Protecting Our Officers on the Road

Brett Cowell is a Senior Project Associate at the National Police Foundation. Brett provides comprehensive project management for a portfolio of officer safety-related projects at the Foundation, including the LEO Near Miss officer safety initiative, the first-ever near miss reporting system for law enforcement, and the National Law Enforcement Roadway Safety Program (NLERSP), a program funded by BJA to reduce the number of officers injured and killed on the nation’s roadways. Brett’s recent work with the National Police Foundation includes research on officer safety training, police use of force, police foot patrol, public safety use of small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS), and crime gun intelligence centers (CGICs), as well as work on the critical incident review of the public safety response to the February 20, 2016, mass shooting incident in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Brett received a master’s degree in Criminology, Law and Society from George Mason University and a bachelor’s degree in Finance, with a minor in Leadership Studies, from Virginia Tech. Apart from his professional career, Brett has seven years of experience as a first responder with a local volunteer fire department.

David Flory is a senior research associate with the Institute for Intergovernmental Research (IIR) Learning and Development group. In this capacity, he serves as lead instructor and facilitator on the IIR team responsible for training and delivery of services related to the VALOR Officer Safety and Wellness Program, a national officer safety project developed at the direction of the U.S. Attorney General. His current responsibilities include classroom instruction, coordination, and on-site facilitation of VALOR training events. Chief Flory is a program advisor and instructor in the National Law Enforcement Roadway Safety Program. Mr. Flory began his law enforcement career in 1979 with the Bedford, Texas, Police Department. Ultimately, he served for 31 years, the last 12 as police chief. He retired in 2015 from the Hot Springs, Arkansas, Police Department, after serving for 5 years as police chief. During his law enforcement career, Mr. Flory served in a variety of positions and assignments in law enforcement, including patrol, K-9, investigations, training, narcotics, special weapons and tactics (SWAT), and administration. He has also served in a variety of law enforcement leadership positions, including vice president and president of the North Texas Police Chiefs Association, Texas Police Chiefs Association Recognition Program on-site inspector, and a member of the North Central Texas Council of Governments’ Academy Training Advisory Board. Mr. Flory served as the Southwest Regional vice president of the Arkansas Association of Chiefs of Police and was a committee member for both the model policy development team and the Arkansas Law Enforcement Accreditation Program. Mr. Flory received a bachelor of science degree in criminal justice from Texas Wesleyan University and is a graduate of the 186th Session of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) National Academy.