“Did you or did you not check the entire house for evidence of drug paraphernalia?” demands the defense attorney. Are you,

the expert witness, ready with an intelligent and professional response? You didn’t check the whole house; you were only supposed to cover the kitchen. If you answer the question the way he wants, it will sound like the scene was not properly processed. Testifying in court can be nerve racking for any law enforcement professional. To make matters worse, facing an aggressive cross ex-amination can make officers feel like they are on trial. Some questions are designed to con-fuse even the most prepared expert witness. MCTC’s, Trial Preparation, Presentation, and Testimony Course (Trial Prep.) covers everything from how to handle evidence to how to handle tempers. Students taking this course get an inside look at the hard questions. During in-class instruction the teachers discuss different strategies lawyers may use. Then stu-dents are tested in a courtroom setting. Scenarios help students build their skills as active participants in the courtroom. Students not only testify; they also act as the judge and

TT A K I N GA K I N G T H ET H E S TA N DS TA N D W I T HW I T H MC TCMC TCB Y T E C H S G T . S A R A M A N I S C A L C O

MCTC’s mission is to provide the highest

quality training for the lowest possible cost to

all those involved in the fight against drug

trafficking and substance abuse.

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :

CSI: Camp Dodge Page 2

Instructor Spotlight Page 3

The Stand (cont.) Page 3

Testimonial Page 4

M C TC OM C TC O F F I C E RF F I C E R II NN CC H A R G EH A R G E BB I D SI D S FF A R E W E L LA R E W E L Las the service men and women throughout the National Guard. I have been humbled by being allowed to serve in the capacity of “Officer In Charge”. Mostly, however, the dedica-tion, commitment and drive by the MCTC staff continues to awe me. It leaves me feeling that all teams I am a part of in the future will be critically compared to MCTC. I am extremely happy to have Major Sonya Finch take the reins. I know MCTC will all be in good hands. I’ve known Sonya since I first came to the Iowa Guard from Active Duty in 1999, and have always admired her professional-

ism and approach to leadership. You won’t find a more dedicated officer to serve with you! I know that MCTC will continue to look for ways to bring the best possible training to our students, while providing a truly team-oriented atmosphere to each member of our staff. Thank you all for making me look forward to each day as the OI C for the past four years!” We bid farewell and good luck to Major Doss and the rest of the MCTC staff who will serve overseas for the next year. The rest of us will hold the fort down and look forward to see-ing you all again soon.

www.counterdrugtraining.comwww.counterdrugtraining.com

Spring 2010

THE INFORMANTTHE INFORMANT

MCTC is now on Facebook!Become a fan and show your support for MCTC!Get links to newsletters

and videos. You can also network with classmates and others in the MCTC

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B57 7105 NW 70th Johnston, IA 50131

(800) 803-6532(515) 252-4756DSN 431-4756

FAX (515) 727-3613

No. 2, Vol. 1

Wiley ‘Sunny’ McAfee, Trial Preparation, Presenta-tion, and Testimony instructor, asks Kasey Gilzer, MCTC student, to recall the layout of a scenario during cross examination. Students taking MCTC’s Trial Prep. class are given crime scene scenarios to remember and then testify about what they saw in front of their class members acting as a jury. Photo by: TSgt Sara Maniscalco

Major Larry Doss has been the Officer in Charge (OIC) at MCTC for the last four years. He, along with much of the MCTC staff, is leaving soon for a year-long deployment. Here are a few words he would like to say to everyone he has worked with over the years. “My time with MCTC has been nothing short of inspiring. From the mission of providing the best training at the lowest possible cost, to the outstanding men and women of law enforce-ment. To the prevention and treat-ment specialists and our incredible instructors. I thank the govern-ment officials at all levels as well

jury. This helps develop the students’ understand-ing of each person's role in the courtroom. This set-up also helps students learn the need for coop-eration between investigation and prosecution. The instructors for this course are Sunny McAffee and Ted Wilson. They both served as law

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“I learned that photography is a very important aspect of crime scene investi-gation. We covered a lot of in-depth information required for photography such as F-stop and how you capture light sources manually instead of just letting the camera do it,” says Captain Chris Grote, Pike County, Kan. Sheriff’s Office, CSI Student. By the students learning to capture images manually they get better pictures. Many situations can make a camera’s auto settings not be the best choice. Snow for instance is a great way to capture a footprint but a difficult way to take a photo because of the reflection of ice crystals. So they learn a few tricks-of-the-trade on collecting photos of footprints. “The officers must be able to perform their duties successfully in all conditions, and the snow is certainly no exception. Therefore, we conduct practical exercises outside regardless of the weather. This builds their confi-dence so they can succeed when they experience similar conditions during an actual investigation,” explains Black. Black has been working in forensics for nearly 20 years and has had the opportunity to see just about any situation a crime scene can offer.

“Many of my experiences are similar to what these officers may see. I share my stories to hopefully assist them when they come across something new. I've also made a few mistakes along the way, and by sharing those experiences, I can help them avoid making the same mistakes,” says Black. Black teaches his students to see evidence at a crime scene that can be easily overlooked. Footwear impression evidence. A criminal may wear gloves to prevent leaving fingerprints, but may not know that they need to cover their tracks…literally. “Footwear impressions provide information as to the make and model of the shoe that produced the impression. These can be compared to the known shoes of an individual to determine whether or not those shoes made the impression,” explains Black. In addition to taking photos, students learn the techniques and tools of electrostatic dust lifting and gel lifting. They also get an opportunity to create a three-dimensional footwear cast. All of the techniques discussed in class can improve evidence collection. They can preserve that moment in time so as science continues to improve, future technicians can revisit that frozen moment in time and bring justice to otherwise unsolved cases.

CSI: CCSI : C A M PA M P DD O D G EO D G EPP R E S E R V I N GR E S E R V I N G P I E C E SP I E C E S O FO F H I S T O RYH I S T O RY I NI N TT I M EI M E

S T O R Y A N D P H O T O B Y T E C H S G T . S A R A M A N I S C A L C O

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I t is a crime scene investigator’s responsibility to collect evidence at the scene, interpret it, and explain

what happened. They have just one op-portunity to preserve the evidence prop-erly so it does not get lost to the ele-ments and time. Evidence is valuable and can prove that someone was present at a crime scene. Other times it can prove that a person is being wrongly accused. Regardless, it is an investigator’s job to help find the truth. Fundamentals of Crime Scene Investigation & Evidence Collection (CSI) at MCTC helps law enforcement professionals do just that. They learn proper methods of evidence collection. “Proper evidence collection methods are designed to maximize the chances of recovering useful evidence. Proper col-lection and preservation techniques also permit future testing to be performed that is not currently possible,” explains John Black, CSI Instructor. DNA evidence is an example of tech-nology that was not readily available 20 years ago. However, thanks to proper evidence collection at the time of the crime those samples can be re-examined. DNA profiling is not the only way cases get solved though. Sometimes it is true that a picture can say a thousand words. “Good evidence photography clearly depicts what a particular item is and where it is located in the crime scene. It will also clearly and accurately depict the crime scene as seen by the photographer. It affords those not present at the crime scene an opportunity to view the evidence,” says Black. Proper evidence photography is one of the main focuses of MCTC’s CSI class. It is an affordable, easy and effective method of collecting visual evidence if done right. Students learn how to manually operate a camera to best represent a crime scene. They also experiment with lighting, angles and camera settings. They learn different techniques during hands-on photography exercises.

Captain Chris Grote observes as Detective Sean Flynn, both Pike County, Mo. Sheriff's office, pours liquid that will become the cast of a footprint found in the snow. Students taking MCTC’s Fundamentals of Crime Scene Investigation class learn how to collect evidence from many types of environments and surfaces.

“Officers must be able to perform their “Officers must be able to perform their duties successfully in all conditions, and duties successfully in all conditions, and the snow is certainly no exception.the snow is certainly no exception.Therefore, we conduct practical exercises Therefore, we conduct practical exercises outside, regardless of the weather,” outside, regardless of the weather,”

-- John Black, CSI InstructorJohn Black, CSI Instructor

II N S T RU C TO RN S T RU C TO R SS P OT L I G H TP OT L I G H TD E B O R A H M C M A H O N

She is a firm believer that training before an incident goes well feels much better than remedial training after an incident goes bad. “A student’s success will have had noth-ing to do with anything I taught them to say. It is because they learned a little about psy-chological crises, how to work together as a team, and the importance of effectively man-aging information. Most importantly, through scenario-driven training, they were able to gain confidence in their own abili-ties,” says McMahon. McMahon teaches this course because she believes it helps protect the innocent as well as the person who is in crisis. “Nothing makes me prouder than to hear from a student who was able to talk some-one off a bridge, gain the release of children who were being held at gunpoint by their father, or who was able to reach a person who felt they had no alternative but to take their own life,” she says.

The Fine PrintThe Midwest Counterdrug Training Center (MCTC) Newsletter is part of the Iowa National Guard’s Counterdrug Task Force located on Camp Dodge, Iowa. Information provided in this publication is intended to help law enforcement agencies improve readiness and training through MCTC. Opinions expressed or implied in this publication are not necessarily those of the Adjutant General of Iowa, Counterdrug, or the Department of Defense.

Send submissions or suggestions for this publication to: MCTC, Counterdrug (Iowa), Attn: Tech. Sgt. Sara Maniscalco,

7105 NW 70th Avenue Bldg. A8, Johnston, IA 50131-1824. E-mail: sara.maniscalco@us.army.mil or Phone: (515) 727-3680

TT A K I N GA K I N G T H ET H E SS TA N DTA N D (( C O NC O N ’’ TT ))

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enforcement officers and lawyers before retiring. These veterans of the courtroom act as the lawyers during scenarios and know the difficult questions to ask. The instructors’ real-world experiences add to the credibility of this course. Scenarios reflect real cases that the instructors encountered in their careers. Names and some details are changed to protect the identity of those involved in the original case. However, the lessons learned from the case remains the same. Kasey Gilzer, an Identification Technician for Council Bluffs Police Department knows that she now has the tools needed to excel in the courtroom environment. “I wanted to be prepared and know what questions to expect if I do need to testify someday. This class has definitely helped me prepare. When we did the practical exercise I knew what to expect because we talked about it,” says Gilzer. Wilson explains that part of the learning experience is not only how to answer questions accurately but how you conduct your-

(Continued from page 1) self when the defense lawyer starts cross examination and tries to trip you up. The students then get a packet of information on the cases to study before going on the stand. This is when the real lesson begins. “Without a class like this, most officers or technicians will experience their first testimony when they get on the stand in a real trial. Here, students get to go through the same thing but they get to work the bugs out for free before it really counts in a court room,” explains Wilson. The course emphasizes preparation, beginning with the inves-tigation, and following through the motion to suppress evidence, and trial. Students prepare reports, exhibits, and testimony for participation in the motion to suppress and the trial. Each student participates in direct examination and cross examination. “The biggest lesson students will learn this week is that going to trial requires a lot of preparation. It’s not something that you just show up for 15 minutes before you get on the stand, get up there say your peace and leave. There is a lot more to it than that,” says Wilson.

Crisis/ Hostage Negotiation Student, Lt. Adrienne Gilchrist, Wyandotte Sheriff’s Office, Kan. requests information from McMahon during the hostage negotiation scenario. McMahon acts as a headquarters for information and gives students what they need to help with their negotiations with the person in crisis. This information consists of license plate registration, num-ber and location of children and criminal history. She also simulates delivery of ciga-rettes and food. The scenario continues until there is a reasonable resolution.

Deborah McMahon teaches MCTC’s Crisis/ Hostage Negotiation, Basic, Intermediate, for Schools and for

Correctional Environments. She spent more than 20 years in the U.S. Army as a Criminal Investigation Command (CID) Agent. During that time she served on crisis negotiation teams and negotiated numerous hostage, barricaded subjects and potential suicide situations. A negotiator talks to a person in crisis who may not be thinking clearly. They help the person make better decisions such as releasing hostages or not taking their own lives. Peaceful resolution is the main goal. Recently, McMahon has seen a growing appreciation and understanding of the nego-tiation community. “Not that long ago, a crisis incident was all about the tactical team. A negotiator just rode along with the tactical team. Now it is recognized that we play equally important roles in successful resolutions,” she says.

Testimonials: Here is what one student says about the training!Testimonials: Here is what one student says about the training!Dear Mr. Upchurch: I am a United States Probation Officer in the Southern District of Indiana. I, along with two of my colleagues, attended the Physical Surveillance class taught by Lou Savelli at MCTC. I just wanted to provide some positive feedback on this class and our experience with MCTC. As you know, many government agencies are looking to cut back on expenses, with training sometimes taking a big hit. Our officers were allowed to attend this training by our management staff because of the free training and free room and board offered by MCTC. That was a big factor in our attendance. We will definitely look forward to attending future training opportunities with MCTC. Thank you again for your hospitality while we were at your training. I would also like to commend the instructors of this course, Lou Savelli and Paul Rossi. They obviously have a great amount of experience in their prior careers with NYPD. They were able to communicate their experience and knowledge in a very relaxed and comfortable learning atmosphere. We learned a great deal about physical surveillance techniques that we will now be able to pass along to the other officers in our district. Additionally, at my request, Lou forwarded me some of his course materials, which will greatly assist in this training. Thank you for allowing me to express my gratitude and appreciation for this valuable training opportunity.

Sincerely, C.D. US Probation Office, Southern District of Indiana Tell us your story at: www.counterdrugtraining.com

www.counterdrugtraining.com

An MCTC student measures out a component of meth during the ‘meth cook’ portion of MCTC’s Clandestine Laboratory Safety Certification. During the course students learn to recognize each stage of methamphetamine pro-duction. This is important in knowing what substances are volatile and how to dismantle the lab. See the full story in the next issue of THE INFORMANTTHE INFORMANT..

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