Instructors

James (Randy) Merriman is a career Law Enforcement officer with a background as a Special Agent with an elite Texas Governors narcotic enforcement unit. Randy is a certified as a Texas Law Enforcement Instructor and holds certifications ranging from Basic to Master level. He is recognized by the US DOD as an Awareness, Human Behavior Analysis (HBA) and Tracking Subject Matter Expert and has an outstanding reputation for the delivery of high quality training to various U.S. Department of Defense organizations and US Allies. RANDY has also developed awareness courses and delivered training to multiple federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.

Randy has provided awareness courses in support of all branches of the US military and Special Forces communities. He has provided Counter Improvised Explosive Devices (C-IED) awareness programs to the US Navy EOD Training and Evaluation Units and has provided services as the course developer and instructor for the Advanced Situational Awareness (ASA) program at the US Army’s Maneuver Center of Excellence (MCoE) at Ft Benning Georgia. He has delivered awareness and tracking programs to the USMC Snipers and was program developer and subject matter expert for the USMC “Combat Hunter” program. He has taught these programs to elite Military Units such as the British SAS, 3 Para, Royal Marines, Royal Tank Regiment, and has served as an instructor for the elite British Jungle Warfare Training facility in Brunei. He has trained Canadian Special Forces, Danish Frogmen Corp, Danish Jaegers, Danish EOD Engineers and the Dutch Royal Marines in their respected countries and around the globe in Awareness, HBA, C-IED and Tracking skill sets.

Randy Sutton Is the founder and National Director of The Wounded Blue and Retired Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Officer.

Randy was one of the most featured officers on the popular television series "COPS", having appeared in three separate seasons which led to his being cast in a role as police officers in the Academy Award winning film, "CASINO" with Robert Deniro and Sharon Stone.  Other film and TV roles followed, including "FOOLS RUSH IN", "MISS CONGENIALITY II", "THE ROAD HOME", "CLOVERS MOVIE", "AMERICA'S MOST WANTED" and a co-starring role opposite James Caan in the pilot episode of "LAS VEGAS".  

Randy was born and raised in Princeton New Jersey, where after graduating High School, he joined the Princeton Borough Police department becoming one of the youngest Police Officers in the state. He served the town for ten years before joining the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department where he served for almost 24 years, retiring at the rank of Lieutenant. He is recognized as one of the most highly decorated officers in the LVMPD history, receiving awards for valor, community service, exemplary service, and lifesaving. He has trained thousands of American law enforcement officers in the subject of "Policing with Honor" and has received the Points of Light Award from the President of the United States.  Sutton is the author of "True Blue: Police Stories by Those Who Have Lived Them," "A Cop's Life", " True Blue: To Service and Protect", and "The Power of Legacy: Personal Heros of America's Most Inspiring People. 

Richard Arrington is a retired police lieutenant from a mid-sized city, crime prevention expert, published author, and retired Virginia prevention subject matter expert and program manager. He has more than 40 year experience in law enforcement, crime prevention, community policing and as an instructor. He is the owner, lead instructor and risk consultant of the Crime Prevention Center for Training and Services, LLC, which focuses on proactive policing solutions. He serves on several national advisory boards regarding crime prevention.

Rick began his career in public service in 1989 as a Corrections Deputy for Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.  In 1994, he served as a Law Enforcement Officer for Kenneth City Police Department in Florida.  Rick continued his career in Law Enforcement and joined the Roanoke Police Department in 1996.  During his 22-year tenure at the Roanoke Police Department, Rick assumed many roles and responsibilities to include becoming a General Instructor for the Department of Criminal Justice Services in 1999, providing professional instruction to police departments, and community groups throughout the country. During his career in law enforcement, Rick also served as a Police Training Academy Director. As the Director, Rick supervised the department’s accreditation process and became one of the first independent police academies in the country to become nationally accredited.

Since his retirement at the rank of Captain, Rick started Inspired Policing Solutions LLC, which is a consulting and training company geared toward impacting organizational transformation and community culture change. Aside from his law enforcement experience, Rick has utilized his skill set in the food bank industry where he served as the Chief Impact Officer for Feeding Southwest Virginia.

Rick continues to teach and consult many police agencies across the country. His area of expertise is in; Leadership growth, Organizational Change, Mentoring the Underachieving Employee, Community Policing and Effective Problem Solving, Crime Mapping and Hot Spot Policing, Domestic Terrorism, Managing the Police Training Unit, and advises organizations on employee/volunteer personal safety considerations and conducts security site risk assessments.

Although Rick is retired from law enforcement, he continues to work closely with community leaders, police organizations, private sector, and non-profit organizations across the country to impact meaningful change. Rick has written several books on leadership and work culture change and continues to seek new opportunities to develop leaders, refine organizations and engage communities to promote positive change.

Sgt. Robert E. Bemis- Director of Training, The Wounded Blue, Retired - Pennsylvania State Police

Sergeant Robert "Bob" Bemis retired in 2017 as a Supervisor in the Operational Training Division at the Pennsylvania State Police Academy in Hershey. With over 30 years of law enforcement experience, Sgt. Bemis spent more than a decade as a trainer in many police disciplines, specializing in officer safety, self-defense and civil disorder tactics. He worked in previous assignments as both a Patrol Trooper and Patrol Supervisor, at several stations in western Pennsylvania. Sgt. Bemis was also assigned to the Forensic Services Unit, investigating major crime and accident scenes with emphasis on evidence collection and fingerprint analysis.

In March 2015, Sgt. Bemis was severely injured while assisting a disabled motorist along an interstate highway. Following months of hospitalization and rehabilitation, Sgt. Bemis returned to his duties at the Academy, and continued teaching for more than a year before retirement. He shares the experience of his final 22 months in law enforcement as author of the book Forged in Scars & Stripes:
A Trooper's Victory Over Critical Injury.

Following retirement, Sgt. Bemis continues to provide training on a variety of law enforcement subjects, and travels to raise awareness to the hazards present to emergency responders along our highways. He currently serves as Director of Training and Peer Advocate for The Wounded Blue, the national support and assistance organization for injured & disabled officers.

He is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, serving on active duty from 1986 to 1992. As a Military Policeman, he performed high-level security assignments, first as a member of the helicopter squadron responsible for transporting the President, also known as "Marine One"; and later, for the National military Command Center at the Pentagon.

Chief Samuel A. Farina, Jr. (ret.) earned his bachelor’s degree in criminology from Niagara University in 1988 and went on to earn a master’s degree at Niagara University in Criminal Justice Administration in 2004.  In addition, Chief Farina received an additional master’s degree in forensic psychology from Walden University in 2016. 

Farina began his law enforcement career in 1988 with the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office as a deputy sheriff in Rochester, New York.  He rose through the ranks to achieve Police Commander with oversight of all administrative functions for the 1200-member full-service Sheriff’s Office.  In 2008, Chief Farina transferred to the Rochester Police Department as a Police Commander and was charged with oversight of the 781-member department’s special operations section.  In 2009, Chief Farina was promoted to the position of Deputy Chief of Operations for the RPD until retiring in 2011.  After living in North Carolina upon retirement and working as an administrative assistant to the police chiefs at the Durham Police Department and the Southern Pines Police Department, Farina returned to NY to take a position as the Police Chief with the Fairport Police Department.  After 7 years of service as the police chief, Farina took on his current position as the Director of School Security at the Fairport School District. 

In addition, to the above police administrative experience, Farina has been a certified police hostage negotiator since 2001.  Currently the founder and president of the New York Association of Hostage Negotiators, Chief Farina has been involved with the training of over 10,000 negotiators nationwide.  Farina is also a certified negotiator training with the Department of State’s Anti-Terrorism Assistance Program.  Farina has been a negotiation team commander, an incident commander and special teams’ commander with an experience of over 100 crisis events. 

Samuel Allen has over twenty-three years in the field of investigations for both public and private sectors. Sam has obtained several certifications in forensic and fire investigations. Formed partnerships with both Federal and State Law Enforcement Agencies, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Louisiana State Police and State Fire Marshal’s Office to maximize the resources available for fire investigations. Sam has been involved in over 700 fire and explosion scene examinations.

Mr. Longo is a licensed attorney in the State of Ohio. He has practiced in numerous trial courts throughout the State of Ohio. He began his career as a prosecutor in 1989 handling felony crimes ranging from thefts to capital murder. When Mr. Longo left the prosecutor’s office in 2001, he was the deputy director of the child abuse unit. At this time, he began his career with the Ohio Attorney General’s office where he was the first full time director and prosecutor for the Computer Crime Task Force. While directing the task force, Mr. Longo assisted local prosecutors in the charging and the prosecution of cyber related crimes. Mr. Longo has tried numerous cyber related cases from the trial court to arguing before the Courts of Appeal and the Ohio Supreme Court. In 1991 Mr. Longo was cross designated a Special United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio. Mr. Longo retired from the State of Ohio in 2016 having served thirty-one years. From 2016-2021 Mr. Longo was an Investigative Attorney working for the Ohio Inspector General.

Teaching / Lecturing Experience

As an Instructor, Mr. Longo has provided expert consultations, written curriculum and taught for the US Department of State (ATA and WMDT) and the United States Secret Service (NCFI).

Education

BA Political Science, The Ohio State University 1985

JD, Capital University Law School 1988

Silouan instructs on Leadership, Peer Support, PTSD and Mental Health, and Veterans and Officers in Crisis. He has taught around the country for organizations such as: New York Police Department, National Park Service, Department of Homeland Security, National Association of Hostage Negotiators, California Highway Patrol, Broward County Sheriff's Office, Chicago Police Department, Bureau of Land Management, Walter Reed Medical Center, Fort Bragg, the University of California, the University of Wisconsin, Indiana University, Purdue University, Fort Campbell, Camp LeJeune, the American Red Cross, the Marine Corps League, Mental Health America, the National Association of Mental Illness, the Veterans Administration, the National Guard, hundreds of police and sheriff’s departments, countless conventions and many other mental health and community organizations across the country.

Silouan is focused on delivering solid information and practical tools for leading. He gives a broad perspective that officers find refreshing, educational, and most of all, motivating to lead. What you learn in this class you can implement immediately to improve the morale and effectiveness of your team.

Silouan graduated from Vanderbilt University and then accepted a commission in the United States Marine Corps. While serving in the Marines, Silouan was involved in a jet training accident. In the ejection, Silouan's back was broken and his co-pilot tragically killed. This horrible event and the complications that followed led to the development of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD. He was disability discharged and then had to learn to put his life back together. It began with a two-year motorcycle journey where he learned to live. He then devoted the rest of his life to service and helping others overcome trauma. He has written three books, “The Ladder UPP”, “Who Am I?”, and “Sycamore Hill”. 

Stu Hobson has been with the Nampa Police Department for 24 years and has been a School Resource Officer for 21 years.

Stu graduated from Boise State University in 1996 with a BS degree in Criminal Justice Administration. 

Stu has worked in all levels of schools including Elementary, Middle and High Schools. Stu has specialized in site safety assessments and planning for critical incidents and seat belt safety awareness programs.

Stu has served on the school districts Emergency Operations Planning committee, Idaho Office of School Safety and Security Law Enforcement Advisory Committee and the Idaho Transportation Department Occupant Safety Committee. Stu has facilitated a student lead seat belt safety program and won multiple awards both at the state and National levels.

In 2001 Stu received the Nampa Police Officer of the year award and in 2018 the State of Idaho SRO of the year.