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Chats with law enforcement experts and leaders
As you guys know, I rarely bring a guest back for the second time, but this guy, I think needed an update. If you are not following Zeke Arcam on x, on Instagram, you're missing out. So I wanted to reintroduce him to the audience. And then for those of you who, saw Zeke and I talk a couple of years ago, I think, I thought you guys needed an update. So my friend, Zeke Arcome, welcome to the show.
Zeek Arkham:Thank you so much for having me. It's an honor to be back.
Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith (Ret.):I think the last time we had you, I think, I recall I think you were on your phone sitting in your daughter's bedroom or something trying to, you know, get a decent picture. And, and you have gone from, you know, kinda just being a guy on on x with a few opinions to a very solid conservative influencer. You bring a lot of, you bring a lot of great commentary, and you also bring a lot of pride, for those of us who are law enforcement and retired law enforcement. You you do our profession proud.
Zeek Arkham:Thank you so much. Yeah. When you first spoke to me, I I think you were one of the first to interview me. I think somewhere in the top three to interview me, so I didn't have a setup the way I had it now. You know?
Zeek Arkham:Yeah. I was in my daughter's bedroom trying to find a quiet space in my house so I could do the interview, and I transitioned from that. So, okay. Let me have a space now for myself, and I have my own podcast, and my voice is carried. And and I thank everyone who's followed me, everyone who's amplified my voice.
Zeek Arkham:I thank god for giving me this voice. So it's definitely been a a growth, and I appreciate that.
Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith (Ret.):So I'm gonna ask you the question I ask every cop that comes on the show. Why'd you become a cop?
Zeek Arkham:That it was actually I I fell backwards into it, to be completely honest. I applied, for the local police department, and I applied for the fire department. I also applied for federal agencies. I applied to be in the secret service, and it was basically just a matter of who called me first. And, thankfully, the police department called me, or else I'd be, the secret service agent with Attitude or the firefighter with Attitude.
Zeek Arkham:Cop with Attitude rolls off the tongue a bit better, so I'm I'm glad the the local police department called me first, and I haven't looked back, and it's been a great ride. You truly do have a front seat to the best show on earth. You know, people don't realize that you are there. You're standing there. You you get to partake in everything.
Zeek Arkham:You get to, you'll have access into places where a lot of the public doesn't, and it's been a great ride.
Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith (Ret.):So, Deac, when did you when did you come into this, this persona where you thought that maybe people would enjoy your opinions. When did you become the cop with attitude? And, you know, tell us how that all began.
Zeek Arkham:I I forgot the exact trial that was going on, and I remember reading these comments, and I'm saying to myself, these people have it all wrong. There was one guy who who said he was a cop that had it completely wrong. I don't know if he really is a cop or not, but he had it completely wrong. If he's a cop, he worked in the most keystone cop, Reno 911 area you've ever seen in your life. And I said, he's got it all wrong.
Zeek Arkham:So I looked around, and I said, you know what? No one's coming out with actual facts. Everyone's been going off of what they watched on TV, watching the movies. You know, the you got the guys who are the, law and order veterans, the law and order special victims unit, veterans who've watched 5, 10 seasons of law and order and now think they have the exact story. I said they've got it all wrong.
Zeek Arkham:So I said, let me, who've actually been in a police locker room, who's been in a police car, who hangs out with cops, tell the complete story. So I just started speaking, and I said, a cop with attitude because I'm not gonna be nice about it. I'm not gonna be friendly about it. I'm not, the Mayberry cop who wants to go and whistle with people. I'm gonna bring it truthfully, and I'm gonna bring it to people's faces.
Zeek Arkham:So I said, I'm gonna be the cop with attitude, and I just started posting, and I started responding to people, and I started sort of just putting myself out there, and slowly but surely, people started following. You know, I get asked all the time, what can I do to increase my follow count? And I always tell people, just be yourself. Be authentic. I think that's what drew people to me, just the fact that I was authentic.
Zeek Arkham:I was raw. You know, I wasn't trying to sugarcoat anything. I'm gonna tell you the truth. If the truth hurts, I'm gonna keep bringing the pain, and that's where I am now. People started saying, you know, you should start a podcast.
Zeek Arkham:You should really speak to people about what goes on. So I said, okay. I'll start a podcast, and thanks to people like you, Betsy, thanks to other people, I I got the push I needed, and here I am. My podcast, has a lot of risk a lot of ears to it, a lot of views. And, like I said, I'm just I'm so thankful for that.
Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith (Ret.):Well and you so you kinda transitioned in from, you know, from just talking about law enforcement issues to, fairly quickly talking about politics, conservatism, you know, and you you became a black conservative on x before it was, you know, the super cool thing to do. Now all the kids are doing it. And, how did that transition occur? Because I gotta tell you, like, when I was a young cop, we didn't talk about politics. It was you really did not talk about politics.
Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith (Ret.):We were taught that in the academy, and, and we would I sat next to people in World Cup for 20 years that I didn't know anything about their politics until we until way later in my career.
Zeek Arkham:Well, I always say if you're a cop and you don't discuss politics, then you are missing out on a vital part of the job because that's what the job is nowadays, politics. You know, mayors we we see it directly. You have, DAs who don't wanna prosecute, and you have, mayors and governors who wanna treat criminals better than they do the victims. You're a cop. You're directly in the line of fire of this, so to speak.
Zeek Arkham:This directly involves you. So when you have someone like New York City mayor Bill de Blasio who wants to hug criminals and wants to push marxism and wants to demonize cops, that directly affects you. When you have a presidential candidate who thinks she's law enforcement but has done nothing but hug little literally hug criminals and talk about how proud she is of them and support criminals, this directly affects you. So if you are not involved in politics, then you are missing out on a key function of what how to do your job. You know, when you have, the country shut down, and now your orders are to go into people's houses and basically violate their 4th amendment, you have to know what you're saying yes to.
Zeek Arkham:You have to know what kind of orders you're given and what goes against your oath and what goes against the constitution and what goes against the bill of rights. So as much as I talk about being a conservative, I kind of refer myself now more as a conservatarian because there are things about the libertarian party I like. There are things about the conservative party I like. And so I kinda just, you know, find a happy medium between them both. I'm not a leftist.
Zeek Arkham:I'll tell you that much. I'm a completely not one. But, you know, I try to pick and chew pick and choose, between conservatives and and libertarians what what I like. But, I tell cops all the time, you know, you have to remember, you took an oath to the constitution. You took an oath to the people of this country.
Zeek Arkham:You did not take an oath to a specific politician, whether you agree with them or not. You have to be able to to to discern right and wrong. You have to be able to say, sir, ma'am, I cannot follow that order. That is a direct violation. So as much as I try to advocate for cops, I also try to bring a realistic view and say, our job is very political.
Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith (Ret.):I'm so glad you said that because that's one of the things that, my husband and I as we travel around the country and train cops, one of the things we've been doing for quite a while is we start every training class with the pledge of allegiance to remind them, of this country and remind them of their oath to this constitution that we all revere. And, again, what you said is is so important that we have got to pay attention, you know, not just nationally, but as a cop, you know, you're either working for, you know, a mayor or a city council or a governor or a sheriff and a county board. You need to pay attention to their politics and their beliefs and and all of that because that directly affects, you know, your work life and then, of course, very often, your personal life. Now you are a very Trumpian guy. You you, you came out early for Donald Trump, you know, both times.
Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith (Ret.):And, and and I know you you get a lot of pushback on that, because you're black. Talk about that.
Zeek Arkham:Well, my my my race doesn't discern who I vote for. I remember I had a discussion with someone a while ago, and he said to me, you know, you have to remember, you were black before you were conservative, and you were black before you're a cop. And I said, yeah, but the truth was around before anything. So if I support someone like Donald Trump, it's because the truth is out there. You look at who supports us.
Zeek Arkham:You look at Donald Trump who goes and he shakes cops' hands whether he gets recognition for it or not. You look at someone like Trump who supports cops whether he gets recognition for it or not, whether it's whether he gets pushed back or not. He's he sits and stands with us. He sits and he shakes our hands. He sits and he he he he's called the family members of cops where the cops have been killed in the line of duty.
Zeek Arkham:Kamala Harris, you know, just looking back at the local at the recent election, doesn't do that. She'd rather hug, literally hug people like Jacob Blake. She'd rather start a Minnesota Freedom Fund so that rioters can get out of jail. So, you know, when people say, oh, you can't support someone like Trump because you're black, first of all, yes. I can because my race doesn't dictate my actions, and I'm not gonna be beholden to something that, can work against me later on.
Zeek Arkham:And I'm gonna go with the truth. Trump is the truth, whether anyone likes it or not, whether anybody wants to think, oh, he's gonna take away our rights. No. He's not. He's going to make sure this country gets better.
Zeek Arkham:We're gonna be unburdened by what we've been burdened by over the past 4 years. So when I came out early for Trump, it was because, listen. I'm gonna take a stand. I'm going to, support someone who supports me, who supports all law enforcement, and I'm going to support someone who supports this country where, like, you know, love it or love it or hate it, this is the best country we've got on this planet. This is the best shot any of us have at true freedom in this world.
Zeek Arkham:And we were at a bonafide crossroad during this past election, whether we're gonna go down a path of freedom or we're gonna go down a path of of putting America last. And, thankfully, and I keep saying this, we did good. Thankfully, this country voted in the right direction. And for law enforcement, we've got 4 years to really get ourselves together and hopefully make a return to when policing was good, and we could actually be cops instead of being handcuffed, so to speak, by a lot of these local politicians.
Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith (Ret.):Now we're coming into the holidays here, and, I've seen so many commentators talking about, boy, you can't sit at the same table if you didn't agree on the the, you know, last election. And you're very open about, how you grew up, that you have some family members that don't necessarily share your conservative views. How do you deal with that?
Zeek Arkham:So, yeah, I can sit at a table with anyone. You know, if you voted for Kamala Harris or not, I can sit at a table with you. What I can't sit at a tape who I, excuse me, who I can't sit at a table with is someone who is anti cop because I did this, and I put food on the table with this profession for a long time. Who I can't sit at a table with is someone who is racist, who is not gonna like me just because of the color of my skin. I'm not gonna sit at a table with someone who doesn't love this country, who who who actively wants to destroy it because they've got this wonderful idea of Marxism, which has never, been fruitful ever on this planet.
Zeek Arkham:And matter of fact, it's been the opposite. You know, if you wanna sit, you wanna have a discussion I've had discussions with people before. Who were racist? Who hated cops? Who were Marxists?
Zeek Arkham:Who wanted to push their own agenda? Have I spoken with them before? Sure. I would find it really hard to break bread with them unless they were willing to listen to what I had to say and were willing to accept facts over their beliefs. But, am I gonna sit at the table with them and just think everything's hunky dory and, you know, oh, just, you know, just go ahead and pass the the cranberry sauce.
Zeek Arkham:Probably not just because at some point, something's gonna come up, and then it's it's gonna turn into a into a fracas. But, you know, if I if I can sit and talk to them, I'll sit the table with them and talk to them, but, it's it's not gonna be it's not gonna be something that's that's a joyous occasion. As far as family, I have yeah. I do have family now, anti cop. I I've got a sister-in-law who loves putting on on her personal Facebook page about how she's raising a black son, and she's gotta teach this black son how to be safe around cops.
Zeek Arkham:And my rebuttal to her is always, well, then you're going to be teaching your son, your black son, how to be cautious around his black cop uncle. Is that is that the conversation you're gonna have? And, of course, she's like, no. No. I'm not I don't mean you.
Zeek Arkham:Well, you know, yes. You do. So, I mean, it it's during the holidays, I guess, you just have to, in some cases, you have to, I guess, pick and choose who your family is. I've always been taught family isn't just blood. Family are the people who worry about your family, who pick your daughter up from her dance classes, who make sure your wife is okay coming home from dinner, who if you would if you were at work and you called them, they'd be at your house within 5 minutes to make sure that everybody's okay.
Zeek Arkham:You know, one of my old partners who's my daughter's godfather, I love him to death because if I'm at work, if I'm stuck at work, I can't get home, I know I can call him, and he is going to show up at my house, guns blazing, to make sure my family is okay. To me, he's family to more so than than any blood relative I have, and that's because he does stuff like that. He knows I do it for him. So I guess during this holiday season, I guess people just have to remember, family isn't just blood.
Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith (Ret.):That is very well said. You know, you were on the front lines of, 2020, 2021. You know, you you dealt with the pandemic as a cop, then you dealt with the riots as a cop. As we look forward, what's your takeaway from all that, and where do you think we are headed into 2025?
Zeek Arkham:I I had an uncle that whenever I was feeling bad, whenever I was feeling kinda low, I would call him. He always tell me, baby boy, there is gold in them hills. Basically, just meaning that there's good in our future. You know, during 2020, during 2021, the quote, unquote summer of love riots, we had, like I said, we had a candidate who openly supported the rioters. We had a candidate who who she was on the side of the criminals because it was the safest place for her to be.
Zeek Arkham:She couldn't be on the side of law enforcement because that's not that's not the woke thing. That's not the appropriate leftist thing. You gotta be against the cops. You've gotta be against the authority. You know, with Marxism, you're either the oppressed or the oppressors.
Zeek Arkham:So she couldn't put herself on the side of the oppressors. She had to put herself on the side of the oppressed. The fact that there are cops out there who would turn around and then vote for her just mystifies me. I've spoken to cops who said, no. I'm still voting for Kamala Harris because I want this black woman or so she says black.
Zeek Arkham:I want this black woman to be president. And I'm like, well, you know, did you not experience everything we experienced in 2020? Weren't you standing right next to me when when we were fighting off riders? Weren't you right next to me when we were trying to put out burning police cars and you still turn around and vote for this woman who would welcome this, who picked a vice president, who stopped the National Guard from going in there and calming his state down and bringing peace to his state? You stand with us.
Zeek Arkham:So, I I guess, I guess my answer is is, as cops, we just we always have to be vigilant, and we always have to be looking forward, and we always have to remember the past. We always have to remember who supported us when all the chips are down. With the next couple of years coming up, 2025 all the way up to 2028, I look forward to it. I look forward to where this country is gonna go. I look forward to the prosperity this country is gonna have.
Zeek Arkham:I look forward to America taking its rightful place as the head of this planet. Trump is not even in office yet, and already countries are calling him and going, hey. You know what? We're gonna give peace a shot. You know?
Zeek Arkham:We're gonna we're gonna stop attacking these people. Let's let's let's bring everything to the table. Let's let's try to settle things up, and that's just that's strong leadership.
Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith (Ret.):What do you think mass deportation is going to look like?
Zeek Arkham:It's it's gonna look like us getting our country back. It's gonna look like us getting our country back. You know? It it's gonna look like us putting in the same standards as other countries have on their borders. That's why I could never figure out why are we having these open borders.
Zeek Arkham:Why are we having this border crisis where if I, personally, as an American citizen, were to go into Mexico, they would catch me and throw me right back. If I were to go into Canada and just decide, hey. Listen. I I'm here. I demand a cell phone.
Zeek Arkham:I demand an apartment. They will laugh at me and throw me right back into the United States. You know, you look at, the just the, the vacation passport situations you got going on in other countries. They ask you, why are you here? What are you doing here?
Zeek Arkham:What's how long are you staying? You know? It's not you know, you can't just show up and be like, oh, asylum. I'm here. You know?
Zeek Arkham:So there's a process. So why do we have this open border problem? We are the strongest, most powerful nation in the world, and yet we've got this this glaring hole in our in our system. And I listen. I'm I'm for it.
Zeek Arkham:You you you get yourself a big bus, one of those long, long school buses from, like, back in the day that was, like, half a block long. You get one of those school buses. Hey. Alright. Everybody get back in.
Zeek Arkham:Everybody get in. You you you in. And drive them to the border and say, hey. Listen. You can come back, but do it the right way.
Zeek Arkham:I I had a I have a brother-in-law, my my wife's sister's husband. He's Scottish, and he's coming here from Scotland. He's immigrating here from Scotland. He's doing it the right way. He's got this paperwork.
Zeek Arkham:He's showing that he's a business owner. He's showing that he is going to be a an asset to to the United States. And to him, he's more insulted than anyone, and he compared to the lines at Disney World. He said, you know how you go to Disney World? You go to Disneyland, and you stand online for an hour, and you get right up to the to the ride, and you're getting ready to get on the ride?
Zeek Arkham:And they bring someone out of nowhere, and that person takes your spot, and they get on a ride before you and they bring more people and they get on that ride before you, they basically, that's what he compared you to.
Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith (Ret.):Absolutely. Zeke, I got about 50 more questions, but, our time is up. Where can people find you?
Zeek Arkham:You can find me on Twitter, excuse me, x, at Zeek Arkham, zeekarkham. I have the same handle for Instagram. I put my my video rants on Instagram, and I put my my written rants on x, and sometimes the world's, boss in between. So, you could follow me on either platform, and you'll you'll get pretty much all
Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith (Ret.):of me. And I wanna tell people that, your Instagram and your ex are are very different, and they're both worth following. I literally go through your Instagram stories sometimes while drinking coffee, and I laugh so hard, I snort coffee out of my nose. There there's no bigger compliment than that. Thank you so much.
Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith (Ret.):Thanks so much for spending time with us today. And if you'd like more information about the National Police Association, visit us at nationalpolice.org.
Narrator:Every day, the brave men and women of law enforcement put their lives on the line to keep us safe. But they need our help to continue their mission. Activist politicians, progressive prosecutors, the ACLU, and the rest of the anti police forces, receive millions in donations from extremist pro criminal elements like George Soros and woke corporations. The National Police Association is fighting them in courts around the country, including the United States Supreme Court, defending officers who are being attacked for doing their jobs. Additionally, the National Police Association works year round to pass tough on crime legislation to put and keep criminals behind bars.
Narrator:Consider going to nationalpolice.org and donating to keep us in the fight. Together, we can win. That is nationalpolice.org.