Leaders & Legends - National Issues in Special Tactics - The NTOA Perspective – Thor Eells & Don Kester

My guests today are Thor Eells and Don Kester from the National Tactical Officers Association or NTOA which is the largest tactical organization in the United States. Thor is a retired commander from the Colorado Springs Colorado Police Department where he served for 30 years. The majority of which was in tactical response including serving as a swat operator, a swat team leader and a team commander. Thor is currently the Executive Director for NTOA after serving many years as a board member and a trainer. Don is retired from the Pima County Sheriff’s Department in Arizona where he served as a SWAT team operator, team leader, team sergeant, training director and SWAT team commander eventually retiring as a DivisionCommander and Captain. Don is currently the training and education director for the NTOA after many years of service as a trainer and a board member.Timestamps02:00 – Thor’s background and law enforcement career05:00 – Don’s background and law enforcement career11:00 – The mission of the National Tactical Officers Association15:30 – The relationship between state associations and the NTOA20:30 – Police reform movements & the role of the NTOA as information provider37:00 – National standards for special tactics teams46:00 – Maintaining training standards with diverse team capabilities55:00 – The NTOAs role in supporting teams with subject matter expertise1:00:00 – The need to honest self-examination and debriefing1:05:00 – The roots of bad legislation and need for law enforcement to oppose it1:11:00 – No knock warrants, dynamic entries, and the NTOAs position paper1:32:00 – The counter arguments for dynamic tactics and no-knock warrants1:34:00 – Risk management and safety prioritiesContact InfoThor Eells - [email protected] Kester - [email protected] | National Tactical Officers Association