Syracuse, N.Y. — Mark Rusin was out to dinner with his family on a winter night in 2016 when his boss called. Police had apprehended the father suspected in the disappearance of his daughter, Baby Maddox. They needed Rusin, then a detective in the Syracuse Police Department, to do the interview.
Rusin spent hours with the suspect, Ryan Lawrence. They talked about childhood, sports and other topics. Rusin patiently built a rapport that led Lawrence to admit he killed his 21-month-old daughter. Lawrence told Rusin where he left the body, solving a case that had gripped Upstate New York for days.
To Rusin, the interview simply reflected the implementation of his training and the knowledge he had gained from watching other cops do good work in his 10 years with the SPD. But it reflected a philosophy and skillset that was already getting leaders in law enforcement to take notice…