The Rundown Take
From Bradley Fighting Vehicles to a Federal Badge: Deon Washington's Blueprint for Trust Between Cops and Community
Special edition night on U Talk Winning At The Game Of Life. Devin and Larry Frank Jr. sat down with a longtime friend from back home, ATF Special Agent Deon Washington, for a real conversation about bridging the gap between black and brown communities and law enforcement — no sugarcoating, straight from a brother who has lived both sides of the badge.
Key Takeaways
- Deon's path: U.S. Army infantryman in Iraq, then 13 years with Gwinnett County Police in Georgia — burglary, robbery and homicide units, five years on SWAT, and a stint as the department's public information officer — before joining ATF as a federal special agent.
- He lost Sergeant Dale Panchock during his seven months deployed with a mechanized infantry unit riding Bradley Fighting Vehicles.
- His traffic-stop safety playbook: slow down, hit the hazards, pull into a well-lit area, roll down the windows, hands visible, license already out.
- Caller Jamal Davis pushed for a minimum officer age above 21, sharing his own rough traffic-stop experience as a teenager riding in his uncle's car.
- Deon flatly rejected the idea that "black on black crime" is a myth, and named unsecured firearms left in cars as the number-one way guns hit the streets.
Surviving Iraq, Building a Career
Deon walked through a family steeped in military service — grandfather in the Navy, uncles in the Navy, a sister who retired from the Army — before his own deployment to Iraq during the initial 2003 invasion, riding out on missions in a Bradley Fighting Vehicle with 4th Infantry Division's 3rd Brigade Combat Team. He came home; not everyone in his unit did. Back in Georgia, he built a 13-year career at Gwinnett County PD, moving through burglary, robbery and homicide before becoming the department's public information officer — a role he was careful to distinguish from "reporter," since his job was feeding accurate information to the media, not writing it.
The Traffic Stop Playbook
Pressed by Devin and Larry Frank on what to do when police lights come on, Deon laid out his personal protocol: slow your speed, put on the four-ways, roll down tinted windows, turn on the dome light at night, and have your license out and hands on the wheel before the officer walks up. He tied it directly to officer safety, noting a recent Midwest traffic stop where an officer was shot with no warning, and said body cameras — now standard at reputable departments — give both sides a fairer record of what actually happened.
Guns, Mentorship, and the "Black on Black Crime" Debate
When Larry Frank raised whether "black on black crime" is a myth, Deon didn't hedge. Drawing on two decades of homicide and death-notification experience, he argued the term describes a painful reality, not a narrative. He pointed community members toward mentorship and Boys and Girls Club-style programs as the real fix, and on guns specifically, he said irresponsible owners leaving firearms unlocked in vehicles — not legal buybacks — are the biggest driver of weapons ending up in criminal hands. The show closed on rap music and reality: Deon and the panel agreed entertainers glorifying a lifestyle they don't actually live shouldn't be raising anyone's kids.
"It's not a myth to the mothers who lose their sons and daughters in crime."