Episode Details

On this episode we sit down with Brandon Deckert, a Wyoming Highway Patrol Sergeant whose career has been built on the front lines of criminal interdiction and K-9 operations.

Born and raised in northern Minnesota, he began his law enforcement career with the Wyoming Highway Patrol in 2007 at just 22 years old after earning a degree in Criminal Justice with a minor in Psychology. In 2011, he was selected for the WHP K-9 Team, where he has handled three single-purpose narcotics detection dogs and built a reputation as a dedicated interdiction officer.

In 2023, Brandon was promoted to Sergeant, supervising Uinta and Lincoln Counties in Troop “D” while serving as the Wyoming Highway Patrol K-9 Team Coordinator. In 2025, he transitioned into the Special Operations Division, where he now supervises a full-time interdiction team and oversees the statewide K-9 Unit.

His work in interdiction earned him the Rocky Mountain HIDTA Interdiction Officer of the Year Award in 2021. Outside of law enforcement, Brandon is a Christian, a father of three, and the owner of True North K-9 Solutions, helping agencies build stronger K-9 programs through training, risk assessments, documentation, and detection dog development.

In this conversation, we go beyond the uniform and around the bourbon barrel to talk about K-9 culture, interdiction, leadership, faith, and building programs that actually work on the street.

Timestamps: 

03:00  Minnesota Roots

06:05  Becoming Trooper

11:00  Communication Skills

16:20  Sports & Football

18:20  K-9 Inspiration

27:00  Policing Culture

35:00  Rural Policing

42:58  Interdiction Career

59:10  Dog Business

If you like what you hear, like, subscribe and follow the Beyond the Barrel podcast on Instagram:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/beyond_the_barrel_pod/⁠⁠

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices