{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Murphy's Law","title":"From A Backyard Tragedy To Leading Colorado's Finest","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":2514,"description":"In this episode of Murphy's Law, host Murphy Robinson sits down with one of his closest friends and most trusted colleagues in law enforcement — Colorado State Patrol Lieutenant Colonel Brandon Means. This isn't just a conversation about policing. It's about purpose, faith, brotherhood, and what it truly means to hold the line when everything around you is falling apart.\nBrandon Means didn't choose law enforcement because it sounded good. He chose it at nine years old when a car flew off a highway and landed on top of his nine-month-old brother's playpen. In that moment of absolute terror and helplessness, he heard sirens in the distance — and decided that someday he wanted to be that sound for someone else. From that backyard in Lakewood, to the Marine Corps, to 22 years with the Colorado State Patrol, that calling has never wavered.\nBut this episode goes far beyond origin stories. Murphy and Brandon take you inside some of the most chaotic and consequential moments in Colorado law enforcement history — the 2020 George Floyd protests in Denver, where troopers were shot at on day one, pipe bombs were thrown at police memorials, and over a million dollars of damage was done to the Capitol in a single night. Murphy reveals for the first time publicly that he wept in his office watching his officers get hurt — and Brandon shares what it felt like to see that viral press conference and feel like a leader had finally stood up.\nThis is a conversation about what real leadership looks like when the cameras are rolling, the bullets are flying, and nobody has a playbook for what comes next.\nKey Themes & Takeaways\nThe Nine Year Old Who Heard Sirens Brandon Means didn't find law enforcement — law enforcement found him at age nine when a car crashed into his backyard and landed on his baby brother's playpen. The moment he heard sirens coming, he knew exactly what he wanted to do with his life.\nThe Best Recruiters Wear the Uniform Murphy and Brandon make the most compelling...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/i5VidaAPwui-mkO5QFXggyZtb0zIlg4YR2_FNHsGhxQ/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS82ZWZm/YzczODJhMjE0Mjhl/ZWUzYTE0YTI3MGUz/OGVjZS5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}