David W. Rivers, Sgt.(Retired) Metro-Dade Police Department,
Miami, Florida
David Rivers retired as a Detective Sergeant in the Homicide Bureau of the Metro-Dade Police Department after over 27 years of service. He was assigned to the Homicide Bureau for 20 of those 27 plus years. As a lead investigator and supervisor he conducted and assisted in the conducting of several hundred investigations. These include homicides, suicides, accidental and other death investigations. In 1988 David was assigned as the Supervisor of the “Cold Case Squad” which was responsible for the continuing investigation of information received on over 1,800 open homicides dating back to 1951. Additionally, he has consulted on cases in the United States, Canada, Holland and the United Kingdom. He has a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Nova Southern University and a Master of Science degree in Criminal Justice from Florida International University. David is a charter member and past board of director’s member of the International Homicide Investigator’s Association. He is a member of the Florida Homicide Investigator’s Association, a life member of the Homicide Investigators of Texas (H.I.T.) as well as several other state associations. He is a current member of International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association (I.L.E.E.T.A.), International Police Association (I.P.A.), Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (A.C.J.S.) and the Police Section of A.C.J.S., American College of Forensic Examiners (A.C.F.E.): Diplomat, Board Certified Forensic Examiner (B.C.F.E.), certified as an expert by the A.C.F.E. in homicide procedures. On September 22, 1987 he achieved “Fellow” status with the A.C.F.E.
Rod Englert, Chief Deputy(Retired)
Chief Deputy (Retired) Rod Englert, a 38-year veteran of law enforcement, retired as Commander of the Operations Division, Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office in Portland, Oregon, in 1995. He started his career with the Downey, California Police Department after graduating from the Los Angeles Police Academy. In 1969 Chief Deputy Englert moved to Portland, Oregon and joined the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office. A large portion of Chief Deputy Englert’s career has been associated with working major crimes, narcotics and homicide. His expertise is in the area of homicide crime reconstruction and blood spatter interpretation. Rod Englert received a Bachelor‘s Degree in Police Administration from California State University at Los Angeles and has done post-graduate work in psychology. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy, where he was President of the 159th Session. Chief Deputy Englert has conducted 492 training seminars on managing criminal investigations, solving unresolved homicides, forensic hypnosis, blood spatter interpretation and crime scene reconstruction to law enforcement personnel and district attorney’s in 35 states, as well as in Canada, Russia, and England. He has consulted in over 273 homicides in the United States. He has testified and is a qualified court expert in homicide in 20 states. Englert is a member of the International Homicide Investigator's Association, several states’ Homicide Investigator’s Associations, is a Fellow and President-Elect of the Association of Crime Scene Reconstructionists, is a Fellow in the American Academy of Forensic Scientists, and is the Past-President of the International Association of Blood Pattern Analysts. He is an adjunct faculty member and has received the Lecturer of Merit and Distinguished Faculty Awards from the National College of District Attorneys.
Thomas L Martin, Jr
Tom Martin is a sworn crime scene investigator for one of the largest police agencies in the country. He has worked in forensics since 1988 and has supervised the forensic crime scene unit since 1996. Tom has investigated thousands of forensic cases; including, murder, serial and mass murders, police involved shootings, bombings and sexual assaults. Tom’s training and experience encompass several fields of expertise, including: forensic crime scene reconstruction, latent print processing and identification, blood stain pattern analysis, and forensic composite art. He serves as a consultant for The National Institute of Justice and currently sits on the NIJ Technical Working Group for Sensor and Surveillance Technology. Tom is a nationally recognized speaker who has instructed at numerous forensic training seminars across the United States including: the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, The National Institute of Justice and the Smithsonian Institute. Tom serves as a faculty member for the National College of District Attorneys and the International Association of Chiefs of Police, (IACP). He has lectured, on several occasions in Washington, D.C., providing presentations to executive officials of the National Institute of Justice and members of the United States Congress. Tom has appeared on several forensic related television shows including: the HBO series “Autopsy”, the Court TV series “Trace Evidence”, has filmed several episodes for the Discovery Channel and has appeared on Court TV as an expert guest analyst. Tom is the author of the Crime Scene Forensics: A Field Guide for the First Responder pocket guide series published by Looseleaf Law.
Sergeant Mike J. Coker (Retired)
Sergeant Coker brings a motivational style of lecture to classes and speaking engagements across the Nation on the topics of Leadership/Supervision and Domestic Violence issues. Mike served as a police officer for 20 years in the Portsmouth, Virginia Police Department. Mike held several supervisory assignments during his tenure: Field Training Officer, Uniform Patrol Supervisor, Homicide and Robbery Squad Commander, Domestic Violence / Sex Crimes Supervisor, School Resource Supervisor, Robbery Task Force Squad Commander, Shift Commander, and Administrative Assistant to the Chief of Police. Mike is a graduate of Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership at the University of Virginia, and the State University Leadership Course at Pamplin College - Sponsored by the Virginia Police Chief's Association in Blacksburg, Virginia. Mike's teaching experience includes: The Polaroid Corporation, United States Postal Service, U.S. Attorney's Office - Northern Mississippi District, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police, Idaho P.O.S.T., Miami-Dade Police Department, Idaho Governor's Task Force, Suffolk County Long Island, New York, Virginia Juvenile Court Judges, Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services, Texas P.O.S.T., Academy of Criminal Justice Services, Eastern Virginia Medical School, St. Louis County Police Training Academy, The U.S. Virgin Island Police, the Island of Mai and Hilo Hawaii Police Departments, Col. Henry F. Williams Homicide Seminar hosted by New York State Police, to name a few. Mike is a past Board of Director's member of Help Emergency Response (HER) - a local battered women's shelter in Portsmouth, Virginia.