Security Special Events Expert Witnesses: 13

Michael J. Canaan, CPP CFLC, is a Premises Liability Expert Witness with over 45 years of experience in military and civil law enforcement, as well as corporate and private sector security and investigative positions.

Assignments have taken him from the Bering Sea to Southeast Alaska, across Canada and the United States, to countries in Central and South American in case venues ranging from educational settings, amphitheaters and stadiums, nightclubs and sports bars, ships, casinos, retail environments, food processing facilities, malls, and shopping centers.

Expert cases have involved evaluating failure to meet best practices, duty or standard of care in areas such as:

• Inadequate or negligent hiring, retention, training, supervision, staffing, and terminations
• Use of force or excessive force, threats, harassment, and intimidation
• Inadequate or non-non-existent policies and procedures, post orders
• Assaults, voyeurism, rape, sexual assault, robbery, shootings, stabbing, and homicide
• Security technology integration, improper or inadequate physical security infrastructure or systems installation
• Workplace violence

Mr. Canaan has worked over 35 expert cases, with testimony experience in both deposition and trial.

He is Board Certified in Security Management by the American Society for Industrial Security, International. ASIS is the largest professional security practitioner association with over 38,000 members worldwide, of which only 2200 have received this prestigious certification. Mr. Canaan is also a Certified Forensic Litigation Consultant with the Forensic Expert Witness Association.

View Michael Canaan's Consulting Profile.

Dr. Roy G. Taylor is a current Chief of Police with over 40 years of experience in a wide-range of federal, state, local, and private criminal justice positions. Dr. Taylor specializes as an expert witness in Police Practices and Procedures and Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice. Current Positions:

• Chief of Police Blue Ridge Public Safety (2014)
• President/CEO Signal 88 Security of Charlotte (2012)
• President/CEO Capitol Special Patrol (2012)
• Chief of Police Capitol Special Police (2002)
• Lt. Colonel – Provost Marshal, Army National Guard (2000)
• Antiterrorism / Emergency Management Branch Chief DoD (2007)
• Provost Marshal Joint Civil Support Task Force, Joint Chiefs of Staff (2014)

Litigation Support - Dr. Taylor is called upon to analyze cases from both defense and plaintiff perspectives. His services include case review, written reports, deposition, and trial testimony as needed. 

Areas of Expertise:

Police Standards & Practices Use of Force & Deadly Force Electronic Control Devices Standards of Conduct High Speed Vehicle Pursuits & Chases Law Enforcement Policies and Procedures

Failure to Train Law Enforcement Malpractice Failure to Supervise Violations of §1983 Civil Rights Personnel Selection & Retention Police K-9

View Roy Taylor's Consulting Profile.

Robert J. Coventry, Jr., CPP, CHS (III), has over 25 years of experience in the Security, Protection, and investigations field. He has been the Chief Operations Officer, (COO) of Starside Security and Investigation, Inc. (Starside) since 1991. Mr. Coventry is Board Certified in Security Management and a Certified Protection Professional, (CPP) with the American Society for Industrial Security, International. He is a Licensed Private Investigator, holds a Private Patrol Operator License in Arizona and California, and is a Private Investigator Security Manager in Florida. He is also a California Registered Locksmith.

Starside, under Mr. Coventry, has provided Armed and Unarmed Detention Security Officers and Transportation Officers for numerous Governmental agencies and provides security for the financial, entertainment and other commercial industries. He has nationwide and international security consultant experience in Durban South Africa prior to the World Cup, and numerous times in Mexico, France, United Kingdom, Canada, and the Cayman Islands. He has provided executive protection as well as armed and unarmed uniformed security and patrol services in both the public and private sectors. Recognized for his expertise, Mr. Coventry sits on Advisory Boards for California State University, Fullerton's Private Investigation and Security Program and Grossmont College Adult Corrections Academy.

Litigation Support - Mr. Coventry has been serving as a Security / Use of Force expert witness throughout his career. His services are available to attorneys representing plaintiff and defendant and include consulting, investigations, case Review, arbitration, and testimony.

Areas of Expertise:

Bank Security Bars / Lounges / Night Clubs Deadly / Excessive Force Hospital Security Inadequate / Negligent Security

Private Investigators Security Guards Security Management Special Event Security Workplace Violence

View Robert Coventry's Consulting Profile.

Profile: Mr. Foster has over 25 years experience in corporate security management, law enforcement and security consulting, including physical security, security guard operations,regulatory compliance, security training, and the purchase and maintenance of security equipment. As a consultant, he has developed and/or audited security programs involving financial institutions, multi-unit residential properties, hotels/motels, retail stores, high rise office buildings, shopping malls, parking facilities, college campuses, lounges, jewelry stores, truck stops and other commercial properties. He is frequently retained as a litigation consultant by law firms representing plaintiffs and defendants in negligent security lawsuits. He has testified at trial as an Expert Witness in the field of security on numerous occasions.

Mr. Foster has served as a detective with assignments in burglary, auto theft, and homicide and as the Vice President for security for a state-wide bank. He has been an adjunct instructor at two colleges teaching courses in criminology, criminalistics, criminal justice management and computer fraud. He has made numerous presentations to national security, banking, business and consulting associations and groups on a variety of security-related topics, including negligent security and risk analysis.

Services: Risk Assessments; Security Surveys and Assessment; Financial Institutions Security (ATMs, after-hour depositories); Litigation Avoidance; Litigation Consulting / Expert Witness Services.

Alan J.  Robinson brings over 35 years of Security / Law Enforcement experience to the  security, safety, fire safety, emergency management field. Mr. Robinson is a former Supervisor, Protection Services for Disney-ABC, Inc. in New York, where he coordinated the security of millions of dollars in equipment for both Reagan Presidential Inaugurations. While at Disney-ABC, he was credited with creating the first hostage negotiation training class after an incident at ABC News in Washington, D.C.

Background Experience: For  the past 25 years, Mr. Robinson has been the Director of Protection and Security Services/Emergency  Management for Atlantic Health System; a hospital system based in New Jersey where he manages: Public Safety and Security, Fire/Life Safety, Emergency  Management, Investigations, and Special Events for a healthcare system that approximately 10 million square feet of physical plant and campus, spread  throughout New Jersey.

Mr. Robinson directly and indirectly manages over one-hundred (100) security  officers, investigators, fire safety officers, emergency management officers, and contract law  enforcement officers. He has successfully navigated numerous external agency regulatory compliance  surveys including those from the “Joint Commission,” State Department of Health, New Jersey Office of Homeland Security, and New Jersey Office of  Counter-Terrorism.

Litigation Support: Mr. Robinson has been retained to provide consultation, security analysis, and security expert witness testimony by plaintiff and  defendant in a wide variety of civil suits. He is available to consult and testify in matters concerning:

Premises Liability Inadequate Security Negligent Security

Crime Foreseeability Private Security Officer Training Security Industry Standards

Areas of Expertise

Workplace Violence Prevention and Investigation · Public Safety & Security · Emergency Management · Preventing Infant Abduction · Child Predator Protection · Narcotic Diversion Investigations · Multi-Facility Management · Asset Protection · Hospital Security · Continuous Process Improvement · Crisis Event Management

View Risk and Threat Analysis Management, LLC's Consulting Profile.

Mr. Nichols specializes in cases involving sexual abuse in schools, churches, camps, mentoring programs, sports organizations, and after-school programs.  From 1994 to 2016 he served as the Vice President over child safety and facilities for Boys & Girls Clubs of America (National Headquarters). In that role he shaped the organizational policies and practices that helped protect over 4 million youth at over 4,000 sites in the U.S. and abroad. In 2016, Mr. Nichols entered private practice in two areas:  as an expert witness in sex abuse-related cases involving organizations, and as a safety/security consultant for schools and other organizations.

Mr. Nichols has authored, co-authored, or contributed to over 40 publications addressing various aspects of protecting people from harm.  Most recently, he was a reviewer and contributor to the Maryland Guidelines and Best Practices for the Design, Assessment and Modification of Physical Facilities and Spaces to Reduce Opportunities for Child Sexual Abuse (2020) by the MD State Council on Child Abuse & Neglect, and co-author of a graduate-level textbook, Extreme Violence: Understanding & Protecting People from Active Assailants, Hate Crimes & Terrorist Attacks (2021) by Cognella Academic Publishing.

Mr. Nichols is a member and past president of the National Coalition for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation, a board-certified security professional (CPP) through ASIS International and holds a Master of Science in Security Administration.

Mr. Nichols has been retained or served as a fact witness in over 30 cases, involving sexual abuse and other harm within organizations.  Examples include:

• A contract school bus driver molests a student on the bus 
• A school music instructor grooms and molests his teen student  
• A organization’s screening process misses obvious red flags 
• A college ministry fails to provide oversight to prevent an accidental death 
• A disabled child is molested by another child while being transported on a bus 
• A sports organization fails to audit its child protection program 
• A church volunteer systematically grooms and molests young boys
• Two teens rape a female, special needs student between classes 
• A child is injured on a roof during an afterschool program 
• An organization fails to provide effective sex abuse prevention resources to its affiliate
• A young boy is molested by other boys at a church retreat

View Les Nichols' Consulting Profile.

John M. White, CPP, CHPA is Board Certified in Security Management; Certified Protection Professional (CPP); Certified Healthcare Protection Administrator (CHPA); and a Published Author.

Mr. White has been a professional security practitioner, security consultant, and expert witness since 1999. He has over 40 years of experience in Corporate Security Management and Law Enforcement and Security consulting, including physical security, security operations, regulatory compliance, & security training. Prior to forming Protection Management, LLC, Mr. White served a distinguished career in law enforcement, corporate security, and the military.

As a security consultant, Mr. White has developed and/or assessed security programs involving multi-unit residential properties, hotels/motels, homeless shelters, tourism services, places of worship, retail stores, high rise office/residential buildings, food services, entertainment services, healthcare services, hospitals, long-term care facilities/assisted living, parking facilities, college campuses, lounges, and other commercial properties.

In 2013, Mr. White was approached by publisher Butterworth-Heinemann and asked to write a book on security risk assessments. That book, titled: Security Risk Assessment – Managing Physical and Operational Security was published in July 2014 and is available online through numerous bookstores.

Litigation Support - Mr. White has been retained by law firms representing plaintiffs and defendants in negligent security, premises liability, and use of force lawsuits in the field of security. His services include case consultation, document review and analysis, deposition, arbitration and mediation, and trial testimony when necessary.

Areas of Expertise:

Crime Prevention Emergency Preparedness Healthcare Security Premises Security Issues Security Risk Assessments Security Audits

Security Training Security Management Security Program Development Security Policies Use of Force Workplace Violence

View John White's Consulting Profile.

Management and Homeland Security

Dr. Hargreaves is a Brazilian emergency physician, holding an MA in Security Management (Webster University) and an MS in Political Science with a focus in International Terrorism. His passion for the field of Crisis and Disaster Preparedness having been engaged for some years as Director of the Medical Department at the Brazilian House of Representatives as well as the Emergency Coordinator of the Special Operations Unit.

His previous experience extends to planning and managing emergency response operations, disaster preparedness and homeland security, including five presidential inaugurations, mass gathering, sporting and entertainment events involving many celebrities and some official visits by Heads of State and other authorities. 

In the Academic field, Dr. Hargreaves has lectured at different Universities and worked as a speaker in many conferences abroad. He also has many years of experience as a Professor and Academic Coordinator for several Graduate programs. He is the author of various books and articles in the field of disaster preparedness, crisis management, and Homeland Security. 

Core Competencies:

Emergency and Disaster Preparedness Crisis Management Event Safety & Security Homeland Security / CBRNE Multicultural Team Integration

Online Education Public Safety Organizational Security Political Science

Languages Spoken: Portuguese, English, Spanish, French (Basic) and Italian (Basic).

Areas of Expertise:

Crisis Management Public Safety Emergency Preparedness Disaster Preparedness, Response and Recovery Health Care and Hospital Management

Hospital Disaster Plan Security Event Emergency Planning for Mass Gathering Events Disaster Preparedness

J. Patrick Murphy has over 40 years of experience in Law nforcement, Security Management, and Corporate Loss Prevention. Mr. Murphy's background as a Fortune 50 company security director provides a strategic view of operations, security planning, and liability. His continuing education in the area of security case law and his unique approach to investigating cases make him a valuable Security Expert Witness to any litigation team. His hands on approach and advice during the discovery phase of the case can often be pivotal in determining the ultimate outcome.

Mr. Murphy provides Security Expert Witness testimony for plaintiff or defense in a broad area of security liability. He specializes in Crime Analysis to establish Foreseeability and to determine the Reasonableness of security measures. Mr. Murphy has extensive litigation experience opposing Wal Mart. Plaintiff 60% Defendant 40%

Areas of expertise:

• Premises Liability and Inadequate Security - apartment communities, bars and Other adult Entertainment venues, malls and shopping centers, parking garages / lots, motel, restaurants
• Retail Loss Prevention - hiring, training and supervision, false arrest, shoplifting, excessive use of force, death during apprehensions, false imprisonment, employee theft, wrongful termination in malls, and major retail settings
• Bouncers, Bars, Nightclubs, and Security Guards - mall security, shopping center security, proprietary and contract security guards and off duty police
• Insurance Casualty Claims - adequacy of security hardware such as burglar alarms, robbery alarms, closed circuit television (CCTV), fencing, fictitious pickups of goods and cargo theft at warehouses and distribution centers

Richard D. Morman, CPP, CSSP, PPS, CSC, is a career Public Safety veteran. He served with The Ohio State University Police Division for over 29 years, retiring as the Deputy Chief of Police, a position he held for 10 years. Mr. Morman has been involved in all facets of Law Enforcement, including management and supervision, having a total of twenty two years in supervision and management. In 2010, he was selected as The Ohio State University Department of Public Safety Employee of the Year. Mr. Morman holds four professional certifications, Certified Protection Professional (CPP) designation from ASIS International, Certified Sports Security Professional (CSSP) as designated by the National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security (NCS4), Certified Personal Protection Specialist (PPS) as designated by the Executive Protection Institute, and Certified Security Consultant (CSC) as designated by the International Association of Professional Security Consultants.

Mr. Morman has vast Sports and Special Event Security planning and management experience, he is considered a subject matter expert in celebratory rioting, crowd management, sports and special event security planning and management, venue security planning and management and executive protection. In December 2011, he was invited by the US Department of Criminal Justice to present to a group of his peers in Best Practices for Large Venue Security. Mr. Morman has contributed to the Bureau of Justice Assistance publication: Practitioners’ Thoughts on Promising Practices for Securing College and University Spectator Events From Criminal Extremist Attacks and participated in developing the NCS4 Intercollegiate Athletics Safety and Security Best Practices Guide. 

Litigation Support - Mr. Morman provides expert witness services to attorneys for plaintiff and defendant which include written reports, depositions, and trial testimony as needed. 

Security and Police Practices & Procedures Specialty Focus:

Premises Liability Security  Inadequate or Wrongful Security Wrongful Law Enforcement Act Higher Education Safety and Security Sports Event & Venue Security Special Event Security

Crowd Management Executive Protection Work Place Violence Higher Education Law Enforcement Threat Assessment Teams

View Richard D. Morman's Consulting Profile.

Dr. Michael J. Fagel, PhD, CEM has over 30 years of broad based experience in a variety of fields relating to Crisis Management & Recovery, Consequence Management & Emergency Management. He provides specialized assistance in OSHA compliance assistance and training in Disaster Management, Emergency Response as well as Occupational Safety and Health. Aurora Safety has extensive experience in litigation guidance drawing from decades of experience in all phases of safety and emergency response and planning. They provide guidance to attorneys and insurance companies on a variety of topics and offer effective evaluations regarding the many facets of each case.

Dr. Fagel provides expert witness services to cases in across North America. He has served various Federal Agencies providing Occupational Safety Services at disaster sites. He also was EMS coordinator for the fire rescue division in North Aurora, as well as serving as an officer in the local fire service. Dr. Fagel currently teaches industrial safety and emergency medical services at several college locations and lectures at various professional trade conferences throughout the country. He offers Expert Witness Services and Litigation Support to attorneys representing both Plaintiff and Defense.

Areas of Expertise:

• Disaster / Crisis Management and Recovery
• COVID-19 / Coronavirus Recovery
• OSHA Compliance
• Voluntary Protection Programs (VPPs)
• Fire, EMS, Disaster Management
• Site Inspections
• Training Assessment Management and Development of Safety Programs
• Critical Incident / Crisis Management Site Inspections
• Safety Audits

View Consulting Profile.

Dr. Randall Atlas AIA , CPP is a Registered Architect, NCARB certified, and he practices Criminal Justice Architecture and Environmental Security Design. Atlas is a certified protection professional (CPP) with the American Society of Industrial Security (ASIS), and is an appointed member of the ASIS Security Architecture and Engineering Committee. Atlas has his doctorate in criminology and a masters of architecture. Dr Atlas is a member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Architecture for Justice Committee.

Dr. Atlas has taught CPTED (Crime Prevention through Environmental Design) and criminal justice courses at Florida International University, Florida Atlantic University, and the University of Miami, Keiser University, and he is a trainer with the National Crime Prevention Institute at the University of Louisville. Dr. Atlas has been a technical Assistance consultant with the National Institute of Justice, National Institute of Corrections, and the Florida Department of Corrections and U.S. HUD Drug Elimination CPTED Program.

He has conducted ADA accessibility compliance audits for private and public sector clients, and served as an expert witness on over 200 premises liability lawsuits.

Dr. Atlas has been a speaker and trainer at security conferences from New Delhi, India to Seattle, Washington and has written over 200 articles in various publications on security, safety, and counter terrorism issues.

PROPERTY MANAGEMENT EXPERT

• Depositions: 800+
• Mediations & Arbitrations: 100+
• Trial Testimony: 80 in 30 Superior Courts
• More than 10,000 properties inspected.

RETAINED BY 400 LAW FIRMS IN 30 STATES

• California, Florida, Texas, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Ohio
• Nevada, Arizona, Washington, South Carolina, North Carolina, Wisconsin
• Hawaii, Idaho, Alabama, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma
• Montana, Tennessee, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Georgia
• New Mexico, Indiana, Iowa, Alaska, Washington D.C., Virginia

STATES QUALIFIED & TESTIFIED 

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

• Standard of care; Custom & Practice 
• Building & Safety Codes Fair Housing Practices (FEHA), 
• Personal Injury (Slip, Trip & Fall)
• Premises Liability
• Slip, Trip & Fall
• Standard of Care
• Wrongful Death
• Fire Safety
• Landlord/Tenant
• Habitability, Health and Safety Codes
• HUD Housing (Section 8)
• American with Disabilities Act
• Senior Housing
• Discrimination

PROPERTY TYPES

• Multi-family Units Managed: 25,000
• Association, Hospitality, & Timeshare Units Managed: 100,000
• Associations Managed: 1,000
• Commercial Properties Managed: 1,250,000 sq.'
• Mobile Home & RV Spaces Managed: 3,800
• Single Family Units Managed: 3,500
• Commercial Property Inspections Performed: 900
• Association Property Inspections Performed: 3,600
• Parking lots & Parking Structures: Personal Injury; Snow & Ice