Monday . June 6, 2022 . 9am - 5pm ,

Kalahari Convention Center - Sandusky, Ohio

Not Deadly, but Dangerous. Practical Tips for Protecting Your Agency and your Officers from the Media Mob

Social media outrage, combined with news media laziness, has made the public response to police crises, such as officer-involved shootings, dangerous for all involved. Mark Weaver has assisted police agencies around the country when they were under attack in the court of public opinion. Using a dash of humor and case studies from his work, he will share memorable and actionable strategies for responding to the media when the stakes are high.

A former spokesman for the U.S. Department of Justice, Mark Weaver is a crisis communications expert with three decades of experience advising law enforcement and government agencies in more than 30 states and at the highest levels of national government. NBC News in Charlotte, North Carolina called Mr. Weaver “one of the nation's foremost experts in crisis communications.”

An experienced litigator and special prosecutor, Mr. Weaver previously served as the Deputy Attorney General of Ohio. He taught media law at The Ohio State University College of Law and is now an Adjunct Professor at the School of Government at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He regularly lectures to law enforcement audiences across the country.

Mr. Weaver has been interviewed by every major news outlet in the nation, including 60 Minutes, Nightline, ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, New York Times, Washington Post, and the Associated Press. His opinion columns (often defending police) appear in major newspapers and media outlets including USA Today and Newsweek. He is the author of the acclaimed book “A Wordsmith's Work,” which offers effective strategies for crisis communications and powerful persuasion.

Actual footage of a hostage rescue performed in Baltimore and the rescue of a 1-year-old and a 4-year-old. This course details everything that was successful with the hostage rescue as well as the many issues that were discovered upon closer evaluation.

Police Agent Zachary Wein Has been a member of the Baltimore City Police Department for 20 years. 15 of those years he has been assigned to the SWAT team as a team leader, designated marksman, and explosive breacher. Agent Wein is also a full-time firearms instructor with the Department. Agent Wein received the department’s Medal of Honor in reference to this event.

This presentation will talk specifically about the gaps in Law Enforcement Training that cause law enforcement personnel to suffer post-critical incidents and, in some cases, refuse to return based on the experience. The importance of comprehensive training and follow through and what to expect from the violence of the incident to the stress of the post-incident investigation and the politics both internal and external provide factors to prepare for through proper mindset training and administrative leadership in order to survive the aftermath of a critical incident.

Steve Mescan is a 27-year veteran of the City of Pittsburgh Bureau of Police and is currently assigned to the SWAT Team's Tactical Operations Section.

The section comprises subject matter experts that assist the City of Pittsburgh Bureau of Police Command Staff personnel with strategic initiatives, planning, and tactical resolve contingencies as they relate to all police operations.

Steve is the past president of the Pennsylvania Tactical Officers Association and currently serves on the NTOA Board of Directors. He is an instructor for the NTOA and co-authored the NTOA Team Leader Development Program.

He has instructed numerous state tactical associations and has consulted as an expert to area SWAT Teams concerning SWAT operations. In 2009, he was part of a subject matter expert team that developed the tactical strategic plan for the G-20 Summit held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and in 2018 was the Team Leader involved in the response to the Tree of Life Synagogue Massacre.

This discussion will focus on policing in America today, the path that got us here, and thoughts on how to effectively police a post law and order society.

Steve Ijames has been a police officer since 1979 and retired as an assistant chief with the Springfield, Missouri Police Department. Since then, he has served as chief of police in two Missouri Municipalities and currently serves as a trainer and operations officer for two Missouri law enforcement agencies. Ijames has a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice, a master’s degree in Public Administration, and a graduate of the 186th FBI National Academy.

Ijames has served in, supervised, and commanded a variety of assignments including uniformed patrol, criminal investigations, undercover narcotics, and Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT). Ijames was an original member of the National Tactical Officers Association (NTOA) board of directors and created the less-lethal force (impact projectiles, chemical munitions, and noise flash diversionary devices) instructor/trainer programs for the NTOA and the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP). Ijames is the author of the IACP National Policy Center model policies involving those technologies as well as TASER, hostage situations, barricaded subjects, and their position papers on SWAT and patrol rifles.

Ijames has personally applied resistance control measures in police operations ranging from empty hand control to deadly firearm force. Ijames has participated in, supervised, or commanded the service of approximately 2,500 search warrant entries, the resolution of approximately 150 barricaded suspect situations and the freeing of hostages in seven cases-two involving long rifle deployment and three involving crisis/rescue entry.

Ijames has provided less-lethal force, TASER, Tactical/patrol Command, and counter-terrorism training on behalf of the IACP and the U.S. Department of State across North America and in many other countries including such places as Tanzania, Bosnia, Somalia, Haiti, El Salvador, Yemen, Pakistan, Indonesia, and East Timor.

Ijames has served on a variety of high-profile critical incident and investigative police commissions including the Stern Commission in Boston, and the Rand Expert Panel for NYPD on Firearm Discharge. He has also reviewed approximately 3,000 police use of force cases for agencies such as the Los Angeles, Chicago, Phoenix, and Philadelphia Police Departments-and provides policy, training, and civil/criminal litigation consulting in a wide variety of tactical, resistance control, special operations, and agency structure related areas. He has served as a police practices/use of force expert in a number of significant police/citizen interactions in the United States, including the Michael Brown case in Ferguson, Missouri, the George Floyd case in Minneapolis, and the Daunte Wright (TASER/gun confusion) case in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota.

The threat to Officers and Law Enforcement support staff is greater now than ever before with organized crime and terrorism joining forces on many levels and unheard of numbers of officers murdered.

With this comes an increase in capabilities and ruthlessness, placing both officers and their families at risk. Awareness and understanding of the threat allow officers to develop a predator mindset and think like the treat, allowing them to adapt their personal security, limit their vulnerability and identify potential threats before they become life-threatening. The methods and actions of surveillance are visible and avoidable if you are aware of the warning signs and can be turned against those who would seek to gain an advantage over the protectors of law and order.

The unexpected is only unexpected if you do not know what you are looking for. This seminar is designed to pass on years of counter-terrorism experience and to ensure that the unexpected becomes a thing of the past.

The presentation is aimed at all levels of law enforcement from patrol officers through to Commanders, support staff, and other first responders and we actively encourage officers from all aspects of policing to attend.

Sgt. Major (ret) Mark Spicer; is a 25-year veteran of the British Army and has a worldwide reputation in the sphere of Sniping and Counter-Terrorism.

Mr. Spicer served as an expert witness in the Washington DC Sniper Trial and has served worldwide with the British and UN forces. In addition, he has worked extensively thwarting the IRA in Northern Ireland and subsequent terrorist elements throughout the former Yugoslavia region and Eastern Europe. Working within both covert and overt units, he has gained a vast experience in covert surveillance operations, often working in very close proximity to known terrorists without their knowledge.

He received an award from the Queen in recognition of his success during various counter-terrorism operations and has just completed a 3-year contract for King Abdullah II of Jordan that saw him revamp the entire Jordanian sniper program and provide protection screens for the Arab Summit, The King of Saudi Arabia’s State visit and the Jordanian Royal Family during the 100 year Independence Celebrations.