Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Episode 6 - Vinnie Montez: Laughter and the Law
0 Playsin 21 hours
In today’s episode of Breaking & Adventuring, we’re joined by a very special guest: Cop Comedian Vinnie Montez. Vinnie opens up about his early career with the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office and how he transitioned from law enforcement to stand-up comedy. He shares how humor has provided new perspectives in both his professional and personal life. Vinnie also discusses his journey with mental health struggles and how being open about those challenges has allowed him to help others in ways he never imagined. Whether you’re here for a good laugh or to hear how law enforcement officers confront and overcome personal obstacles, this is an episode you won’t want to miss!
If you get the chance, make sure you get to see Vinnie in person. Check out his website https://vinniemontez.com/ to find out where he is performing next.
Also, don’t forget to check out Vinnie’s documentary, Vinnie-ism: The Story of the Cop Comedian. It’s available on Amazon Prime: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0F79GNWN8
Do you have questions? We want to answer them. Send us an email to CommunityConnections@adcogov.org.
Recommended
Transcript
Unexpected Wildlife Encounters
00:00:26
Speaker
Let's get this out of the way right now. I'm actually, I'm a cop currently right now. i've been a cop for the last 21 years.
00:00:38
Speaker
It's been a lot of fun. The thing about it is though, when I became a cop, went to the Academy in 97, became a cop in 98, I didn't sign up to deal with bears, all right? That's all I'm saying right now.
00:00:51
Speaker
This lady called 911, she's like, there's a bear in my kitchen. There's a bear in my kitchen. I'm like, that's my problem? I mean, if it was a brown bear, right, I could do something about it.
00:01:03
Speaker
I'd be like, what are the, what's up, what's up? They got the enchiladas in the freezer or what?
00:01:16
Speaker
But that wasn't the situation, right? So my partner comes out of the station, right? The night that we got this call, I was paired up with one of the SWAT guys, all right? I'm not a SWAT guy, but he was.
00:01:28
Speaker
And he comes out of the station, he's all like, yeah, bro, we're gonna go get the bear, bro. And you know, he's that one cop that just has that swagger, yeah, bro.
00:01:45
Speaker
So Captain America and I are going to get this bear. um And we're going up the canyon and he's in the passenger seat. I'm driving lights and sirens. We're going with this call. This lady's calling on one. They're updating us on dispatch.
00:01:59
Speaker
And he's just in the passenger seat. So we get to the call and before I could stop him, he gets out of the car. He grabs the shotgun. He's all, shh, shh.
00:02:15
Speaker
I'm all, dude, you cannot shoot a bear with a shotgun, bro. The Subaru drivers will not put up with that, bro.
00:02:29
Speaker
Any Subaru drivers in here tonight? Shut up, nobody cares, nobody cares.
00:02:38
Speaker
um So before I could stop Captain America, he runs into the house. I wish I was making this part up, but this is completely true.
00:02:49
Speaker
I'm standing outside. This is the very next thing that I hear. ah Here, bear, bear, bear, bear.
00:03:02
Speaker
bear, where you at, bear? This dude is there like Elmer Fudd. I'm gonna find a bear.
00:03:13
Speaker
I'm gonna find a bear. um um I just want to point out at this point time in the show, I was still outside the house, okay? Because I know better. My mom raised a smart kid.
00:03:29
Speaker
And I'm thinking to myself, what's this SWAT guy in there doing? Like searching the house all tactically and everything? He's going to round the corner in the kitchen, come face to face with the bear and be like, hey, boo-boo, got a picnic basket?
00:03:47
Speaker
um The bear and I had a lot in common. He came in the house, he obtained the food and left said house. Welcome back to Breaking and Adventuring, where we invite you into the world of the Adams County Sheriff's Office and beyond.
00:04:01
Speaker
So we're going to share background stories and experiences of the men and women of the Adams County Sheriff's Office and the greater law enforcement and public safety community.
Career Evolution: From Cop to Comedy
00:04:10
Speaker
I'm your host, Sergeant Adam Sherman, and today we're visiting with my friend Vinny Montes to discuss life of a deputy ah who found stand-up comedy and finding purpose outside of your career, how law enforcement and comedy are similar and different, and much more wherever the conversation takes us. so Sure.
00:04:26
Speaker
Can we play a little game just to start? Yeah, go for it. right, so the game is, who are you? oh I'm Vinnie Montez. I'm a 27 year veteran law enforcement officer. I'm still active.
00:04:37
Speaker
I've assumed a new role at the agency where I work now, the Bullard County Sheriff's Office, where I am a, the PIA, I am a, I am the PIO supervisor for our communications unit.
00:04:49
Speaker
And I'm still sworn, but the sheriff worked with me to, a reserve deputy now. Okay. But I am solo qualified. Thank God. Thank God they let me do that. Yeah. I lose my mind. And it was, it's been good. So it's just a whole different change from being a commander, which was my last role into where we're at today. So yeah. Yeah.
00:05:07
Speaker
Yeah, I think the last time I saw you in uniform was actually during the Marshall fires that made national news. but Oh, yeah, that was definitely something, right? Yeah, you're kind of one of the incident commanders. really pray we're crossing our fingers that we can just hold off from having another one of those because yeah that was probably one of the craziest things that I've responded to in my career. And I was actually off.
00:05:28
Speaker
I was in Seattle on vacation and the fire broke out. I flew back that day and I show up at the command post. They're like, Hey, you ready to take overnight shift? And I'm like, uh, yeah, hell yeah. Put me in coach. Let's go. Yeah. Tag. I'm it. And correct me for a like, that was new year's Eve. Correct. No, that was, uh, uh, Oh no.
00:05:45
Speaker
The 30th. It was 30th. One day before new year's Eve. Gotcha. Yeah. because I know we, so we had yeah just anybody in the area that could help. So I know I worked New Year's Day that morning yeah to help out as much as we could. And so, yeah, just horrible situation. We had agencies from all over the metro area and I cannot, on behalf of our sheriff then and now, ah thanks for everybody coming out because it was a spackling of a little bit of everybody from everywhere, you know. people are even showing up, Hey, you need us. And didn't even have them on the list. And we're like, okay, where are we going to you? Oh yeah. And I know people were coming from out of state, make donations. yeah want just such that Yeah. That impacted a huge, even the military, the national guard was helping us out. So we really appreciate everybody for jumping in. So yeah, so a lot to juggle. So yeah, there is there any other things that just kind of stand out in your 27 years? just you know, extraordinary circumstances or anything funny that you're just like, man, I well i love Well, mean, let's lay this on the
Mental Health in Law Enforcement
00:06:35
Speaker
table. i
00:06:36
Speaker
One of the biggest things that I struggled with my career was my mental health. That was a big ah dip for me. And really where that came from is, I don't know if I'm the only one that shared it, but I think that a lot of people felt early on in law enforcement, especially in the 90s and the early 2000s, there wasn't a whole lot of Touchy feely talking about your feelings. I think there's always been a taboo around first responders talking about that. It's at least in the first responder world, because I think people often have the impression that the old school people like me, who that if you talk about your feelings or you feel like you're struggling with stuff that my, my, I can speak for myself. I felt like if people found out I was struggling that they would immediately think that I was a week or not able to handle covering them.
00:07:17
Speaker
And really, that's the farthest thing from the truth. You know, we always speak about a brotherhood and a sisterhood inside of this organization as far as law enforcement is concerned. And people are always willing to step up to your left and to your right to help you out.
00:07:29
Speaker
But, you know, i I had to find out the hard way where I kind of got into a bad mindset. And then it wasn't until 2008 where I really started branching out into doing something outside of work. I was that guy who was always at work. but People are like, go home. Yeah.
00:07:43
Speaker
I sign up for every off duty. i would be working every shift. I cover shifts for other people. i just didn't have a balance in my life. I was so consumed in being in this job because I loved it so much. And I still do.
00:07:55
Speaker
But I just have a different balance in my life today. And ah you I tell people all over the country, wherever I speak, you know, don't be ashamed of your mental health because I used to be ashamed of that. Don't. deal with it because you know when you don't deal with it you lose relationships this guy right here uh you you you self-cope and self-medicate you know you drink more this guy right here uh you know all these things that really people are afraid to talk about you know i was experiencing some of those things when i was in that bad spot and The way that got me out is finding something outside of work because if you are your sole identity, you know, as a police officer, I was back in the day, yeah you know, you you reap some of those negative consequences. And so I'm nobody to tell anybody anything. But I certainly i certainly that's probably been the biggest struggle over my career with, you know, mental health.
00:08:38
Speaker
Yeah. And it's hard, you know, you you don't want to, especially as young in this career, you don't want to expose kind of like you might have some chinks in the armor. Like you're, you're very, you know, we're, we're usually type a ish. Absolutely. We want to seem impenetrable and we got this and RoboCop.
00:08:52
Speaker
Yeah. So no, that's, that's, ah and you don't have to be public about it. You know, you can go seek that help, you know, privately, like, you know, Broward and associates is an agency that we've used for, you know, mental health clinicians. And one thing I'll say about that is,
00:09:04
Speaker
For me, I did not work well going to an EAP, like your employee assistance through the agency that you work for, like the county itself. yeah And it's not that they were bad people. They just weren't right specialized that I could really relate to, and they could really give me the feedback and help me through that process.
00:09:18
Speaker
EMD therapy, AMD therapy ended up being a big thing for me, you know, really just talking things out. So I just, I talk about it at the drop of a hat now, just because I don't want people to go through the things that I went through.
00:09:29
Speaker
And if you can make it all the way through the ranks and the organization like I have and still be standing, you know, that should just be testament to, you know, where you could still achieve those things despite you having some of those setbacks. Yeah. Yeah. Walking out with your head high and yeah just kind of calling your shot and then still being able to, you know, obviously did it well to where you were embraced to come back in different roles.
00:09:46
Speaker
Absolutely. um So you you mentioned some of that off duty. So what did off duty life look like for you early in your career? you know I was just hanging out with the cops that I work with. ah you know We would do stuff.
00:09:57
Speaker
um And that was about it. you know i would spend time with my family. you know my My immediate family is for... I don't have kids, but you know my my mom... My dad passed away right when I became a police officer. So that was kind of a jolt in the arm.
00:10:12
Speaker
And i really probably didn't deal with that. And what I mean, I just didn't process it. I kind of put it on the back burner. And now,
Blending Comedy with Law Enforcement
00:10:18
Speaker
only now in this last year, I've talked about my dad like... Twice on stage when I do comedy. And, you know, I just have always been that outgoing person who doesn't, I don't care who's around. I'll talk to anybody. else I'll ah relate to them.
00:10:31
Speaker
I just like, I like interacting with people. I feed off of people in a room. So that leads next to the next one. So how did you go from that and and find your way into stand-up comedy? well I mean, did somebody just invite you to a show or did you just look into it like, hey, i'm going to do an open mic?
00:10:46
Speaker
I looked it up. I looked up that Comedy Works, which is owned by Wendy Curtis. She's amazing. She has a new talent program. And I grew up watching Def Comedy Jam okay you know and a bunch of other people. like Some of the people early on were like Martin Lawrence ah for me and, you know of course, Eddie Murphy.
00:11:02
Speaker
George Lopez was big influence because... i order like capasso royal ok on like And that was because you know we got some people, the Latino culture, especially me, right? Yeah, Paul Rodriguez. Paul Rodriguez. I got to open for him one time at the improv. Oh, that's incredible. Okay. um you know There's just a lot of...
00:11:17
Speaker
great things that are in the world of comedy. So I always levitated toward that because that inspired me. I thought that was really cool what people are doing. So I looked it up and they, it took me 10 weeks. I want to estimate to finally get a two minute spot at downtown comedy works on a Tuesday night. That's the new talent night there.
00:11:34
Speaker
And I finally get my two minutes and I'm like, I remember performing with my hairbrush in front of my lady, like doing my set thinking I was all that a bag of chips and, She's rolling her eyes. She's filming it, you know, and and I still, we have that footage and it's really embarrassing to see, but right I went and did the show. And of course I fumbled through my words, but I did my best and they said, Hey, come back kid. You know, you got, you got something there. We'll figure out what it is. We're not sure exactly what it is, but come back.
00:12:00
Speaker
And that led to staying in that process for probably, I probably didn't make the actual roster rotation to like 2018 2019 where i became a headliner. You first joined this program called the star seven or almost famous where you get to the level. And I think that was probably somewhere around 2013, 2012.
00:12:18
Speaker
um But I started 2007 and now you get to open up for the biggest names that come through comedy works on the weekends, which is amazing. Yeah. So you get your, you cut your teeth. It's just like becoming a cop. They don't take you, stick you in the narcotics section, right? Yeah. You got to work your way up and you really got to cut your teeth because the only way you get good at anything in life is through failure and doing it over and over again. That's why I tell the cops on the street, go out there, especially when you're new, get involved in everything, get in all the training. That way you can get those reps in.
00:12:42
Speaker
Same way through comedy. And now I never knew it was going to turn into this. I was doing it for my own self-preservation. Yeah. Yeah. Next thing you know, people are like, dude, I like this guy. You know, he's kind of funny. In 2019, I got my first special, which is now up on Amazon Prime. And I'm like, oh, my God. Yeah, plug away, bro. You still see. sorry Plug away. Plug away.
00:13:00
Speaker
And um the documentary is coming out here this year. okay it's crazy. Vinny-ism the story of the cop comedian, which I'm freaking out about. Because all my laundry, all my chinchetto is going to be right out there on front street. Yeah.
00:13:12
Speaker
and and And even just now in my head, I'm seeing some of the, you know, so the, the parallels where, know, you first go through training or do you like your first traffic stop? you like, uh, the reason they're like you drop your pen, like standing at the mic for the first time for those two minutes, you're like, uh, is this, is this on a, right? Hello? like No, it's totally that way. I mean, i I don't think I stuttered at all. I just like ramble them, like nonstop words coming out of my mouth, nothing in sequence, no timing, no, nothing. Yeah.
00:13:38
Speaker
But again, you know, anything you're going to really do, you know, you got to do over and over again to master that. No, it's incredible too. And I tell, you know, like our young deputies that come on board too, is like, you know, there's two different worlds of law enforcement. There's the science. So here's what we can teach you out of the book and statutes and procedure. Right.
00:13:54
Speaker
And then there's the art form and much like standup comedy. I mean, it is truly an art form, but much like, you know, you're just learning timing and reading people as much like you'd read an audience. So it's- Absolutely.
00:14:04
Speaker
Absolutely. You know, that's the one thing that I think I'm a little worried about. I'll be honest with you. you know, a lot of our generations coming up now, they spend a lot of time on tablets, phones, computers, and they don't necessarily spend that time having the social body cues or learning the social body cues, the social movements.
00:14:20
Speaker
listening, you know, the first time you pull somebody over and you're like, Hey, what's your name? would you have your driver's license? and they're like, Oh no, don't have my driver's license. Like, all right, write down your name here on the notepad or tell me what your name is. They're like, uh, Adam Smith. And you're like, okay, what's your date of birth? And uh, one, uh, two, uh, right there. There's that hesitation, you know, already in that moment that that person is completely feeding you a line. So then that's when you like, Hey dude, before you let them commit to the lie, right? You're like, hold on a second.
00:14:45
Speaker
You understand the providing false information to a police officer, although it's probably not the same charge anymore. uh, is a misdemeanor back or by time. Uh, and then you'd be like, you want to try again? they'd be like, yeah, what's your name? Bob Smith. Okay. Well, what's your warrant for? yeah What's your warrant for? But you learn those, those cues and you know, that's all about the repetition.
00:15:03
Speaker
Nice. No. And, and so it sounds like, you know, once, once you did that first two minutes, I mean, did you just catch the bug right away and just kind of find this kind of extra purpose? Yeah. I'm, it was the worst. Um, you're performing in places like Squires lounge on Colfax where,
00:15:19
Speaker
Like literally Denver PD is walking in doing walkthroughs. Yeah. Um, lion's lair Kinga's. I mean like all these places like on Colfax and stuff where club four Oh four and you're doing this for like two or three minutes or four minutes or five minutes at most per set. Yeah. And the whole room is not filled with anybody who really wants to come and enjoy comedy. It's just nothing of but comics in the room. Yeah. Or bring your shows, bring your shows, you know, and, ah it's really eyeopening, but again, you got to go through that and understand what it's like to build the material. Cause you know, anything that comes out that ends up being polished and good that I do on stage now that's spent a lot of time refining in the middle of other shows, all that stuff that happens, uh, is for a reason.
00:16:00
Speaker
So yeah, it's been, quite the experience. So I, and I guess I'll ask just cause I know about the inner workings and the kind of the brotherhood, sisterhood and family of law enforcement. Is it the same way with comics? Are you guys like giving construction criticism to each other or you guys almost looking at like your competition to each other? You know, it's like, it's like the cop world
Camaraderie in Comedy and Policing
00:16:18
Speaker
too. You know, you got some cops that are like very guarded and they just,
00:16:21
Speaker
kind of keep to themselves and you know, they they don't really want to interact that way. But then you have a lot of the people, which is the majority of cops, the majority of comics who are very helpful. People always want to help you out. a lot of cops get into this profession simply to help people out.
00:16:33
Speaker
So they're really good about the camaraderie, helping people out in the comic world. That's the same way. I've found that most of the people like 99% them are always willing to help you out. My first night on stage ah at that open mic, there was a guy by the name of Troy Meeks. God bless you, Troy Meeks, wherever you're at today.
00:16:47
Speaker
I was so nervous. He gave me a little buzzer to put in my pocket that went off at a minute and a half and or whatever the time was just to let me know, hey, you're wrapping up because they cut the mic at two, whatever your time is, they cut the mic, right? And you don't want to be that guy to get the mic cut off because then you're standing there you're like, oh, thank you. And you're walking off. and And it's just it's just really interesting. So, ah yeah, people are very helpful. And I think that that camaraderie, whether it be the comics or the deputies that I've worked with over my career, they're absolutely awesome. And I say this all the time.
00:17:13
Speaker
You can't get anywhere in life without relationships and people helping you out. And you can think about, I guarantee if you thought or anybody in this room thought about who have been those people that have given you that little tidbit of advice or a little bit of help here along the way.
00:17:25
Speaker
We don't always listen to it, right? Because i have plenty of mentors telling me, Vinny, don't do that. And I'm like, oh, I got it. Yeah. Cause when you're young and you come out of the academy, you're like Oh, I know this. yeah I've been on the street for two years. Put me in coach. I can handle anything at this point in time.
00:17:37
Speaker
ah That was me. And of course they called me the, I had a couple of nicknames when I worked in the jail, when I first started my three year, first three years, they called me the gas man. Cause anytime something was going on, I'd show up. They'd be like, Oh, we're going to go up in flames here. And then on the street, they would call me, you know, the S magnet. Oh, that's weird. Yeah. I've heard that one. You know, everywhere I go, there'd be chaos that would ensue. And i of course, you had to learn from those things. um But that was me. That's it. It still is. I still have that dark cloud that follows me around when I'm working, something will happen.
00:18:04
Speaker
And ah but But it's a blessing and a curse. Garth Brooks always says, you know, the things that are blessings are also curses and curses also blessings. So my outgoing personality is good, but sometimes it's a little too strong for some people. And they're like, tone it down, tone it down, throttle down, young man, throttle down. I'm not a young man anymore either. 49.
Humor in De-escalation Techniques
00:18:20
Speaker
Man by quick. Don't look a day over 47. Thank you very much. I appreciate it. You don't work a day over 65. I appreciate it. Yes. Don't do it. Don't do it. Don't do No, we're good. No, this will be a rose battle.
00:18:32
Speaker
um No, and it's funny too. And I'm curious. um i I have a guess, but know for me, especially in like those 10 situations, I was always the kind of guy who, whether it's through humor or something, I could kind of find a way diffuse where,
00:18:44
Speaker
Honestly, i was able to work my way out of lot of situations by reading people, but using some of my own traits and and skills, but still getting my job done and still finding the drugs and then getting the warrants and all that stuff. Yeah. My friend, Randy Wilber, who's a good friend, ryan i he's a good dude. Sorry I mentioned in your name, bro, but tough luck.
00:18:59
Speaker
He's still with the HC, he's a good dude. He'd always say, Vin, you'd always like start with people and you kind of rile them up a little bit, but you had that skill set by the end of the time, they're your best friend and want to buy a cup of coffee. yeah um I've always had that ability to be able to talk to people. And I think if there's one thing that people could master in the field of law enforcement is the ability to build rapport and talk to people. you know we send people people to CIT crisis intervention training.
00:19:23
Speaker
We send them to all kinds of different classes. You know, I've been to negotiation school for the FBI where they teach you a lot of the ALS stuff, active listening skills, all those things, your ability to find commonality. The biggest thing I will tell you, this is me speaking. I'm not a trained trainer,
00:19:38
Speaker
But I have a lot of experience. And the one thing I tell people all the time is just learn to master the ability to find one piece of information. It doesn't matter where somebody maybe went to school, where they grew up, what their favorite food is. But whatever call you're going to or whatever situation you're dealing with find that one commonality.
00:19:52
Speaker
Because you all been to that school ah party when you were growing up, right? And you the only person in there is that one person you do not like. You do not like. And at that moment, when you're all alone in that room, you don't know anybody else. What do you do? You walk up to that person. You're like, hey, bro, what's up? How you doing, man? yeah You both kind of give each other that awkward look, right?
00:20:10
Speaker
Well, that's because you have that one piece in common. So even when you have conflict in situations that are negative and things are happening bad, being able to find that one piece that will bridge the gap is what I tell people all the time. Find that one piece.
00:20:23
Speaker
Find the hook. rapport. Establish that rapport. was rapport. Yeah. bushport What movie is that from? I can't remember. Uh, but it's funny too. And as you're doing that and I found it, and that's where the art form comes in.
00:20:34
Speaker
Cause you're still clicking through the Rolodex of your mind of here's what I'm looking for. Here's the, you know, my investigative skills yeah as I'm building that rapport and joking around and kind of diffusing or just kind of, uh, Yeah. Well, cops are some of the best actors and people who have to learn how to delay better than anybody else. Right.
00:20:51
Speaker
How many times you've been on that situation where you got that person that knows they have a warrant, you know, they have a warrant yeah because you heard it in your earpiece yeah and your cover is not there yet because we don't in our agency and um a lot of agencies, I assume you don't put the handcuffs on until you got another cover car there.
00:21:05
Speaker
and you're just like, hey, man, what's what's going on? Am going to jail? look Look, man, let's not poke the cart before the horse yet. We'll find out when we find out. And you're just buying time to create that time and distance so that you can do it safely. You become the master, right? Or you're in the middle of an investigation. You're doing a DV, and you know that person's going to jail for DV, right? Yeah.
00:21:22
Speaker
And you're still trying to make sure that you got everything situated because the last thing you want to do, because the moment you put the handcuffs on the suspect, the victim typically will turn tail and say, oh, wait, wait, what are doing? are you doing tape right? Yeah. So you have to be a master that, one, to help protect the integrity the investigation to get the best possible investigation done, and two, to maintain the safety because you don't want yourself to get in a jeopardizing situation.
00:21:42
Speaker
Yeah. No, it's, I've been like oh man, do you feel that barometric pressure? Isn't this crazy? You guys, as I'm like, come on, come on, district car, get here. And I think some of the season, you know, some of the season crooks, they know they're like, oh, this guy's stalling. Right. And you know, you see, you look for the cues, right? Are they looking out the door? Are they looking, you know, especially if you're on a traffic stop and you got them outside the car at a DUI roadside investigation, are they looking across the roadway? Are they seeing traffic's clear? You know, all those body signals about to happen because you're like, don't do it, dude. Listen, I haven't run in like a month. Don't do it.
00:22:11
Speaker
in me, I haven't run like me running for me is like, you know, to the dinner table. And we've got a perfectly good car. Yeah. We've got a perfectly good car. How many of us have chased in a car? yeah you like let her burst sit down running yeah let him bit Let them wear themselves out before i get out of the car. Yeah.
00:22:26
Speaker
Um, like looking back through those 27 years, is there anything where you're just like, I cannot believe I did that. Or like, man, that was crazy. ah Yeah, I, you know, gosh, it was weird. I got asked this earlier today and I'll just share this.
00:22:41
Speaker
You know, ah but got a pursuit one night up the mountains and we ended up having this car stall out. the Well, I shouldn't say stall out, but it got stuck. Mm And they're trying to get the, ah it's snowing. Let me paint the picture real quick. It's a night where it's one of those nights where it's crystal clear outside.
00:22:58
Speaker
The snow's on the ground and the roadway's on the sides of the roads. After you go off the main roads of the mountains, it's very icy, just compact ice. yeah And the car goes down this roadway and into this driveway and he gets stuck in the snow or whatever it got stuck in and it's still jamming on the gas.
00:23:14
Speaker
And we're challenging the car, you know, gunpoint. and the car starts to get its traction. It comes by me. I think it's a good opportunity to deflate one of the tires. So I do, and I fire off round, and the car ends What I didn't realize, you know, because you're young in your career, and this is really early in my career, you realize you actually give more traction to the vehicle. cold it wasn't funny then at all. It wasn't funny at all. This is like 20 years ago. And the next thing you know, ah the car crashes, the guys bail out into the woods and I'm there with my partner leaned up against this tree off away from the distance from our car. So we're not backlit.
00:23:48
Speaker
And i remember asking my partner, I'm like, am I going to lose my job for shooting? the car and of course i had every reason to explain and justify what i did but now there's a policy in our agency that exists simply because of that choice and decision well you got a policy named after you everybody i think i honestly think any cop that's worth their salt has got at least one or two policies named after him and people give me a hard time about that agency although that number is getting smaller as more people retire yeah um But, you know, that's one thing I look back. I don't think that I regret it in any way, shape or form. It was a learning experience. It was justified. I did what I was supposed to do. yeah But, man, I look back and holy cow, what a crazy night, right? Right. And we all have, i could we could sit send here for hours talking about war stories, but that's one that just came to mind because I had talked about it earlier today and I was like, oh, my gosh. Yeah.
00:24:32
Speaker
That Firestone's getting it. um So now, ah so you kind of talked about the purpose and just, you know, what you're trying to look, you know positive things to do yeah off the job.
00:24:44
Speaker
What inspires you now? I think what inspires me the most is stand-up comedy and being able to do a lot of things that I've been able to do as far as helping
Comedy for a Cause
00:24:53
Speaker
people out. So, you know, over the course of comedy, you're you're you're trying to get stage time, right? Mm-hmm.
00:24:58
Speaker
And this is probably almost 10 years ago, right around there. One of the ah Chris Mad, who was a sergeant and a commander with a local agency here, he ended up needing some help. And this was public. So, you know, um i was able to help put a show together after they asked me to do that. And we were able I was able to perform for free. I was able to bring some of my friends that I'd made yeah in the Denver comedy scene. And we did a show. We raised a lot of money for him.
00:25:22
Speaker
And then it was fortuitous that my mentor and one of the guys I looked up to very much, retired division chief, Phil West, he ended up ah having a medical issue as well. And I was able to do something for him. My but partner in Narcs, he ended up having a heart transplant.
00:25:35
Speaker
We were able to do something for him. So taking that gift and being able to share that with people and do cool things this last year, I was so honored and blessed to be able to perform for the Gary Sinise Foundation on behalf of them. Oh, wow.
00:25:47
Speaker
Uh, in Poland for four military bases for our U S troops, which was the first time. Now I can say I'm an international comedian and I never realized that I was going to be able to take it to these heights, but I love the fact that I get to do what I get to do, but both being in this job and keeping those things together, working simultaneously right now, but also be able to take that craft.
00:26:07
Speaker
And what are you to My mom and dad always say you're only as good, good as you give. And i really enjoy helping people. And, you know, if especially when there are people that I know and ah foundations that I'm but affiliated with, it's a great opportunity. And so you take this craft and you're able to make people laugh. And the biggest compliment that I get about anything I do is when I get off the stage and a first responder, whether it be a firefighter, paramedic, or a police officer comes up and says, Hey man, I have really been struggling or I've really, it's been really been rough lately. And I really needed to laugh tonight.
00:26:37
Speaker
There is no better compliment in my mind than that one thing. And I don't like accolade, but when I hear that I've touched people in that way on a show, it's absolutely inspiring. And guess what? I get to give that laughter, hopefully, to all the people I work with every day. Although the people that I work with, they don't always see my character is the same way as everybody outside the department does. They're like, oh, it's just Vinny. It's just Vinny. Yeah. No, and it's funny, too. And and just i' I'm amazed, honestly, where you you know you find this craft and this art form that And it sounds like you kind of got into just as a way or something for you. yes
00:27:07
Speaker
And then in that and and over time, it's essentially ah gift you created for yourself that now you're able to give to others. And through fundraising, just all these ah amazing causes and touch so many lives.
00:27:19
Speaker
It makes me feel good too that I get to show that we're not just the things you see in the media. And I'm not criticizing the media. That's not the point. I'm just saying the things you see in the media are not always positive about police officers, right? The majority of it's you know kind of on the negative side.
00:27:35
Speaker
And this gives me a chance to highlight as a police officer, as somebody who's been in this profession for 27 years, the good that we do. And to take some of the stories that I talk about, whether it be the bear or now,
00:27:46
Speaker
I'm talking about this dolphin experience I had while I was in Mexico and being able to take those things and share those things with people. And they may just see a different lighter side. I've actually been on a call before where people are like very grumpy with us. Yeah. And then there was this one person who recognized me like, dude, you're the guy saw comedy works. I'm like, yeah. i'm like, Oh dude, this guy's legit.
00:28:04
Speaker
And the whole contact change, you know what I mean? tell us a joke. Funny man. Exactly. They always do that. I'm like, you know, we're on body camera. I don't know if that's appropriate. Yeah. Um, But being able to find that one thing, we talked about why I say always find that hook. That's something and we can get into with people to build a
Breaking Stereotypes through Laughter
00:28:21
Speaker
rapport.
00:28:21
Speaker
I feel through my comedy. I kind of sneak it in on people. They're like, man, this guy's not so bad. If he can make people laugh, he makes me laugh. yeah And they have a lot of times are like, are you really a police officer? You know, you know I don't know if I've ever met funny cops, but...
00:28:32
Speaker
Cops are the funniest people, and everybody in this room will testify. If you've ever been in a briefing for the first 10 minutes before briefing actually gets started, yeah we're just taking shots at each other, right? It's like it's like a roast battle from, like, yeah it's not for amateurs either, right? It's a pro circuit inside. Like, I'm just sitting there. I like i wish the community could just be in there.
00:28:50
Speaker
could just have a bite. We could turn on the first 10 minutes before briefing starts, before the sergeant calls to order. we go But the minute they told them that camera's on, the cops be like, yes, sir, no, Oh, yeah, yeah. But we're human beings. We love to cut up. we love and We have that. And that's the thing I take most pride in is the dark humor that I'm ah able to show it show or able to share at first responder shows.
00:29:08
Speaker
Because that dark humor that we use behind the scenes, it's not made made for public consumption, right? yeah But it is what gets us through the day. Yeah. And I, and I think to paint, I mean, but we need that right to help diffuse. Cause I mean, people don't call us to say hi to order pizza. right I mean, we're showing up call after call night in, night out, day in, day out to some of the worst case scenarios in people's lives. So absolutely having that humor aspect is important for us to just to feel human.
00:29:34
Speaker
Yeah. And I feel ah responsible for like what we're doing with our agency, social media right now. Like we've, we've got some, we've got, there's a great follow, uh, sheriff, just to be clear, Boulder County Sheriff's office. is Um, yeah, Boulder PD. I'm not saying anything bad. Okay. I love you. Dion, everybody there. Okay.
00:29:51
Speaker
But what I'm trying to say is, ah you know, I told the sheriff, I said, hey, sheriff, let me do something a little different. And we did this ah ah staged event where we had this group, Bando El Palomito. And we show up. We're like shuting them down. We're really not shutting them down. we're We end up allowed to sing with them and kind of carry on. Bring the fourth wall here, bud. I know. But it really it really brought everybody together. And I'll never forget one of my buddy, Randy. He was out to lunch somewhere.
00:30:14
Speaker
And this little Mexicanita, this old lady, came out from behind the restaurant. She's like, hey, I saw you on that. I saw you on that show and the one on a YouTube and then or whatever Facebook and she came out and Randy was like, gosh, I never realized people would take it that deep and he was the other guy that was standing next to me when we were that movie in that show or clip and I was like, wow, what a blessing and but again, he's a little bit more Yeah.
00:30:38
Speaker
Pull back. He's more serious. And for him to have that accolade from a community member in that moment. Right. And then we did the WWF old school Ric Flair. And don't know what's the other guy. Rating Macho Man Savage from Polar Plunge.
00:30:51
Speaker
And I think a lot of people were like, oh, my gosh, dude, we're stepping outside the box. But that really shows, you know, we're just those people just like everybody else. We're creative. We're fun. And The cops that I work with and all the staff that we work with, not just the police, but the people behind the badge, absolutely which are all the admin and our significant others, because without our significant others, God, I wouldn't be anywhere in this world.
00:31:12
Speaker
Yeah, no, you're absolutely right. There's so much support that goes into just, know, whoever you see wearing the badge, there's dozens behind them yeah that they need to rely on for that support. Absolutely. um It's funny that you, you mentioned some of those videos. I mean, ah it's important. I mean, cause, and that's the reason why we honestly, why we're here today doing this podcast is we're humans and just showing, you know law enforcement is what we do for a career, but it's not who we are 24 seven as a human being. I mean, we're, we're, we're real. So yeah, you pull them back, back the curtain through, know,
00:31:42
Speaker
through videos, through onstage presence, through whatever we can, I think is, it's huge to engage with our public. Absolutely. And every chance, you know, when I first came into this role, you know, people were like, yeah, we need to do this on social media. We need to do this. and then you ask the officers, you know, they're really actually very shy. A lot of them. Oh yeah. No dude. Don't use me. I don't want to be. Yeah.
00:32:00
Speaker
Bust out a camera when you want to see these cops. Right. Right. Right. So, um, you know, we try to overcome that. We've had a lot of brave souls come forward and they're been very, very good. And we've enjoyed having them on there.
00:32:10
Speaker
And I encourage people, you know, step outside that comfort zone a little bit. Right. Yeah. uh just because it's what bridges us with the community and i know we got to be serious sometimes we absolutely do and i i could turn that on at any second but you know what it's a lot it's a lot more comfortable to leave just a little freer life you know have a little humor in there because you just feel better right you're not so uptight all the time and um you know i won't say i haven't been uptight because there's been many nights on many of calls where i'm like oh lord please help us on this you know Yeah. And if we can't laugh at ourselves or a situation we're in or something we're ah called to, I mean.
00:32:44
Speaker
Yeah. I truly enjoy laughing at myself. Most of the department laughs at me. So I just, yeah yeah you know, I just join right in. You just have to be willing to accept it. we're willing to put, especially if I'm willing to put myself out there yeah doing standup comedy, I could take the ribbon and really i it's a culture. It's a, it's a way we show affection. If it's right, it's a way of showing affection. Yeah. We show affection by making you feel terrible. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Like if if I didn't treat you, i if I didn't love you so much, I wouldn't treat you so bad.
00:33:11
Speaker
I mean, like think about all the times where cops end up like the hardest. God forbid you crash your car on duty. Oh, you stack it up. Right. Everybody and their mother's going to know about it. Everybody wants to come get their own little photograph of it. Then the memes show up. Oh, I drove off a loading dock. Right. My patrol car. I am boiled my patrol car with a pole all the way up to the firewall.
00:33:31
Speaker
Talk about calling a sergeant and being like, ah hey, sir. i don't know if you're busy. If you can just swing by real quick. Swing by the fire grounds real quick. Nothing to see here, really. and Yeah, i just had a quick question. had to stand on the bumper and jump up and down while i was backing this thing off of the... And I had to drive it back to the headquarters with the but the thing pushed up all the way to the firewall. and You know, how embarrassing. Yeah. How embarrassing. It's one of those where you're like, eh, know, whatever.
00:33:55
Speaker
You just got to be willing to share it and yeah expect you're going to take a hard time about it. Own it and move on. Own it move on. Cause it's only till anybody else. You always, when you find yourself in that moment, you're please God, somebody else mess up. Please somebody else mess up.
00:34:06
Speaker
Yeah. you And it's usually like that one person will at least so-and-so is on my shift. I know they're going mess up soon to take the heat off me. um So we're kind of rounded out heading towards home here with ah how has comedy or just your, your own personality helped you in your law enforcement career?
00:34:24
Speaker
I just think it just reminds me that no matter what I do, i have to take the steps, whether, so I'll just be very specific coming into this role, excuse me, as a public information officer is completely different than anything I've ever done before. Hmm.
00:34:39
Speaker
I'm no longer the one responsible for making the decisions about how we're going to handle larger investigations when you're on patrol and you've got command posts set up and all these things that are going on. My role is to take that information that's coming out of that command post or whatever's coming from the sheriff, whatever's going on, condense it, synthesize it, work with the other partner that I have in the PIO unit, Carrie, shout to you, ah and come up with the best messaging for people to be understandable, for people to be able to you know get what they need out of it, the who, what, when, where, why, and how.
00:35:08
Speaker
And put that out in a way that is professional when it needs to be professional, humorous when it can be humorous and so forth. Coming into this world is a whole different ball of wax because I've always been that first responder who is yeah making the decision in the moment.
00:35:21
Speaker
Now it's different. And approaching things differently, having that, you know, when you're on the scene, the public's not always seeing what you're doing because you're in the command role, right? But when you're in this role, you're almost always in the public eye and you're always speaking to the camera or you're putting out a press release or you're putting out social media.
00:35:38
Speaker
And that gets critiqued very hard. Like, you know, social media for law enforcement across the board, I think, sees some of the hardest comments. And that's hard for our people to take, I'll be honest with you. yeah But you learn to get used to it just like everything else because coming from the world before I was in this world,
00:35:52
Speaker
whether it be comedy, you have hecklers who are giving you a hard time. yeah like I never minded it because like when I worked in the jail, how many times when you walked into a module, you got 25, 40 guys that are just taking shots at you left and right. you know And so i had that I had that experience in order to just kind of like wave that off. It didn't bother me at all. yeah And I enjoy that banter back and forth. And so when people are on on stage and they're giving me a hard time, I feel like I'm back in briefing. there you go So I just fire it back just like we would anything else. So There's a lot of parallels to answer your questions between the world that I live in now in the PIO world or world i whether I'm acting as a police officer and the world of
Continuous Learning in Dual Careers
00:36:25
Speaker
comedy. It's just a different way. But the probably the biggest thing that I walk away from is no matter what I choose to do, those steps that I took to get good at comedy or get good at being a patrol officer, I still have to take those baby steps as a newer PIO. yeah you know I have to go to all the classes. right i have to go to all the training that goes on order to form that foundation to be a credible PIO. And I started doing that I've completed a lot of it.
00:36:47
Speaker
But there's a long journey ahead in order to master, again, this different yeah function, this different role within the organization. And I look forward to keep doing that. And every once in a while, like I i suggested this thing just the other day to the sheriff.
00:36:59
Speaker
was like, hey, what do you think about this idea? He's like, not a fan. Not a fan. Yeah. You're like, nah, you know. ah So you can, you know, you know a but you got to learn to win some and lose some. Yeah, which hills would die on.
00:37:10
Speaker
um I mean, you kind of already answered it. So, but... How has law enforcement then helped you in your comedy career? I mean, I know you don't stand up at the mic i'm like, ah well, you know, do you know why I'm here today? And, you know, I used to talk like I would say a majority of what I talked about was being a police officer and and a cop. And now I've started to morph into just a lot of the other things, the aspects of my life, my dad, ah my heritage growing up, ah you know, the things that I like to do outside of work. You know, i like singing, incorporating some of that into the comedy now. Mm And, you know, i just rounding myself out, I think it's a constant evolution.
00:37:41
Speaker
You know, even so somebody's been a cop for 15 years, the cop they are 15 years versus the cop they are at 25 years is distinctly different. And, you know, the cop that's at one year versus even a two year, three year cop, those are huge jumps in time.
00:37:55
Speaker
So i I think that everything is kind of like summed itself up where I'm in a constant evolution of learning, defining myself and just growing. And I don't think that's ever going to change until the day I die. I think I'm always going to be that guy who wants to try something new.
00:38:11
Speaker
And, you know, what's the next craze that's going to be in social media? What's the next thing that's going to come up buts with a comedy? Right. What's the next show opportunity? Because I'm never going to say no to a show. I love being on a stage and I love performing for people. And I love that instant feedback that you get. You kind of, run it's kind of like a parallel to an adrenaline junkie. You know, cops, they like to get in the action, right?
00:38:31
Speaker
Yeah. You know, being on stage when you're crushing, there is no feeling like it in the world. That's awesome. Yeah, when you're getting that that immediate immediate feedback. yeah Well, I mean, as as we kind of see the finish line, where can for all the Vinny Montez fans, where can they find you?
00:38:45
Speaker
ah They everything my handle everything is just my name Vinnie Montez VINN IE Montez come visit us at the board can sheriff's office. We'd love to give you a tour. There you go. Come right along do a briefing come and do a ride along with us. We we have a bunch. We work 12 hour shifts. You don't have to ride the full 12 hours um and also that even though this is on the Adams County. Go for Hey, Bullard County Sheriff's Office is recruiting. Cut his mic.
00:39:07
Speaker
Cut his mic off. We're always recruiting. yeah That was for my Sergeant Tranker right there. Shout out to him. All right. now i'll be you you I'll be polite to the guests. Yes, you can look into Boulder County. Adams County Sheriff's Office yeah also a fine organization to work for.
00:39:22
Speaker
They are a good organization, but I always got to stay true to my colors. You know what mean? Make sure you crop out my gun pointing at him when he ah No, absolutely. i mean, honestly, there's ah different strokes for different folks. Different organizations just fit different people, and who knows? I mean, yeah, but yeah, we're always looking for good people if you're interested, but yeah, ride-alongs. You wouldn't just... say Citizens Academies, any of that stuff, we encourage people just come and check us out and see the humans yes that that actually work in these different positions and different fields and who's actually...
00:39:52
Speaker
in your community, helping you and your families. Absolutely. Whether you want to work for us or the Adams County Sheriff's Office or whatever law enforcement organization, I'm going to say this broadly and you'll agree with this. Law enforcement right now needs people.
00:40:03
Speaker
We need good people. We don't need people who can fight, fight, fight really well. We need people who are good communicators. Law enforcement needs people who are going to step up to the challenge. We're always going to need people to help people that can't fight for themselves or stick up for themselves. So whether you want to join Adams County Sheriff's Office, BCSO, any other organization across the country, I guarantee you they're looking for you to come join and step up.
00:40:25
Speaker
Amen, brother. Yeah. I mean, that's that's huge. um Well... Follow Vinny, ah whether through Boulder County or his personal stuff. Yeah, follow over at Boulder Sheriff's stuff. buy Buy tickets to see his show. He's incredible. Oh, my gosh. This is not the Vinny Montez platform. Oh, I'm sorry. I don't want to.
00:40:39
Speaker
ah come Pay me, and I'll just figure out how to get you tickets. So, oh. so ah oh All right. Last question. What's the best thing about your fans? Like people that come up. So you you mentioned people that just say you impacted your life, but do you kind of have, you know how there's dead heads and parrot heads? Like, do you have any like Montez crazies?
00:40:56
Speaker
Yeah, we, I do. I have had some of the best, uh, people have given me some of the most, uh, treasured items. I even have in my office to stay. um i did a show in white plains new mexico does that sound right white plains new mexico i'm i'm down they gave me an american flag it was a thin blue line flag and i still have it right in the top of my office and all the stars were shotgun shell bases of shotgun shells okay and it's got that nice lacquer finish and i i'm like i can't even imagine how long that took somebody to make but that was a present they presented me uh when i did a show for del rio texas and the military down with the gary sneaks foundation i think it was a year ago down in uh
00:41:32
Speaker
texas They gave me the the Del Rose Sector Colonel Chief. I can't remember his rank, but he gave me an ammo box that was engraved with the Border Patrol logo and my name and everything on it. That's cool. So I just have these mementos, and they're fans, and they're good people. And the other thing is I love when people come up to me and they they do what I told you earlier, is they come up and they tell me that they really feel good about their night and their experience.
00:41:56
Speaker
Give me a hug, whatever, because I'm... You know, that's cool I just enjoy that. Those are some of the best fans. And I just, I will say this publicly. I am only where I'm at today because of all the people in the support. And so I really appreciate everybody who's ever come out to support, whether it's been a sheriff's office function, where it's been a function for me outside, whatever it is. I really appreciate that because.
00:42:15
Speaker
The men and women who work in our agency as well as your agency, those little things of thank you and you know just taking the time to drop something off. I'm sure you have it where they drop off cookies and bundt cakes and all kinds of stuff, especially when stuff goes crazy like Marshall Fire.
00:42:28
Speaker
you know Thank you, everybody, for helping us out because those little mementos truly make us feel like we're we're appreciated. Yeah. Yeah. Just people stop it and say hello. Yeah. All that stuff is amazing. Oh, well, I appreciate you being here.
00:42:40
Speaker
Uh, you are incredible. My pleasure. You, you've, you've, you know, rounded in or included in law enforcement, wellness, mental health, uh, wellness, comedy, life outside, you know, you're, you are, an inspiration. So I appreciate everything. pleasure Thank you so much for having me. Absolutely. Well, uh, please follow the Boulder County Sheriff's office and all their social media platforms and their videos are hilarious. Uh, your drone video was, was good. Oh, thanks man. I love the drone video. Um, and you can follow, uh, the Adams County Sheriff's office on all the major social media platforms. Check us out on YouTube. Uh, if you're listening audio, uh, we have video versions of this podcast and all the podcasts.
00:43:19
Speaker
ah We also have our own app that you can download and get notifications if you're in our area traveling through our area. And if you have any questions, topic suggestions, anything we can answer in upcoming podcasts, you can email us at communityconnections at adcogov.org. Until next time, see you later.