Kris Hamrick / Author & Motivational Speaker
Never Give Up.
A father lost. A childhood survived. A life rebuilt.
These are the stories I carry—and the reason I keep going.
BEGIN WITH THE BOOKBroken by the BadgeA father’s legacy. A son’s search. →
After reading this book, I felt like I was lied to. And I don’t even know these people. It must have been horrible for them to live through this.
A reader’s response to Broken by the Badge
Shared with the author · name withheld
A father’s transformation. A family’s unanswered questions. A son finding his own way forward.
My father, Robert “Bobby” Hamrick, served time in prison before rebuilding his life. He became a husband, a father, a volunteer firefighter, a police officer, and chief of police in Rock Creek, Ohio.
Broken by the Badge begins with the man he became—and the second chance he worked to earn.
Meet him through the book →My father was found critically injured in his wrecked cruiser following a pursuit. He later died. My family was left with grief and questions we could never reconcile with the accident explanation.
His death changed our lives. Preserving the story of how he lived became part of mine.
Read the preface →I helped with the filming of my father’s story for Unsolved Mysteries. National attention brought our questions to a much larger audience.
But television could only hold a portion of our lives. My upcoming memoir, After the Cameras Left, explores the search, the strain, and the family and working life that continued afterward.
Discover the next book →I graduated from the police academy alongside my sister Brenda. I served as a volunteer firefighter and EMT first responder with Kingsville Fire Department and Plymouth Fire Department. Truck driving became my primary career, alongside work in automotive repair and business management.
Surviving childhood abuse, recovering from serious injuries, and rebuilding after loss are also part of my story. So are family, faith, and the people who helped me keep going.
The message I share today →I wrote Broken by the Badge to preserve my father’s story and my search for answers. After the Cameras Left follows the years beyond the television broadcast.
Through speaking, I bring those experiences into a conversation about perseverance, service, grief, and starting again. The roadblocks never stop. There can still be a next step.
Let’s start a conversation →Start with Broken by the Badge.
Continue the journey with the upcoming memoir.
A Son’s Search for Truth After His Father’s Mysterious Death
A police chief. A mysterious death. A son who never stopped asking why.
Follow Robert Hamrick’s unlikely journey from a troubled youth to chief of police—and the decades of questions his family carried after his death.
Reached #46
Amazon’s Professional Responsibility & Law Ethics paperback bestseller list · October 2026
Begin with Kris’s own words from the preface.
My father died when I was too young to understand what happened—but not too young to know that something about it didn’t make sense.
It was called an accident.
That explanation never held.
Growing up, I didn’t have memories of my father the way most people do. I didn’t have long conversations or shared experiences to look back on. What I had were fragments—stories, photographs, and the way people spoke about him when they thought I wasn’t paying attention.
I knew he had been a police officer.
I knew he had died in the line of duty.
And I knew something about it didn’t add up.
In our house, the past wasn’t hidden. My mother made sure we understood who our father was—not just how he died, but how he lived. He had a past. He had made mistakes. But he had worked to become something better.
And he did.
As I got older, the story never changed—but the details around it began to feel incomplete. There were things that didn’t fit. Questions that didn’t have answers.
At first, I ignored it.
But some things don’t stay where you leave them.
They follow you.
Over time, the questions didn’t fade.
They sharpened.
This book is not an accusation.
It is a record.
Of what happened.
Of what didn’t.
And of everything that still doesn’t make sense.
From the preface of Broken by the Badge · © 2026 Kris Hamrick
Prefer to listen? Find the audiobook on Google Play Books and check the store listing for its listening preview.
Google Play edition narrated with the auto-narrated “Marcus” voice.
Find the audiobook ↗Paperback, eBook, and audiobook options. Formats and availability vary by store and country.
Spotify audiobook: publication pending.
A lifetime of survival, service, and starting again.
I speak from a life that has included childhood abuse, emergency service, serious injury, grief, and rebuilding. I also speak about the help, faith, family, and everyday decisions that made another step possible.
We’ll shape the emphasis around your audience, whether you’re bringing together a workplace, a faith community, survivors, or first responders and their families.
For community groups, workplaces, and recovery audiences. A personal perspective on accepting help, adapting plans, and taking the next achievable step.
A conversation about: what moving forward can look like when life has changed.
For first responder, survivor-family, and service organizations. Stories of volunteer firefighting, EMT first responder service, and finding ways to contribute.
A conversation about: service, identity, and purpose through changing circumstances.
For churches and faith gatherings. An ordained minister’s personal message of perseverance, his father’s second chance, and beginning again after loss.
A conversation about: faith and the possibility of another chapter.
Length, content, honorarium, travel, and recording arrangements are agreed with your organizer.
There was a time in my life when I had to learn how to walk again.
I had fallen nine feet into a machinery pit. I broke multiple bones. Getting back on my feet was something I actually had to do.
That is part of what I mean when I say the roadblocks never stop.
My name is Kris Hamrick. I am an ordained minister, a former volunteer firefighter and EMT first responder, a police academy graduate, a professional truck driver, and an author. I have also worked in automotive repair and managed repair shops, restaurants, and convenience stores.
But a list of jobs does not tell you what it took to get through a life.
I have survived several incidents that could have ended mine. I have endured childhood abuse, lived with fear, lost people I loved, and watched plans I cared about fall apart. I have also recovered, learned, worked, served, raised a family, and started again.
I cannot promise you that every roadblock goes away.
I can tell you that a roadblock does not have to be the end of your story.
Excerpt from Kris’s written working speech. Live delivery is adapted to the event.
My father’s story is where this begins. It isn’t where my life ends.
I’m a father, an author, an ordained minister, and a man who built a working life in trucking, automotive repair, and business management. I graduated from the police academy with my sister Brenda and served as a volunteer firefighter and EMT first responder.
I’ve also been a child who was hurt, a man learning to walk again, and someone trying to find his footing after losing people he loved. I share those parts of my life because someone else may need to know they can keep going, too.
Kris Hamrick
Tell me about your event →Start with Broken by the Badge, available now. It introduces Robert Hamrick and Kris’s search for answers. The upcoming memoir After the Cameras Left follows Kris’s own life beyond the television attention.
Yes. Share your event’s purpose, audience, preferred length, and the topics that matter to your group. Kris can discuss a general motivational message, service and perseverance, or a faith-focused gathering. Youth content is adapted with the host.
Absolutely. Include your location, event date, and available budget in your inquiry. Honorarium, travel expenses, and any recording arrangements are discussed before a booking is confirmed.
A written speech sample and speaker sheet are available here. Kris plans to share footage from an actual speaking appearance when a recording is available.
Yes. Use the inquiry form or email Kris directly. Include your publication, program, or organization and what you’d like to discuss.
Request occasional emails about new books and public appearances. Especially the arrival of After the Cameras Left.
Tell me who you’re bringing together and what you hope they’ll take home. I’d love to hear from you.
krishamrick536@gmail.com ↗Prefer email? You can reach Kris directly.
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