Skip to content Sheepdog and Shepherd: He Goes Deep Undercover To Protect YOUR Kids Sep 21 · 24 min ...more
Sheepdog and Shepherd: He Goes Deep Undercover To Protect YOUR Kids
September 21, 2025 · 24 min
He's a cop. He's a podcast host. And he's deep undercover ONLINE... taking out those who are targeting our children.
Series Sheepdog and Shepherd: Season One September 21, 2025 · 24 min · Sheepdog and Shepherd: Season One
He's a cop. He's a podcast host. And he's deep undercover ONLINE... taking out those who are targeting our children. ...more Show the full description Show less He's a cop. He's a podcast host. And he's deep undercover ONLINE... taking out those who are targeting our children.
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Faith, Justice, and Restoration 0:00 The earthly side of me wants to destroy those people. The the selfish side of me wants to see them suffer and go through a0:12 tenth of what they've put these children through because it's it's such a miscarriage of justice for children. The most innocent on the planet that don't deserve or ask for any of0:24 that. But my bigger, greater goal is, I wanna I wanna pull that kid back to a path of restoration where they are back on the right path, and they don't become0:36 I kinda call them jerk magnets. We see these people who are kinda live in dysfunction their whole lives, and they everything around them just attracts jerks, and they get mistreated. And so I wanna I wanna0:48 empower a kid to know this doesn't define you. That you there's something bigger for you.0:56 Far1:34 down to the river1:38 You know, of all the locations that we could have chosen, we went with a pretty 1 that happens to be outdoors in the middle of, the beautiful city of Fort Worth, which is alive and bustling today. So I'm gonna ask we'll1:49 we'll talk a little bit about grace in this episode, but I'm gonna ask for your grace as we deal with everything from protesters to helicopters to trains to, I thought maybe a comet is gonna land in the middle. I don't2:01 know. Let's dive in.2:02 Yeah. I'm Greg. I'm the cohost of Sheepdog and Shepherd. I pastor the first responder ministry at the church of 11 22, and I chaplain, for the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.2:13 So we have found in our time traveling the country that God has done amazing things through the hands of the men and women who serve and protect our communities and our country. And so we love helping share some of those2:23 stories. So, brother, why don't you tell everybody who you are?2:26 Well, I'm Tony Godwin. I'm a detective with Garland Police Department here in Texas. It's about, 45 minutes to an hour to the east of us. I've been in law enforcement total for almost 35 years. I2:38 did 5 years in the military working as a cop, and then I came out. And I've been with Garland for about 31 years. I work on a very specific crime type. I'm on the North Texas Internet crimes against children task2:49 force. I often joke in trainings I do that I'm the the hottest 12 year old kid online, because I work in that undercover capacity in order to have someone who's got a propensity for kids to find me3:01 versus a real kid. And so that has sort of chewed up about 20 years of my 31 with Garland. My tie to the ceremony tonight is I was very humbled and honored to be inducted3:13 into the hall of fame in 20 23 for, career achievement. A lot of it really stemmed off of a a really big international case that I had, but it had some other things that were going on with it. And, and3:25 then in 20 24, later 20 24, Megan and Adam asked me to be on the board of directors. And, that's really my that's really my focus now. Help them grow this thing.3:36 Help them expand this thing as big and beautiful as possible. And, selfishly, I'd love to see it continue right here in Texas.3:44 Hundred percent. I mean, I I was inducted last year as their, civilian of the year. And, man, it was 1 of the greatest honors.3:50 I was there. 1 of3:51 the greatest honors of my life. Oh, so you remember the horrible crocodile Dundee?3:54 I I remember the crocodile Dundee. As a matter of fact, I made your award because I have a I have a little thing on the side I've been doing the last 20 years. And That's awesome. And after I got inducted, I went to4:05 Evan, Megan was like, hey. Tell me about the awards because they were very different looking before. And she's like, well, you know, this is what we do. And I I said, would you allow me to do this and, you know, I just4:15 do it for nothing? It's not about that at all. It's I just wanted it to be, like, boom, you know, in your face.4:22 Yeah. They're stunning.4:23 And so you were the first class to get those awards, which, I'm really proud of.4:27 I love it. It is on the whiskey wall Nice. Where, for those of you who have never seen that show before, we do a series called behind the uniforms where we invite active and retired emergency responders and veterans. We4:37 bring a bottle of whiskey to the whiskey wall. We share a cocktail. They tell you a story about a good day on the job and a lousy day on the job, and then Nice. The name goes on the bottle and the bottle goes on the4:46 wall. So lots of, lots of cops and vets that don't drink anymore. And so they'll bring some other kind of tribute. We had an officer who beat cancer 4 times. Wow. And after the fourth time he beat cancer, he decided he4:57 wasn't gonna hike to the top of Mount Everest. Holy moly. We have a photo of him and his team at the base camp and, a rock from the top of the mountain that he brought back. Wow.5:05 So we5:05 got some really cool stuff.5:06 Probably the coolest thing I've ever heard. That is awesome.5:08 Stories. And, obviously being in Texas, it's it's like the whiskey capital of the world regardless of what anybody says.5:14 Yeah. If not barbecue, there's definitely a lot of whiskey in Texas.5:16 And barbecue, man.5:18 Tell me5:18 about your podcast. So,5:20 a partner of mine who I trained to do the ICAC job, his name is Brandon Poor. He works for a local agency here, for Grand Prairie PD. He and I talked many times about, like, how do we get word out5:32 about the the work that we do. Every time we go to a training, we're telling stories and and, my actually, my brother who's a retired Las Vegas Metro cop was like, why don't you do a podcast? And at the time, I was like,5:43 I don't even know what a podcast is. Like, I didn't I've never even listened to 1. And, so I started researching. I called Brandon. I was like, hey, man. This is what I'm thinking. You wanna jump off the ledge and try5:53 this? And and it was right at COVID. And, and so we did. I was just I told my wife. I was like, hey. I'm about to go spend some money and buy some equipment and, try to figure this out. And we're, you know, we're 5 years6:04 into this now. It's a heavy topic. It's got a lot of content with it, but we also have a real heavy side to training and awareness and education. And that's what's really6:16 vital for us to get that message off to parents and, you know, other cops, other people in the profession to keep kids safe because that's really what6:24 we do. Tell our viewers tell our viewers what it's called.6:26 It's called Catfish Cops, and, we got a whole bunch of resources on there. Anything's open, wide open to the public, whoever wants it. Little, if you don't know anything about third party applications or settings or just6:37 have questions in general, we have a just go to catfish cops dot com slash resources, and you can take anything off there that you like and, just be intentional with the kids, you know, just have those conversations now6:49 before things get out of hand.6:50 Spectacular. So Catfish Cops and, the work that you're doing has led to another opportunity that you're out here filming. Can we talk6:57 a little bit about that?6:58 Yeah. So, in 20 21 at a conference, we met a guy who was really, like, spun up on our podcast and, the logo and all of that goes with it. And he kind of approached us about doing a, a7:10 project with him. And in the beginning, I was just like, okay, sure, sounds great. Pie in the sky kind of stuff. And it was in the it was in the terms of like a documentary. And, it kinda fizzled7:22 a little in beginning within in 22, 23. In 23, it really grew some legs, really started picking up. And then in early 24, we filmed, I don't know what the term is. A a pilot? A pilot,7:34 a sizzle, a reel, something. And it was generally a, you know, like a 15 minute, try out or whatever. I don't know what they call it. And, and then7:46 a pretty big channel reviewed it, sent it out to some kind of test audience, and it it showed well. And so they've picked it up. It's been I think the term I was told is called commissioned. And so now we're7:58 we're literally in the mix of this going on. I can't really get too in the weeds about it because because of what they've kind of held me under. But Mhmm. It's been great. It's a whole new experience.8:10 It's, the the people that are doing it told me, like, you'll never look at a TV show the same way again kind of a thing. And I'm like, boy, that's the truth. It's and so it's a little out of8:19 my comfort zone, but it's fun. So I've gotta ask the, kind of uncomfortable question here. So I've been on the board of advisors for a county human trafficking organization for the last 10 years, Deliver Fund.8:30 Mhmm.8:30 Actually, headquartered out of here in Dallas.8:33 I know Deliver Fund.8:34 And, great group. The the beautiful plot twist here is that they took over the headquarters of backpage dot com after it helps the Fed shut down Backpage.8:45 I remember that time well.8:46 Kinda neat. But 1 of the things that that I've heard from countless officers who who specialize in this arena is that it is mentally, physically, spiritually8:58 exhausting. It leads to rapid burnout, because you're seeing the worst depravity in the world. How how do you navigate that?9:08 I will tell you because I literally had this conversation yesterday with a guy. I'm I'm trying to find a new guy to come in and or gal, you know, that has the sort of mental fortitude to handle it. And my my first,9:20 bit of advice to them was go talk to your wife and have a conversation because this job will change you. This specific job, the mental the mental acuity it takes9:32 to maintain your composure and all of the things that you see, you're never gonna unsee the depravity that you do see. So for me personally, I'm very grounded in my faith. I'm very grounded with my family. I'm very9:43 grounded in, having a life outside of law enforcement. So, you know, I I own an awards business that I just kinda started as a whim. I do a bunch of woodworking. I do a bunch of metalworking.9:54 I'm I'm kind of a creativity type guy, and I like to just sacrifice boards and build furniture. And and so for me, that's like my decompression time.10:07 I won't lie. I have seen things that have caused me to seek out help professionally, and I am not ashamed of that on any level, because it really helped me navigate the10:19 waters and kind of figure out a way to disconnect from that. And because of the duration I have in this career, like, this is my twentieth year in ICAC alone, and I'm I'm, like,10:30 1 of 5 people in the country, I think, that have had that sort of time frame. Because the majority, it just doesn't go that far that, you know, 3, 4 years in, it's like, okay. Time for me to go catch10:42 burglars or do whatever. But it's a it's a bigger it's a bigger thing for me. It's just part of my DNA, and I feel uniquely blessed to be able to10:54 compartmentalize things because my goal is the bigger the the bigger better prize. Saving kids, putting people away that are never gonna hurt another kid. That's my passion.11:05 Amen. We, talked a little bit about the mental health aspect of that particular job. I think if I'm not mistaken, the ICAC unit at the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, it's the only unit that's required11:17 to see mental health counsel counselors multiple times a year.11:22 Yeah. On the on the state and on the state side and and municipality side, a few departments are kinda moving in that direction, which is fantastic. Because when I came in into law enforcement in long time11:33 ago when dinosaurs roamed the earth, you know, it just you didn't talk about those kind of things. Like, it was like rub some dirt on it, get it back out there, suck your thumb, and, you know, go back. And, the mindset11:45 of it now is is tremendously changed. It's grown exponentially. Federally, they have that already in place. The people that work this kinda crime type are required annually to go. Mhmm. And I'm a huge11:57 proponent of it. I I really think it's great.11:59 You mentioned, you mentioned your faith. Can you talk to us a little bit about that and how that helps carry you through your job?12:05 Man, let me tell you. I did not grow up in a religious family. I did not grow up going to church. If I was ever in a church growing up, somebody died or somebody's getting married. And at the end of the day,12:18 I didn't lead a great life growing up even though I've I've been in the law enforcement world a very long time. But when I got married, my wife was like, hey. This is part of my life, and I will be a part of this, and12:30 our kids will be a part of this. And so, you know, I I just was like, well, yeah. Of course, I want my kids to grow up in this. Of course, I want to know about this. But I was, you know, I was, like, 2812:41 years old when I walked into a church just by a fluke and by a happenstance. A guy asked me, hey. What's gonna happen to you if you die? And I said, they're gonna put me in the ground. But12:53 it's a little, odd story behind it. I I did go to a church. I joined a church over in Rockwall. And, I was attending a, like, a little group after the service, which, you know, is13:05 always a unique thing. I've never even experienced anything like that. And it was kinda cool, and everything was hip, and I'll give you the cliff notes version. But after a couple weeks, I got invited to this social13:17 thing with the group, and my wife and I did. And it was a 19 eighties party. And so everybody's like, oh, we're gonna put the leggings on. We're gonna do the leg warmers and headbands and wristbands and all that stuff.13:27 And, everybody brings a little food while we we go to this event. And, at this event, I meet a guy. Never seen him before, never talked to him. And we talked for hours. Music and cars13:38 and just all kinds of stuff, and a really cool guy. And then following week later, the the pastor that ran that group calls me, hey, can you come to lunch? Go to lunch. And he13:50 tells me, hey, remember that guy? And I was like I mean, I remember talking to him and he's like, do you know? I said, well, I mean, I met him that night and everything. And he's like, well, well, he knows you. And I'm14:00 like, I'm like, yeah. We just met. And he's like, no. No. No. He knows you from work. And I'm like, oh. Like, where are we going with this? And, he's like, well, he wants to meet you. He wants to talk to you, but14:12 he's kinda scared to death. And so it turns out he had a little bit of a past, not a good past. And we cross paths, and I put him in jail a few times. And it was a14:23 weird moment for me. Like, it was a weird as far as spiritually goes, I was like, everything happens for a reason. And I'm like, why is God putting me in this room with this guy who I've had14:35 some encounters with? 1 of which was was not a a great situation for him, but he did. And, we talked, we met, and maybe 6, 8 months later, we got baptized14:47 together.14:48 And we're Wow.14:49 And we're still friends to this day. And so it really it really makes you know that it's real For sure. To me, that that's what it that15:00 was it for me.15:01 Yeah.15:02 And I've been all in ever since.15:04 Yeah. I, I live an interesting dichotomy myself in my work career. Actually, it's it's it's more than a work career. It's my life. So part of my job at the church that15:16 I work for is I pastor our prison campuses as well as I pastor our first responder ministry.15:22 Right.15:23 So part of my work week is spending time in state men's state prisons.15:27 Yeah.15:27 And then part of my work week is ministering to first responders. And so15:31 Wild how that happens. Yeah.15:33 So tell me how, like, how do I how do I balance the scales of justice and understanding that men on death row who have committed horrendous15:45 crimes or the men that I minister to in chapels every Monday who have committed these sex crimes against children15:52 Right.15:52 Are on equal footing with the guys that are out there putting putting men in in in jail. Yeah. But they're only on equal footing at the foot of the cross. Right?16:02 Yep.16:02 That's the only place we're standing on equal footing.16:04 That's it. Yeah. That's the only equal ground there is. That's it. Yeah. I think it's an evolution to get to that that space in your life. And cops tend to be really super cynical and leery and crazy,16:16 weird about things. But, when something super impactful like that happens, it's it's like life changing. And and you really look at the world in a different lens than when you did before16:27 Yeah.16:28 At least for me.16:28 Yeah. For sure.16:29 How do you go through this journey as a believer and not wanna just destroy people?16:39 Well, the earthly side of me wants to destroy those people. The the selfish side of me wants to see them suffer and go16:51 through a tenth of what they've put these children through because it's it's such a miscarriage of justice for children. The most innocent on the planet17:02 that don't deserve or ask for any of that. But my bigger greater goal is, I wanna I wanna pull that kid back to a path of restoration where they are back on the17:14 right path, and they don't become I kinda call them jerk magnets. We see these people who are kinda live in dysfunction their whole lives, and they everything around them just attracts jerks, and they get17:26 mistreated. And so I wanna I wanna empower a kid to know this doesn't define you. That you there's something bigger for you. And, obviously, I want that to17:38 go down a Christian path. Obviously, that's my goal. It's not always an easy sell with, some of the people we encounter or the kids we encounter, but, you know, that's the that's the important part17:50 for me.17:50 What's been 1 of the most difficult experiences you've had and 1 of the most rewarding?17:56 Well, some of the most difficult, I think, was, it stems around the case that I actually was nominated to into the hall of fame for. It's an18:08 international case. There's a bunch of tragedy behind it. And while it ended up in a good way with the, the person being caught and convicted18:20 and imprisoned, it had a really tragic twist on the victim side that did not work out. And and I I tend to take that, like, personally, because18:32 I feel like I'm so invested in that, and I'm so invested in this kid and this family. And so that's that was a hard sell because it in 1 sense, you wanna have a high 5 moment of,18:44 like, damn, I got that guy, you know, all the way over in the UK. Like, who does that? You know? No city cop is doing that. But then when you when you drag in the reality,18:56 it's like, you know, there comes this this sacrifice with this kid. I think my my best if we're if we're talking best ever in the whole wide world19:08 kind of thing, I'm saying it's my wife and kids. Like, they are what sustain me. They are they are my why I do this job.19:20 You know, sometimes I beat myself up about things I've missed or events I missed or things that go by and I can't go or a game or whatever. But, you know, they still stand behind me no matter what.19:32 And, not everybody can say that.19:35 I know. So19:37 Yeah. We often talk about wanting justice so desperately. And the reality of that is when we scream for justice, we're actually screaming for justice for all.19:49 Sure. When we think about justice, we need if we're demanding justice for everybody or for that person, we have to recognize that we we demand justice for ourselves as well. And the truth of that is we20:01 if we demand justice, we have to recognize that we're going to get what we deserve and what we deserve is death because that the payment percent is death. Right.20:09 Right.20:10 And so if if we're asking for grace and mercy, which is what Jesus offers on the cross, it's really difficult to ask for justice for that guy. But they want and expect grace and20:22 mercy for ourselves. Yeah. So there's there's a really tough balance when it comes to a lot of believers in the law enforcement community that are fighting for justice and then how20:34 how they have to deal with the grace and mercy side of of their Do you does that any of that resonate with you?20:40 Yeah. I mean, it's it's very well said, actually, because that is like that internal struggle. And I I almost felt cheated, of not being able to grow up in at a early age20:52 to understand more. But on the flip side of it, learning all of that and getting into a relationship with Jesus as an adult Yeah.21:04 Really gave me a maybe an advantage because I was so invested. I was hearing these things, and I saw these things immediately that was like, wow. Like, this is like totally legit. Like, I'm I'm on21:16 board, but then I just couldn't feed that enough. And so you tend to just dive in, and that's the kind of guy I am. I'm a heads first kind of guy and21:25 Yeah.21:25 Toes up. But, there is that internal struggle, that internal balance. I've I have questioned some of my mentors in this walk, like, how much grace is there?21:35 Yeah.21:36 You know? Like, how much? Because I'm, like, really I'm dipping low into the into the pool here. And and I'm always told to return, there's more than21:48 enough. For sure. Grace is sufficient. You will he's there for you. And, but we in our earthly ways, we tend to overthink ourselves and we internalize and we are21:59 selfish.22:00 Yeah.22:00 And sometimes we just need to learn to die to self a little bit.22:03 For sure. I tell a lot of the younger guys that we work with in the agencies that, you know, you can still have justice because it comes where the justice comes from is actually the consequences for your sin.22:14 Yeah.22:14 You know? So you can still have grace and mercy. Sure. But you still have to suffer the consequences for your actions.22:20 Well put, sir. Well put. Brother, very grateful for having you on the show, man.22:23 Thank you so much, man. I'm super honored. I am, I am grateful for the opportunity and the time. I know you guys got a lot a lot of moving parts going on here, especially with this week. So22:34 It's, it's it's been a busy a busy week. We started the week, down on the border, in Arizona with, Art Del Cueto. He's on our board of advisers. He's just national spokesman and national viceHonoring Service and Sharing Stories 22:45 president for the National Border Patrol Council. Then we headed over to Pinal County. You got to do a ride along with With Frank. Frank. Yeah. That's cool. Frank, and we went up to Phoenix. We filmed with the ICE22:57 director. Then we filmed with Tom Homan and then Wow. Came over here and it it's it's been a journey, but we exist at law enforcement today and Blue Lives Matter to tell the stories of the men and women who hold that23:09 then blue line, who selflessly serve our communities and our country every single day, but we serve god first, country second. And so for those of you who are watching this show on pray dot com, largest faith based app23:20 in the world, thank you. Just know that every donation goes to support all of the the travel and the production costs of telling these stories. We all make a penny off of this. It all goes directly into that fund. So23:30 thank you for sharing. Thanks for praying for the men and women who hold the Thin Blue Line every single day. Thanks for reposting this video. God bless you all. God bless America.23:39 There's 1 part of almost every building that intruders target first, the glass. Even a million dollars in locks and cameras won't matter if someone can break through a window in seconds. Our 15 mil security laminate23:50 reinforces your glass, buying you time when every second counts. Whether at home, at school, or on the job, if keeping your people and property safe is your priority, this is something you can't afford to24:02 overlook. Call today for your free security consultation. And to make things even better, on any project over 250 square feet, we'll donate 1000 dollars in additional laminate because your safety matters24:14 to us.In this video 0:00 Faith, Justice, and Restoration22:39 Honoring Service and Sharing Stories
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