1. Where did you grow up & what was it like? Grew up in Brown City, Mi--It was GREAT! Nothing like growing up in the country! was great knowing everyone in town. Loved the party's and riding dirtbikes with my friends

2. What is your favorite part of working for your department? I Love Training the new recruits, and watching them succeed, especially when they have struggled in the beginning. I love it when THE LIGHT COMES ON and you see it in a recruits face that he/she GETS IT!!

3. How do you define success? Career success is when your peers respect you, and they come to you for advice on a situation whether its job or personal related. Personal success is having a nice home, vehicles and some money in the bank.

4. What have you learned over your lifetime that you'd like to share with the younger generation? SLOW DOWN! Don't try to grow up too fast...Good things in life don't come easy, nor do they come quickly.

5. What is your favorite hobby? Riding my motorcycles...it clears my head and relieves my stress.

6. Who has had the greatest influence on you?  .My DAD...He pushed me do get off my butt and do something worthwhile with my life...So, I did...and I thank my mom and dad for the motivation

7. What will be your legacy? Is the world better because of you/your work/your influence? My personal legacy is that I didn't take any guff from anyone...not even other cops. I never caved-in to peer pressure regardless if it was popular or not. I do believe that the Denver Police Department has certainly benefited from my training new officers to be professional, dedicated and honest to everyone. Senior officers have also benefited from the same.

8. What's the funniest work story/ event you remember?  There are many...One story that sticks out is ....One time I was sent into Aurora, Colorado (a neighboring jurisdiction) to handle a domestic violence call. The actual domestic violence assault had occurred in Denver, but the couple lived in Aurora. The male had struck the female several times and she did receive obvious bruising on her face and chest area. They were at a social event in Denver, but the fight continued after the got home in Aurora. The female eventually called 911 and Aurora police responded. After interviewing both parties it was determined the fight started in Denver, and should be handled by Denver PD since it started in our city. When I arrived in the middle of Aurora at the victims address I seen THREE Aurora PD police cars and FIVE Aurora officers. The main senior Aurora PD officer was SEVEN FOOT TALL (Seriously) and was a Aurora SWAT officer. I also seen about 5 kids sitting on the sidewalk a house down the street from where I was going....As I walked past the 5 kids on the sidewalk I overheard the kids say "OH SHIT....THIS MUST BE SERIOUS...DENVER IS HERE!!!!"  LOL......Mind you, I'm 5ft 10..on a good day and the senior Aurora officer was 7 ft tall,.....and there was 5 Aurora guys...and I was by myself!! It made me smile (and on the inside I said..YOU GOT THAT RIGHT KID!!)...The male was arrested for Assault/Disturbance/Domestic Violence....As I walked back past the 5 kiddos they got up and saluted me.....I gave them all Denver Police stickers.

9. Is there anything I haven't asked about that you would care to comment on? My favorite thing about being a cop. Well, two things. First, is helping people out of bad situations...and catching the bad guys. Second, is the look on little kids faces when they see you, whether its in a restaurant, a store, or in their home....they just stare at your uniform like your from Mars, when you smile at them and they smile back...it melts your heart...If it doesn't your not human..

10. What is your favorite dinner & what do you drink with it? I'm pretty easy to please at the dinner table. But, there is nothing like a well cooked NY strip steak, with garlic-mashed potato's , corn on the cobb and a wheat beer..

Bio: Currently I'm 43 years old. I have been with the Denver Police Department almost 14years. I have been A Corporal (Senior Field Training Officer) for 8 years. Prior to that I was a Narcotics Detective for a year. Prior to that I was on the IMPACT Team for 2 years.  Ive spent most of my time in Patrol-Related assignments. My favorite assignment is what I do no, teaching new officers.  

Prior to working for Denver PD I was a Correctional Officer in Canon City, Colorado for the Colorado State Department of Corrections for just over 2 years. I worked mainly in Minimum Security, but spent time in the Colorado State Super Max and in Womens Facility and started the Armed Perimeter Patrol Unit and Armed Gate Guard Unit.   I met my now ex-wife Gail in the Army. She now lives in North Carolina with our daughter (Nicole, who just turned 17)...We were married 6 years.  

Prior to that I was in The United States ARMY right out of Highschool. I spent 9 years total in the ARMY. I achieved the rank of Sergeant in 5 years. I was in Desert Shield and Desert Storm. I was in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and many other assignments. I was in White Sands, NM for 1 year, and 6 years in Germany (Frankfurt, Werthheim, Nurnburg, Wuerzburg, Giebelstadt ..to name only a few assignments)...and 1 1/2 years in Ft Carson, Colorado....   I was fortunate enough to travel all over Europe while in Germany..I went to Spain, Italy, France, Austria to name only a few places visited....  

Prior to all that...I was born in Marlette, Michigan and raised in Brown City, Michigan. I graduated from Brown City Highschool.... I lived in Brown City until I was 18 years old and went into the military...My younger brother Danny, died in 2003 in Sterling Heights, Michigan...My saddest memory of Michigan. He is buried in Imlay City, Michigan-where my parents still live now. My older sister, Kathy lives in North Branch, MI. My older brother Dave, lives here in Parker, Colorado with his wife and 2 kids.

1.  Where did you grow up & what was it like?  Born in Phoenix, I grew up in the Ozarks of Missouri.  My formative years were is small town America with a graduating high school class of 106.  We spent a lot of time outdoors swimming, fishing, and camping. 

2.  What is your title & your favorite part of working for your department?  I worked my way up through the ranks to Captain and retired as a Lieutenant.  The LE side of our dept. was 350 personnel serving a metro area of 1 million.  My favorite part, as I climbed the ranks, was “fixing” broken or out of date processes or functions that I was given charge of.  I believe it’s a manager or supervisors job to provide his personnel with all the tools and training to do their jobs and then get out of the way.

3.  How do you define success?   Making someone’s day better. 

4. What have you learned over your lifetime that you'd like to share with the younger generation?  It’s not about the money or the stuff it’s about the people.  Relationship is all that matters.  If you can leave somebody feeling better about their job or their day than the rest will take care of its self.

5.  What is your favorite hobby? It used to be golf but now I find by “retirement job” of teaching and consulting my hobby.  I find great satisfaction in sharing what I’ve discovered over the years and then helping agencies apply that to their training programs.  I still play a little golf and do some fishing and deer hunting.  Most of my free time is spent with my family which I enjoy the most.

6.  Who has had the greatest influence on you?  I’ve never had “idols” in people so this has always been a hard question for me.  My dad was a great example of hard work, loyalty, and commitment.  Leaders the employ common sense in their theme and make it easy to learn from like John Maxwell or Ken Blanchard are good examples.  I have a deep Christian faith and use treating others as I would want to be treated in like circumstances as my guide.

7.  What will be your legacy? Is the world better because of you/your work/your influence?My legacy at the dept. I retired from was taking them from a training ground to one of the best funded in the state.  I believe that you must be accountable for yourself and your future or someone else will by default and you will probably not like the results.  I hope my legacy now is that people consider themselves or situations the better for knowing me.

8.   What's the funniest work story/ event you remember? As a young troop I was dispatched to a “Rattle Snake” call.  I have an extreme dislike for snakes.  I found a six-footer, coiled under a roll around toolbox on the carport, that was none too happy with our presence.  It had almost bitten one of the children that lived in the home and mom had called us.  I positioned myself about fifteen feet away, pistol in hand, trying to figure out how I was going to shoot it without a ricochet from the concrete foundation he was up against.  As we continued to stare each other down, me holding my .357 magnum, in my shaky hands, he not trying to leave but none too happy with me being there, the misses of the house video camera on her shoulder behind me recording the event for her husband, and a previously unnoticed blue “bug” light hanging from the corner of the carport.  Do you know the sound one of those lights makes when it zaps a bug?  Especially a big bug?  Well it’s similar or at least seemed very similar at the time to that of a rattle snake…..  No I didn’t shoot it but almost….  The misses promptly said…”let me turn that off” of to which I shakingly responded yeaaaa.  I eventually took my chances with shooting the snake where he was and now he is a belt in my closet.  I don’t know whatever happened to that video tape but I’m sure it would win the big money on the funniest video show.

9. Is there anything I haven't asked about that you would care to comment on?  I would encourage those behind me to find an honorable mentor and someone that has full access and permission to hold them accountable.  This would have prevented me from making some of the mistakes I make in my life.

10. What is your favorite dinner & what do you drink with it?  A Ribeye steak, cooked on the grill, medium rare, with a baked potato cooked in the coals and then covered in butter and sour cream, and grilled zucchini.  I glass of Merlot is a nice addition

Richard L. Whitehead bio...
Joining the Travis County Sheriff’s Office (TCSO), Austin TX, in 1986 Rick worked his way up through the ranks to Captain as the agency grew from a few hundred to over fifteen hundred personnel. Command positions included: Homicide, SWAT, White Collar Crime, Computer Forensics, Family Violence, Child Abuse, Intelligence, Crime Lab, 911-Communications, School Resource Officer, Canine (K-9), Lake Patrol, Traffic, Patrol Platoons, and the Field Training Program. After retiring from TCSO, Rick accepted the position of Director of Columbia 911, Columbia County, Oregon. Among his accomplishments were the adoptions of a multi-million dollar budget after one meeting and a dispatcher contract in two. He now provides professional public safety services and consulting for corporations and agencies across the country through Richard Whitehead & Associates LLC.
Rick’s administrative experience includes: directing high profile investigative units, SWAT, managing multi-million dollar budgets, employee compensation programs, and equipment solutions. Incident Command during natural disasters such as the Jarrell tornado, hurricanes Rita and Katrina, and events with influxes of over 60,000 attendees. As a member of the Operations Board for the Combined Transportation Emergency Communications Center (CTECC), Austin TX, he was part of a multi-jurisdictional team which brought to realization a regional digital radio and mobile data system that serves over a million people.
His technical expertise includes: assessing unit efficiencies, design, review and implementation of training programs, instructor development, and investigative training and consultation. As a mentor and trainer, he created a Field Training Program singularly used by TCSO and widely adopted by agencies across the country.
Rick holds a Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences Degree from Midwestern State University focused on Public Administration and Criminal Justice; is a graduate of the FBI National Academy; and the Bill Blackwood Law Enforcement Management Institute Leadership and Command College. He is a Certified Public Manager, and trains on a national level to include the National Incident Management System (NIMS) in Incident Command.
With 34 years in public service, Rick has been working with agencies of various sizes across the nation. At 18 years of age, he served his country in the US Army as a Military Policeman and after Honorable Discharge began his civilian career as a Patrolman for Baytown, suburb of Houston, then 25 years with the Travis County Sheriff's Office. He is married and has three grown children and two grandchildren.
Richard Whitehead & Associates LLC.
Consulting Services
 Investigative
 Surveillance
 Forensic Statement Analysis
 Case Consultation
 Executive Protection
 Event Security Planning
 Security Consultation
Public Safety Services
 Efficiency Review and Assessment
 Training Programs Designed
 Returning Veteran Re-Immersion
 911 Communications (CTO)
 SWAT Operator (STO)
 New Supervisor (STO)
 Corrections (CTO)
 Patrol (FTO)
Training Curriculums
 Field Training Officer Certification and Program Administrators Course
Designed to assimilate officers into the role of becoming professional field training officers, supervisors, or administrators. The course covers the history of field-training programs, task analysis, field-training manual development, roles and responsibilities, the learning process, conflict resolution, ethics, training/evaluation techniques, policy development, case law, and proper documentation techniques. Excellent for those wishing to redesign or build a program.
 Instructor Development and Certification
Theory and practice in the learning process, learning styles, teaching styles, adult vs. youth learning, instructor ethics, personalities, and hand-on practice developing learning objectives, teaching materials, lesson plans, and presentations.
 Leadership 101
Prepares supervisors and field training officers for their new role. Topics include values, ethics, principles, communication, leadership styles, problem solving, counseling techniques, personality types, cultural diversity, planning, and organizing.
 Forensic Statement Analysis
Is a highly effective tool in the detection of deception and the identification of hidden information in a person’s written or spoken statement. The forensic analysis involves a process of critically examining word choice, structure, and content to determine the veracity of a statement and pinpoints areas for the investigator to explore during the interview.

Spent 13 years with the Bellevue Police Department, Six years with the Washington State Gambling and 13 years with the Washington State Attorney General’s Office.

1.  Where did you grown up & what was it like?
I grew up in several places mostly in Colorado spending a few of my younger years in Hanna Wyoming.  We moved from place to place while my dad followed construction work.  He worked as a carpenter most of the time with the exception of coal mining while we lived in Wyoming.  During my teen-age years we lived in Brighton, Co where I met my best friend at the time.  He later moved to Denver and I went there a lot to visit.  Through him I met my wife when she was 12 & I was only 13 (we married in later years though).  I did not really care about living in Brighton and would have much rather lived in Denver so I spent most of my time there especially after getting a driver’s license and a car.  In my later high school years we moved closer to Denver to a town called Derby.

I got married in 1960 and worked at various jobs mostly in the silk screen business.  Around 1966 I started thinking about being a police officer but did not pursue that career until we moved to Washington State.  I worked at Boeing Co for 3 years before being hired as a patrolman for the City of Bellevue WA, a suburb of Seattle.

2.  What were your positions & titles?  What is your favorite part of working for your department?
I started out my career as a patrolman at the age of 27 which was much later than most other officers.  After 3 ½ years in patrol I was promoted to the detective division where I worked as a narcotic’s detective.  After 18 months there I went into the person’s crime unit, as a Person’s Detective, where I investigated rape, robbery, assault and homicide cases.  After 13 years with Bellevue I went to work for the Washington State Gambling Commission as a Special Investigator and then onto the Washington State Attorney General’s Office with the Homicide Investigation Tracking System (HITS for short).  My title there was Senior/Supervisor Investigator/Analyst.  There we collected homicide cases state wide, entered them into a computer system and looked for case linkage.  We also reviewed homicide cases for police agencies, gave them procedural advice and investigative assistance.  I also gave classes to detectives from other agencies.

As you can see I worked for 3 different agencies during my 32 years so I am not sure if I can make a determination of my favorite thing.  I will say that I enjoyed every step in my career but one of the most memorable was during my 18 months in the narcotic division.  We made a lot of drug cases and I worked undercover at times to make them happen.  I also worked surveillance while my partners were undercover.  This was a very exciting time at the PD.  The most favorite part of working for the Gambling Commission are the people that I worked with.  We had some great times from playing poker to making great meals in the office at lunch time.  Working at the HITS unit was a great job in that I got involved in the investigation of many homicide cases without having to be called out in the middle of the night or going to the sometimes gory crime scene and it was exciting to review cases and help other agencies with their investigations.  This was the best of both worlds so to speak.

3.  How do you define success?
I think success is defined as being happy with what you are doing, doing a good job at it and being remembered by your fellow peers as a good person and a good investigator.

4.  What have you learned over your lifetime that you’d like to share with the younger generation?
One thing is what I stated under question 3.  Just being a good person, doing the best job you can do and doing a job that you really enjoy.  Knowing that you can do anything that you set out to do but not allowing the job to take over other things in your life, such as a spouse and children.

5.  What is your favorite hobby?
Currently my favorite hobby is entering all our photographs into my computer system.  We have thousands and it is taking a good deal of time.  My last hobby was wood working, making clocks, boxes and wall hangings.  We moved into a smaller home recently and I don’t have the room I once had, so the wood working has slowed down some.  I am attempting to write some stories also.

6.  Who has had the greatest influence on you?
I would have to say that my mom & dad had the most influence on me as they both told me to always be the best at whatever I did in life.  Neither of them was in law enforcement but they taught me a lot.

I have to also give my wife of 52 years a lot of credit for staying with me and supporting me in my year career.

7.  What will be your legacy?  Is the world better because of you/your work/your influence?
I think my legacy is that I was helpful in setting modern standards for investigating homicide and rape cases for the Bellevue Police Department before I left there.

I cannot say with certainty that the world is better because of me but I would like to think so.  Given the above statement and the fact that I did a lot of training during my career I think I made at least a small impact.

8. What’s the funniest work story/event you remember?
I was working the night shift in patrol, sneaking around some buildings looking for possible burglars.  I had all my lights off as well as the brake lights.  I was creeping very slowly when I drove over a speed bump which made me hit the horn accidently.  So much for being sneaky as anyone for several blocks would have heard the horn honk.

9. Is there anything I haven’t asked about that you would care to comment on?
I would like to say that my wife and I got married when I was18 and she was only 17.  We had two children, a boy and a girl two years after him.  We have been married for 52 years and she stood behind me all the way through my career.  We also have 4 granddaughters and one great granddaughter (where are all the boys).  My wife and I both come from a large family with 6 siblings each.

10.  What is your favorite dinner & what do you drink with it?
I would have to say that currently my favorite meal is East Indian food.  I love the flavors and the great after taste it gives me.  I sometimes drink a glass of red wine with this meal but just as often I just drink water.

Short Bio: Gary F. Trent, born in 1942 in Colorado Springs, Co.  I lived in several places in Colorado, Wyoming, and Washington State & now in Arizona.  I have been married to the same wife for 52 years.  We have two children, a boy and a girl, four granddaughters and one great granddaughter.  I spent 13 years with the Bellevue Police Department, Six years with the Washington State Gambling and 13 years with the Washington State Attorney General’s Office.

We have traveled extensively over the years going to Italy, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Bolivia, Balez, Costa Rica, Madagascar and France.  Our daughter owns and runs a Bed & Breakfast in southern France and we have been there often.  We plan on a trip to Panama this fall with a possibility of living there or maybe house sitting