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Media KitPursuitWatch maintains this media page as a resource for reporters or researchers. Included are useful quotes, websites, and contact information from a diverse group of individuals dedicated to a common cause: safer and smarter police pursuits. We welcome your inquiries. |
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Speakers: Here Quotes: Here A sample of publications, appearances featuring PursuitWatch:
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Speakers: |
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| Click on the speaker's names for more information: | ||
Dr. Geoffrey Alpert University of
South Carolina
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| Dr. Geoffrey Alpert University of South Carolina | ||
| Dr. Geoffrey Alpert is a Professor of Criminal Justice at the University of South Carolina. He received his Ph.D. in Sociology from Washington State University in 1975. Since that time he has concentrated his research and training on high-risk police activities including use of force, deadly force, and pursuit driving. He is an internationally acknowledged expert in these fields, and is quoted and sited in countless newspapers and periodicals. He is the principal researcher of many studies including Police Pursuit: Policies and Training and Helicopters in Pursuit Operations, written for the National Institute of Justice. He is currently conducting a study on racial profiling, and continues to assist police departments by writing and evaluating policies, training and accountability systems. | ||
| Email geoffa@mailbox.sc.edu Web DeadlyForce TOP | ||
| Brenda and David Ehrensperger PursuitSAFETY Governing Board Members (Alabama) | ||
| Brenda and David have been members of the organization since early 2008 and requested that PursuitSAFETY’s mission be expanded to include tragic police response calls. They spoke to officers of the Troy, Alabama, Police Department. Brenda has written articles for PursuitSAFETY’s website including The Steven Ehrensperger Story and If Only…. Brenda has worked for a nonprofit research and development organization since 1981. She serves on the Senior Leadership Team and directs all activities related to grant and contract administration for over $80 million in research funding per year. She is recognized for her knowledge of both federal contracting and grant regulations and commercial business practices. Brenda, like PursuitSAFETY, has a passion for protecting the most important people in our lives—the people we love. “Public safety should be the goal at all times,” Brenda says. “I believe we can prevent other families from going through the unrelenting pain and grief that my family has suffered needlessly. Most people are unaware that so many innocent people are injured or killed as a result of responder calls and police chases. Most people don’t think much about it—until it happens to someone they love.” | ||
| Phone (Brenda) 205-915-5229 (David) 205-915-0360 Email ehrensperger@hotmail.com Web David and Brenda Ehrensperger TOP |
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| Jonathan “Jon” Farris PursuitSAFETY Board Chairman/InsuranceRescue.org (Wisconsin) | ||
Jon is a man of service. He built and maintains an informative website, paulfarris.org. It is a tribute to his son Paul, 23, an innocent victim of pursuit. It is a place to honor and remember Paul. A place where family and friends can see and listen to Paul and his music. A place to visit and reflect about the frailty of life. This pursuit occurred during the 2007 Memorial Day weekend. Paul, a 2006 graduate of Tufts University was killed after a sport utility vehicle being chased by State Police crashed into the taxi cab in which he and his girlfriend Katelyn Hoyt were passengers. Also killed was the cab driver, Walid Chahine, 45. Katelyn's injuries have improved. She will never fully recover from her injuries. Jon shares this story of two innocent victims dead and a wonderful young woman injured for life. Why? As any parent would do, Jon questions the necessity of a pursuit for a minor traffic violation that traveled down a crowded 25 mph posted street at over 75 mph. Jon has amazing insight about this public safety issue: "Pursuits, like the one that killed Paul and Walid and so seriously and permanently injured Kate, happen every single day - and someone else's son, daughter, mother, father, family of friend dies every single day. "Police pursuits, for the most part, are merely a passing newspaper story or television headline, forgotten by readers and viewers a few minutes later. But for the hundreds of relatives and thousands of friends of these innocent victims, the pain is real and never goes away. Never.” |
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| Phone 612-804-5868 Email jon@paulfarris.orgWeb Jon FarrisTOP | ||
| Chief Tim Fitch St. Louis County Police Department (Missouri) | ||
Chief Tim Fitch is a 28-year veteran of the St. Louis County Police Department in St. Louis, Missouri. Chief Fitch is a graduate of the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia, and holds a bachelor of science degree in criminal justice and a master’s degree in management.
Police radio tapes are immediately made by communications personnel and the “Post-Pursuit” package is reviewed through the chain of command to the Chief of Police. |
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| Phone 314-615-4294 Fax 314-615-2501 Email Tfitch@stlouisco.comTOP | ||
| Ret. Capt. Thomas “Tom” Gleason Law Enforcement Valor Instructor (Florida) | ||
Ret. Capt. Thomas "Tom" Gleason is a veteran speaker. Audiences always applaud him for his passion for law enforcement training. Tom's passion led him to the position of coordinator of the Law Enforcement Academy for the Florida Public Safety Institute from 2006 to 2009. He now instructs for Florida Public Safety Institute, North Florida Community College, and Alert International. He teaches in the areas of human diversity, patrol procedures, first aid, firearms, police pursuit policies, diversity in education, introduction to education, and handling the mentally ill. He served 30 years in city, county, and state law enforcement. In 2009, Tom accepted a position as captain in charge of training and acquisitions with the Florida Department of Financial Services. He became responsible for developing and overseeing training for the 150 detectives working throughout the state of Florida who investigate insurance fraud. During his tenure, he oversaw the transition from Sig. Sauer 9 MM to Glock .40 caliber. Tom holds a master’s degree in education and a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. He has published two articles dealing with police training and domestic violence. In 2000, he was chosen as part of a team to teach the course “Dynamics of Domestic Violence” to Moldavian police officers and volunteers. Ret. Captain Gleason began serving on PursuitSAFETY's advisory board April 2012. Tom's son Brian was killed in the line of duty as a Military Police Officer when the patrol car he was a passenger in ran off the road and hit a curve. Tom states: "When my son was killed, I made a commitment to do what I could to see if I could keep any other parent from hearing the same horrible news." Tom speaks to officers about Brian's death. |
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| Phone 850-251-9983 Email thomasgleason@comcast.net Web Tom Gleason | ||
| Candy Priano PursuitSAFETY.org (California) | ||
On January 22, 2002, as Candy Priano sat in a California hospital, the people responsible for the Chico police pursuit were all going home to their families: the police and the three girls in the fleeing car, even the driver, an unlicensed 15-year-old girl who had taken her mother’s car without permission. She went home with her mother! The Priano family, all innocent victims of this unnecessary pursuit, spent seven days at the hospital praying for a miracle; a miracle that their own 15-year-old daughter, Kristie, would live and be okay. But that was not to be. Beautiful Kristie died. Mark Priano, Kristie's dad, later recovered from his serious physical injuries, as did Kristie's brother Steve, and Candy, Kristie's mom. Physical injuries have long since dissipated, but the emotional toll, the senseless death of a loving daughter, devoted sister, honor student, athlete and community volunteer will be with the Priano family forever. Seven months after Kristie was killed, the Prianos, with the help of Victims of Police Pursuits, a group no longer in existence, started to learn all they could about California's pursuit laws. California State Senator Sam Aanestad carried Kristie's Bill with the hope that this measure would become law in 2004, the year Kristie Priano would have graduated from high school. But that was not to be either. Candy still sees the day when Kristie's Law will become a California state law and save the lives of innocent bystanders and officers. Today, Candy is doing something she never dreamed of -- giving a presentation called "The Other Side of the Windshield." She has learned about the good and bad of police pursuits and is still searching for the "Why?" Why is this dangerous police tactic so widely accepted as keeping the public safe? Candy's presentation, to increase public awareness of the dangers of police pursuits, has been well received and given to officers at their academies and at international law enforcement conferences, in the educational arena at the university level, and to civic/community groups. Law enforcement departments use Candy’s video and PursuitSAFETY’s public service announcements in their training classes. Candy is the founder and executive director of Voices Insisting on PursuitSAFETY. Learn more about Candy's work with families impacted by vehicular police pursuits and her unending endeavor to prevent the tragedy of pursuit from happening to others. |
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Phone 530-343-9754 Email candy.priano@pursuitsafety.org Web PursuitSAFETY.org and KristiesLaw. org TOP |
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| Kimberly Schlau (Illinois) | ||
Kimberly Schlau serves as Voices Insisting on PursuitSAFETY’s Team Leader for the Midwest. She became involved with PursuitSAFETY, a national nonprofit public safety organization, about a year after the deaths of her two oldest girls, Jessica and Kelli Uhl. Jessica, 18, and Kelli, 13, were killed November 23, 2007, when an Illinois state trooper was driving at a reported speed in excess of 120 miles per hour to respond to a secured accident scene. He crossed over the highway median striking theirs and another vehicle. Since their deaths, Kim has dedicated herself to preventing the same type of tragedy from striking other families. Working with PursuitSAFETY led to Kim's invitation to speak to recruits of the St. Louis County & Municipal Police Academy. Kim's presentation was graciously received as evidenced by a plaque, which reads in part "please accept our sincere appreciation for your assistance in providing insight into the human side of the training of Basic Police Recruit Class #172." Kim and her family attended the academy's graduation ceremony where she received this plaque. She has been invited to speak to the new recruits in December. Kim is a paralegal by trade, writer by choice. Her main blog, Parachuting Without a Net, started out as a lunch-hour diversion, but after several personal tragedies, became a form of therapy. It is here where Kim writes about the impact of her girls’ passing, raising her youngest daughter, Madelyn, and other personal items. Sometimes poignant, often humorous, and always honest, Kim writes about her life with a voice that many can relate to. She also maintains a website dedicated to Jessica and Kelli, and contributes to Girls Guide to the Galaxy as a fashion and beauty columnist. She also is an editor for an online St. Louis women’s magazine. Her writing has lead her to take an active role as a board member for the St. Louis Bloggers Guild. After establishing an annual fundraiser, scholarships, and several blood drives in Jessica and Kelli’s memory, she has began working with other bereaved families to help them establish memorial fundraisers and foundations in their childrens’ memories. |
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| Phone/Fax 618-407-2321 Email kimberly.schlau@gmail.com TOP | ||
| Capt. Travis Yates Tulsa Police Department (Oklahoma) | ||
| Capt. Travis Yates began his law enforcement career in 1993 with the Tulsa Police Department. He became a certified law enforcement driving instructor in 1997 and was promoted to the rank of Corporal in 1998. He obtained a Master of Science Degree in Criminal Justice from Northeastern State University the same year. After a serving a year as a Gang Task Force Supervisor, Travis was promoted to the rank of Sergeant in 1999. With a keen interest in training issues, Capt. Yates became involved in teaching courses at the training center and the Field Training Program, training new supervisors. In addition, he worked at Rogers State University as an Adjunct Criminal Justice Professor. In 2000, Capt. Yates was placed on a safe driving committee based on his training efforts in the field of law enforcement driver training. Travis' efforts were tremendous. He built new curriculum and driving courses, while implementing training days for current instructors. Through his mandatory curriculum in 2001, at-fault collisions for officers were reduced by 18%. He was awarded a Chief's Medal in 2003 for his efforts. In 2002, Capt. Yates implemented an innovative program called the "Safety Check Ride". This program placed driving instructors with Police Officers during the course of their duty in an effort to evaluate their driving habits. In addition, Travis has built curriculum for elective in-service training and was responsible for one of the first live scenario based curriculums to be placed in an academy driver training setting. In 2002, Capt. Yates completed a comprehensive instructor manual for each Tulsa Police Law Enforcement Driving Instructor. Through his efforts, he is ensuring that the gains of the past will not be abandoned in the future. The curriculum, training manual and course diagrams caught the attention of several other police departments around the United States. In 2003, Travis set up a web site in an effort to share his information with other instructors. Today,www.policedriving.com receives thousands of unique visits each month and has assisted countless police departments around the World. Travis continues his efforts in the field of driver training and safety. He is pursuing stricter penalties for eluding suspects in Oklahoma and teaches in a Nationally Recognized Instructor School. Travis was promoted to Captain in early 2004, In addition to his duties as a shift commander he continues to administer his department's driver training unit as a team leader. Capt.Yates is responsible for curriculum building, department policies and several administrative duties within the unit. Travis remains a national advocate for safer pursuits, sound policy and mandatory training. | ||
| Email policedriving@yahoo.com Web Police Driving TOP | ||
| Quotes by Subject | ||
| Pursuit Statistics DUI Training | ||
| Conduct of Pursuits Media and Pursuits Public and Pursuits | ||
| Mandatory Reporting Police Officers and Pursuits Pursuits and Crime | ||
| Page under construction: Quotes will be posted by 4/23/2012 | ||
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a national 501(c)3 nonprofit organization |
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| ©2012 PursuitWatch All Rights Reserved. |
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