The Cop Nobody Wanted Knocking on Their Door Episode #11

Retired Trenton police detective Manny Montez joins Cop Town Podcast for a wide-ranging conversation about homicide investigations, Internal Affairs, interrogation, burnout, and what it really takes to solve a murder.

Manny spent 15 years working his way up through patrol, proactive units, community policing and bike patrol before landing in the homicide unit during one of Trenton's deadliest periods. We talk about working cases in 2005 with just four detectives, staying up for days at a time, witnesses who wouldn't "go on paper," the gang wars that took over the city, and the one case he still can't shake.

Then the conversation turns to his six years in Internal Affairs, where he became the guy nobody wanted knocking on their door. Prank calls, bar fights, a jailhouse murder-for-hire allegation, and the cops who fought harder to keep their jobs than they ever did doing them.

This is not a highlight reel. It's an honest look at police work from two sides that very few officers ever see: investigating murders, and investigating cops.

Cop Town Podcast, Episode #11
Guest: Detective Manny Montez (Ret.)

00:00 Intro & preview
00:51 Meet retired Trenton detective Manny Montes
01:58 Why Manny always dressed sharp
03:14 15 years on the street before homicide
04:00 His first homicide case
06:14 Working Trenton's deadliest year (2005)
07:04 The first 48 hours & the 2 a.m. call
08:27 Then vs. now: witnesses, "going on paper" & technology
11:16 What homicide taught him about people
12:51 The case that stuck with him: killed for a car
20:31 "The devil was living under my roof"
21:33 What the killers had in common
22:47 Cases involving children
25:37 The gang era in Trenton
28:34 Sex Money Murder & Bloody Easter
29:50 A cold case cracked from prison
33:51 Best & worst parts of homicide work
35:42 Delivering death notifications
37:30 How detectives can decompress
39:09 How he got confessions
41:09 The colander "lie detector"
43:22 Wild moments in the interview room
47:24 Do interrogation schools actually work?
48:28 Dressing the part for interviews
49:32 Old-school detective tricks
54:02 Burnout & leaving homicide
55:25 Bosses, rewrites & second-guessing
59:36 Moving to Internal Affairs
1:01:20 How his view of IA changed
1:05:15 The prank-call investigation
1:09:31 Cops telling on cops
1:10:55 "Is Manny out here tonight?"
1:13:01 Craziest IA case: the bandaged complainant
1:17:03 Struck by a patrol car
1:19:05 The inmate who claimed a cop hired a hitman
1:25:21 Complaints used as a game
1:27:15 The off-duty bar fight
1:31:37 What IA taught him about cops
1:35:42 The toll the job takes
1:37:44 Listen to your body
1:40:06 Bulking up after a street fight
1:41:51 Helping future cops get hired
1:47:16 Missing the old days
1:50:25 How Cop Town can help

Watch and listen at coptownpodcast.com
Also available on YouTube, Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

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