#8: Crisis Negotiation, Mental Health, and Balance | Sergeant Justin Elliott

Sergeant Justin Elliott has spent almost 25 years in law enforcement with the Ada County Sheriff’s Office — and over ten years on the Ada County Crisis Negotiations Team, where he has served as team lead since 2021. He came to this career on September 11th, watching the towers fall and deciding he wanted to be one of the people running toward the chaos, not away from it. He still is.Justin opens up about the mental health toll this career carries — and what it gives back. He talks about carrying one traumatic call every week for nine years before finally asking for help, and how the culture inside law enforcement has shifted from “suck it up, buttercup” to genuine peer support and wellness programs. He introduces the concept of “brain stain” — the way certain streets and intersections carry memories that never fully fade — and walks through the MORE PIES active listening framework his crisis negotiation team lives by in the field. He shares what people in crisis actually want most, the one unbreakable rule of negotiation, and moments from this career that have genuinely stopped him in his tracks.He also talks about finding balance between Sergeant Elliott and just Dad the moment he walks through his front door, why fishing alone resets him like nothing else, and what still keeps him energized after almost 25 years of showing up.Pull up a chair. This is a conversation worth having.Learn more about the Ada County Sheriff's Office here.Resources: Ada County non-emergency dispatch: 208.377.679000:00:00 Cold Open — A Moment That Never Leaves You00:00:24 Welcome — Meet Sergeant Justin Elliott00:01:33 Why 9/11 Changed His Entire Path00:03:55 From Jail to Patrol to Detective — The Career Arc00:08:33 Carrying One Call for Nine Years00:14:53 Brain Stains: The Memories That Never Leave00:20:32 His Real Reset: Fishing, Hunting, Silence00:23:23 Inside the Crisis Negotiation Team00:33:46 MORE PIES: The Art of Active Listening00:54:24 The Number Every Ada County Resident Should SaveIf this conversation stayed with you — follow It Stays Here on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen, and leave a review. It helps more people find their way to conversations worth having.Know someone who needs to hear this? Send it to them. Some conversations are meant to find the right people.