SKIDDS & CATS
Instructors
Attorney Gene Ramirez
Manning, Marder & Ramirez
Mr. Ramirez is a founding partner of the his law firm. Mr. Ramirez specializes in defense of police misconduct and governmental tort suits in state and federal court. Mr. Ramirez has acquired significant expertise on civil liability arising out of the use of force in law enforcement, especially in the areas of tactical teams and police service dogs. Mr. Ramirez represents numerous police departments in southern California including L.A.P.D. and L.A.S.D. tactical and K-9 units. Mr. Ramirez lectures to Swat and K-9 units nationwide and is on the advisory board for N.T.O.A., C.A.T.O. and the United States Police Canine Association. Mr. Ramirez has also published several articles on police liability in numerous publications. In 1993 Mr. Ramirez was awarded Trial Lawyer of the Year by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Mr. Ramirez started his career as a police officer for Whittier Police Department and Monterey Park Police Department.
Captain Mitch Tavera
El Segundo Police Department
Captain Tavera has been a police officer for El Segundo Police Department since 1981 and has his Bachelors Degree in Criminal Justice. Captain Tavera was on the SWAT team for 18 years and is currently the Swat team commander. Captain Tavera has attended Swat schools hosted by L.A.S.D., F.B.I., I.A.C.P., and N.T.O.A. Captain Tavera is a graduate of F.B.I.'s National Academy, Class 199 and D.C.I.'s, Class 198. Captain Tavera is president of California Association of Force Instructors and is a National Law Enforcement instructor for Krav Maga.
Sergeant Bill Lewis (Retired)
Oxnard Police Department
Sgt Lewis (Retired) has over 30 years of law enforcement and instructor experience. He retired in December 2005 from the Oxnard (CA) Police Department after serving over 27 years. He was assigned to SWAT for over 25 years with 18 years served as a team leader. He was a K9 handler for 4 years and served as the K9 supervisor for over 8 years. Sgt. Lewis continues to teach SWAT personnel and K9 teams through his affiliations with Canine Tactical Operations, Gold Coast K9, and International Training Resources. He is a regional representative for the California Association of Tactical Officers (CATO) and a certifying official for the National Police Canine Association (NPCA).
Sergeant Jay Miller
Santa Ana Police Department
Sgt Miller began his law enforcement career in 1980 after completing his military service with the 101st Airborne. Sergeant Miller worked for the US Border Patrol from 1980-1983. In 1983 he moved to northern Utah and worked as patrol officer as well as a concurrent assignment to a multi jurisdictional Tactical Team.
In 1985 Sergeant Miller began his career with the Santa Ana Police Department located in Orange County, California. During his 23 years with Santa Ana he has had various assignments to include Patrol, Helicopter observer, Major Narcotics Investigator, FTO, FTO Coordinator, SWAT and he spent 9 years as a Patrol/Narcotics Canine Handler. During that time he also served as an entry canine team for the department’s SWAT Team. He currently has over 20 years assigned to the Tactical Team and serves as the CNT/Tactical Medic Team Leader.
Sgt. Miller is a POST instructor and judge for the Utah State SWAT-Dog program. Additionally, he was a member of the California POST Commission on SWAT, sitting on the Canine and Crisis Negotiations sub committees which developed the current POST recommendations for all California Tactical Teams. He is also a current California POST instructor having provided instruction in Narcotics, Criminal Law, Drug & Alcohol Recognition, Patrol Procedures, Low light tactics, Canine and the FTO program having trained officers from throughout California as well as the National Park Service. Jay has trained police canine teams from all over the United States and is working to obtain his certification as a USPCA Judge. He has been an instructor for SKIDDS/CATS since Class #1. Additionally, he has authored articles on Canine and tactics related issues for the NTOA’s Tactical Edge, SWAT magazine and Guns & Weapons for LE.
Sgt. Miller continues to remain active in obtaining training having attended courses provided by the FBI, NTOA, DHS, DOJ, CATO and DEA and has attended multiple courses at Gunsite.
Sergeant Lane Critser
Utah County Sheriff's Department, Utah
Sergeant Critser is a K9 Unit Supervisor with the Utah County Sheriff’s Office. His duties include police service dog handler, field training officer and Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team leader. Lane served for 12 years as a Utah County SWAT Team Leader, one of six team leaders managing a 46-member multi-jurisdiction SWAT team. He was responsible for developing and conducting a five-day, 80-hour, SWAT selection course that is held annually and administered by SWAT team leaders. His responsibilities included primary pistol, primary carbine, less-lethal munitions/chemical and wilderness operations instructor.
Lane developed the SWAT team policy and procedure for the multi-jurisdictional team and is responsible for managing and implementing training guidelines, training records and equipment purchases for the Utah County Sheriff’s Office.
He is a Patrol/Narcotic and SWAT Dog Instructor/Judge for Utah POST. His experience as a Dog Handler has been from 1988-2008 where he worked avalanche, search/rescue, patrol, narcotics and SWAT dogs. His duties also include in-house and basic training of a seven-member police service dog unit for the Utah County Sheriff Office and miscellaneous dogs and handlers from the region.
Lane was a WPO Judge at the Internationale Polizei Meisterschaft in Hannover, Germany in 2000. Lane has trained local, state, federal and military agencies and handlers from North America, South America and Western Europe. Lane is an Adjunct Instructor for Utah POST, K9TacOps and International Police K9. Lane recently accepted a transfer to a Major Crimes Unit as a supervisor.
Sergeant Steve Trujillo
Ontario Police Department
Sgt Trujillo has been a police officer since 1985 and has 17 years of SWAT team experience as a sniper, team leader and a team supervisor. Sgt Trujillo has attended numerous advanced Swat & Use of Force seminars. Sgt Trujillo is also a Medal of Valor recipient for his actions during a hostage rescue incident. Sgt Trujillo has been a contract instructor for ITR, ASLET, and CNOA. Sgt Trujillo is also an instructor for active shooters, use of force, patrol tactics, chemical agents, diversionary devices, less lethal, impact weapons and weaponless defense and operates his own company, L.O.C.T. Associates, which specializes in surreptitious & covert entry techniques.
Sergeant CR Smith (Retired)
South Gate Police Department
Sgt. Smith was a police officer for South Gate Police Department for 27 years and a Sergeant for 12 years. During his career Sgt Smith was a canine handler for 7 years and a Canine Supervisor for 8 years. Sgt. Smith has been a canine instructor at Adlerhorst Kennels, in Riverside, California for 25 years. Sgt Smith has taught thousands of police officers throughout the United States. Sgt Smith has been a judge at numerous police K-9 Trials in California, Arizona and Nevada. Sgt Smith has even traveled to Europe to select dogs for police service, here in the United States.
Captain Eduardo Jany
Snoqualmie Police Department, Washington State
Captain Jany is a Captain with the Snoqualmie Police Department in Metro Seattle, Washington and has over 20 years of law enforcement experience having served in Minnesota, Florida, and Washington. Ed was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil and is fluent in Portuguese, Spanish and functional in Italian. Ed has an extensive background in police and military special operations and is frequently sought after as a lecturer and guest instructor at numerous police courses and conferences worldwide including the IACP and Florida SWAT Association. Ed is the regional advisor for Latin America for the National Tactical Officer Association.
Ed holds over a dozen certifications and instructor credentials including; SWAT Instructor, Police K-9 Instructor, Field Training Officer, Tactical Officer, Narcotics Officer, Defensive Tactics Instructor, Physical Fitness Instructor, and is certified by the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission as a Career Level Supervisor.
Ed is a Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Marine Corps Reserve presently serving on activation in Latin America. He has over twenty-five years of combined active and reserve service in the Marines and the US Army with extensive experience in Special Operations. He is a graduate of the United States Marine Corps Command and Staff College, and completed the Inter-American Defense College Course on Diplomacy and Conflict Management.
He is the recipient of numerous local, state, military and foreign awards including the Bronze Star Medal, WA State Traffic Safety Commission Community Relations Award, Police Officer of the Year “Excellence in Service” Award, and the Police Medal of Valor. He has authored several published articles on law enforcement tactics and supervision.
Lt Tommy Garcia
West Covina Police Department
Lt. Garcia has been a police officer since 1980 and a SWAT member since 1984. Lt. Garcia has been a sniper, scout, back-up, assistant team leader, team leader and Commander. Lt. Garcia is a range master, MP5 instructor, H&K armorer instructor, pepper spray instructor and entry diversionary device instructor. California P.O.S.T. considers Lt Garcia a Subject Matter Expert in tactics and firearms. Because of this Lt. Garcia has traveled all over the United States and Europe.
Sgt Don Mitchell
Ontario Police Department
Sgt Mitchell has been an Ontario police officer since 1988. During this time he has spent 9 years as a patrol and SWAT dog handler as well as a member of his department SWAT team since 1993. Cpl Mitchell is also one of his departments weaponless defense and impact weapons instructors. Cpl Mitchell is also the founder and past president of the Inland Empire Police K-9 Association.
Master Trainer - Corporal Phil Geisler
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
Deputy Geisler has been a deputy for the last 30 years. During his 9 years as a canine handler Deputy Geisler became very experienced in testifying at the state and federal court level regarding civil lawsuits. After his 9 years as a K-9 handler Deputy Geisler transferred to the Special Weapons team known as S.E.B. During the last 9 years with S.E.B., Deputy Geisler has been assigned to gas, entry and sniper team. He has trained with Navy Seals, Air Borne, Special Forces and Marines. Because of his expertise Deputy Geisler has traveled throughout the United States teaching canine and Swat tactics.
Ken Pavlick (Retired)
Canyon County Sheriff's Department, Idaho
Ken Pavlick has been in law enforcement for 17 years. Ken was a dog handler for 5 years for the Riverside County Sheriff's Department (CA). Ken then moved to Idaho where he was the trainer and supervisor for a 13 dog canine unit for Canyon County Sheriff's Department. Ken was also a Swat team member for Riverside Co and Canyon Co. Ken has been a judge, guest speaker and instructor in the United States and Canada. Ken currently owns Pacific Coast K9's.
Officer Glen Anderson
Rialto Police Department
Officer Anderson started his law enforcement career in 1993 in Los Angeles County. In 1997 Officer Anderson lateraled to the Rialto Police Department and in 1999 became a member of the K-9 Unit and a SWAT Team member in 2000. Officer Anderson is currently assigned to Rialto's K-9 Unit with his second cross trained K-9 partner "Gilley." Officer Anderson is a senior SWAT Team operator and sniper for the Rialto Police Department. Officer Anderson also serves as Rialto SWAT Team's grenadier, scout, logistics and past assistant team leader as well as trained and operated Rialto's first SWAT K-9.
Officer Anderson is a member of the National Tactical Officer's Association (N.T.O.A.), the California Association of Tactical Officer's (C.A.T.O.) and the California Narcotic Canine Association (C.N.C.A.). Officer Anderson has written numerous articles for C.A.T.O. and the N.T.O.A. and is a California POST certified evaluator for patrol and detection K-9's. Officer Anderson is an N.T.O.A. instructor on active shooters, has served on the governor's Blue Ribbon Commission for SWAT K-9's and trained a K-9 with the FBI's Scent Evidence Team. Officer Anderson is a graduate of the Gunsite Academy and
Corporal Jeff Munn
West Covina Police Department
Cpl Munn has been a police officer since 1996 and a member of the SWAT team for 10 years. Cpl Munn is a range master, and is an instructor in AR-15, MP-5, Glock armorer, Rappel Master and Force Options Instructor. Cpl Munn has attended several advanced Swat Schools through LAPD and ITR. Prior to his law enforcement career Cpl Munn was a tactical instructor for the Marine Corp, teaching Military Operations in Urban Training (MOUT) and was the primary instructor for the (HRST) Helicopter Rope and Suspension Training Course. Cpl Munn has taught over 100 agencies while in the military and law enforcement.
Officer Scott Fitzgerald
Santa Clara Police Department
Officer Fitzgerald has been employed with the Santa Clara Police Department since 1991. His duties include being a K-9 handler and Special Response Team (SRT) member. He began handling a patrol/narcotics K-9 in 1995 and became a SRT team member in 1996. Since 1996 he has developed the SWAT dog program for his department and is currently handling his second dog on the SRT team. Along with his role on the team, he is also a California POST certified chemical agents instructor and a POST certified less-lethal instructor for extended range impact weapons. Scott is a Utah POST certified SWAT dog instructor and judge, as well as a California POST certified K-9 evaluator. Scott developed the current K-9 policy his department is using, as well as several courses for in-house and ongoing training for patrol personnel. Scott has also instructed, around the country, at several International Police K-9 conferences.
Officer Danny Ramirez
Oak Brook Police Department, Illinois
Officer Danny Ramirez has been employed with the Oak Brook (IL) Police Department since January of 1997. In 2000 Danny became a K-9 handler for Oak Brook PD. In 2001 he has been a SWAT/K-9 Handler for a multi-agency SWAT team. He serves as the Team Leader for the Canine Response Unit, a multi-agency unit that responds to high risk incidents. He is currently serving on the Board of Directors for the Illinois Tactical Officers’ Association and as a Co-Chair for it's Canine Tactical Committee Danny is a Certified Instructor of Patrol and SWAT K-9 Deployment by North East Multi-Regional Training.
Master Police Officer Jeff Barrett
Lakeland Police Department, Florida
Master Officer Jeff Barrett has been a police officer in Lakeland Florida, for 22 years. For the past 20 years he’s been assigned to the K-9 Unit where he is the Senior K-9 trainer and Coordinator for his 9 dog unit. Jeff is the co-founder of the Canine Development Group and provides expert witness testimony and consulting in law enforcement K-9 related matters. Jeff is also National Director for Field Training Operations. Jeff is a certified K-9 Trainer and Evaluator with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Jeff is also a certified Level II Trainer and Judge for the United States Police Canine Association. Jeff is a current member of the NAPWDA and the USPCA where he serves as the President for Region One.
Officer Troy Johnson
Santa Clara Police Department
Officer Troy Johnsen has been an officer with the Santa Clara Police Department for 10 years. Troy has been on the SWAT team for five years and a K9 handler for four years. His duties as a K9 handler include patrol duties, narcotics detection, and containment/entry on SWAT operations. Additionally, Troy is responsible for assisting with development of K9 training for the department and local law enforcement agencies. Troy is a department range master. He is also a California POST certified instructor for First Responder/Active Shooter Training and Search Tactics.
Corporal Brad Smith
West Covina Police Department
Corporal Smith has been a police officer since 1981. He was a K9 handler for 20 years and a SWAT dog handler for 18 years.
Corporal Smith is the founder of Canine Tactical Operations & Consulting or K9TacOps for short. Corporal Smith provides consulting services to law enforcement on K-9 related issues such as: dog and handler selection, oral boards, training, report writing, policy, case law, use of force, deployment tactics for K-9 patrol deployments and K-9 SWAT operations.
Corporal Smith has provided Expert Witness Testimony and consulting to attorneys in criminal and civil cases regarding K-9 and K-9 SWAT deployments in Arizona, California, Florida, Indiana and New Mexico.
Cpl Smith also provides, basic & advanced CAnine Tactical Schools (CATS) for K-9 handlers and SWAT & K-9 Interaction During Deployment School (S.K.I.D.D.S.) for SWAT teams and K-9 units.
Corporal Smith is currently N.T.O.A.'s National Canine Chairman and Subject Matter Expert for C.A.T.O.'s (California Association of Tactical Officers) on K-9 Swat Deployment. Officer Smith has taught thousands of officers throughout the United States, Brazil and Canada. When asked I also do expert witness testimony on K-9 and K-9 SWAT related issues.
Corporal Smith has been working with California P.O.S.T. to update the Safety Guidelines for all classes certified by POST as well as working on K-9 SWAT certifications for canines that deploy with SWAT. Officer Smith is also on the K-9 subcommittee for the SWAT Operational guidelines.
He has been published in numerous publications on Canine SWAT Deployment and training. Some of these publications include: Tactical Edge, Tactical Response, Police K9 Magazine, Law & Order, Illinois Tactical Officer Association, Law Officer Magazine, Wisconsin Law Officer Canine Handler Association, Dog Sport, C.A.T.O. and Police Magazine.
Corporal Smith is a graduate of P.O.S.T.'s Master Instructor Development Program (Class #5) where he designed and implemented the first and only P.O.S.T. approved canine Swat school in California and now Arizona.
Corporal Smith has competed internationally as well as regionally in numerous police canine competitions. He has won over 60 awards including 6 Grand Championships, 4 Reserve Grand Championships and 4 Top Agencies. Officer Smith has also traveled to Europe and selected K-9's of his department and other departments.
Corporal Smith has also traveled to Brazil on 5 occasions to teach the Brazilian State Military Police and other police K9 units throughout Brazil.
