Arms - Guns - Weapons

Larry A. Smith is an expert in Use of Force, Police Misconduct, Self Defense and Taser Use Issues. He has 30 years of law enforcement experience and more than 15 years of experience training Law Enforcement Personnel in Use of Force Issues. As a detective, Mr. Smith spent thousands of hours working surveillance, writing reports, search warrants and preparing cases for the district attorney. A training Specialist at San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Academy, he was responsible for training approximately 7,000 employees every quarter in Verbal Skills, Baton, Handcuffing, Chemical Agents, and Firearms.

Mr. Smith has served as an Expert Witness for cases involving Police Use of Force, Police Misconduct, Police Policy & Procedure, Self Defense Issues, Taser Use, and Self Defense cases. He teaches on Mental Stalls, Fear paralysis and testifies on these issues in court. He has testified in San Bernardino County, San Diego County, Los Angeles County, Long Beach, and South Dakota. With his extensive knowledge of government and judicial agencies, his clients receive favorable results in judicial proceedings.

Areas of Expertise

Criminal Defense Child Custody Corporate Investigations Internal Fraud Background Checks

Polygraph Testing Cheating Spouses Surveillance Domestic Violence Process Servicing

Accomplishments of Note:
FBI Firearms Instructor Certificate
FBI Special Weapons and Tactics Certificate
Field Training Officer Certificate
LASO Special Weapons and Tactics Certificate
Chemical Agent Certificate
Verbal Judo Instructors Course

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Richard Ernest is an award winning Forensic Scientist and Consultant who has over 31 years of Experience in Analytical Criminalistics and Forensic Ballistics. During his career he has worked literally thousands of forensic cases, and testified hundreds of times. Mr. Ernest is one of a very few private forensic ballistics consultants in the United States. He also owns and operates his own independent forensic firearms laboratory. He has worked cases all across the United States. His clients include law enforcement agencies, district attorney's offices, civil and criminal case lawyers, private individuals, journalists, writers, educators and students.

Mr. Ernest has performed work on such notable cases as the Atlanta Murdered and Missing Children (Georgia vs. Wayne Williams), the Branch Davidian cases from Waco, the Texas Cadets Murder (Texas vs. David Graham and Dianne Zamora), the Miami SWAT case (USA vs. Acuna, et. al. - the Richard Brown case), and the Jayson Williams case (NJ vs. Jayson Williams).

Areas of Expertise:

Firearm Examination and Testing

Bullet and Cartridge Case Examinations and Comparisons

Ammunition Evaluation and Testing

Shooting Scene Reconstructions

Shooting Accident Reconstructions

Shooting Scene Re-enactments

Distance Determinations from Gunshot Wounds and Clothing

Gunshot Residue Analysis (GSR) and GSR Consultation

Tool Mark Examinations and Comparisons

Gun Safety and Design Issues

Serial Number Restorations

Crime Scene Examinations and Consultations

Footwear Identification

Tire Track Identification

Steven Howard provides a wide range of Consulting and Expert Witness Services to the legal professional in an ample variety of Firearms, Ammunition, Knives, Blades, Explosive Devices and many other related subjects. His Primary Area of Experience is Gunsmithing and Certified Public Armorer. Mr. Howard has a college degree in Gunsmithing and is a licensed attorney in the state of Michigan. He is a former Federal Agent with the U.S. Border Patrol and a former Federal Police Officer with the Department of Defense. He has 35 years of Gunsmithing experience and is a Certified Police Armorer.

Services Include:

All Standard Firearms

Almost all Machine Guns

Silencers

Ammunition

Testing

Shooting Scene Reconstruction

Crime Scene Reconstruction

Spears

Knives

Explosive Devices

Donald R. Schuessler, MS is a Physical Evidence and Certified Bloodstain Pattern Examiner. He has been working in Forensic Evidence Evaluation and Crime Scene Investigation since 1978. His previous work for the Eugene Police Department and as a Deputy Medical Examiner provide a broad base of experience and knowledge useful to both the defense and prosecution and have contributed to many successful case resolutions.

The only certified examiner in the state of Oregon, Mr. Schuessler provides expert witness testimony throughout the Pacific Northwest. He has given expert opinion testimony in the state courts of Oregon, Washington, California, Utah and federal courts in Oregon and Washington. He also provides consultations and case review in Oregon, Washington, California, Nevada, Idaho, New Jersey, Ohio, and Arizona.

Areas of Expertise:

Crime Scene Reconstruction Bloodstain Pattern Analysis Latent Print Identification Shooting Reconstruction - Bullet Flight Path Footwear Impression Identification Death Investigation

Serial Number Restoration Firearms Operation Identification Presumptive Blood Test Marijuana Identification Digital Photography Evidence Integrity / Chain of Custody Procedure

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Dr. Arthur Eckstat provides consulting, forensic investigation and expert witness services primarily in Personal Injury and Product Liability cases involving Consumer and Industrial Products. He's recognized as the world's leading expert on a family of Auxiliary Power Units (APU) used in both Commercial and Military airborne and ground applications. He has been retained as an expert in lawsuits involving the source of aircraft cabin air contaminants leading to Aerotoxic syndrome. In most cases, Dr. Eckstat's Initial Expert Report has been sufficient to result in case settlement.

Dr. Eckstat has over 30 years experience in gas turbine engine design, development, certification, manufacture, installation, system integration, maintenance, testing, troubleshooting, forensic investigation, and customer support. A licensed gunsmith since 1979, he brought a mechanical engineer's insight to the practice of firearms investigation, repair, and modifications. Dr. Eckstat is a fire and explosion investigator certified by the National Association of Fire Investigators.

In 1997, Dr. Eckstat was honored as a “Contributor to Aviation History” by Don Engen, Director of the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum, during a ceremony at the museum in Washington, DC.

Areas of Expertise:

• Automotive Products Ranging from Motorcycles to Motorhomes
• Firearms
• Household Products
• Sporting Goods
• Valves
• Watercraft

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Dr. Ron Martinelli, Ph.D., BCFT, CFA, CLS, is a former Criminal Justice Training Center Director and current Police / Corrections Practices, Criminal Investigations and Use of Force Instructor Consultant with a unique combination of extensive field experience and academic credentials that attorneys, judges and juries appreciate and commend. He has been representing agency defense and concerned plaintiff clients since 1991.

Dr. Martinelli serves as chief legal consultant, police practices expert and trial specialist. He has an impressive and diverse law enforcement background in police, corrections, probation and private security practices and training and premises liability. Dr. Martinelli is an experienced police practices expert qualified in Federal and State Courts who specializes in 4th, 8th and 14th Amendment litigation. He is skilled in incident reconstruction, evidence gathering, discovery, forensic legal analysis ans testimony. Dr. Martinelli is also a Board Certified Expert in Forensic Traumatology, an AELE Certified Litigation Specialist in Police/Corrections Practices and a Certified Force Analyst through the Force Science Center, Minnesota State University.

Dr. Martinelli has been referred to by attorney clients as "the expert's expert." He has a 90% case WIN ratio with over $120 Million saved defending agencies and over $30 Million recovered for plaintiff's since 2004 alone. He provides attorneys, State Attorney General Offices and municipalities with superior consulting and expert witness services in the fields of law enforcement practices, liability, negligence, litigation, criminal prosecution and criminal defense. Police practices and forensic expert to the States of NV, NM, NE, WV, Denver, Miami Beach and numerous municipalities. Forensic expert consultant to CNN Headline News, Discovery and History Channels.

Areas of Expertise:

Arrests

Search & Seizure

Use of Force / Excessive Force - All Levels and Weaponry

Officer Involved Shootings(OIS)

In-Custody Deaths

Criminal Investigations

Police Practices, Training & Supervision

Adult & Juvenile Corrections

Law Enforcement Negligence

Civilian Self-Defense, Security, Foreseeable Harm

Insurance Cases.

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Dr. Jon J. Nordby is a Professor and Medical Investigator, focusing on Forensic Science and Forensic Medicine. He specializes in Medico-legal Death Investigation, Bloodstain Pattern Analysis, Ballistics, Firearms & GSR Testing, Trace Evidence Analysis, Crime Scene Investigation & Event Reconstruction.

Services Include:

Death Investigation - Assessment of cause & manner of death and Investigation of scenes & histories of principals

Criminalistics - Trace evidence analysis, Ballistics & Firearms Examinations, and Scene investigation

Forensic Analysis - Investigation & evaluation of presented scientific evidence and Scientific Investigation & evaluation of expert testimony

Police Shootings - Administrative reviews & internal affairs investigations and Questions of Justification

Ethics - Police and Forensic Sciences

Rex T. Plant, Senior Evidence Technician at Forensic Training Services, is the past Mobile Crime Laboratory Training Coordinator for the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, DC. Mr. Plant was a sworn Senior Officer/Evidence Technician with an extensive background in Evidence Recovery and Crime Scene Examinations. He has specialized in Homicide/Death Scene Investigation in a city that was ranked one of the highest murder rates in the nation. He has over 23 years of experience reconstructing, processing crime scenes, writing reports, and training hundreds of officers and departments in the field of Forensics and Investigations across the United States and abroad.

In addition, Mr. Plant has been involved in over 30 missions, training over 1,000 US Soldiers, with the Biometrics Battlefield Forensic Mobile Training Team for the US Military, both Stateside and abroad. As an instructor and team lead/assistant team lead supervisor of 10-15 person teams, he trained deploying soldiers in the up and coming advancements and collection techniques in biometrics directly on the battlefield in theater.

Mr. Plant has been qualified on numerous occasions as an Expert Witness in the field of Crime Scene Reconstruction, Examination and Physical Evidence Recovery. His areas of expertise include:

Crime Scene Reconstruction Crime Scene Processing Criminal Case and Forensic Case Review Police Policies and Procedures Firearms and Ballistics DNA Latent Fingerprints and FootPrints

Homicide Death Investigations and Suicides Bloodstain Pattern Analysis Police Misconduct / Malpractice Laboratory Services Fire, Arson, and Explosives Narcotics

Mr. Gregory A. Danas is a Certified Expert in Firearms Technology, Design and Use. Mr. Danas is an experienced ammunition manufacturer, licensed custom gunsmith, and teaches advanced firearms training courses to thousands of citizens and law enforcement personnel. He has 27 years daily experience in intensive interaction with the public and law enforcement personnel in the application of firearms technology, design and use for all types of firearms.

Mr. Danas is qualified in the areas of: Civilian / Law Enforcement firearms training, Forensic Firearms Identification, Comparison Microscopy Illumination, Skeet / Trap Shooting catastrophic failures, Handgun Retention, Police Firearm utility, and Home Firearm Responsibility issues , Shooting Reconstruction.

Mr. Danas is available to discuss the actual and potential case merits and defenses, identify issues, fields of review and make expert recommendations. He has knowledge in defending a client in a firearm crime, violation of municipal, state or federal firearms statutes, defending or moving a civil plaintiff's case forward.

Services Include:

• Firearms Technology Design and Use
• Self Defense Event Assessment
• Tortuous Liability Assessment
• Negligent Use of Firearms / Ammunition Case Evaluation & Expert Testimony
• Internal Audits of Agency Training, Handling & Choice of Equipment
• Combat Technique & Tactic Analysis
• Assessment of Proper Weapons Handling
• Firearm Discharge Review / Analysis
• Firearms / Ammunition Functioning
• Ammunition Analysis
• Direct Referral Access to the Nation's Foremost Ballistic Laboratories:
  • Ammunition Testing
  • Body Armor Testing
  • Computerized & High Seed Video & Sound Analysis
  • Composites & Mineral Strength Testing
  • Patent Infringement Research & Analysis

Gregory D. Lee is a retired Supervisory Special Agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration with over 30 years of law enforcement experience. He was an instructor for DEA’s Office of Training at the FBI Academy and is the author of Global Drug Enforcement: Practical Investigative Techniques (2003).

Mr. Lee’s real world expertise covers the entire drug law enforcement spectrum. He is a court qualified expert witness who will thoroughly review discovery material and provide you with a written analysis of your case. See website for CV, bio, experience and contact info.

Services Offered:

Expert Witness

Written Case Evaluations

Military Justice Matters

Drug Enforcement Training

Use of Force Evaluations

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