Sgt Joe Torok / MSD / Crime Scene Discussion

Join me for another show as I discuss the mental toll taken on the first responders that responded to deal with horror of the Marjory Stoneman Douglass HS mass casualty incident that occurred on February 14 , 2018.  My guest, Joe Torok was the crime scene operational supervisor, responsible for  the processing, preserving and collecting of  evidence from that fateful day.  Joe opens up about his struggles with PTSD and give us some insight on how he is coping and managing, and just as important, how he is moving forward. 
Joe Torok is in his 34th year in law enforcement.  Joe started with the Oakland Park Police Department in 1987.  He worked road patrol for 7 years, was detached to a DEA Task Force for a year, worked 3 years as a street crimes detective, and 3 years in Criminal Investigations.  In 2000 the Broward Sheriff’s Office and the Oakland Park Police Department merged.  

In 2001 Joe transferred to BSO’s Crime Scene Unit and worked as a Detective there for 15 years.  In that time Joe worked on over 1500 violent crime or death cases, with over 250 of them as homicide cases.  With his experience and training, he has become a court certified expert in Blood Spatter Documentation and Analysis as well as in Crime Scene Reconstruction.   Joe has been a trainer for over 15 years and has travelled as far away as Jamaica to instruct members of Law Enforcement in topics including Crime Scene Photography and Shooting Reconstruction for the U. S. State Department.  Joe has also instructed in the U.S. on blood spatter interpretation, basic crime scene investigative techniques and has been used for a large part of the BSO In-house training when crime scene topics are discussed.

In 2016 Joe was promoted to the rank of Sergeant and after a few months returned to supervise the Crime Scene Unit.  As a hands-on supervisor, Joe continues to work cases while taking on his supervisory duties as well.  In his time as a sergeant, BSO crime scene has been tasked with working two major, mass casualty incidents within 13 months of each other.  Joe oversaw and managed the entire crime scene investigation at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in February, 2018, and was the custodian of the scene through 2021.  Joe also began an initiative in Broward County that now has all crime scene units in the county involved in regular trainings with each other.

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