I Was a Massachusetts State Trooper for 32 Years — The Boston Marathon Bombing Broke Me | Richard Chase
November 2, 2026
AI Summary
5 min readRichard Chase spent 32 years as a Massachusetts state trooper, but he never wanted to be a cop. He grew up in Charlestown, a violent Boston neighborhood where he saw his first murder at age six, and stumbled into policing only after becoming a teenage father and realizing a manufacturing job at $3.75 an hour would not support his family. "I just wanted to feed my family," he says. "I love my wife so much and I had two kids at the time. I just wanted to take care of them." That practical motivation shaped a career defined by high-speed pursuits, fatal accidents, and a relentless commitment to saving lives — but it was the Boston Marathon bombing manhunt that finally broke him.
A Hostile Merger and Two Worlds of Policing
Chase began his career in 1987 with the Metropolitan Police, a separate state police agency that patrolled Boston's roadways and state property. The arrangement was deliberate: Massachusetts lawmakers had historically barred the state police from Boston to prevent any corrupt politician from turning them into a private army. "They didn't want the corruption," Chase explains. "They didn't want anyone taking over the police department as like an army."
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:00) **Advertisements** - Multiple ad breaks for MIDI, Stamps.com, Wayfair, ShipStation, Ondeck, Cincinnati Insurance, Stio, Rubrik, and Viepti are played throughout the episode.
- 2 (01:47) **The Boston Marathon Bombing Manhunt Broke Him** - Richard Chase introduces himself and states that his 32-year career as a Massachusetts state trooper, which included surviving shootouts and dangerous criminals, was ultimately broken by the Boston Marathon bombing manhunt.
- 3 (02:09) **Growing Up in Violent Charlestown** - Chase describes his childhood in the violent Charlestown neighborhood, witnessing a murder at age six, and learning the "code of silence."
- 4 (04:49) **Stumbling into a Policing Career** - After becoming a father in high school and working a dead-end manufacturing job, his father advised him to get a job with a pension.
- 5 (10:13) **Policing in Late 80s Boston** - Chase describes the high murder rate in late 80s Boston (185-190 murders a year) and the dangerous reality of patrol work, where every traffic stop had to be treated as life or death.
- 6 (15:51) **Saving Lives: Suicide Interventions on Bridges** - Chase recounts multiple instances of saving people attempting suicide by jumping off bridges, including a detailed story of a coordinated rescue with his partner.
- 7 (22:00) **Pursuits, Robberies, and "Frickin' and Frack"** - Chase tells a story about chasing two bike thieves he calls "Frickin' and Frack," catching both after a foot pursuit and a search through leaves.
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Show Notes
Richard Chase spent 32 years as a Massachusetts State Trooper, facing armed criminals, dangerous pursuits, and life-or-death situations. In this episode of Locked In with Ian Bick, he shares unforgettable stories from his career, including being shot at, saving lives, leading critical incidents, and his involvement in the Boston Marathon bombing manhunt and terrifying Watertown shootout. Richard reveals how decades of trauma, especially the events surrounding the bombing, ultimately broke him, leading to severe PTSD and a personal crisis that forced him to seek help. Now, through his memoir I Promise to Come Home, he opens up about the hidden cost of wearing the badge and the battles that follow officers long after their careers end.
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Thank you to STIO for sponsoring this episode:
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Connect with Richard Chase:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/richardchaseauthor/
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Hosted, Executive Produced & Edited By Ian Bick:
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Timestamps:
00:00 A Trooper's Breaking Point
00:40 Growing Up in Charlestown
01:36 Family and Baseball Dreams
03:14 Stumbling Into Policing
05:04 Joining the Metropolitan Police
06:36 The State Police Merger
08:38 Patrol in Late-'80s Boston
10:35 Breaking In as a Rookie
13:39 Saving Lives on Bridges
19:00 Chasing Robbers: The Mongoose Story
24:20 The Esplanade Bike Robbery
27:20 School Shootings and Changing Times
29:54 Technology and Police Cameras
33:31 Homelessness and the Mob
34:54 Life After the Merger
38:24 Trooper vs. Metropolitan Culture
40:46 Fatal Motorcycle Crash
42:55 Speeding Tickets and Empathy
50:23 Responding to Bad Accidents
54:08 The 135 MPH Drunk Driver
58:23 Climbing the Ranks
01:01:35 The Cruiser Accident
01:04:31 Boston Marathon Manh
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