President
 Lieutenant
Richman has over 19 years of law enforcement experience, beginning his career
in the United States Air Force where he served as a Security Forces Law
Enforcement Specialist. While active-duty and later as a reservist, Richman was
a member of Kelly Air Force Base’s Security Police Emergency Services (SWAT)
and Defender Challenge Teams. Prior to leaving active duty in 1996 to join the
Austin Police Department, Richman obtained his Peace Officer license and worked
as a Reserve Police Officer for the City of Fair Oaks Ranch Police Department,
Fair Oaks Ranch, Texas.
Since working for the Austin Police Department, Lieutenant Richman worked
uniformed patrol in downtown Austin before being assigned to Bike Patrol on
Sixth-Street, Austin’s party district. In
1999, He was assigned to the Austin Police Department’s Executive Protection
Team and attached to the United States Secret Service during President George
W. Bush’s 2000 run for the White House. Lieutenant Richman was also assigned to
uniformed patrol in southeast Austin prior to promoting to detective and has
also worked assignments with the Fugitive Apprehension and the Crisis
Intervention Teams.
After promoting to detective in 2001, Richman worked the Southeast Area
Decentralized crimes, Child Abuse and Integrity Crimes Units. He promoted to
Sergeant in October 2006 and was assigned to Southwest Area Patrol Services. In
February 2008, Richman was assigned to the Austin Police Academy's Learned
Skills Unit specializing in Firearms and Defensive Tactics before promoting to
the rank of lieutenant in 2011. He’s
currently assigned as the Region III Patrol Operation Lieutenant. Richman
became a Critical Incident Team Field Negotiator in 1998, was selected as a
Team Leader in 2003, named as one of four Team Supervisors in 2007 and chosen
as Team Lieutenant in 2011.
Prior to being elected as President of the association, Lieutenant Richman
served 4 years on the Board of Directors as Vice President, Region IV. Richman
is a member of the National Conference of Negotiation Associations and serves
on the Texas Commission of Law Enforcement Officers Standards and Education
Firearms Committee.
In addition to being a graduate of the West Point Leadership Academy, Richman
is a TCLEOSE certified Police Instructor, Mental Health Officer, TCLEOSE Police
Firearms Instructor and holds a Master Peace Officer Certificate. Richman
regularly speaks nationally regarding Negotiation and Leadership topics and has
published a number of articles in law enforcement periodicals.
Vice President Membership
 Lori holds a Bachelor's and Master's Degree in Social Work, both from the University of Texas at Arlington. She is a Licensed Master Social Worker and has her Basic Instructor Certificate from TCLEOSE. She is a member of the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office Negotiation Team, Dallas Area Critical Incident Stress Management Team, National Organization for Victim Assistance, Texas Council on Family Violence, Tarrant County Coalition of Crime Victims Services, Tarrant County Family Violence Coalition, Law Enforcement Victim Assistants, Concerns of Police Survivors and the Texas Association of Hostage Negotiators. Lori has been with the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office since April 2003 as the Victim Assistance Coordinator. Prior to working for Tarrant County, she was with the City of Coppell as the Victim Assistance Coordinator. Lori has also worked as a therapist at a local psychiatric and chemical dependency hospital, as well as, having previous Victim Assistance experience through the Arlington Police Department. Lori's background includes working with victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and other violent crimes, at-risk youth, chemically dependent persons and the mentally ill. Lori's duties in the Victim Assistance Department include crisis counseling and short-term counseling, on-scene assistance, providing information on Crime Victim Compensation, providing case status information and court accompaniment, and assistance with referrals to area social service agencies. Lori is also responsible for overseeing the Victim Information and Notification Everyday (VINE) contract for Tarrant County. She is also an instructor for the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office, the Dallas Area CISM Team, and the North Central Texas Regional Police Training Academy.
Vice President Public Relations
 Brent Sheets began his career in public service while volunteering for the American Red Cross of Southwest Texas. In 2001, he responded to Tropical Storm Allison. While in Houston, he provided mass care for affected families. In the same year, Brent worked in conjunction with the Department of Defense assisting with family services and case review for families affected by 9-11 at the Pentagon.
Brent graduated from the Odessa College Law Enforcement Academy in March 2002. He began his career in April 2002 as a cadet with the Odessa Police Department. In this position, he assisted the Training Sergeant with coordination of conferences and training. In February 2003, Brent was sworn in as a police officer for the Odessa Police Department. While working for OPD, Brent received an Associate Degree in Law Enforcement Technology from Odessa College in 2005 and subsequently received his Intermediate Peace Officer’s Certificate. Brent became a TCLEOSE certified trainer in the same year. He assisted with and led training for the department. In 2006, he became a member of the Crisis Intervention Unit and the Texas Associations of Hostage negotiators. Brent participated in various community projects, including fund raising for Special Olympics. He was also the liaison between Red Cross and OPD. Brent was a member of the Odessa Police Department’s Patrol Division for five years.
After leaving OPD, Brent became a member of the Midland Police Department. He is currently assigned to the Field Operations Bureau. Brent is also a member of the Midland Police Department Crisis Negotiations Unit. He has assisted with peaceful ending of several armed subject negotiations. As a TCLEOSE certified trainer, Brent actively helps provide new training to the department. Brent currently holds a Mental Health Peace Officer Certificate and an Intermediate Peace Officer License.
Brent remains very active in his community. As a past board member of the American Red Cross of Southwest Texas, he continues to volunteer when needed. He remains a main contact between Red Cross and OPD as well as MPD. He responds to house and structure fires in Midland/Odessa and the surrounding 24 counties assisting families affected as well as fire fighters on scene. In 2008, Brent responded to the Alon explosion in Big Spring. He also coordinates the Midland Police Department fund raising efforts for the Texas Law Enforcement Torch Run benefiting Special Olympics Texas. Brent participates in various MPD community efforts such as the Cancer Walk and Muscular Dystrophy.
In 2008, Brent became a TAHN Board Member by Special Appointment. He assisted the Vice President of Public Relations. Some of his duties have included writing periodic newsletters. He also assisted with the First Responder Negotiations course in Dallas, TX. In 2009, Brent was elected as Vice President of Public Relations. At the 2009 THAN Conference in Lewisville, Texas Brent was named the 2009 Member of the Year.
Vice President Training
 Tom Catron started his career in public safety in 1993 as a communications officer for the Springtown Police Department. Over the next several years he worked in communications for the Azle Police Department and the Wise County Sheriff's Office. He left the law enforcement field for 3 years where he served as a communications supervisor for CareFlite, a helicopter ambulance service in the north central Texas area. In 1997 Tom attended the police academy and returned to Springtown Police Department where he was employed as a patrol officer. After leaving Springtown PD he worked as a campus police officer for the Tarrant County College District. While employed at the college he was responsible for patrol as well as criminal investigations. Also while employed by the college, he played a part in forming a district wide crime prevention program.
In 2002, Tom became a member of the Burleson Police Department. He was assigned to the patrol section for 3 years before being transferred to the Criminal Investigation Section as a detective. While working for the Burleson Police Department Tom has become a Field Training Officer, an Intoxilyzer Operator and a member of the Crisis Negotiation Team.
Over the last four years at Burleson Police Department, Tom has received several awards and commendations. In 2004 he was selected by his peers as Officer of the Year. In 2005 he received a police commendation for successfully negotiating the surrender of a barricaded person. He also received a Medal of Valor of the peaceful resolution of a confrontation with an armed suspect.
Tom became a member of TAHN in 2003 after completing his basic hostage negotiation class. Tom has assisted with creating conference training CD's and taught classes during the annual training conferences.
Treasurer
Officer Scott Fundling began working for the Dallas County Sheriff's Department as a civilian jailer in 1988. In 1989, Scott graduated from the Dallas County Sheriff's Academy and worked there until 1992 when he was hired by the Rowlett Police Department. Scott is a Field Training Officer, has an Advanced Accident Investigator Certification, and is an Intoxilyzer Operator. He also holds his Master Peace Officer's License. Scott is also trained in CISM/Peer counseling and has a Mental Health officer certification. In 2004, Scott completed his Bachelors of Science degree in Criminal Justice Administration from Columbia Southern University with his sights set on earning his masters degree.
In 1997, Scott attended a T.A.H.N/FBI basic negotiator school and has been a member of T.A.H.N since then. In 2000, he was named Team Leader for the Rowlett P.D. Crisis Negotiation Team. In his off time, Scott likes to try to play golf and helps coach his son's baseball team.
Secretary
 Kevin J. Ryan has over 33 years of experience as a peace officer and detention officer. He started working as a peace officer with the Texas Tech University Police Department. He worked in Patrol, Communication and Administration. He worked there for 23 years until retiring as the Patrol Lieutenant. He started working at the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office in May, 2001. While at the Sheriff’s Office, he has worked in Detention and Logistics. He is currently assigned as a Lieutenant in the Detention Division. In 2002, he was selected as the Supervisor of the Year. In 2003, he received a life saving award for preventing an in-custody suicide. He is a Certified Jail Manager through the American Jail Association and a Certified Correctional Supervisor through the American Corrections Association. He recently completed the National Jail Leadership Command Academy at Sam Houston State University. He currently holds a Master Peace Officer Certificate, Advanced Jailer Certificate, Instructor Certificate, Firearm’s Instructor Certificate, SAFVIC Instructor Certificate and Standardized Field Sobriety Instructor Certificate. He has over 3,700 TCLEOSE classroom training hours. He instructs in the Basic Peace Officer Academy and the Basic Jail School covering several topics. He instructs several intermediate detention officer, peace officer and supervisory classes. He instructs sexual assault and family violence classes around the panhandle region. He has been selected to speak this year at the American Corrections Association Winter Conference and the American Jail Association Conference.He joined the Crisis Negotiation Unit in 2002. In 2003, he was selected to be the team leader. During his tenure as team leader, he increased the number of negotiators on the team from six to eight and he scheduled regular training for the negotiators to ensure they receive at least 40 hours of training per year. He was recently elected as Secretary for the Texas Association of Hostage Negotiators.
Vice President Region I
 Sergeant Joe Jimenez started his career as a Police Officer with the Richardson Police Department in 1985 and was assigned to the Patrol Division. In 1993 he was transferred to the Investigation Division as a Detective and served in several capacities. In 1997 he was transferred to the Vice and Narcotics Section in the capacity of an undercover agent. His responsibilities included hand to hand drug buys/sales, and investigation of gambling and prostitution. In 2003 he was assigned to assist the FBI NTJTTF in the investigation of International terrorism and in 2004 was deputized as a Deputy U.S. Marshal and transferred to the FBI Counter Terrorism Unit. In 2005 he was promoted to Sergeant and was transferred to the Patrol Division where he still serves as a Field Sector Sergeant. He has been a negotiator since 1993 and has been involved in numerous incidents throughout his career. He has received extensive training in Hostage/Crisis Negotiations during his tenure as a negotiator, and has assisted in the selection process for negotiators for the ATF. He also has served as a Judge/evaluator at the SWT annual Negotiator Competitions in San Marcos since 1994.
Sergeant Jimenez served two terms as a Board Member of the Texas Association of Hostage Negotiators. Joe was decorated in 1995 with a life-saving award by his agency and in the same year received the "Negotiator of the Year North Region" award from the Texas Association of Hostage Negotiators. He is certified as a Mental Health Peace Officer and is the Team leader on his agency’s Hostage Negotiation Team.
Vice President Region II
 Sergeant Morrow began working for the Tyler Police Department in June of 1980, has been a Sergeant since 1988, and currently manages a police substation and supervises the Property Crimes Investigation Unit. Prior to this assignment Sgt. Morrow was assigned to the Integrity Unit for several years. He served in the Patrol Division as a supervisor and also spent three years as the department's Public Information Officer. Sgt. Morrow holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from William Patterson University of New Jersey, a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from the University of Texas at Tyler, a Master Peace Officer Certificate, a TCLEOSE Instructor's Certificate, and is a graduate of the Bill Blackwood Law Enforcement Command College of Texas. He has been a negotiator on the T.P.D. Crisis Negotiation Team since 1994 and is currently the Commander of the team. He is in his sixth-two year term as a member of the board of the Texas Association of Hostage Negotiators, currently serving as a Vice President representing Region II, and is past president of the organization. He is a member of the East Texas Critical Incident Stress Management Team, and was part of a local team that responded to the World Trade Center Ground Zero site as peer counselors in the aftermath of the 9/11 attack. Sgt. Morrow has instructed at the Tyler Junior College Police Academy, was a part-time instructor of Criminal Justice at Tyler Junior College for several years, has taught the TCLEOSE Instructors Certification Class, and led a team that developed and taught a Crisis Intervention Training curriculum for all Tyler P.D. officers. Sgt. Morrow is also a graduate of the Dale Carnegie Course and Leadership Tyler Class XI. He is a recipient of the 1999 East Texas Crisis Center Hope Award, and currently serves on the Crisis Center Board of Directors. He has been a United Way Loaned Executive since 1999, received the Loaned Executive of the Year award in 2001, served as Chair of the Loaned Executives for 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007, is currently on the board of directors and is an advisory board member of 2-1-1 of East Texas. Other community service includes being a past board member of the Tyler-Smith County FEMA-EFSP, and a past member of the board of the Literacy Council of Tyler. Sgt. Morrow is a 32nd degree Scottish Rite Mason and Shriner, and is an active member of the First United Methodist Church of Jacksonville.
Vice President Region III
 Senior Police Officer Thad Sarton began his police career with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office in 1993. In 1994, he joined the Houston Police Department and worked several years in patrol and received numerous commendations while working undercover with the Northeast Divisional Tactical Unit. In 2002, Thad joined HPD’s Hostage Negotiation Team as one of 4 full-time negotiators that respond to all calls involving suicides in progress and barricaded suspects. When not responding to special-threat situations, he is involved in training negotiators from the Houston Police Department and surrounding communities. Thad is working towards his master’s degree in Criminal Justice Leadership and Management. He currently holds a TCLEOSE Master Peace Officer’s Certificate, a TCLEOSE Mental Health Peace Officer Certificate, and a TCLEOSE Instructor’s Certification.
Vice President Region IV
 Cathy is an 8 year veteran with the Cedar Park Police Department in Cedar Park, Texas. She has 17 years of law enforcement experience, beginning her career with the Copperas Cove Police Department in 1993, serving as an officer and Sergeant on patrol. Sergeant Bustos was the first female member of the Copperas Cove Police Departments S.W.A.T team. Since working for the Cedar Park Police Department, she has worked patrol both as an officer and sergeant, served as a Detective, investigating Crimes against Persons and an Investigator in the Professional Standards Division.
Cathy became a member of the Cedar Park Police Departments Crisis Negotiations team in 2007. She is a TCLEOSE certified police instructor and, Mental Health Officer and holds an Advanced Negotiations certification, Advanced Peace Officer Certification, and Advanced training in Critical Incident Stress Management.
Vice President Region V
 Lieutenant Victor Rivera has been employed with the Midland Police Department since 1977, and is currently the Airport Division Commander. His duties include being familiar with federal aviation regulations, responding to airport threats and aircraft crashes, and liaison with federal agencies for dignitary protection. His previous assignments included being Commander of the Night Shift and Day Shift Patrol Divisions and Community Services Division where he oversaw the Property and Evidence Section, the Crime Prevention/Community Relations Unit, the Records/Data Management Section, the Telephone Response Unit and the department’s volunteer groups. Lt. Rivera has been a supervisor in Communications, Detectives, Patrol and coordinator/instructor of the DARE program. In addition, he was assigned to Planning and Research maintaining the department’s CALEA Accreditation status and served as Public Information Officer.Lt. Rivera is a graduate of the 198th Session FBI National Academy, the Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas Leadership Command College Class 2 and the West Point Leadership course. He holds the TCLEOSE Master Peace Officer’s and Instructor’s Certificates. In addition to frequently teaching at the Permian Basin Law Enforcement Academy and the department’s in-service courses, he was also invited to teach recruits and the command staff at the Chihuahua City, Mexico Police Academy. He’s had the honor of being the keynote speaker at a Leadership Command College graduation, and at a police academy graduation. He is an active instructor with the Citizens Police Academy and past Explorer Post Advisor. He has been on the Honor Guard Unit since 1987, and serves as Unit Commander. He is a Regional Director on the Leadership Command College Alumni Association’s Board and a long time member of the Texas Association of Hostage Negotiators. Lt. Rivera is active in the community and completed a three-year term on the St. Ann’s School Board.
Lt. Rivera has been a Crisis/Hostage Negotiator since 1987, and the team leader since 1992. He is a member of the Permian Basin Critical Incident Management Team and also coordinates the Department’s Critical Incident Management Team. Lt. Rivera emphasizes the mental wellbeing of all police personnel by making them aware of how to prevent some of the common predictable problems that plague police personnel and by sharing information on how to survive the aftermath of critical incidents. He believes in continuous formal and informal education to better serve.
Vice President Region VI
 Brandon Pierpoint is a Deputy with the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office and has been serving this department for the last seven years. Brandon attended Baylor University and South Plains College, where he received an Associates Degree in Law enforcement Technology. Since the start of his career in law enforcement Brandon has served in various capacities, such as the jail division, court division and the patrol division. Within the jail division, Brandon was a member of the Detention Response Team, support services, and classification. Brandon served in court room security for high profile trials and provided a secure environment for court operations. Brandon has since transferred to the patrol division where he is currently assigned.
Brandon became involved in hostage negotiations in 2003 and has spearheaded the push for more training within this team. He is a goal oriented officer who is never satisfied with his training and knowledge and strives for excellence. Brandon is currently the assistant team leader of the Sheriff’s Office Crisis Negotiations Team. In 2002 Brandon was bestowed with the life saving award for preventing an in-custody suicide attempt.
Brandon is a T.C.L.E O.S.E. instructor and thrives on bringing new training to his team. As of 2008, Brandon was appointed as the new region six T.A.H.N director and looks forward to hosting new training for this region and beyond.
Vice President Corrections North
 Doug has been employed by the Federal Bureau of Prisons for 15 years. Within this time frame, he has been involved within various aspects of Crisis Management such as being a member of Special Operations Response Team, the Assistant Team Leader of the Disturbance Control Team and has been involved with the Hostage Negotiation Team since 1999. He is currently the team leader of the Metroplex Hostage Negotiation Team which consists of 17 members who are responsible for six institutions in the South Central Region. He is also a Lead Resource Instructor for the National Hostage Negotiation Team.Prior to working for the Federal Bureau of Prison he was employed with the Colorado State Patrol as a State Trooper for six years. During that time he served as a member of the Special Emergency Response Team.
Doug has previously served as an advisor for TAHN.
Vice President Corrections South
 Captain Greg Martin started with the Guadalupe County Sheriff’s Office August 22, 2000 as an uncertified jailer. He got his TECLOSE jailers license on October 30, 2000. In 2002 Greg was requested to start, organize and run a classifications department for the new 600-bed Adult Detention Center. After seeing the benefits of the department, Greg was officially appointed the Classifications Manager October 22, 2002. This department has grown to four full time members. On September 13, 2003 he was appointed as the Operations Lieutenant of the Adult Detention Center. During his tenure as the Operations Lieutenant he has implemented and continues to implement new programs to ensure the security operations of the facility run as efficiently as possible. On June 11th, 2009 he was promoted to Captain and oversees not only the security operations of the facility but also writes policies and procedures for the facility. Greg is an advanced jailer and has his basic peace officer license. He is a member of the Crisis Response Team for Guadalupe County assigned to the negotiations team. He is an advanced hostage negotiator and cross-trained basic SWAT. He also holds a TECLOSE instructors license.
Advisor
 Special Agent (SA) Whitten has been employed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) since October of 1995. SA Whitten has worked Public Corruption, White Collar Crime, Civil Rights, Drugs, and Violent Crime. SA Whitten has also served on several special task forces, including; the West Tennessee Church Arson Task Force, the Texas Seven Fugitive Task Force, and the Columbia Space Shuttle Recovery Task Force. Prior to his employment with the FBI, SA Whitten spent several years working as a Highway Patrol Trooper for the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS).
In May of 1991, SA Whitten received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice from Texas A&M University in Commerce, TX. SA Whitten has the academic distinction of having received Highest Honors. In May of 1994, SA Whitten received a Juris Doctor from the University of Tulsa, College of Law. SA Whitten is an Attorney and is licensed to practice in the State of Texas.
SA Whitten has completed specialized training courses in the following areas; White Collar Crime, Asian Organized Crime, and Federal Asset Forfeiture. SA Whitten has also completed the FBI’s two week Interview and Interrogation (I&I) Course, the Reid Basic I&I Course and the Reid Advanced I&I Course.
SA Whitten is a Police Instructor and has provided training to numerous State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies.
In August of 2007, SA Whitten completed the FBI’s National Crisis Negotiation Course. SA Whitten is a member of the Dallas Division Crisis Negotiation Team.
Advisor
 Special Agent Donna L. Owen graduated in 1979 from St. Petersburg Junior College with an Associate of Arts Degree, in 1981 from the University of South Florida with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Education with a major in Physical Education and in 1982 began graduate studies in Public Administration at Florida State University. In 1988, Special Agent Owen graduated from Mississippi College School of Law with a Juris Doctorate Degree in Law. In June 1988, upon graduation from law school, Special Agent Owen received her appointment to the FBI Academy and has served the FBI in Indianapolis, Indiana and Houston, Texas. Special Agent Owen has worked FBI’s investigative matters to include bank fraud, defense procurement fraud, kidnaping, bank robbery, extortion and drug cases. Special Agent Owen is presently assigned to the Federal Intelligence Group, specifically the Houston Intelligence Support Center based at the FBI Houston Field Office.
Special Agent Owen has been a Quantico trained Hostage/Crisis Negotiator since 1995 and a certified police instructor since 1997. Special Agent Owen currently is the Crisis Negotiation Coordinator for the FBI Houston Crisis Negotiation Team. Special Agent Owen is an advisor for the Texas Association of Hostage Negotiators and is a member of the FBI National Academy. Also, Special Agent Owen is a member of the Child Abduction Rapid Deployment Team and the Critical Incident Negotiation Team.
Advisor
 Deputy Ken Clarida has been with the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office since 2006. He has worked as a bailiff in the criminal courts division and as a training coordinator at the facility’s training center. Deputy Clarida is also a member of the Hostage Negotiation Team.Ken also worked briefly for the Fort Worth Marshal’s Office as a bailiff in the municipal court system. He was also assigned to the Mayor’s support team and handled several other special assignments.
Most notably, Corporal Ken Clarida retired from the Arlington Police Department after 33 years of service. During his time in Arlington, Ken worked in the patrol division, the Criminal Investigations Division, and the Training Division. In the Investigations Division he was assigned to auto theft, burglary and Crime Stoppers. During his time as a Crime Stoppers coordinator, he started the first successful High School Crime Stoppers program which is still wining state and international awards for productivity. Cpl. Clarida also served on the Board of Directors of Crime Stoppers International and was named Texas Best Coordinator of the Year in 1993.
Returning to the streets, Cpl. Clarida again worked as a Field Training Officer until he was assigned as a Training Coordinator in 1998. His first basic academy class scored a perfect 100% on their Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards Exam (TCLEOSE) test.
Cpl. Clarida was assigned to the Hostage Negotiation Unit in 1987 at Arlington PD and is a Charter Member of the Texas Association of Hostage Negotiators (TAHN). He served as the first Chairman of the association from 1988-1992 and served as President from 2003-2007. He is currently an advisor to the Board of Directors for the Texas Association of Hostage Negotiators.
Ken is a TCLEOSE certified firearms instructor, police instructor, ASP baton instructor, PPCT instructor and a Glock and SIG armor. He also taught the second twenty-four hour Mental Health Police officer course in the state of Texas and received his Master Peace Officer Certificate in 1994.
Advisor
 Sergeant Sherman’s career as a police officer began in 1981 when he joined the United States Air Force as a Law Enforcement Specialist. After serving two years at Hahn Air Base in Germany, he returned to the United States and was stationed at Carswell Air Force Base, Texas. Bob’s interest in crisis negotiations began when he became a volunteer counselor at a Fort Worth suicide hotline in 1985. In an effort to learn more, Bob sought out additional training and attended a basic hostage negotiation course in 1986. In early 1989 he learned of a fledgling organization, the Texas Association of Hostage Negotiators (TAHN), which was being formed to help negotiators network and continue training in the field of hostage negotiations. At one of the early meeting, Bob’s design for an association logo was approved by the membership and became the first official logo of TAHN.
An overseas assignment to Korea and then another assignment to south Florida forced him to leave TAHN for several years. After 11 years of military law enforcement, Bob was honorably discharged and returned to Texas. It was here that he attended the Tarrant County Junior College, Criminal Justice Training Center and graduated as the Valedictorian and Distinguished Recruit of Class 54B in December 1992. Shortly after graduation, he began work as a patrol officer for the City of Burleson. Bob was promoted to the rank of Corporal in October 1996 and then to Sergeant in January 1999. He is currently the senior sergeant at the Burleson Police Department and is serving as a day shift patrol supervisor.
Sergeant Sherman holds a Master TCLEOSE Peace Officer's certificate and is Field Training Sergeant, TCLEOSE Instructor, Standardized Field Sobriety Test Practitioner, and an Intoxilyzer Operator. He is also the team leader for the Burleson Police Department's crisis negotiations team.
In January 1997, Bob was elected to the association’s Board of Directors and began serving as the Vice President of Public Relations. Some of Bob’s responsibilities as the VP of Public Relations have been to design and maintain the association’s web site, design the annual conference logo, produce the annual conference training CD and maintain a history of the organization. In 2004, he was selected as the TAHN Member of the Year for his contributions to the association. In 2006, his team was selected as the Team of the Year for successfully negotiating an incident involving an armed suspect holding a young child hostage. In 2008, he was awarded an honorary life membership for his continued dedication and commitment to TAHN. In 2009, Bob left the Public Relations position and became an advisor to the Board of Directors.
Bob is married and has two girls. In his "spare" time, he enjoys computers, computer graphics, web page design and digital photography. He also enjoys oil painting, camping, boating, and collecting antique pocket knives.
Advisor
Jerry Garrett joined the Hickory Creek Police Department in 1985 and was soon promoted to Detective Sergeant assigned to Criminal Investigations and Supervisor of the Reserve Officer Division. Responsibilities included all criminal investigations, evidence and crime scene processing. He investigated cases ranging from property crimes to homicide and was recognized as Office of the Year in 1998 and 2003.
Promoted to Detective Lieutenant in 2002 and to Assistant Chief in 2004, he was responsible for: personnel, internal affairs, equipment evaluation and purchasing. He became a negotiator in 1986 and served as Team Leader and Incident Commander until he retired in 2005. Immediately after retirement Jerry joined the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office as Investigator and Crisis Negotiations Team Commander. He is currently serving as an Investigator with the Denton County Fire Marshal’s Office and member of the North Texas Arson Task Force, Denton County Arson Task Force and Corinth Police Department Crisis Negotiation Team. Jerry is also the Emergency Communications Liaison Officer for Denton County Emergency Services / Homeland Security Departments facilitating radio communications through 125 + volunteer radio operators affiliated with the Amateur Radio Emergency Services (ARES).
Jerry has been a member of the Texas Association of Hostage Negotiators for twelve years and served as Treasure for five years. He was responsible for instituting standard accounting practices and independent financial audits. He has been an Advisor to the Board of Directors for the past two years.
He attended Northeastern Oklahoma A & M College and Texas Christian University where he majored in psychology and business management. He holds a Master Peace Officer’s License.
Advisor
Advisor
 Inspector Paul Shepherd retired as a 30-year law enforcement professional from the Odessa Police Department in September of 2010. He was the supervisor of the Criminal Intelligence Unit after completing 10 years as supervisor of the Homicide Unit and the Crimes Against Persons Unit. He has served in the numerous capacities within the department including, Patrol Services, Community Relations, Training Division, Crimes Against Property, Crimes Against Persons Unit (homicide) and was also a Sergeant with the Internal Affairs Unit. He has over 23 years of intense investigative experience in violent crimes. He holds a "Master Peace Officer Certification" and "Instructor’s Certification" from the "Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education."
Paul also has been involved in Hostage and Crisis Negotiations for 25 years. He has been involved in over 60 incidents and was the responsible for the development of the "Crisis Intervention Unit" at his former agency. He is a 2007 graduate of the FBI’s "National Hostage Negotiation Course," in Quantico, Virginia as well as a 2008 graduate from the Metropolitan Police (New Scotland Yard) "National Crisis and Hostage Negotiation Course" in Hendon, England. In each of these, he served as a mentor and student. He has trained over 400 state, local, and federal officers in crisis negotiations and was also utilized to train our US military personnel in Hostage Negotiations and Hostage Survival, prior to their deployment to Iraq.
In 2010, he received recognition from Director Robert Mueller, III for his negotiation efforts in face to face negotiations with prisoners and obtaining the safe release of two hostages during the Pecos Prison Riots of December 2008.
He was presented with a "Lifetime Membership Award" at the 2010 "Texas Association of Hostage Negotiator’s" conference in San Antonio where he was the Vice President of Training for Region 5 for over 12 years.
Inspector Shepherd also holds a Basic, Peer, and Group certifications in Critical Incident Stress Management and has been involved in numerous post-traumatic debriefings for law enforcement as well as private industry. |
Directors
