Chris DeFlorio, a former New York police officer, has gone from fighting physical enemies to spiritual ones. Speaking with CBN, DeFlorio described how his work on the police force helped him see the deeper spiritual darkness he was battling. “I worked with the NYPD for 20 years, and, in that kind of work, you see the worst evil that you can imagine. You’re seeing a lot that most people, thankfully … don’t have to see. You’re seeing these really dark events happen, and, being a Christian, you start to see things from two worldviews, not just the physical worldview, but the spiritual,” he said. He recalled a particular encounter with a woman he met while on duty soon after her had become a Christian. “Ma’am, God loves you, and this isn’t what He would want for you,’” he recalled telling her. The woman, however, whose eyes and voice were very jittery, responded, “God doesn’t even know who you are.”

The woman’s eyes contained a darkness that DeFlorio would continue to see throughout his career and on a missions trip to Africa, where he would see many demon-possessed people. The spiritual darkness he witnessed there soon convinced him that God had given him a new calling. He and his wife, Harmony, went on to start New York Demonic Investigation, which investigates potential demonic possessions. DeFlorio now works as a full-time demonologist. In an interview last year, he noted how many infamous serial killers like John Wayne Gacy and Ted Bundy were motivated by a desire for power and control. “The evil committed by these types of killers terrorized society and changed the way we go about our daily lives even today,” he stated. Others, he stated, seemed to be obsessed with dark arts and may have come under evil spiritual influence. He noted that his desire is to bring awareness to law enforcement and other individuals to the type of evil they are dealing with.

In another article detailing his experiences, DeFlorio described how his years as a police officer have informed his new career. “… it taught me to be very aware of my surroundings and to learn how a criminal may think. Now, in the field of demonology, when I receive calls from people during a spiritual emergency, the first thing I do is put those paramedic and police skills to work. I take down all of the initial medical information and really do my homework in terms of questioning them and analyzing the caller as I’m speaking to them,” he said. “My police work really comes into play when my wife and I visit locations all over the country. Unlike typical ghost-hunter television programs you may have seen, when we visit a house, I investigate not just the claims, but the people.” He detailed the importance of education. “Today I’m doing a lot of educating, going deeper into psychology, and trying to be sure if it is a mental illness or a spiritual issue, because I feel that at times they could be working together. To be involved in this field, you have to be educated as well as spiritual, because you’re dealing with people’s lives,” he said. DeFlorio has detailed his experiences in his book, Called Into Darkness: Two NYC First Responders Battle the Supernatural