ABOUT

A podcast about tearing down the blue wall that protects abusers.

Broken Badge is reported, sourced, and made with the people at the center of the story — not about them.

ABOUT THE PODCAST

What Broken Badge is

Broken Badge examines a difficult and often hidden issue: domestic abuse within police departments and public-safety communities.

Through storytelling, interviews, and reporting, the podcast helps listeners understand the warning signs, the institutional failures, and the opportunities for reform. Each season follows a specific story closely enough to show how these situations actually unfold — the delays, the paperwork, the phone calls that go to the wrong desk — and then widens out to the pattern that story belongs to.

We are deliberate about what this show is not. It is not a true-crime series. It does not treat a family's worst year as entertainment, and it does not build suspense out of someone's danger. The goal is not to make you feel something for forty minutes. The goal is that you finish an episode understanding a system well enough to recognize it — and knowing what can be done differently.

WHY THIS MATTERS

Domestic abuse can happen in any community.

When it occurs within law enforcement families, the dynamics can be especially complicated.

The abuser may have authority, access to weapons, institutional knowledge, and professional relationships that make reporting more difficult. The people who would normally respond may be colleagues. The person who would take the report may be a friend. The systems designed to create a record can be the same systems that decide what gets recorded.

None of this makes these families unusual in their pain. It makes the path out narrower — and that is a solvable problem.

"Every institution says it takes this seriously. The question this series asks is simpler: what did it actually do?"

THE TEAM

Who makes Broken Badge

Bios and photos are placeholders pending team approval.

Olivia Farr
PRODUCER

Olivia Farr has spent her career helping launch and manage non-profits including Healthy Babies Bright Futures, the Avon Theater Film Center and Bedford 2030. She has also served on the Boards of the Westchester Land Trust, St. Mark’s School, Maplebrook School, and the John Merck Fund.

As co-founder of Bedford 2020, she fused her interest in developing a grassroots community response to the global issue of climate change. She has held numerous positions at the organization including Co-Founder, Vice-President, Treasurer, and Co-Chair of the Food and Agriculture Task Force.

Jamie Bruce
PRODUCER

Beginning his career under the mentorship of the legendary Louis Malle, Bruce honed his craft on films such as "Atlantic City" and "My Dinner with André," contributing to production efforts before taking the helm as editor for "Alamo Bay" and the critically acclaimed documentary "God's Country.” From 2018 to 2023, Bruce served as EVP of Production at XG Productions, spearheading the reboot of "America's Most Wanted" for FOX in 2021 and directing the impactful six-part documentary series "Indivisible: Healing Hate" for Paramount Plus in 2022. His leadership and innovative approach in this role further solidified his reputation as a forward-thinking executive in the entertainment industry. In April 2024 along with his two partners, he co-founded Big Love Studios, a hybrid tech/entertainment/media company.

Bruce Bieber
SUBJECT AND FATHER

Retired father of 3 law enforcement officers, one of whom, Abigail Rose Bieber, was murdered by a fellow LEO, Hillsborough County (FL) Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) Deputy, Dan Leyden (who killed himself) in January of 2022. Husband of 39 years to a wonderful human who is, among other things, a public school teacher.

Abby was ending a short-lived, on-again, off-again relationship with Leyden not knowing that he had been the subject of a domestic violence incident 6 years earlier with a separate victim; his then-girlfriend, Chynna Ratner, which involved a major HCSO response in the field & practically zero investigation and no follow-up. No charges were filed and this menace went on to carry an HCSO badge & allegedly abuse no fewer than 8 OTHER women before killing Abby. Trust me when I tell you that the HCSO command staff doesn’t “get it” - or worse, won’t acknowledge that they do get it but choose to be complicit in the crimes of their deputies. They aren’t the only agency doing so. The answers are there. There are lives to save. Let’s do the right thing & address OIDV - officer involved domestic violence.

PRODUCTION PARTNER

Broken Badge is produced in partnership with Entertainment to Affect Change, a New York-based nonprofit that works with charities and creators to make content that drives change.

EDITORIAL & SENSITIVITY NOTE

How we handle this story

Broken Badge covers a real-life tragedy and a serious public issue. We handle it with care, accuracy, and respect.

  • Placeholder. Describe the consent process: how participants are briefed, what control they retain over their material, and how the team handles requests to withdraw. This paragraph is what tells a nervous source they can trust you.


  • Placeholder. Describe sourcing standards, fact-checking, and the process for offering named individuals and institutions an opportunity to respond before publication.


  • Placeholder. State the lines the series will not cross: no gratuitous detail, no dramatized reenactments of violence, no publishing of identifying information that could compromise a survivor's safety, no cliffhangers built on someone's danger.


  • Placeholder. This is worth stating plainly: the series is about a failure of accountability, not an indictment of every officer. Many of the people pushing hardest for reform here are current and former law enforcement. Say so.