FORCE SCIENCE - Key Persons

Job Titles:

• Executive Director of One Good Turn
• Partnering Instructor

Biography Ann Messer, MD, is a Board Certified Family Physician and has been practicing family medicine and urgent care for 30 years. She has a special expertise in Global Health. Dr. Messer is a Fulbright Specialist with the United States Department of State, teaching core clinical competency in medical education in developing countries. A graduate of Rush Medical School in Chicago, Dr. Messer did her residency work at Harvard in a triad of internal medicine, psychiatry, and family practice. This prompted her early interest in the importance, for both the patient and the doctor, of anticipating the stress points in every medical dynamic. Dr. Messer is the Executive Director of One Good Turn, a global health nonprofit partnering with organizations worldwide to provide medical support and education to underserved communities. She has worked with neglected populations in extreme conditions around the world. In the field, Dr Messer has experienced many of the concepts that are covered in her lecture on the effects of stress on first responders who must often deal with unexpected events. Dr. Messer lives in Austin with her husband Tim; their three grown children are nearby, and together they enjoy outdoor sports, good food, and the family dog, Ziggy.

Job Titles:

• Chris Butler, Insp. ( Ret. )

Job Titles:

• Chief
• Chief ( Ret. )
• Chief ( Ret. ) Senior Consultant, Staff Instructor

Chief Chris Gard (Ret.) spent nearly three decades with the Orting Police Department in Washington State. During his tenure as chief, Chris built trust and improved relationships with the community, expanded law enforcement and emergency management partnerships throughout the state, and led a cumulative team that helped reduce crime significantly. Chris is an Advanced Force Science Specialist. In addition to his duties as a Force Science Staff Instructor, Chris is a member of the Force Science Consulting Division, advising clients and providing expert testimony in many of the country's highest-profile use-of-force cases. Chris continues to serve on the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) Crime Prevention Committee where he chairs a large subcommittee that is aimed to address spontaneous, unprovoked acts of criminal violence. Chris is also an active member of the IACP's Officer Safety and Wellness Section where he chairs the Officer Victim of Gun Violence Committee, Education Committee, and Sponsorship Committee. Chris is a member of the International Association of Director of Law Enforcement Standards and Training (IADLEST) Partner Advisory Committee (IPAC). As a police chief, Chris chaired the Homeland Security Region 5 Training Exercise Committee and the Terrorism Early Warning Committee. He was a member of the Tri-County Complex Coordinated Terrorist Attack Oversight Board for the Seattle Metropolitan Area while also serving on the Metro Tactical Response Team Oversight Board. Chris is a former SWAT team member and clandestine lab investigator. He conducted crime scene investigation and management, criminal investigations, crime scene photography, and cognitive interviewing. As a trainer, Chris earned certifications as a firearms instructor, simulator instructor, master reality-based training instructor, defensive tactics instructor, and civilian self-defense instructor. Chris earned a master's degree in criminal justice, with an emphasis on Forensic Psychology, and a bachelor's degree in psychology and government from Liberty University.

Job Titles:

• Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Founder of the First Responders Wellness
• Partnering Instructor

Biography Dr. Carrie Steiner is a nationally recognized police psychologist and trauma expert. Carrie Steiner is a licensed clinical psychologist and founder of the First Responders Wellness Center, a private practice full-service agency to meet the needs of police and first responders' emotional wellness. As a psychologist, she conducts police and public safety psychological evaluations and specializes in trauma therapy utilizing EMDR, exposure, and cognitive behavioral therapy. Further, she develops wellness programs for police and fire departments, including yearly wellness checks, and does individual and group de-briefings after critical incidents. Dr. Steiner is a certified trauma professional and a member of the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police and the International Association of Chiefs of Police. Dr. Steiner is a 13-year former Chicago Police Officer, Crisis Intervention Team Coordinator, peer support member, and Chicago Police Academy instructor. While working for the Chicago Police Department, she spearheaded their veteran CIT training and autism spectrum training for law enforcement. She also has FBI hostage negotiation training, has worked as a psychologist for Cook County and Kane County Jails as well as collaborated with federal government agencies on high-risk cases. She speaks nationally on officer wellness, police suicide, mental illness and police response, de-escalation techniques, cumulative trauma, CIT, Peer support, PTSD, and has several national and local awards.

Job Titles:

• Partnering Instructor

Biography Dr. Christine Hall, MD MSc FRCPC, is a practicing emergency medicine specialist in Canada, certified through a 5 year Royal College residency in Emergency Medicine, completed at the University of Calgary in 2001. During her residency, Dr. Hall also completed her thesis based Master's Degree in Clinical Epidemiology. She has been in practice as an emergency medicine physician for nearly 20 years and continues to work clinically in the Department of Emergency Medicine in Victoria, BC, Canada. Dr. Hall became certified as a Tactical EMS provider in 2010. In addition to clinical duties, Dr. Hall also holds a full time administrative position, recently becoming an Executive Medical Director in Island Health. Prior to this administrative opportunity, Dr. Hall has served as the Chief of Staff for Royal Jubilee and Victoria General Hospitals in Victoria BC, was the Medical Director of Clinical Operations for the Royal Jubilee Hospital and a Medical Director in Medical Affairs for Island Health. Prior to moving to BC in 2006, Dr. Hall worked in Calgary Alberta, Canada, where she was proud to be an Emergency Department Physician, and a flight physician for STARS Alberta. She also served as the Program Director for the Royal College program in Emergency Medicine while in Calgary. Dr. Hall's research interest in Excited Delirium and police use of force dates back to her residency. She was appointed to the Expert Panel on the Medical and Physiological Impacts of Conducted Energy Weapons in Canada in 2012. She has been sought as an expert witness in many formal investigations in Canada, the United States and in Australia, due in part to her role as the principal investigator in the restraint study. She authored that multi-center, prospective study to determine the incidence of death in custody following police interactions that included the use of force, in addition to understanding the association of sudden in custody death to Excited Delirium and the role of various restraint modalities in subject outcome. Dr. Hall continues to publish in peer reviewed journals and to participate in ongoing research initiatives.

Job Titles:

• Fellow of the American College of Physicians
• Partnering Instructor

Biography Dr. David W. Hines MD is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and has been in medical practice for nearly 40 years. He received his MD from Chicago's Rush Medical School and continued there through three years of Internal Medicine residency, one year as a Chief Medical Resident and two years as an Infectious Disease Fellow. He continues to be associated with numerous leading hospitals in the Chicago area and is part of the Senior Management Team with one of the largest specialized internal medicine groups in the nation. One of David's skill sets is in explaining confusing medical terminology and physiology in common terms using plain English. His lecture will be devoted to important details of our nervous system, the impact stress has on vision, hearing and memory, and the distortions that stress can create.

Job Titles:

• Licensed Clinical Psychologist

Dr. John Azar-Dickens is a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in Forensic and Police Psychology. While maintaining a private practice, Dr. Azar-Dickens continues to develop and deliver training as a partnering instructor for Force Science. His law enforcement programs are taught throughout the United States and Canada, covering human performance in use-of-force encounters, advanced de-escalation, crisis management, mental health issues, and officer wellness. In his private practice, Dr. Azar-Dickens conducts forensic psychological evaluations in support of attorneys, agencies, and judicial systems. These evaluations provide insight into violent tendencies, sexual offending, psychopathology, parental fitness, and child custody risks.

Job Titles:

• Partnering Instructor
• Professor

Biography Dr. Nicholas Murray is a Professor in the Department of Kinesiology at East Carolina University. Dr Murray has authored over 40 publications and has spent his career examining visual and motor factors that influence human performance in dynamic environments. This includes research and publications concerning cognitive motor control, visual behavior, and motor dysfunction. His primary research interest is to determine antecedents and consequences of an individual's ability to function in dynamic situations based on physiological changes that can either facilitate or debilitate performance. He has extensive expertise in a variety of physiological and behavioral measurements including: eye movement measurement; muscle activity; neuroimaging (electroencephalogram); biometrics, and heart rate variability. His recent work includes factors that influence visual expertise in officers when they encounter a threat or potential threat and the role of physiological arousal on visual search during a high stress, high threat, use of force scenarios.

Job Titles:

• Associate Professor in Motor Behavior at Montclair State University
• Partnering Instructor

Biography Dr. Robert Horn is an Associate Professor in motor behavior at Montclair State University in New Jersey, where he has been employed since 2003. Dr. Horn's research has focussed on the visual control of action, tactical knowledge in sports, and more recently, the visual and tactical responses of police officers in stressful encounters. Dr. Horn has authored 25 research papers and book chapters, and his work has been cited over 1100 times. His future research with the police aims to more clearly outline the cognitive and attentional challenges associated with law enforcement in stressful encounters, with a view to informing police training.

Job Titles:

• Deputy Director With the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation & Correction
• Partnering Instructor

Biography Ed Voorhies recently retired as a Deputy Director with the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation & Correction (ODRC). After serving four years in the U.S. Army Infantry, Ed returned to college and then started his career as a Correction Officer in 1994. Throughout his career he held a variety of positions in prison operations, including leadership roles as a Special Response Team - Tactical Squad Leader, Special Response Team Commander, Deputy Warden, Warden, Regional Director for the Office of Prisons and Managing Director of Operations for ODRC. During his tenure as Managing Director of Operations, Ed facilitated the agency-wide rollout of "Crisis Intervention Team" (CIT) training with the National Institute of Corrections. He also served as the Deputy Director & Senior Policy Advisor with ODRC's Legal Services Division where he functioned as the agency's senior executive and subject matter expert for use of force policy, training and supervision, including use of force investigations and case analysis. He currently works as an auditor/consultant with the American Correctional Association conducting audits for both prisons and jails. Ed has a Master of Science, Criminal Justice degree from the University of Cincinnati. Ed completed the Internal Affairs Investigation certification and the Advanced Internal Affairs Investigation coursework with the Daigle Law Group and is a member of the Association for Force Investigators. He completed the Force Science Certification course and graduated from the Advanced Force Science Specialist course with Force Science. As a senior executive for the largest state agency in Ohio, Ed continued to facilitate training to staff at all levels, both inside of ODRC and for other agencies/organizations. Ed has facilitated training on a variety of topics including the Incident Command System, use of force, Special Response Teams, Crisis Intervention Teams, and excited delirium training for staff in corrections, law enforcement, military and first responders in Ohio and other states. He is passionate about delivering quality, evidence-based training and strives to improve the "working knowledge" of the dedicated professionals with whom he continues to serve.

Job Titles:

• Member of American Psychological Association
• Partnering Instructor

Biography Kendra Devor, Psy.D. is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist out of Orange County, California. Dr. Devor earned her Doctorate in Applied Clinical Psychology from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Her professional experience has focused on the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, grief, and loss. Dr. Devor has extensive experience working with first responders and their family members. Dr. Devor joined The Counseling Team International's 24hr Critical Incident Stress Management team in 2015, and has responded to various types of critical incidents including the San Bernardino terrorist attack, Route 91 Las Vegas shooting and multiple Line of Duty Deaths. Dr. Devor facilitates an "Officer Involved Shooting or Major Incident" three-day retreat multiple times a year. Dr. Devor is a member of American Psychological Association (APA) and Association of Threat Assessment Professionals (ATAP). Her public service includes serving with the American Combat Veterans of War (ACVOW) addressing issues associated with psychological trauma.

Job Titles:

• Chris Butler, Insp. ( Ret. )

Laura L. Scarry has extensive experience in all aspects of defending municipalities and municipal employees in federal courts in Illinois, Indiana and Illinois state courts. Ms. Scarry has represented a variety of public entities including school districts, public works, legislative bodies, pension boards and police departments. The majority of Ms. Scarry's work has been in the representation of police officers, supervisors, administrators and the police agencies they work for against claims covering a wide array of law enforcement issues such as excessive force, deadly force, search and seizure, malicious prosecution, failure to train, duty to protect, police pursuit, employment discrimination, in-custody deaths and racial profiling. What makes Laura unique is that she was also a police officer in Illinois for six years.

Job Titles:

• Director of Training

Lon Bartel is the Director of Training and Curriculum for VirTra, a leading-edge simulation and training company which provides products and services within the Military and Law Enforcement space. He relies on over 20 years of law enforcement training experience to improve the performance of the officers and trainers he works with. He was recognized by the State of Arizona P.O.S.T. as a subject matter expert in both firearms and defensive tactics. He is internationally certified as an instructor with the International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training, where he has won innovation awards. Mr. Bartel has presented at multiple conferences on performance under stress. These presentations were at the International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association conference (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022), The International Law Enforcement Training Network, Law Enforcement Education Program (2020 and 2022), and Force Science Annual Conference (2020 and 2022). Mr. Bartel earned his Master's degree in Applied Exercise Science from Concordia University-Chicago and his Bachelor's from Arizona State University in Exercise Sport Science with a concentration in physiology and biochemistry. He holds national certifications with the National Strength and Conditioning Association and the National Academy of Sports Medicine. He has published peer-reviewed research exploring how weapons and holster combinations affect perception-response times in peace officers and investigating the performance envelope for officers transitioning between lethal and less-lethal weapon platforms. Mr. Bartel is pursuing a Doctor of Philosophy in General Psychology with an emphasis in Performance Psychology. He is taking his experience with the physiological aspects of human performance and integrating it with his doctoral work in performance psychology. This multifaceted effort removes a silo approach that can plague high stress/arousal human performance evaluations. His mission is to provide a holistic approach to fast and accurate decision-making and response for our military warfighters and law enforcement officers. Much of this work requires an objective look at the complex problems faced and how best to address them. The goal is to ensure the sanctity of life when possible in law enforcement while making our warfighters better decision-makers in combat.

Job Titles:

• Chief

Biography Mike Albin earned his Bachelors of Science in General Studies with a focus in Human Behavior and an Associate of Science in Business from Indiana University. He is currently the Chief of Police at the Bristol Police Department in Bristol, Indiana. He has been a certified training officer for over 21 years. He is a Firearms Instructor through the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) and the National Rifle Association (NRA). He holds certifications in crisis and hostage negations, fraud and white-collar crime investigations, computer and digital forensics, organized intellectual property theft investigator and network and router interrogations. He is a member of the United States Secret Service (USSS) Chicago Field Office Cyber Fraud Task Force (CFTF). He is a homicide investigator trained through the Southern Police Institute and is a Force Science Analyst and Advanced Specialist with the Force Science Institute. He owns a video production company that he started over 20 years ago. He is an Apple certified professional Final Cut Pro editor, and video editor in Avid, Adobe Creative Suite, and a compositor in Adobe After Effects, Autodesk 3ds Max and Blender. Mike has authored articles on technology and law enforcement, human behavior, stress and memory, and body-worn cameras.

Job Titles:

• CO ( Ret. )
• Lieutenant / Commanding Officer ( Ret. )
• Retired Chicago Police Department Lieutenant / Commanding Officer

Biography Ozzie Valdez is a retired Chicago Police Department Lieutenant / Commanding Officer within their Homicide Unit. He began his career in 1992 and served as a patrol officer and narcotic investigator until his promotion to Sergeant in 2000. Ozzie served as the Patrol Division's Sergeant until 2001 when he was reassigned to the Organized Crime Division until his promotion to Lieutenant in 2008. As a Sergeant, he was a Task Force Officer / Supervisor with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), deputized as Task Force Officer. As a Lieutenant, he was assigned to the Deployment Operations Center (DOC), where he initiated the use of geographic information system (GIS) mapping combined with police data to analyze crime and identify priority targets and gang conflicts. In 2012, Ozzie was assigned to the Bureau of Detectives, where he served as the Commanding Officer in charge of Robbery, Burglary, and Theft investigations (RBT) and then to the Violent Crimes Section. His responsibilities involved supervising and directing investigations of violent crimes and police-involved shootings. Ozzie was also responsible for overseeing the Special Victims Unit, which included crimes against children and women. He retired as the Commanding Officer of the Area One Homicide Unit. Ozzie has been involved in training and education as an Adjunct Professor of Criminal Justice at Roosevelt University (Chicago) in the past and currently as an instructor for the National Center for State Courts (NCSC). The NCSC participates in training and consulting in the field of Criminal Justice in various countries worldwide. He presented different approaches to investigating human trafficking to Jamaican law enforcement officials and prosecutors in Kingston, Jamaica. As a consultant, he traveled to Tegucigalpa, Honduras, to assess prosecutorial and investigative practices and criminal analysis. In January 2020, he instructed Trinidad and Tobago investigators and prosecutors on using social media in Criminal Investigations. Most recently, in December 2020, he participated with the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) in conducting a virtual training program for prosecutors and law enforcement officers in the Eastern Caribbean and Guyana. Seven countries participated in the training, including Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and St. Lucia. Currently, Ozzie works for the Illinois Liquor Control Commission as Supervisor in the Enforcement Division. Ozzie Valdez is a graduate of the Force Science Certification and the Advanced Force Science Specialist Courses.

Job Titles:

• Co - Developer
• Partnering Instructor

Biography R. Edward Geiselman is the co-developer of the Cognitive Interview technique. He was a full Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles, for 39 years. He has published over 120 research papers in social-science and police-science journals. He is the author of five books including The Psychology of Murder, Intersections of Psychology, Psychiatry, and Law (Volumes 1, 2, & 3), Eyewitness Expert Testimony, and Memory Enhancing Techniques for Investigative Interviewing: The Cognitive Interview. Professor Geiselman has conducted training and offered other consulting services for numerous investigative agencies including the FBI, Homeland Security, US Secret Service, US State Department, US Marshal's Service, Georgia and Tennessee Bureaus of Investigation, Los Angeles, Boston, Albuquerque, Syracuse, and Grand Junction Police Departments, Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, Indiana and Louisiana State Police, Las Vegas Metro, Singapore Police Force, Texas Rangers, Health and Human Services, NTSB, Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority, U.S. Marine Corps, Walter-Reed Army Hospital, Beta Healthcare Group, Black Hat, and Hong Kong's Independent Commission Against Corruption. He also has conducted investigative interviews for local police departments in ongoing cold-case Investigations and served as an expert on use-of-force incidents. Dr. Geiselman was awarded the Mary-Ellen McCormick award by the LASD in 2013 for his career contributions to the investigation of child abuse cases.

Job Titles:

• Behavioral Scientist
• Executive Director
• Instructor
• Senior Researcher

Dr. Lewinski is a leading behavioral scientist whose work has focused on the intensive study of human dynamics involved in high stress, life-threatening encounters. He has a Ph.D. in Police Psychology and is a professor emeritus of Law Enforcement at Minnesota State University, Mankato, where he taught for more than 28 years, was an L.E. Program Director and also chair of the Department of Government. Dr. Lewinski's research has impacted law enforcement officers and agencies worldwide and has revolutionized the way force investigations and training are conducted. He is a popular presenter in the law enforcement industry and has appeared before scores of groups world-wide, ranging internationally from New Scotland Yard, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the International Association of Chiefs of Police to the British House of Commons and House of Lords as well as Obama's President's Task Force on 21 st Century Policing. He has presented to local, state, and national departments throughout North America and the United Kingdom including twice by invitation as a keynote speaker to international medical conferences in the U.K.

Dr. William Bozeman is a national advocate of law enforcement use of less lethal weapons and self aid / buddy aid training in order to reduce or eliminate injuries and deaths whenever possible among police officers, suspects, and the public. He has conducted national studies on the use of TASER® conducted electrical weapons, including the first large independent study of injuries from their use, with funding from the National Institute of Justice. Bozeman's clinical and research interests include trauma resuscitation, cardiac arrest resuscitation, emergency medical services, and tactical medicine. He is a member of the National Tactical Officers Association and the International Association of Chiefs of Police Physicians Section. He serves as a tactical physician for several law enforcement agencies and as an instructor and consultant for numerous law enforcement training courses. In addition, he has served as an EMS medical director, on federal Disaster Medical Assistance Teams, and as a NASA Space Shuttle support physician. He is one of a few Emergency Medicine doctors nationwide who is specially trained in Trauma and Critical Care. Bozeman earned his medical degree from the Medical University of South Carolina, completed his residency at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, and his fellowship training at the Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore. He has been a faculty member at the University of Florida and Wake Forest University.