Tuesday, August 27, 1996

Cop is "Straight Shooter" on his radio program

By JASON SICKLES
The Dallas Morning News

DALLAS - Cpl. John Matthews says his mother often nags him about keeping his mouth shut when it comes to his work as a Dallas police officer.

"She asks, 'Why don't you just go to work and be quiet like the other officers?' " he said.

Keeping his lips zipped is not the officer's style. He likes to talk, especially about police work. For almost a year, the senior corporal's views have been heard Sundays on KRLD-AM (1080), where he is co-host of a regular radio show on criminal-justice issues.

He admits his tell-it-like-it-is approach doesn't always follow "the company line," something he said his mother fears might bring growls from his bosses.

"She worries because I speak my mind," Matthews said. "I've got a reputation for being a straight shooter. Some may think I'm a loose cannon, but I just want to help people."

On occasion, Matthews has preached to listeners that police response times are not nearly as important as administrators make them out to be. He also has bashed Dallas Cowboys in trouble with the law.

"The only thing Michael Irvin regrets is that he got caught," he said on a recent show after the Cowboys' receiver publicly apologized to his family and fans for being in a motel room with two topless dancers and drugs.

The officer's hard-line views don't always sit well with police brass, who worry that the tough talk is received as the department's stance.

"His opinions may be based on his experience as a police officer, but should not be taken as coming from a spokesman for the Dallas Police Department," said Sgt. Jim Chandler, a longtime police spokesman. "That distinction needs to be clear."

Even though he introduces himself as a Dallas officer on the air, Matthews, 34, said he doesn't intend for listeners to view him as a police department spokesman.

The 13-year veteran of law enforcement, a recipient of national awards for his community policing expertise, bills his show as an opportunity for the public to call and ask anything.

He encourages listeners to call in with their toughest policing questions: "No badge. No gun. Just you and me," he says. "We don't even have Caller ID, folks."

Topics on a recent two-hour show ranged from when patrol officers should use their emergency lights and sirens to plea bargains.

"Joe" from Arlington called and wanted to discuss plea bargains. Matthews ended the call by telling the man that the plea deal struck by Johnnie Hernandez, a former Dallas police officer who admitted plotting to have Michael Irvin killed, might have kept a lot of dirty laundry from becoming public.
"Maybe some reputations were saved in the police department," Matthews said.

Police Chief Ben Click tunes in to the show on occasion.

"The times I've listened to John, he has offered information that is just good, common-sense facts," Click said. "In that context, it is very helpful in areas such as crime prevention. It's just the times when personal opinion comes into play that can be a gray area. That happens on the street, not just on radio shows."

Police life came easy to Matthews. His father was a longtime officer in upstate New York before moving the family to Denton when Matthews was 13.

"I've grown up in a police car," he said. "We were a traditional police family, and all of our friends were cops."

While some officers have expertise in intelligence or traffic accidents, Matthews says his knack is communication.

His biweekly newspaper column, "Police Perspective," has appeared in the Oak Cliff Tribune about six years, and he recently co-wrote "The Eyeball Killer," a book about a Dallas serial murderer he helped catch in 1991.

Matthews had been a regular guest on various KRLD shows before he went to the station's operations director and told him he needed to put him on the air.

"He felt that the department would enjoy the publicity and him being on the air would give the public an opportunity to know that officers are approachable," KRLD's Michael Spears said. "The public has ongoing questions and misunderstandings about criminal justice. We were not looking for a moderator, nor are we looking for someone to whip the public into a frenzy."

Matthews' show, "Legal Eagles," airs from 6-8 p.m. Sundays. He is one of three hosts who take turns leading the talk show. The others are State District Judge Hal Gaither and U.S. Attorney Paul Coggins.

The officer has been well-received, Spears said.


"It's not like he's the rave of the town," he said, "but I get a bit of feedback."
Spears said KRLD encourages its hosts to be opinionated, but knows that Matthews' first job is as an officer. "He knows he needs to walk that fine blue line, if you will," Spears said.

Matthews said he's paid a small salary - gas money, he calls it - for doing the show. The real satisfaction, he said, comes from knowing the public has someone to call upon.

"I want to be the most accessible cop in the country," he said. "Why should I stop when people on the street are coming up to me and saying what I said on the radio or wrote in the newspaper really helped or made sense. That's what I get out of it."

He'd like for more officers to follow his lead.

"For too long we've stayed in our squad cars," Matthews said. "We need to get out."