Captain Dennis Cole, retired, has extensive experience in the domestic and international law enforcement field in Special Operations and Training. While a Captain on the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department he developed many of the special weapons and tactics (SWAT) techniques used today. Captain Cole has 31 years law enforcement experience.

Captain Cole spent seventeen years assigned to a special operations unit. Captain Cole developed and implemented the technique of pre-event site assessments of high-risk targets. He has worked with most government agencies to develop special tactics for crisis resolution including the Central Intelligence Agency, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, Transportation Safeguards Division of the Department of Energy, Secret Service, Federal Bureau of Investigations, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, National Institute of Justice, and many others. During the Gulf War Captain Cole was engaged to do risk assessments on General Dynamic’s executives’ homes and develop training for the families on how to protect themselves from potential reprisals from Iraqi agents.

Captain Cole has been employed since retirement as the COO of a public security company that was awarded a contract to design and build a waterside security system for Navy installations in San Diego Harbor. He was also the president of a security company where he was granted patents for non-lethal devices used in law enforcement. Prior to this Captain Cole was employed as the director of training for Jaycor Tactical Systems in San Diego California where he developed the training programs for their successful nonlethal weapons systems. As the director of training he also designed a worldwide training network for tactical training and a distributor network for nonlethal weapons systems. He is currently the president of the Association for Unmanned Vehicles International's (AUVSI) Lindbergh Chapter, a non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of all unmanned vehicles; air, land and sea.

During his law enforcement career Captain Cole served as a fireboat captain in San Diego Harbor, Chief of Police for the City of Vista, California, Director of the San Diego Regional Public Safety Training Institute at Miramar College, Commander of the Sheriff’s Special Enforcement Detail, and many other assignments. He was an associate professor at most of the San Diego area Community Colleges teaching law enforcement subjects relating to crisis management.

Captain Cole is recognized by the State of California as a subject matter expert in the application of nonlethal chemical agents. He has served as an expert witness on crisis management, tactical resolution of high-risk incidents and the delivery of nonlethal chemical agents in Federal, State and local courts. Captain Cole is often called upon nationwide to consult on crisis management issues.

Captain Cole did his undergraduate work at California Western University in San Diego’s Point Loma. He attained a Master of Arts degree in Management from the University of Redlands. He has completed other graduate work at the University of Virginia and he is a graduate of the Federal Bureau of Investigations National Academy Class 186. Captain Cole has been published often in law enforcement trade magazines and has authored three text journals on selecting personnel for tactical units, other crisis management issues and chemical agents. Captain Cole is the first member of the National Tactical Officers Association and sponsored some of the first training symposiums put on by the organization.

Captain Cole is still active in the law enforcement special operations research and training highlighting non and less lethal weapons. Captain Cole has been granted two U.S. Patents for non-lethal personal protection devices.