PHOENIX — Two retired Arizona police officers are putting their combined 59 years of investigative experience to work in a new way — running the Unidentified Anomalous Phenomenon Police Department, a resource for first responders who have had unexplainable encounters and can't find anyone to listen to them.
Marianne Robb and Dave Rich founded the UAP-PD in 2022 with a focused mission: Bridge the gap between law enforcement and UFO/UAP, paranormal, and cryptid investigations. The organization aims to provide a safe space for officers and first responders to share their stories and speak about what they've experienced during investigations without fear of ridicule or repercussions.
Robb and Rich now take calls from around the globe from officers, firefighters, paramedics, and other first responders who have experienced something they can't explain.
"It could be a UFO. It could be a paranormal experience, or it could be a cryptid, Bigfoot, skin walker, something like that," Robb told ABC15 Sunday, describing the struggles officers face telling coworkers. "The first thing they say is you're crazy, there's no such thing, and they just basically will ignore you."
The pair say the stigma surrounding these kinds of experiences is a major barrier for first responders who want to come forward.
"There's a stigma, 100%. 100% there's a stigma to it," Rich said.
Rich said he was a skeptic himself until a particular case in 2017. After exhausting every lead, he said he was left without answers — and without support from his department.
"After I run down all these possible leads, I'm left sitting there going, I have no logical explanation for this, and it really starts to question — you question everything," Rich said.
Rich said he was teased and accused of making it all up by a supervisor.
"I'm not going to lie to you. At first, you think you're crazy," Rich said.
That experience is part of what drives the UAP-PD's mission: Be a sounding board for officers and first responders who have had similar encounters.
Robb and Rich say the impact on those who come to them goes beyond the question of what was actually seen.
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"Whether it was truly seeing a UFO, or it was something misidentified, or they didn't see anything real, and it was just all in their head, the thing that is still consistent is the trauma that they suffered," Rich said.
The approach mirrors traditional law enforcement work, even if the subject matter is anything but traditional.
"You're going to go out there, you're going to talk to witnesses, you're going to try to find evidence," Robb said.
"Because an investigation is an investigation is an investigation," Rich said.
In recent years, U.S. congressional committees have heard testimony on UFOs.
The organization offers anonymity to its callers and travels on its own dime to investigate. They say they know there will be people out there who think they are crazy.
"Whether people believe us or not. We don't care. We're not here for that. We're here to help the officers and first responders," Robb told ABC15.
"I'm willing to say there's a lot of stuff in this world that we don't understand, and maybe we should use a little bit of grace with those people who see it," Rich said.
You can learn more about UAP-PD by clicking here.
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