debate, unresolved investigations, or contested interpretations, the discussion distinguishes between what is personally observed, what is documented, and what remains unanswered. This episode is not intended to serve as a comprehensive investigative record, nor does it assert conclusions beyond the speaker’s direct knowledge and publicly available information at the time of recording.

The views expressed are those of the participants and are presented in the interest of understanding leadership, accountability, and decision-making under extreme institutional constraint.