The National Tactical Officers Association (NTOA) Announces New Section Chairs
OutdoorHub 05.15.14
The National Tactical Officers Association (NTOA) is pleased to announce four new Section Chairs, who will act as a point of contact for association members seeking advice or information on matters related to that discipline. Section Chairs provide information and / or recommendations on subject matter within the discipline to the NTOA Board of Directors for its consideration / disposition.
The new Section Chairs include:
BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES: Dr. LaMaurice Gardner is a fully licensed clinical psychologist working at the John Dingell V.A. Medical Center in Detroit, MI. He is a reserve / lt. deputy for the Oakland Co. SO, Lapeer County SO and Genesee County SO. Dr. Gardner is also the department psychologist for the Detroit PD. He is an adjunct faculty member at the Oakland Police Academy, Macomb Police Academy and Law Enforcement Officers Regional Training Commission. He has been trained in critical incident stress debriefing, hostage negotiations and special weapons and tactics. Dr. Gardner is a crisis negotiator, tactical officer and department psychologist for local departments, the Michigan State Police and several law enforcement agencies. He maintains a part-time clinical private practice devoted to the treatment of law enforcement personnel and their families.
CORRECTIONS: Captain Keith Moon began his career with the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections in 1990 at SCI Waymart, where he was a part of the Corrections Emergency Response Team (CERT). During that time, a hostage rescue course was developed for institutional CERT Programs, which was later regionalized under the direction and leadership of Capt. Moon. Through the ranks of Sergeant and Lieutenant, Capt. Moon has worked at SCI Coal Township and Muncy. Currently, he is the hostage rescue team coordinator and leader for the PA Department of Corrections. Capt. Moon served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1984-1988.
LESS-LETHAL: Lt. David Pearson is a 24-year veteran of law enforcement and has served with the Fort Collins (CO) Police Services since 1995. During his career, Lt. Pearson has served as a SWAT team leader and an instructor in defensive tactics, tactical firearms, mobile field force, incident command, active shooter and high-risk patrol tactics. Since 2005, he has been an NTOA instructor in a variety of disciplines and currently serves as NTOA’s Less-Lethal Section Chair. Lt. Pearson was awarded a Life-Saving medal for actions during a major flood, as well as the Medal of Valor for actions in both patrol and SWAT/
PATROL: Don Alwes is a trainer and consultant with 33 years of law enforcement experience. He has served as an adjunct instructor for Kentucky’s Department of Criminal Justice Training for 15 years. Alwes is a lead instructor for NTOA’s Police Response to Active Shooter and School and Workplace Violence courses. He has also instructed in the areas of terrorism, homeland security, firearms, tactics, vulnerability assessment and executive development. As a team leader, Alwes supervised and performed anti-terrorism assessments. He has served as a subject matter expert for projects sponsored by the NIJ and other agencies. He currently serves part-time with the Wilmore (KY) PD.
