• Instructor:  Steve Peterson  REGISTER HERE
• Date: August 2, 2021
• Time:  8 am – 5 pm
• Hours: 8
• Location:  RCCC-N, Bldg 400, room 4133

In today’s society, police are more frequently encountering citizens who are fearful or distrusting of police.  Their reactions towards police are more aggressive and violent, than respectful.  Uniform Officers and Investigators need to immediately recognize the potential for a violent response during what should be routine citizen contacts.  Police need to defuse aggravated interactions before they become violent.  This 1-day class will increase the Officers/Investigator’s abilities to interview citizens and obtain important and sometimes sensitive information while maintaining rapport with potential witnesses, victims and even suspects.  Students will develop a working knowledge of how to conduct field contacts using the principles and concepts of observation, orientation, decision making and actions in response to a situation.  Other topics include:

• Indicators of aggressive behavior
• De-Escalation techniques
• Mental conditioning related to decision making
• Potential reactions to stressful situations

At the conclusion of this class, Officers will be able to:

• Identify the planning process and safety considerations for a successful interview
• Perceive potential conflicts and engage appropriate responses
• Engage advanced rapport techniques to gain trust
• Identify physical and mental reactions to stress
• How best to observe, diagnose and act appropriately to reduce violence

Lead Instructor Biography

Steven R. Peterson had been a Special Agent (SA) of the United States Department of Justice, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for nearly three decades.  At the time of his retirement, SA Peterson was the most senior DEA street agent in the world.  During his tenure, SA Peterson had been stationed in Boston, New York, Atlanta, retiring in Charlotte in 2010.  For nearly ten years he had been the DEA Atlanta Field Division Training Coordinator (DTC), responsible for coordinating and conducting training to all DEA employees within the Atlanta Division, as well as Task Force Officers, State & Local Police Officers and civilians within Georgia, Tennessee and North & South Carolina.  As a DEA DTC, SA Peterson has taught over

80,000 law enforcement officers.  Prior to training, as a street agent working undercover for over 18 years, SA Peterson received numerous awards and commendations, including appointment as Lead Investigator in the investigation of the murder of DEA SA Ray Stastny in 1987 in Atlanta.

SA Peterson was a DEA Certified Firearms Instructor, Defensive Tactics Instructor, Tactical/Raids Instructor, Clan Lab Certified, Site Safety Officer, a member of DEA’s Traumatic Incident Response Team, graduate from the DEA Instructor Development Course (IDC), a Georgia POST Certified Instructor and a DHS Certified Instructor.  SA Peterson is also the co-author of the DEA DTC Training Manual distributed by the DEA Academy to all DEA DTCs throughout the US.  SA Peterson served as the President of the National Drug Enforcement Officers Association (NDEOA) for three years, the longest term of any President in the NDEOA’s 40-year history.

In 2010 SA Peterson took over the National Law Enforcement Speakers Bureau, LLC, a network of retired DEA Special Agents and other topic specific experts, providing the highest quality of training to the law enforcement community.  He is an adjunct instructor for DEA’s Academy at the Office of Training in Quantico, VA and a full-time Instructor at the DHS Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Charleston, SC.  But most importantly, he is the husband of a beautiful wife and father of three great daughters.  In actuality, he’s just an ordinary guy battling the forces of evil in extraordinary ways.