Course Descriptions & Instructor Bios

(click the course title for more detail)

 

Debriefs:

  • Avalon Way

    On a Sunday afternoon in the summer of 2005, Jose Pena fueled himself with cocaine and grabbed a 9-millimeter pistol. Waving the gun at the head of his 19-month-old daughter, Suzie, he told the LAPD officers who arrived at the scene that he was Tony Montana -- the character played by Al Pacino in "Scarface" -- and that he was going to kill his daughter and himself. He'd already shot at her sister and at the police, so the threat was believable.

    LAPD SWAT officers will share additional details and lessons learned about this harrowing and highly-publicized hostage situation.

  • Discovery Chanel Incident

    On Sept. 1, 2010, 43-year old James Lee, armed with two starter pistols and an explosive device, entered the lobby of the Discovery Communications headquarters and ignited a four-hour hostage situation. Sgt. Kendrick Stephens of the Montgomery County, MD Police Department responded to this incident and will share additional, first-hand information about it and its tactical resolution.

 

4 Hour Training Tracks:

  • Tactical Fitness

    Dates: May 22 and 23, 2012
    Time: TBD
    Location: TBD
    Course Description: With an acute focus on the tactical athlete, this course will cover proper technique and use of power and strength exercises, common training errors, program design and needs analysis of training group.
    Student Equipment: TBD
    Instructor: Mr. Jeff Carroll of CSBS Business Services

    • Instructor Bio Info - (click to open/close)

      Jeff Carroll is a CSBS Business Services employee who implements programs and progressive methodologies for the THOR3 Program, 2/75 Army Ranger Battalion. His main duties as a CSBS Business Services THOR3 contractor is to support the focus of optimizing the physical and mental conditioning of Army Special Operations Forces (SOF) personnel. He is responsible for training over 800 SOF personnel.  Previously he was the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach at Eastern Washington University from 2008-2010 and was a Strength and Conditioning Assistant with the Seattle Seahawks form 2005-2008.

      He earned his bachelor's of science degree in health and fitness management from Pacific Lutheran University in 2002. Carroll is a NSCA (National Strength and Conditioning Association) certified strength and conditioning specialist and USAW certified.

  • Impromptu Negotiations

    Dates: May 22 and 23, 2012
    Time: 0800-1700 hrs
    Location: Heathman Hotel, Room TBD
    Course Description: This 4 hour presentation is designed to provide Tactical Operators with the basic fundamentals of hostage/crisis negotiation as they frequently find themselves in the role of “impromptu negotiator”.  It is not uncommon for tactical personnel to fulfill the negotiator role as in most cases, immediate contact is beneficial to emotional and highly volatile situations. 

    Participants will be given information outlining different strategies for interacting in hostage and non-hostage situations as negotiation tactics differ between the two. The presentation will also address strategies to initiate verbal containment, working through deadlines, addressing demands, Stockholm Syndrome, and managing non-responsive subjects. Active listening skills will also be discussed and participants will be introduced to additional communication tactics that will assist in the management of suicidal subjects.

    The session will also include information outlining indicators of progress, strategies for managing and defusing strong emotions in the subject and creating an environment in which we can apply the concept of “influence” to the subject to gain compliance.  

    Student Equipment: TBD
    Instructors: Mr. Gary McDougall of Conflict Solutions and formerly with Calgary Police Service

    • Instructor Bio Info - (click to open/close)

      Mr. McDougall is a retired police officer who served with the Calgary Police Service for 25 years.  The last 8 years of which, Mr. McDougall was a member of the Hostage/Barricaded Negotiation Team.  He served as both a Team Leader and training coordinator for the Calgary Hostage Negotiation team.  Upon retiring in 2006, Mr. McDougall formed a company called Conflict Solutions. He is currently on the speaking circuit, delivering training in a number of disciplines which include effective negotiation skills, conflict management, dealing with difficult clients, ethics in the workplace, and workplace violence issues.  Mr. McDougall is both a graduate of the FBI Hostage Negotiators Training School and has also served as an Instructor at the FBI Training Academy in Quantico, Virginia.   Check out the Conflict Solutions website for more information: conflict-solutions.ca.

  • Team Leader Basics

    Dates: May 22 and 23, 2012
    Time: TBD
    Location: TBD
    Course Description:
    		 This four hour block is a guided discussion covering contemporary issues and lessons learned revolving around tactical teams. Topics will include an overview of the NTOA's national standards, training, recent case law involving chemical agents, report writing, and risk assessments. Sergeant Jeff Selleg is a current WSTOA Board member and serves as a team leader on a large regional SWAT team in the Seattle metropolitan area.
    Student Equipment: TBD
    Instructors: Sgt. Jeff Selleg, Port of Seattle PD and Valley SRT

    • Instructor Bio Info - (click to open/close)

      Sgt. Jeff Selleg has worked in Law Enforcement for 16 years and has been a member of Valley Regional SWAT since October of 2000. He has served in the capacity of entry team member, sniper, sniper team leader, and is currently one of the entry team leaders. Sgt. Selleg currently supervises the agencies training unit. Sgt. Selleg has been a member of the WSTOA board of directors since 2007 and currently serves as the Director of Operations. Sgt. Selleg holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Saint Martin's University in Lacey Washington and a Master of Arts degree in Organizational Leadership from Chapman University in Orange California.

  • Legal update / Use of Force

    Dates: May 22 and 23, 2012
    Time: TBD
    Location: TBD
    Course Description:
    		 Eugene P. Ramirez will share his experiences in defending SWAT Teams, including the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Special Enforcement Bureau/Special Weapons Team. We will explore SWAT Team liability and how courts currently view tactical teams. We will discuss how courts are now questioning tactics and how that impacts the courts' decisions. Can you still do dynamic entries? Are you doing surround and call outs? How do teams deal with emotionally disabled people? We will also discuss report writing, supervisor liablity, use of force, and related topics.
    Student Equipment: TBD
    Instructors: Mr. Eugene Ramirez of Manning & Kass, Ellrod, Ramirez, Trester, LLP – Attorneys at Law

    • Instructor Bio Info - (click to open/close)

      Eugene P. Ramirez, a founding member of the firm, graduated from Whittier College School of Law (J.D., 1987), where he was Notes & Comments Editor of the Law Review, a member of the Moot Court Honors Board and President of the Student Bar Association.

      Before joining the firm, Mr. Ramirez worked as a Deputy District Attorney for the L.A. County District Attorney's Office, where he conducted numerous misdemeanor and felony jury trials, including murder trials. He has also worked as a reserve police officer for the Whittier Police Department and the Monterey Park Police Department.

      He serves as an advisor to several public entities on the issues of use of force, canine, and SWAT issues and policies and procedures. Mr. Ramirez is experienced in defending SWAT Teams in civil liability cases.  He is an instructor on liability issues for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Basic SWAT School.  He is also an instructor for the California Association of Tactical Officers (CATO) and for the National Tactical Officers' Association (NTOA). He was a member of the State Attorney General's Blue Ribbon SWAT Committee and he was a member of POST's Executive Advisory Committee for SWAT Teams. He was most recently a member of the LAPD Board of Inquiry, which examined LAPD SWAT operations.

      Mr. Ramirez was profiled in the April 2003, California Lawyer Magazine, for his work in defending law enforcement. He has been named as a 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 Super Lawyer for Southern California.  He was also named to the distinguished American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), an award only bestowed upon proven trial attorneys.

  • Critical Incident Training for Patrol

    Dates: May 22 and 23, 2012
    Time: TBD
    Location: TBD
    Course Description: This presentation is designed to teach responding patrol personnel the tactics and concepts to safely and effectively mitigate unknown or hi-risk incidents such as a barricaded subject, hostage situation, or suicidal subjects in order to resolve the situation or hand the situation off to a responding tactical team. Topics will include arrest team tactics, perimeter personnel responsibilities, and information gathering.
    Student Equipment: TBD
    Instructors: Sgt. William Goff, Portland Police Bureau

    • Instructor Bio Info - (click to open/close)

      Sergeant William Goff graduated from Western Oregon College in 1991 with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Criminal Justice.  He has 19 years of law enforcement experience, all with the Portland Police Bureau.  He spent ten years working on their Gang Enforcement Team.  Sergeant Goff was a member of the Portland Police Bureau’s Special Emergency Reaction Team from 2000-2004.  He has experience as a Patrol Sergeant, Drugs and Vice Sergeant, and currently he is assigned to the Training Division.

 

8 Hour Training Tracks:

  • Mental Toughness

    Dates: (presented in two, 4-hour blocks)
    May 22 (Part 1) and May 23 (Part 2), 2012
    Time: 0800-1200 hrs
    Location: TBD
    Course Description: Participants will understand the skills that comprise mental toughness, the performance enhancing and degrading effect of stress, the performance and survival effects of mental toughness, and be able to begin to integrate mental toughness and tactical training.  This course will also cover the definitions of stress and high stress conditions, acute and performance effects of stress, and perceptual changes under stress.  Additionally, Dr. Asken will discuss fear and its nature, why fear is ignored in police training, and psychological techniques to master fear.
    Instructors: Dr. Michael Asken

    • Instructor Bio Info - (click to open/close)

      Mike is the Psychologist for the Pennsylvania State Police. In that capacity he works with the PSP's S.E.R.T. Tactical and Negotiation Teams and consults with other specialized teams. He teaches at the State Police Academy. He is the co-director of the Pennsylvania State Police Elite Skills and Performance Laboratory.  Mike has presented training for the National Tactical Officers Association, the FBI, Naval Special Warfare Group I SEAL Teams, and the U.S. Army War College.

      He is the author of MindSighting: Mental Toughness Skills for Police Officers in High Stress Situations and of Emotional Intel: Mental Toughness Skills for Optimal Response in High Stress Crisis Negotiations (mindsighting.com).

  • Urban Sniper

    Dates: May 22 and 23, 2012
    Time: 0800-1700 hrs
    Location: TBD
    Course Description: This course will provide the precision marksman with valuable lessons learned through critical incident debriefs and long rifle deployment discussions.  Mr. Creamer will share his expertise through hands-on, practical training in cold shots, malfunction drills, and will cover other pertinent issues relating to urban sniping.  Learn more at integratedtacticalconcepts.com.

    Class size is limited to only 16 students.
    Student Equipment: Long rifle, 200 rounds of ammunition, all deployment gear, and eye & ear protection.
    Instructors: Mr. George Creamer of LASO SEB and Integrated Tactical Concepts, LLC

    • Instructor Bio Info - (click to open/close)

      Mr. Creamer has been in law enforcement for 23 years.  As a member of the Special Enforcement Bureau for over 11 years, Mr. Creamer has been involved in over a thousand tactical operations. He is currently the Scout of the Black Team. Mr. Creamer is the lead instructor for the SEB Long Rifle School, SEB Advanced SWAT School, and a California POST instructor. As a result of Mr. Creamer's skill level as a sniper, he leads his unit in this area and is selected to receive expert training from several military sniper units. Mr. Creamer's advanced training company, Integrated Tactical Concepts, LLC, provides the most current tactical training to law enforcement, military units, and international policing agencies around the world.

  • Tactical Rifle/Pistol

    Dates: May 22 and 23, 2012
    Time: 0800-1700 hrs
    Location: TBD
    Course Description: Tap-Rack Tactical, LLC will provide you with techniques and procedures that allow you to make hits faster under stress. This course is intended to pick up where most marksmanship training ends; it is a fighting class. We will build on previous skills, but help you hit faster and harder on single and multiple targets. We will always maintain the critical balance between speed and accuracy. Topics covered: strong and weak/support side shooting, manipulation, and shooting on the move among other topics. This class will give you plenty of information and drills to improve your rifle and handgun skills.
    Student Equipment: Mandatory:

    Carbine/Subgun with 600 rounds of ammunition, 3 magazines minimum.

    Duty Pistol with 600 rounds of ammunition, 3 magazines minimum/ 5 recommended.

    Appropriate duty belt with mag pouches. (SWAT or patrol belt).

    Body armor. (SWAT or Patrol, wear what you wear).

    Load bearing vest, carrier, chest rig or whatever to carry extra magazines.

    Eye and Ear Protection (Electronic Ear Pro Recommended).

    Ball Cap.

    Clothing appropriate for weather conditions, NO SHORTS!

    Weapon cleaning equipment, lubrication.


    OPTIONAL

    Knee and elbow pads.

    Parts and pieces to fix broken guns, mounts, lights, magazines.

    Spare gun (Especially if you are travelling, a broken gun can ruin the class for you).

    Neck protection for hot brass. i.e. Balaclava, high collar shirt, handkerchief.
    Instructors: Mr. Bill Blowers of Valley SRT and Tap Rack Tactical

    • Instructor Bio Info - (click to open/close)

      Bill Blowers has over 26 years of operational and training experience with the AR platform between the US Army and Police Service. He is also intimately familiar with the H&K family of submachine guns and a wide variety of handguns. He holds numerous instructor certifications for firearms and has over 5000 documented training.  He has been a SWAT team member since 1995 and is currently a team leader on a large regional team in Washington State. In addition to SWAT, he is the training Sergeant for his agency and oversees the firearm program.  Check out the Tap-Rack Tactical website for more information: tap-rack.com.

  • Gunfight Medicine

    Surviving the Next Five Minutes & Patient Evacuation from the High Rise/High-Angle Environment
    Dates: May 22 and 23, 2012
    Time: 0800-1700 hrs
    Location: Heathman Hotel, Room TBD
    Course Description: This course focuses on the immediate assessment, treatment, and extraction of victims of penetrating trauma during dynamic tactical operations in accordance with current Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) Guidelines. Patient evacuation methods from the high-rise/high-angle environment will be detailed as well.
    Student Equipment: TBD
    Instructors: Ofc. David VanBuskirk and Ofc. Jim Roberts of the Las Vegas Metro Police Department.

    • Instructor Bio Info - (click to open/close)

      Officers VanBuskirk and Roberts are both SWAT medics and team members of the LVMPD Search & Rescue Team for 5 and 8 years respectively.  The LVMPD Search and Rescue Unit was formed in 1986 to provide a technical rescue service to the community of Las Vegas, NV.  The unit is on call 24 hours a day and responds to over 8,000 square miles of mountainous desert terrain in Clark County, Nevada.  Unit members train in all aspects of technical rope rescue, helicopter operations, snow and ice rescue, desert survival, swiftwater rescue, map & compass, land navigation, mantracking, and search techniques.  To learn more, visit lvmpdsar.blogspot.com.

  • Tactical & Covert Vehicle Assaults

    Dates: May 22 and 23, 2012
    Time: 0800-1700 hrs
    Location: TBD
    Course Description: This course will address contemporary tactics used to conduct tactical vehicle assaults using any combination of police vehicles, vans, marked cruisers and/or armored vehicles. The primary focus will be on the effective positioning of police vehicles and operators in order to maximize containment, coverage, fields of fire, and safety.
    Student Equipment:
    Students will need the following:

    Tactical Body Armo

    Light Body Armor (preferred for bus assaults

    Issued primary and secondary weapons with duty belt/holster

    Live or Simulated Flash Bangs/Diversionary Devices

    Ear & Eye Protection


    **NO LIVE MAGAZINES/AMMUNITION**

    Preferred (Optional) Student Equipment:

    Simunitions/UTM Handguns and/or rifles

    Live Smoke Deployment Canisters
    Instructor: Sgt. Kendrick Stephens, Montgomery County, MD Police Department

    • Instructor Bio Info - (click to open/close)

      Sgt. Kendrick Stephens is a police officer with the Montgomery County, Maryland, Police Department, and a veteran of his department's SWAT team.  Sgt. Stephens has been in hundreds of SWAT operations, and has received the Chief's Award for support given to a neighboring SWAT team during a hostage incident.  Sgt. Stephens was a member of the team, and present, at the Discovery Channel hostage incident in which a tactical intervention was made to save hostages.

 

16 Hour Training Tracks:

  • Hostage Rescue

    Dates: May 22 and 23, 2012
    Time: 0800-1700 hrs
    Location: TBD
    Course Description: This advanced hostage rescue course will cover the criteria for an HR mission, dynamic movement, breaching support, mechanical and explosive breaching, as well as other logistical tools. There will be practical skills training that covers dynamic movement, stealth probes, and vehicle assaults. Students will then apply the above skills in several scenarios utilizing Simunitions.

    This is a two-day course and is limited to 30 students.
    Student Equipment: Students will need all tactical gear to include ballistic vest and helmet, rifle/subgun and handgun, Simunitions and/or equivalent (NO Simunition .223 bolt conversions will be allowed), 150 rounds of marking cartridges, and full face & neck protective gear.
    Instructors: Officers Enrique Anzaldo and Wilson Wong, LAPD SWAT

    • Instructor Bio Info - (click to open/close)

      Ofcs. Anzaldo and Wong are both currently team leaders for LAPD SWAT. LAPD SWAT Team leaders formulate all tactical plans that are initiated in response to barricaded subjects, Hostage Rescue, and High Risk Warrants. Team Leaders provide instruction for all SWAT officers regarding the different SWAT disciplines: entry tactics, snipers, breaching techniques (includes explosives), climbing/rappelling, and all SWAT weapons. Both officers Anzaldo and Wong have served over 20 years with LAPD. 

      For more information on LAPD SWAT click here

  • Specialty Munitions Certification

    Dates: May 22 and 23, 2012
    Time: 0800-1700 hrs
    Location: TBD
    Course Description:
    		 Less-lethal weapons, impact munitions and deployment tactics play an ever-increasing role in law enforcement's arsenal against criminals. Topics covered in this course include instructor development techniques, less-lethal force philosophy, case law, policy issues, technology overview, deployment tactics, product demonstrations and less-lethal practical scenarios.
    Student Equipment: TBD
    Instructors: TBD

    • Instructor Bio Info - (click to open/close)

      N/A