Imran is a distinguished trial lawyer and shareholder at Eckberg Lammers, bringing two decades of legal expertise to his role as the Executive Director of Training, Consulting, and Investigation Services (LETAC). Imran's commitment extends beyond the courtroom, where he has successfully handled intricate cases, including homicide, sexual assault, and human trafficking. With a passion for victim advocacy, Imran has become a prominent figure in the criminal justice profession, training judges, law students, and thousands of law enforcement professionals nationwide. Recognized for his outstanding contributions, he was named Minnesota Attorney of the Year in 2016 and 2020, solidifying his reputation as a legal luminary dedicated to upholding justice with honor and integrity.

Dr. Shawn Moore is a former Police Officer for Brooklyn Center Police Department. He has 20 years of professional experience in the field of Cultural Competency, Conflict Resolution, and Community Engagement. This has included, working as a community liaison in the Moundsview School District, a community and cultural coordinator for North St. Paul School District, Coordinating the Scholars Program at Century College, and Director of community engagement and service learning at Bethel University, and Metro State University. He has taught in this field as an adjunct professor, senior Mall of America training officer, and community-training liaison. Shawn is currently a Volunteer State Mediator for Hennepin County. Throughout all of his work experience he has been tasked with the responsibility to teach and conduct cross-cultural, conflict resolution, and community engagement workshops and trainings. He also gained experience from his time living abroad which included living in Guam for 4 years. Also, Shawn spent significant time in Japan, Korea, China, the Philippines, Australia, and South Africa.

Kelly Friesen, a Registered Public Health Nurse with over three decades of experience, has dedicated her career to advocating for others in both acute care and community settings. Her journey into autism advocacy began in 2001 when her son was diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder, leading her to educate herself and others, earning autism certification through the Autism Society of Minnesota in 2016. In 2022, she founded Friesen Holistic Services LLC, pioneering Nurse Advocate Services to enhance life skills and foster independence for neurodiverse individuals. Her advocacy extends to roles like the Minnesota Waiver Reimagine Advisory Committee and testimony before the Minnesota Senate Human Services Committee. Kelly's work with law enforcement has been crucial for her son's development, and her informed policing instruction bridges understanding between the autism community and law enforcement, a connection deepened by her daughter's marriage to a police officer.

Joshua Bitsko is a retired captain from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. He has been a law enforcement professional for 24 years, and has held a variety of positions to include K9 handler, K9 training sergeant, detective sergeant, internal affairs Lieutenant, policy and procedure lieutenant, commander of the Las Vegas resort corridor, and commander over the health, wellness, and safety bureau. He has a BA in Public Administration and is an experienced instructor with over 15 years of teaching both law enforcement employees and community members. Josh responded to the largest mass shooting incident in US history, the 1 October Massacre, as a tactical element. Josh was one of three people to breach the suspect’s door and led a team of officers to make entry and clear the suspect’s room. Josh was also the incident commander over a mass stabbing incident on the Las Vegas Strip, as well as the recent mass shooting at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. This gives him unique insight on both the stressors of being on the front lines during an active shooter, and the pressures of leading a police response when lives are at stake. He has spoken around the country about the 1 October massacre, to include to the Secret Service at the White House. Josh can provide personal insight into the struggles of post-traumatic stress, and strategies to assist in processing trauma. Through his first-hand experiences, Josh can not only provide guidance and training for law enforcement professionals facing the most extreme critical incidents, but also describe the mindset necessary for proper critical incident preparedness, response, and processing the aftermath. Josh has worked with both public agencies and the private sector in creating successful wellness and resilience programs.

Melissa is a licensed social worker with specialized expertise in anti-human trafficking efforts, multi-disciplinary team development, and addressing secondary traumatic stress and officer wellness. She brings a wealth of knowledge as a certified trainer in Green Dot, Compassion Fatigue, GEMS, Stand to Protect, My Life My Choice, and SHARP. Additionally, Melissa is trained in Child Welfare and Safe Zone. Over the past decade, she has provided national and international training and technical assistance to professionals working with victims and survivors of human trafficking. Melissa currently serves as the Director of Advocacy for the National Child Protection Task Force (NCPTF) and is a member of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's (NCMEC) Family Advocacy Network. She also maintains or has held contracts with organizations such as the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), OUR Rescue, the National Criminal Justice Training Center (NCJTC), and the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC). Her diverse background includes case management and crisis response for human trafficking victims and survivors, treatment foster care, youth homelessness, victim/witness programming, prevention education, and work in psychiatric and addiction services. Notably, Melissa served as the first Human Trafficking Navigator and Victim/Witness Specialist in North Dakota, spearheading a decade of program development in the state. In 2020, she was nominated for the YWCA's Women of the Year award. In addition, she is a board member of the Fargo Police Foundation. Since its inception in 2016, Melissa was an active member of the North Dakota Human Trafficking Task Force and assisted in the development of programming, multi-disciplinary teams, and response to victims to include Tribal Nations. She was the chair of the Lived Experience Subcommittee and vice-chair of the Labor Trafficking Subcommittee. With over 15 years of experience in social work, Melissa has witnessed firsthand the toll that high-stress, high-pressure environments take on professionals. This led her to develop trainings and resources to help organizations better understand vicarious trauma and support wellness in their teams. Throughout her career, Melissa has trained over 13,000 students and professionals, presenting at notable conferences such as IAHTI, GRIT Wyoming, Shared Hope, IACP, NCPTF, Dallas Crimes Against Children, National Cyber Crimes, and IHTSJ. Her expertise spans topics such as human trafficking, team building and development, Tribal Nations, trauma-informed interviews and approaches, secondary traumatic stress, and the creation of wellness programs for first responders. Currently based in St. Petersburg, FL, Melissa continues to offer training and consulting services internationally.

Sergeant Natalie Bauer began her public safety career in 2004 as a paramedic. In 2010, she made a career change into law enforcement and has been employed as a police officer with the City of Woodbury. Her education includes an Associate’s degree in Law Enforcement from Century College, a Bachelor’s degree from Concordia University in Management and Leadership, and is currently working on her Master’s degree in Industrial Organizational Psychology from Harvard Extension School. During her tenure as a police officer, she has been assigned to patrol (working her entire assignment on night shift and loving it), Field Training Officer, Response to Resistance Instructor, Reality Based Training Instructor, K-9 Handler, and K-9 Head Trainer. As a supervisor she currently oversees the Community Impact and Support Units as well as the K-9 Unit. Sgt. Bauer is also a certified police service dog trainer through the United States Police Canine Association. In 2021, Sgt. Bauer championed Woodbury’s pioneer community support program dog program. Sgt. Bauer was involved in research for the project, budgeting, securing funds, writing policy and positions, and also selection of a pretty adorable fluffball Golden Retriever who would later be known as Otis, Woodbury’s very first Community Support Dog.

Detective Adam Sack has been employed by the Woodbury Public Safety Department as a licensed Minnesota peace officer since 2012. Adam attended Rasmussen College and Metropolitan State University for Law Enforcement. Since 2012, Adam has been assigned as a Patrol Officer, Field Training Officer, Response to Resistance and Reality Based Training Instructor, and Street Crimes Unit Detective. Adam is also a Team Leader with the Washington County SWAT Crisis Negotiation Team. Adam has been recognized for his work with crisis situations and police mental health response as the recipient of Washington County SWAT Negotiator of the Year award in 2019 and Police Officer of the Year award in 2020 by VFW Post 9024 and American Legion Post 501. In 2019 Adam was tasked with developing the Woodbury Police Department’s Community Support Team from the ground up – a specialized unit providing focused efforts towards situations involving mental illness, substance abuse, homelessness, and family violence through post crisis follow up and in-progress call response. The Community Support Team has now expanded to include two embedded Washington County Social Workers, two Detectives, a Sergeant, and an administrative assistant. In 2021 Adam became the handler of Woodbury’s first Community Support Dog, Otis, who provides support on crisis calls and internal support for public safety staff. In 2024 Adam joined together with other mental health providers and police officers in the field of mental health co-response to help create MNCRA (Minnesota Co-Responder Alliance), a professional organization for training and networking in the field of co-response across Minnesota.

Cody has been a police officer with the city of Apple Valley, MN for 10 years. He has been a patrol officer throughout his career. Cody has held different supplemental positions throughout his career. He is currently a K9 handler, firearms instructor, a member of the peer support team, a crisis negotiator with the South Metro SWAT CNT team, and is also a law enforcement presenter and coach for Minnesota CIT. Cody has a strong passion for mental health and crisis response. He recognizes the need for a shift in how law enforcement responds to these types of calls, and the significant rise of crisis and check the welfare calls. Cody is committed to ensuring everyone’s safety in these dynamic situations. He is an avid reader of all things mental health related, and brings that information back to the law enforcement community. He has attended multiple trainings in mental health, and he also has a passion for self-care for law enforcement professionals. Cody was awarded Crisis Negotiator of the Year in 2023. He responded to three separate attempts of suicide by jumping from a bridge where he was able to come to a successful resolution with those individuals and self harm was avoided. In his spare time Cody is pursuing his own business in photography and videography, trains Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, spends time hiking, hunting, and camping, and is always searching for the best slice of pizza.

MSgt. Scott Pope is a 26 year veteran of the Oklahoma City Police Department. Scott held assignments at Hefner Patrol Division, the Gang Enforcement Unit, and the Detective Bureau (Assaults Unit, Burglary Unit, Pawn Unit, Metal Theft Unit). During these assignments Scott survived multiple deadly force encounters. These encounters drastically changed Scott’s professional journey and PTS symptoms negatively affected his personal life. Scott attended a first responder PCIS (Post Critical Incident Seminar) in 2015 with his spouse. The PCIS introduced Scott to the tools and resources that helped him not only survive this career but thrive. Scott joined the OKCPD Peer Unit as a volunteer where he and his wife became volunteer Police Chaplains. Scott is a founding member of the Department’s Wellness Unit. Scott is currently assigned as a full-time Wellness Sergeant and CIRT canine handler for “Will”. Scott is also a member of the Tactical Unit, serving as a Crisis Negotiator for almost 10 years. As a Wellness Sergeant, Scott helps OKCPD employees create more capacity in their lives so they can make positive memories that last a lifetime. Resilience education is also paramount with a conscious intent to increase knowledge of holistic wellness and identifying strategic resources to benefit all police department employees. Scott specializes in ground level motivation and inspiration that helps officers develop a basic foundation of awareness to build a higher level of emotional intelligence. Scott was instrumental in the implementation of the Oklahoma City Police Department’s first Wellness app, MAGNUS. MAGNUS created a pathway for direct communication to all employees through inspirational personal holistic wellness content creation driven by data analytics gathered from Oklahoma City Police Department employees. This groundbreaking implementation has destigmatized officer mental health and helped create a foundation for all employees within the Magnus Ovea 11 Rings of Human Performance. Scott and his partners were the first Wellness Team in the United States to become Magnus certified MAP instructors. Scott was appointed by the City Manager of Oklahoma City to represent the FOP for the City of Oklahoma City’s Deferred Compensation Board. Scott serves as the vice-chair of the board and oversees the governmental 457(b) plans and the Money Purchase 401(a) plans of more than 500 million dollars. Scott resides in Yukon, Oklahoma and is still married to his college sweetheart of over 28 years. He has two sons that are thriving in their early 20’s. Scott’s family is full of sports fanatics and outdoor enthusiasts. In Scott’s off time, he is either working on his land, planning out of state adventure hunts, Oklahoma deer hunting, working out, watching football, trading stocks, or soaking up as much macroeconomics alpha as possible.

Commander Thor Eells had over 30 years of law enforcement experience with the Colorado Springs (CO) Police Department. He served in patrol, investigations, training, professional standards, and SWAT. The majority of his career was in tactical operations where he has served as a SWAT operator, Team Commander and Division Commander. In addition to his practical experience, Commander Eells has extensive teaching experience. Currently he is one of the core instructors in SWAT Command and Supervision. He teaches leadership, tactical decision making and Emergency Operations Center functions. Commander Eells has instructed hundreds of students throughout North America, Europe, Middle East and the Caribbean. Commander Eells has also represented the National Tactical Officers Association (NTOA) in the Department of Homeland Security’s efforts to develop SWAT capabilities and typing. He was one of the core committee members in developing the NTOA’s National SWAT Standard and has been recognized as an expert witness in Federal Courts on Tactics, Non-Lethal weapons and Use of Force. Commander Eells is a graduate of the University of Colorado and has a Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice. He is also a graduate of the FBI National Academy and Center for Creative Leadership. Commander Eells currently serves as the NTOA’s Executive Director.

Scott began his career as a part-time licensed police officer for the city of Rochester, MN in 1990.  While working for RPD, he attended Rochester Community College where he obtained an A.S. degree in Law Enforcement.  Scott was hired by the city of Zumbrota as a police officer in 1992. In December of 1994, Scott accepted a position as a police officer for the city of Minnetonka, where he is still currently employed.   In his 30 years with Minnetonka, Scott has taken on many supporting roles within the department including; Crisis/Hostage Negotiator,  Mental Health Unit,  Peer Support Team,  EMT,   FTO,  Counteract (DARE) Officer and a Bike Patrol Officer.  He has attended numerous Crisis Negotiator classes and seminars throughout the country.   Scott currently serves as a Patrol Officer, working a night-shift schedule by choice.  His calling has always centered around working the street and out on the front lines.

Joe is a shareholder at Eckberg Lammers and a lead criminal prosecutor for our Municipal practice. He handles all aspects of misdemeanor prosecution—from charging through trial, sentencing, and probation violations. In addition to his legal practice, Joe provides foundational training for law enforcement on report writing, courtroom testimony, and mock trials. He authored the Minnesota Firearms Prohibitions Guide and regularly presents on legal issues impacting public safety. Known for his candid communication style and strategic legal approach, Joe is skilled at navigating complex situations to achieve strong results for his municipal clients.

Bob LeClaire is an officer with the Duluth Police Department’s CORE Unit. Alongside social workers, he responds to 911 calls related to mental health and substance use. He also follows up on referrals sent to the unit by patrol officers and community partners. Bob has been with the CORE unit for over five years. Prior to that, he worked straight nights on patrol in Downtown Duluth for eight years. Aside from his duties with CORE, Bob is a member of the Minnesota Law Enforcement Memorial Association (LEMA) and runs DPD’s Explorer’s Program.

Megan Tezak is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW) employed by the Human Development Center (HDC) in Duluth, MN. Her position is funded through crisis funds that were allocated to HDC by the City of Duluth. HDC also houses the Crisis Response Team (CRT) who are dispatched to respond to 988 calls in St. Louis, Lake, and Carlton County. In July of 2024, HDC opened a Behavioral Health Urgent Care and a crisis stabilization center that added an additional 12 crisis beds for those in the Duluth area. Megan co-responds to 911 calls with one of the two dedicated CORE officers. She has been with the team for over four years.