Dave Dyke – “Beneath the Badge” A Couples’ Fight for Hope Through PTSD

Dave Dyke grew up in Hayfield; he excelled in wrestling which demanded strength and grit. As a child, Dave dreamed of becoming a police officer. He attended community college for law enforcement; his first job was as a bike officer in Lanesboro.

After he completed his studies, he became a Fillmore County Deputy and DARE officer in Spring Valley. He learned that real policing starts with relationships.

From there he worked undercover for the SE Minnesota Narcotics & Gang Task Force for seven years. Dave said the thrill of this work became his “drug.” His work bled into his personal life. Law enforcement wasn’t just his job; it was his identity. During that time Dave and his first wife divorced.

He next served as a police officer in Austin, Minn. During those years, he was the “tough cop,” always brushing off the trauma, trying to forget the calls and deaths. He knew you couldn’t unsee things or unfeel them, but he still clung to the truth that he was a cop. Alcohol became his way to go to sleep.

Dave met and eventually married Christi; she saw his struggles and did her best to support him. On December 7, 2020, Dave finally gave in and checked himself in at a local mental health facility. He went through the motions and got discharged a week later with instructions to “follow up.” He was still afraid of losing his career and his identity.

Dave continued to unravel. He was diagnosed with PTSD, something he didn’t know how to deal with. He ended up leaving the force. This was not the answer; he now felt like a failure.

In April 2023, Christi called Dave to tell him his friend from his law enforcement class, Gary Schroeder, Jr. had killed himself. Gary and Dave had reconnected in later years and Gary had shared that he had walked away from law enforcement after 18 years. Gary had told them about the demons he’d faced and how his faith had grounded him and he was finding peace.

Dave had thought Gary was okay. Gary’s wife told Dave, “Gary didn’t take his own life – PTSD took it.”

According to Dave, though PTSD took Gary’s life, he saved Dave’s. Christi had found Chateau Health & Wellness in Midway, Utah which specialized in first responders. After a hard discussion with his family, Dave agreed to go to Chateau. The minimum stay there was 30 days; the first week was a “blackout period” with no contact with Christi and no phone use. Dave hated the isolation.

During that time, he read a book titled “Knight in Rusty Armour.” The book was about a knight on a journey with a wizard; the knight’s one desire was to go back home to his family.

Dave recognized that the knight was him. His armour was so rusted and worn that he didn’t think he’d ever get it off.

This paragraph from the book was Dave’s “aha moment”: “‘But I miss them,’ whined the knight. ‘I want to go back to them in the worst way.’ ‘And that is exactly how you will go back if you stay in your armor,’ cautioned Merlin.”

Dave knew if he went home early, he would go home as the same person, still carrying so much pain. He decided to take full advantage of his time at Chateau.

He began attending group sessions where he told his own story and heard the stories of other first responders. Chateau uses both traditional and non-traditional treatments. Dave tried non-traditional treatments such as ice baths, Wim Hof breathing and yoga. While yoga didn’t work for Dave, the ice baths proved to Dave he could still do hard things; he still uses them and finds them relaxing now. Dave also still wears his mala beads and uses them to count, which grounds him when he’s stressed.

When Dave came home from Chateau, he was offered a service dog from Soldiers 6, an organization that helps first responders and veterans obtain service dogs. Initially he turned the dog down, but he later changed his mind and accepted one.

Dave named his dog Nyathera “Nya” Jane, which means “She Survived” in Kisii, an African language. Nya can sense when Dave is stressed and helps calm him; she wakes him up when he’s having nightmares and always checks in with him.

Shortly after returning from Chateau, Dave and Christi began speaking publicly to groups of first responders about his bout with PTSD. Christi was hesitant to speak to groups at first, but then realized the families of first responders needed to hear her story too. Dave, on the other hand, has a natural ability to connect with others and honestly share what they have dealt with.

At first they spoke locally, but then they began to get requests from farther away.

At one point, Dave and Christi were doing six to eight speaking engagements a month. They have learned the “sweet spot” is one or two a month. Too many engagements get Dave down.

At a conference, Dave and Christi met Adam Davis, the author of “Bulletproof Marriage,” a book Christi had read when they were struggling with PTSD. Davis urged them to write a book about their experiences.

It took Dave and Christi about eight months to write their book which was released November 2025. In the book, they each tell their own story. At the end of each chapter, they added action points which provide the reader a chance to reflect on what they’ve read.

Dave now works as a residency coach with first responders and veterans. He runs two-hour training sessions for police officers. He also works at Smidt Sheet Metal, Inc. presenting OSHA compliant safety sessions.

Christi is a nurse in the admission and transfer center for Mayo and also works as a death investigator.

In June, Dave and Christi returned to Chateau to speak. A new building has been built since Dave was there. Beds in the facility went from 16 to 36 with room for up to 50. The staff has doubled or tripled in size. Dave met the staff member who had dealt with him when he first arrived at Chateau.

Every Wednesday and Thursday Chateau holds a zoom meeting for everyone who’s been to Chateau. Dave enjoys those sessions; they remind him that he’s not alone and that, according to Dave, “Mental health is bigger than me.”

Dave plans on beginning a non-profit, Beneath the Badge Foundation. This veterans’ group would build free wooden flag holders for the funeral flags for families of first responders statewide and fire departments, police officers and EMS in southeast Minnesota. Working together would give the veterans a chance to interact and share as they work to build flag holders.

Both Dave and Christi are grateful for their chance to start all over again after their struggles with PTSD. They want to help the public understand how PTSD affects the law enforcement profession and their families.

See www.beneaththebadge.com to learn more and to purchase the book.