Browsing Category Tactical Standards & Training Committee

TTT K9′s Tactical Standards & Training Committee is made up of three board members in elected positions. The committee is headed by a “Director”. The committee was chosen for their unique ability to address police tactical considerations as they relate to high risk fugitive manhunts and to produce general tactical training guidelines. The committee also is charged with the identifying trailing/ tracking liability issues for law enforcement and producing standards and training to reduce liability risk.

Bill Lewis

Sergeant Bill Lewis II (Retired) has been working and teaching in the law enforcement community for over 33 years. He retired from the Oxnard (CA) Police Department in December 2005 after serving almost 28 years with the agency. During his tenure, he served on SWAT for over 25 years with 18 years assigned as a tactical team leader. Sergeant Lewis began working with police service dogs in 1980 as one of Oxnard PD’s first decoys. He later became a K9 handler for four years and simultaneously served as K9 supervisor and a SWAT supervisor for over eight years. He formally introduced police service dogs into Oxnard PD SWAT operations in 1998 after he "graduated" from SKIDDS Class # 4. He has been teaching SWAT and K9 integration nationally and internationally for over 11 years.

Sergeant Lewis consults with and teaches tactics and liability classes to tactical operators, supervisors, patrol officers, military officers and K9 teams. He is currently a Board member and regional representative for the California Association of Tactical Officers (CATO), an instructor for Tactical Decision Making Under Stress, a California POST-certified evaluator and certifier for K9 teams, and a certifying official for the National Police Canine Association (NPCA). Sergeant Lewis is the owner of "Training and Consulting [TAC] Team" and facilitator for TacticalDebriefs.com and TacticalK9USA.com. He also provides expert witness and consulting services for law enforcement Plaintiffs and Defendants for civil and criminal cases independently and through his affiliation with the Round Table Group (since 2008) with clients that include the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department. He conducts evaluations and assessments for tactical teams and K9 units as well as provides report reviews and critiques for critical and significant tactical and K9-related incidents.

John W. Kunkle

Sgt. John W. Kunkle has been a full time California Peace Officer since 1985 and has been involved in many areas of police training and science throughout the state. John is the Placerville Police Department’s Service Dog Supervisor. He has created and currently handles their first Man Trailing Bloodhound position with his partner, "Hangtown Hank."

John has an Associate’s Degree in Administration of Justice and is a graduate of the California POST Master Instructor Development Program (MIDP). He has served as SWAT, TAC, Range Master, Defense & Arrest Tactics Instructor and an all-inclusive Use of Force Instructor respectively. His experience has allowed him to give expert testimony and enjoy teaching for private consultants as well as a continuing California Law Enforcement Academy Instructor.

John trains and hunts with his own scent trail hounds and has served as president for a statewide hound hunting organization. More formally, he is a member of the National Police Bloodhound Association, (NPBA) and has certified the current California POST, 40 hour Man Trailing Course instructed by well known, Mr. Jeff Schettler of TTT/GAK9.

Derreck Bachner

Derreck Bachner started his career in law enforcement when he enlisted in the United States Air Force in 1997. In 2001, Derreck attended the Department of Defense Military Working Dog (MWD) Handler Course located at Lackland AFB, Texas. Shortly after completing his training at Lackland, Derreck was partnered with his first patrol/detector dog and deployed to the Middle East within months after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In 2004, Derreck again deployed to the Middle East in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom where he and his canine partner conducted countless hours of explosive detection sweeps, roadside check points, observation patrols, area searches, and crowd control.

When stateside, Derreck enjoyed numerous Temporary Duty Assignments (TDYs) while being temporarily assigned to the United States Secret Service (USSS). While TDY to the USSS, Derreck conducted numerous explosive detection sweeps with his Explosive Detector Dog (EDD) for the President of the United States, Vice-President, and First Lady. These sweeps took place in cities such as New York, Miami, Charlotte, and Tampa. On several other occasions, Derreck also assisted NASA with explosive detection sweeps prior to scheduled space shuttle launches.

During his tenure as a Military Working Dog (MWD) Handler, Derreck received numerous medals, citations, and awards. Today, Derreck is employed with the Melbourne Police Department (FL) and is currently assigned as a K-9 handler and as his department’s K-9 Unit Trainer. Derreck is a Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) certified general instructor, FDLE K-9 Team Instructor, and he is a High Liability Instructor for his agency. On a regular basis, Derreck coordinates and leads training for several federal, state, and local law enforcement K-9 teams in his area. He has also instructed at various police K-9 training seminars across the United States and has written magazine articles concerning police K-9 usage and deployments. Derreck is currently a member of the Florida Law Enforcement Canine Association and the American Legion.