Interrogation and Interviewing Expert Witnesses: 4

My name is David T. Sweeney.  I am a Police Policy and Procedure expert and a retired 35-year veteran police leader with Seattle Police and Oregon State University PD.  I have decades of experience supervising a large number of police officers and supervisors. I am currently employed as adjunct faculty in the School of Police Staff and Command at Northwestern University. I enjoy assisting with expert reviews of policing best practices for a variety of legal standards for police departments. As an expert witness, I have been pleased to work with both plaintiff and defense attorneys. I will give you an honest assessment of your case, so that I can provide the best reports and helpful testimony. I have experience with 40 total cases: 13 defense cases and 27 plaintiff cases.

Litigation Support - My goal is to improve best practices in policing by offering expert witness and police consultation services. I am also a trained mediator specializing in workplace conflicts. I provide honest, unbiased opinions. I will be happy to review and discuss your case. I will point out strengths and weaknesses of the case, and we can work on next steps, whether it be further case review, expert report, deposition, or trial testimony. I have spent 21 years as a sergeant and lieutenant, responsible for training and reviewing topics such as police pursuits, use of force, police tactics, de-escalation, police supervision, less lethal weapons, active shooter, SWAT, crowd control, legal standards, EEO, Human Resources, U.S. 1983 cases, and more.

 Areas of Expertise:

View David T. Sweeney's Consulting Profile.

Myron K. Smith is a Narcotics Expert with over 30 years of experience in his field of expertise. He provides Consultation and Expert Testimony in cases involving Narcotics offenses. Mr. Smith is a panelist and instructor to law enforcement officers, government officials, and grand juries on Police Procedures and Drug Identification. He has been accepted in several states (Local and Federal Courts) in all facets of narcotic criminal investigations.

Areas of Expertise:

Background Experience - Prior to founding S.E.C. Group, Inc., Mr. Smith worked with the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia for 30 years, the last 13 years in the Narcotics and Special Investigations Unit. He has been recognized as the Resident Narcotic Expert by the DC Superior Court and the US District Court of Washington, DC. Mr. Smith has been awarded over 20 citations and commendations for achievements in law enforcement as a Grade 2 Detective.

Selected Career Highlight:

• Selected as the Lead Investigator on several narcotic cases-supervising the coordinating of all appropriate personnel and required organizational efforts
• Participated in over 1,000 narcotic related investigations with the MPD and other agencies such as the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), Military Services, and Local Police Department
• Worked extensively in an “undercover” capacity on over 100 assignments to combat illegal narcotic activities
• Provided courtroom “expert testimony” in over 1,000 cases involving the prosecution of narcotic offenses

Beth A. Mohr, CFE, CFCS, CAMS, CCCI, MPA, PI, is a Police Practices expert with over 30 years of sworn and non-sworn investigative experience.  Ms. Mohr has testified as an expert in numerous state and federal court proceedings, depositions, and administrative hearings federal and state courts, including New Mexico, Ohio, Illinois, Arizona, California, and Washington state.  Ms. Mohr has testified on a variety of subjects, including police procedures, police misconduct, white collar crime and fraud examinations.  Her expertise has been verified by the courts via a Daubert challenge, in which Ms. Mohr was found to be qualified as an expert in police practices generally, and well as the specific areas of interviewing, interrogation, false and recanted confessions, cognitive bias, investigations and investigative failures, vice, and human trafficking.  Ms. Mohr is neutral, fair, and her opinions are rooted in provable facts, as well as academic literature, where appropriate.  She strives to balance her cases between defense and plaintiff-sided cases, and also provides habeas consulting services.  

Ms. Mohr is credentialed as a Nationally Certified Law Enforcement Instructor by the IADLEST, and is one of fewer than 150 individuals who have been nationally certified as an expert law enforcement instructor.  She is a Certified Fraud Examiner, Certified Force Science Analyst. Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS), Certified Financial Crimes Specialist (CFCS) and a Certified Cyber Crimes Investigator (CCCI).  She is also a Private Investigator (PI) licensed in New Mexico, Arizona, and California.  

Areas of Expertise:

• Police Practices and allegation of Police Misconduct
• Use of Force, Excessive Force, Deadly Force
• Taser, ECWs, and other uses of force intended to be less-lethal
• Interviewing, Interrogations & False and Recanted Confessions
• Police Ethics
• Investigative Failure, Cognitive Bias, Confirmation Bias
• Habeas Consulting, including death penalty cases
• False Arrest
• Failure to Train / Failure to Supervise               
• Evidence Handling
• Police Policy, SOPs
• Fraud & White-Collar Crime
• Vice & Human Trafficking
• Money-Laundering Cases
• Cryptocurrencies / Bitcoin
• Retaliation & Qui Tam
• Workplace Violence & Sexual Harassment
• Private Investigations & PI Failures

During her career with the San Diego Police Department, Ms. Mohr was awarded three Commanding Officer’s Citations, which were the highest awards offered by the San Diego Police Department for investigative acumen at the time.  After retiring from the San Diego Police Department, she conducted death penalty mitigation investigations, and other complex felony investigations, including homicide and white-collar cases, for the Whatcom County, Washington, Public Defender’s Office.  This includes conducting investigations of allegations of police misconduct for the City of Albuquerque Independent Review Office. Ms. Mohr recently chaired the City of Albuquerque’s Police Oversight Board, a civilian board which was created as part of the US Department of Justice’s Consent Decree with the City of Albuquerque and the Albuquerque Police Department.

Ms. Mohr has published a chapter entitled “Skepticism”, in the newly-released book The Art of Investigation Revisited, as well as having penned articles for bar journals and other peer-reviewed publications.  Ms. Mohr has taught courses on law enforcement topics including interviewing techniques, investigative ethics, evidence collection, financial and fraud investigations, and many other topics.  Her ethics courses, investigative courses, and fraud courses are certified for law enforcement credit.  

Adam Bercovici has over 40 years of experience in the Police and Security field. Mr. Bercovici spent 30 of those years with the LAPD, 20 as a supervisor and manager. He is currently a retired LAPD lieutenant and former security company CEO.

Background: Mr. Bercovici's leadership assignments included the Criminal Investigation Section- Major Crimes Division-The Joint Terrorism Task Force, The FBI Violent Crime Task Force ( where he supervised the FBI Fugitive Task Force), The Special Investigation Section, and Homicide Special Section. 

Since 2012, Mr. Bercovici has worked as a licensed private investigator and subject matter expert, and consultant in the areas of Police Practices and Complex Police Investigations. His clients have included major law firms, insurance companies, and corporations.  Mr. Bercovici is currently retained on several high-profile cases.  He is an experienced Expert Witness who has written numerous Rule 26 Reports and has testified in both State and Federal courts.  Writing examples can be provided.  Mr. Bercovici has been an on-air talent, producer, and script and story consultant in the entertainment industry.  He was the Co-Talent on The History Channel Series JFK Declassified-Tracking Oswald.  Mr. Bercovici was the Executive Producer for American Cartel for Discovery Plus. 

Litigation Support: Adam Bercovici splits his work between defense and plaintiff. He has been retained by major civil rights firms, major municipalities and their legal counsel, plaintiff attorneys, city attorneys, and criminal defense attorneys. Mr. Bercovici accepts work based on the merits of the individual case.

Areas of Expertise: