The National Law Enforcement Traffic Safety Summit

July 28, 2022

8:15 AM – 5:00 PM ET

Summit took place at the National Law Enforcement Museum

Questions? Contact Nicholas Breul at [email protected] or 202-737-7133

Sponsored By

Throughout the United States, law enforcement officers place themselves in danger every hour of every day as they respond to priority calls for service, handle crash scenes, and pursue violent criminals fleeing in vehicles. And, each year, an average of 48 officers are killed in vehicle-related incidents and over the past five years (2017-2021) a total of 241 officers were killed in traffic-related incidents. Many of these crashes were preventable and others could have been avoided or mitigated if additional safety precautions were taken.

To create greater awareness of the persistent dangers officers face while operating on our nation’s roadways and to promote a stronger culture of safety within all law enforcement agencies in the United States and its territories, the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund will host a one-day summit at the National Law Enforcement Museum in Washington, DC, for in-person and virtual participants to hear presentations and discussions on the issue of law enforcement traffic-related fatalities and how to make it safer for officers and instill a stronger culture of safety. The Summit will bring together a panel of experts who are working to improve traffic safety for law enforcement to discuss the issues and propose a set of universal recommendations that will be shared with the law enforcement community to improve vehicle and roadside safety.

Sponsored by Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, this free event will feature a series of 45-minute panel discussions and presentations hosted in conjunction with the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration

In-person attendees will enjoy continental breakfast as well as free time to explore the Museum and experience its state-of-the-art simulators.

Featured Speakers

The National Law Enforcement Traffic Safety Summit will feature high-profile law enforcement leaders, iconic thought leaders, and subject-matter experts in the field of law enforcement traffic safety. Slated speakers and panelists include: 

  • Rob Beidler, Retired Undersheriff and traffic safety expert for the National Policing Institute’s National Law Enforcement Roadway Safety Program (NLERSP)
  • Nick Breul, Senior Project Manager, National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund
  • U.S. Congresswoman Val Demings, representing Florida’s 10th Congressional District
  • Tom Dirlam, Retired Inspector, Michigan State Police, Below-100 Core Instructor
  • Brian Dougherty, Government Sales, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
  • U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, Illinois
  • Lieutenant Commander Melanie Lee Fowler, FACE Investigator, U.S. Public Health Service, CDC-NIOSH
  • Gordon Graham, Risk Manager, Attorney and Law Enforcement Policy Expert, Graham Research Consultants
  • Todd Leiss, Traffic Incident Management Coordinator, Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission
  • Daniel Sharp, Retired Chief of Police and IACP Highway Safety Committee Chairman
  • John Whetsel, Retired Sheriff and Chairman of the National Sheriff’s Association’s Traffic Safety Committee

Agenda

Subject to change

8:15-8:45am: Check-in and Continental Breakfast
8:45-9:10am: Welcome and Keynote Address

9:10-9:45am: Session #1  “What is Killing Officers on Our Roadways: A Review of the Data”

Nick Breul, retired Traffic Safety Branch Lieutenant with the Washington Metropolitan Police Department and Senior Project Manager for the Memorial Fund will review the crash data and highlight the crash trends his research has identified and where law enforcement can focus its safety efforts to lower risk and reduce crashes.

10:00-10:45am: Session #2   “Traffic Incident Management System (TIMS) and the Struck-By Reporting Tool”

Todd Leiss, a 23-year veteran of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission and Assistant Director of Training for the Emergency Responder Safety Institute (ERSI), will present on the important Traffic Incident Management (TIM) as he discusses roadside safety for all first responders. Information on the latest emergency lighting study and the ERSI free TIM online training module will be explained, as well as the new struck-by reporting system hosted by ERSI.

11:00-11:45am: Session #3  “Below-100 its history and the five tenets”

Tom Dirlam, a retired Inspector with 31 years of service with the Michigan State Police, and current core trainer for Below-100, will present on the history of Below-100, a training program exclusively designed to save lives and reduce injuries. He will discuss the five tenets developed by Below-100 that agencies and officers should follow to reduce deaths and injuries.

1:00-1:45pm: Session #4 PANEL DISCUSSION   “Successful Strategies for Safety”

A guided conversation among law enforcement thought leaders about the important elements to successful safety strategies.

Moderator
Tim Burrows is a retired Sergeant with the Toronto Police Service and current Law Enforcement Liaison Program Manager for the Governors Highways Safety Association (GHSA)

Panelists
Retired Sheriff John Whetsel (NSA) served for over 47 years in public safety as both a chief of police and a sheriff. He brings a personal passion to traffic safety and keeping officers safe as he serves as the Chairman of the National Sheriff Association’s Traffic Safety Committee.

Retired Chief Daniel Sharp (IACP) served in law enforcement for over 40 years, and is currently the interim Town Manager for Oro, Arizona, and serves on the International Association of Chiefs of Police’s Traffic Safety Committee.

Undersheriff Robert Beidler (NLERSP) is a retired Undersheriff from the Snohomish, Washington Sheriffs Office. His former agency won the 2017 Destination Zero Award for Officer Traffic Safety, and he currently works for the National Policing Institute’s National Law Enforcement Roadway Safety Program (NLERSP).

2:00-2:45pm: Session #5  “Gordon Graham on How Law Enforcement Can Improve Traffic Safety”

Gordon Graham has been actively involved in public safety since 1973. He has taken his background as a street cop, supervisor, and manager, and has coupled this with his experience as a lawyer and his education and training as a risk manager. He is the co-founder of Lexipol – a company designed to standardize policy, procedure, and training within public safety agencies around America.

3:00-4:00pm: Session #6 “Crash Investigations by the CDC-NIOSH and Emerging Technologies”

Lieutenant Commander Melanie Fowler, an environmental health officer with the United States Public Health Service, and 11-year veteran with the Centers for Disease Control’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (CDC-NIOSH) will present on what the CDC-NIOSH research teams do and discuss an investigation into a law enforcement struck-by crash.

Attendees will also learn about emerging traffics safety technologies from organizations including:

  • BEACON-4LIFE
  • CARFAX For Police
  • Guardian Angel
  • Power Flare

4:00-5:00pm: 
Explore the Museum, Simulators, and Gift Shop

Don’t miss this special opportunity to hear from traffic safety experts and government officials on the most pressing issues in law enforcement traffic safety and how to better protect our nation’s officers as they manage crash scenes, enforce traffic law, and apprehend fleeing suspects!

Questions?

Nicholas Breul
[email protected] or 202-737-7133

The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund would like to thank Vehicle and Roadside Safety Sponsor, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, for their support.

In Partnership with: