Heart of Law Enforcement Recognition

Heart of Law Enforcement Recognition Program
The mission of Beyond the Badge is to educate the public about ordinary law enforcement officers performing extraordinary acts of kindness in their communities throughout Louisiana. Each year, BTB recognizes 10 extraordinary acts of kindness performed by officers nominated by the public, their agencies, or other interested citizens at its signature "Heart of Law Enforcement Awards Ceremony."
Press Kit for 2023 Heart of Law Enforcement Awards Ceremony is available here.
2023 Keynote Speaker


Charlie Spillers
Bestselling author, Charlie Spillers, is a former Marine, Baton Rouge Police Officer, Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics (MBN) regional commander, career federal prosecutor, and U.S. Department of Justice Attaché for Iraq.
He has more than 42 years of experience as a law enforcement officer, commander and federal prosecutor. Mr. Spillers served with the Baton Rouge Police Department for six years, working undercover as an Intelligence and Narcotics officer. After Baton Rouge he served for 12 years with the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics and rose to the rank of Regional Commander for all of north Mississippi.
His book, “Confessions of an Undercover Agent,” describes his experiences during 10 years of undercover crime fighting and narrow escapes with BRPD and MBN. Playing different roles, he infiltrated rings of burglars and safecrackers, drug trafficking groups, Dixie Mafia auto-theft rings, and Mafia and Mexican drug smuggling operations. During his last undercover role, smugglers delivered 3,000 pounds of marijuana to him in Houston, Texas.
He capped off a unique career by becoming a career federal prosecutor working on major drug trafficking organizations, criminal street gangs, and white collar crime. He volunteered and served three tours in Iraq for the Department of Justice. First as an attorney-advisor to the Iraqi court that tried Saddam Hussein and other regime leaders. He then served as the U.S. Department of Justice Attaché for Iraq and led a joint project to disrupt al Qaeda financing. His work related to Iraq was recognized by the FBI Director, the Deputy Attorney General, the Italian Embassy, the British Ambassador and Britain’s Minister of State for the Armed Forces.
Mr. Spillers earned renown as an instructor in law enforcement academies and in training courses for federal, state, and local officers. He served as an instructor in DOJ courses for new federal prosecutors and as an adjunct professor in graduate criminal justice courses. He has made presentations to the prosecutors association on search and seizure law, and on investigations and prosecutions of violent street gangs.
He’s been innovative in developing law enforcement training programs. He led development of the Mississippi highway patrol interdiction program and organized an air and marine drug smuggling investigation course attended by MBN and LSP narcotics agents, along with state agents from TN, TX, AL, and GA. He developed the first MBN Basic Agent Academy to be certified by the state minimum standards board.
Amazon declared his book “Confessions of An Undercover Agent” a #1 New Release nationwide in law enforcement memoirs. It became required reading in criminal justice courses at two universities. Mr. Spillers was a featured author at the Louisiana Book Festival and at the state book festivals in Mississippi and Tennessee. He has been featured in more than 180 book appearances and speaking engagements, including newspaper, magazine, radio and TV interviews. He is also the author of “Whirlwind: A Frank Marsh Novel,” and is currently working on the sequel.
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