Upcoming Seminars

5/6/24-5/8/24	Ground Control Instructor Cert
Allegheny County Police Academy
5/13/24-5/17/24	TPR/Use of Force Instructor Cert
Bucks County Academy
6/24/24-6/26/24	SHARP Instructor Cert
Allegheny County Academy
8/5/24-8/7/24	TPR/Use of Force Instructor Re-Cert
Mansfield Academy
8/12/24-8/14/24	TPR/Use of Force Instructor Re-Cert
PGH Technical College, Oakdale, PA
9/3/24-9/5/24	TPR/Use of Force Instructor Re-Cert
Allegheny County Academy
9/9/24-9/11/24	Edged Weapon Countermeasures Instructor Cert
Allegheny County Police Academy
9/11/24-9/13/24	TPR/Use of Force Instructor Re-Cert
IUP Police Academy, Indiana, PA
10/7/24-10/9/24	TPR/Use of Force Instructor Re-Cert
Allegheny County Academy
10/21/24-10/23/24	TPR/Use of Force Instructor Re-Cert
Bucks County Academy
12/16/24-12/18/24	TPR/Use of Force Instructor Re-Cert
Mansfield Academy

PPCT Defensive Tactics Instructors with our Fearless Leader

IN 1992 I TRAVELED to Harrisburg Area Community College (HACC) to conduct a Defensive Tactics Instructor School. Nine officers from central Pennsylvania had registered, and I had Dave Guglielmi, a current DT Instructor, volunteer to assist with the class as a means of keeping his skills sharp. I had been a PPCT STAFF Instructor since August of 1990, and this was one of my earliest "out of town" seminars. Since I had already conducted numerous Instructor Schools at conferences and in the Pittsburgh area, I knew I would have no trouble teaching at HACC. As a matter of fact, my biggest concern as I drove to Harrisburg was the fact that my rental was a red Firebird with Georgia license plates-I was certain the PSP would stop me on appearances alone!

After the first morning's classroom presentation, the college assigned the fire truck garage as our workout area. Every morning one of the college staff would back one of the fire trucks out of the garage to give us a training space. The officers had to sit on bleachers for the rest of the week, and they either wrote using clipboards or the bleacher they sat on as a writing surface. Despite the less than optimum conditions, all the officers thoroughly enjoyed the class. Sergeant Michael Guido was so impressed with PPCT that he began hosting Instructor Schools at his police department, beginning with a Spontaneous Knife Defense (SKD) Instructor School in 1994. The following year he hosted the Instructor Re-certification for the HACC class; six of the original participants attended the class. Later Ron Millward, a Centre County Probation and Parole Officer who was in the HACC class and Sergeant Guido started a law enforcement training company known as MG Tactical

The rest, as they say, is history. With the strong support of Carlisle Police Chief Stephen Margeson, that department hosted PPCT Instructor Schools including Defensive Tactics, Violent Patient Management (VPM), Sexual Harassment Assault and Rape Prevention (SHARP), Disruptive Student Management (DSM), and SKD. When Sergeant Guido retired and began a second career at Dickinson College Department of Public Safety, his successor as Training Sergeant, Joseph Hogarth, took over scheduling and hosting PPCT Instructor Schools. He added PPCT's Ground Avoidance/Ground Escape (GAGE) Instructor School to those hosted by Carlisle PD. Sergeant Hogarth finished his career with the Carlisle Police Department and is now the Law Enforcement Training Coordinator and Range Master at the HACC Police Academy.

The current Training Sergeant is Wm. David Miller, and he has maintained Carlisle PD as a host agency for PPCT Instructor Schools. During his tenure I have returned to Carlisle for DT, SKD, and GAGE Instructor Schools. During this year's DT Instructor Re-cert, a photograph was taken of three of the original HACC DT Instructors from 1992 and me (Fearless Leader). I think it is extraordinary that three members of the class of 1992 returned for their eighth (8th) re-certification as DT Instructors. I am greatly appreciative for their loyalty through the years, and the support provided by Chief Margeson, Michael Guido, Joseph Hogarth, and Wm. David Miller is beyond measure!

From Left to Right: Michael Guido, Carl Britt of the Cumru Township Police Department, Ron Millward, and Fearless Leader.