Randy Means, Director of Curriculum Development and Quality Assurance for The Response Network, will be providing five seminars addressing law enforcement liability from November through March.
The seminars address minimizing the risk of officer misconduct, increasing officer and organizational effectiveness, and reducing the threat of individual and entity liability. These outcomes are addressed through a focus on responsible and systematic planning and implementation.
Topics of discussion will include: Officer-Citizen Contacts: Fourth Amendment Issues, Vehicle Stops and Searches: Pretext and Profiling Issues; Foot and Vehicle Pursuits; High Speed Response Driving; Use of Force Issues; and more.
“Randy Means is an expert in the field of police liability and leadership,” said Chief John Koehane with the City of Hopewell Police Department. “He has devoted his career to training law enforcement. Chiefs and senior command have an obligation to protect the agency and the community from liability and negative exposure. Randy Means’ training provides a very strong foundation in the prevention and reduction of liability in his training sessions.”
Means is an endorsed distance-learning partner of the FBI National Academy Associates and the Commission on Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies, as well as author of The Law of Policing, and a long-time legal and risk management instructor for the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
The sessions will be held:
- November 20, 2013-City of Fredericksburg Police Department
- November 21, 2013-Town of Strasburg
- March 11, 2014-Bristol, Virginia
- March 12, 2014-Radford, Virginia
- March 13, 2014-Salem, Virginia
In addition to the learning experience, sworn personnel will receive 7.5 hours of in-service credit (2.25-hours legal/5.25-hours career development). Seminar times are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with lunch being provided.
Attendance is open to patrol officers as well as supervisors and there is no limit on the number of attendees from each locality.
“Before the seminar, I was not familiar with Randy Means. I was impressed at first with his ability to capture an audience. He is a knowledgeable speaker who is well versed in case law and liability as it affects law enforcement,” said Chief N. Kuzmiak, Blackstone Police Department. “As police administrators, we all think about liability but Randy gets us to re-evaluate and really focus on simple changes we can make within our agencies to reduce our liability. For example, I left the seminar thinking about instituting an annual physical fitness test, the use of cell phones by officers while driving, response driving vs. pursuit driving and the values that we place on training; why certain training typically gets more attention than other types of training, etc.”
To register for any of the seminars please visit our website www.vrsa.us and after logging in, go to the training calendar. If you have any questions, contact Thomas Bullock, Law Enforcement Specialist at 1 (800) 963-6800.
VML Insurance Programs would like to thank ACE USA, excess liability provider, for sponsoring the Liability Prevention & Risk Management in Field Law Enforcement seminars presented by Randy Means. Randy Means, a partner in the Charlotte-based Thomas & Means Law Firm, specializes entirely in police operations and administration and assists a broad national clientele.
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