Firearms Consultants: 5

Dennis Fivecoat has over 25 years of Use of Force and Firearm experience in the military and private sector including significant training in the area of Civilian Law Enforcement.

Mr. Fivecoat is a retired US Army physician assistant with a wide variety of functional background and experience. He has seen service in eight different countries encompassing desert, jungle, snow, and maritime missions. His past responsibilities range from combat in SW Asia to hospital duties as an ICU nurse in South Carolina. He has responded during national hurricane relief efforts and somewhat smaller Defense Support to Civil Authority (DSCA) missions.

Training Courses:

As a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division, Mr. Fivecoat participated in Operation Desert Shield / Desert Storm. Later, he also participated in the relief and stabilization efforts after Hurricane Andrew in August 1992. In March of 1994, Dennis participated in response to the Pope AFB plane crash incident. In 2003, Mr. Fivecoat became a “plank owner” in the newly created US Northern Command (NORTHCOM) where he represented FEMA regions VI & VII (encompassing 9 US states).

Mr. Fivecoat has participated in training with all branches of US military service, various special operations forces, the US Coast Guard, and numerous alphabet agencies. He is a frequently invited guest speaker and instructor for WMD/CBRNE, hazardous materials, and tactical/austere medicine. He is also a very active firearm and defensive tactics instructor with numerous nationally recognized instructor certifications.

Prior to retiring from the military, Mr. Fivecoat has been called to duty for such incidents as Hurricane Katrina, the Las Vegas ricin incident, the H1N1 pandemic, and the US Ebola exposure incident. He retired from the US Army in 2010 and began private consulting on terrorism, DSCA, and force protection issues.

View Dennis Fivecoat's Expert Witness Profile.

AGR Police Practice Group provides robust professional Policing Services to a mix of criminal justice entities and communities. AGR counsels and collaborates with organization leadership on risk management strategies, setting the highest Law Enforcement Performance Standards. They have the proven professional law enforcement experience.to achieve case-specific goals. 

Consulting Services:

• Organizational Assessments - Policy Model Review & Future Impact

Create sound and robust policies and practices for police leadership to advance a department’s ability to deliver the highest quality services to the community. AGR has experience with single – agency police implementation and reviewing national police organization model policies. 

• High-Risk Investigations - Independent Monitoring. Oversight. Auditing

Has a crisis, such as a police shooting or police misconduct, resulted in the loss of community trust and placed the agency on the defensive? AGR has broad experience in assisting agencies in complex and sensitive investigations.

• Auditing and Inspections - Enhance Accountability, Reduce Liability, Improve Compliance

Ensuring your police agency is doing what they say they are doing, by providing auditing and inspection services.

Chief Chet Epperson, (Ret.), MBA, principal of AGR, is a law enforcement veteran with over 40 years of active service. He served with the Rockford Illinois Police Department for 33 years and the last 10 years as chief. Chief Epperson serves as an expert with two Federal Police Consent Decree Monitoring Teams with special emphasis on use of force, police shootings, training, and policy oversight.

View Chief Epperson's Expert Witness Profile.

Brian L. Landers has 20 years of Law Enforcement experience, as well as over 25 years in Law Enforcement Training and Education, including experience as a police and jail academy director and a full-time criminal justice professor.

Mr. Landers holds a Masters Degree in Public Administration, a Bachelor's Degree in Criminal Justice, and is pursuing his PhD in Forensic Psychology at Walden University. He also holds multiple certifications as a Master Trainer for law enforcement topics and use of force. 

 Mr. Landers frequently serves as a media consultant on police and criminal justice issues for ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox News affiliates. He was elected to three terms on the Columbia County Board of Supervisors (WI) and three terms as Mayor of the City of Wisconsin Dells. His trusted knowledge and experience have been recognized by those he has served in all capacities, and his expansive background has propelled him to be an incredibly reliable, trustworthy, and confident consultant.

A full-time educator and trainer, Mr. Landers' services include:

Consulting - Performance and Personnel Evaluations

Research - Use of Force Concepts, Training Guidance, and Policy Revisions

Training - Use of Force Concepts, Policy Training, and Training Curriculum Services

View Brian L. Landers' Expert Witness Profile.

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. He delivers comprehensive and intelligent Law Enforcement and Security Services to federal, state, and local governments, and is authorized to work on private or government properties including parks, any government owned buildings, land, public housing communities, hospitals, schools, or similar areas. 

Dr. Taylor's experience and expertise includes use of force and firearms instruction; recruiting, selection and assignment; employee supervision, evaluation and retention; curriculum development; policies and procedures design and implementation; canine utilization; budgeting; public relations; and emergency management. 

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)

Specific Services:

View Roy Taylor's Expert Witness Profile.

Emanuel Kapelsohn is an internationally recognized Firearms Training and Use of Force consultant who has instructed thousands of police and security officers, federal agents and others throughout the U.S. and abroad since 1980. He currently serves as a consultant to

• Manufacturers of Firearms and related products regarding design, human factors, safety and training issues; product literature including warnings and owner's manuals; development of user, instructor and armorer training programs, materials and training aids; marketing issues; and risk management
• Cities, States, and Governmental Entities regarding development, review and implementation of use of force policies, law enforcement training programs and issues, response to critical incidents, and risk management
• Law Enforcement and Security Agencies regarding selection of firearms and related equipment; design and implementation of training programs; safety surveys and safety protocols; qualification standards; development and review of written departmental firearms and use of force policies; and evaluation of specific use of force incidents and firearms accidents

A graduate of Yale University and Harvard Law School, Mr. Kapelsohn is a practicing attorney in addition to his consulting work. As vice president of the Internat’l Assoc. of Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors, he is a certified in force science and shooting scene reconstruction, and as an instructor in numerous law enforcement disciplines. 

Mr. Kapelsohn is a featured presenter at national and international instructor conferences. He has authored over 130 published articles, is Associate Editor of "Standards & Practices Guide for Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors," and principal author of "Firearms Training Standards for Law Enforcement Personnel," and "Guidelines for Simulation Training Safety."

View Emanuel Kapelsohn's Expert Witness Profile.