Meet the Team

Scott L. Sargent

Areas
  • Use of Force review & adjudication 
  • Organizational structure/agency and unit leadership
  • Policy design
  • Training assessment and guidelines
  • K9 policy and operational guidelines
"Every agency large or small has the potential to reach best national practice in policing standards and be a profession-wide leader." 
Scott is a 34 year law enforcement veteran beginning his caree in South Florida in the early 80s; upon moving to Southern California, he worked for several agencied including the Rialto Police Department in San Bernardino County where he was a cross trained canine handler and corporal.  Scott and his canine 'Bill' attended SBSO-FBI basic SWAT school together, and competed in and won several awards in various K9 competitions, including three medals at the World Police and Fire Games in Vancouver. 

In 1993, Scott joined the Los Angeles Police Department and worked several divisions within all four geographic bureaus as an officer, sergeant and lieutenant. Scott was an investigator within Internal Affairs Group; officer-in-charge of the Rampart Section of Risk Management Division, and then assistant to the commanding Officer of Consent Decree Bureau during the implementation of the 2001 federal Consent Decree. 

Scott was assigned as captain - commanding officer of the Newton Street and 77th Street Patrol Divisions and subsequently to the Use of Force Review Division (UORFD), during the extension of the LAPD federal Consent Decree, where he revised several use of force related polices and the LAPD Canine Manual. During this seven years with the UOFRD, Scott oversaw the review and adjudication of approximately 13,000 LAPD use of force incidents including approximately 500 Officer Involved Shootings (OIS). From 2007 to 2015, 

Scott has served as an expert witness in several federal OIS civil cases as a police practices; and human-dynamics expert, and as a police-defense consultant on other cases. He has participated in use of force related studies in the U.S. and Canada and has written several articles.

Scott is an assistant monitor on the consent decree compliance team for the City of Cleveland, as well as a consultant for the City of Baltimore consent decree compliance team. Scott has a MA in Organizational Management from Azusa Pacific University, a BA from University of Redlands, a Law Degree from Southwestern University and is an active attorney.  

  James D. McDonald

Areas

  • K9 Operations and training
  • K9 policy and unit leadership
  • K9 team tactics
  • Identification of problem behavior
  • K9 bite ratio assessment
  • Post Bite Assessment process
  • K9-SWAT integration
  • SWAT leadership and training
 JD McDonald is a retired 32 year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department. Sergeant McDonald was assigned to the Metropolitan Division as a K9 Sergeant. His responsibilities included supervisory oversight of 20 canine handler teams which conducted approximately 400 tactical searches annually. In addition, Sergeant McDonald provided operational insight and expertise to Incident Commanders that oversee these critical incidents. Sergeant McDonald has conducted nearly 100 post bite investigations and provided Supervisory insight to the investigations to ensure that the performance of the canine handler team was in accordance with the Los Angeles Police Department policy guidelines, as well as State and Federal Law.  

Prior to his assignment to the Canine Unit, Sergeant McDonald was assigned as a Sergeant in the Department’s Use of Force Review Division. During this assignment, he was involved in the analysis and review of hundreds of critical incidents department-wide, including Officer Involved Shootings, Canine bites resulting in hospitalization, carotid restraint control holds and other serious related use of force incidences. Sergeant McDonald provided recommendations and analysis for the Department’s Use of Force Board, Chief of Police, Inspector General and Board of Police Commissioners, thereby assisting with the adjudication process.  

Previously, Sergeant McDonald was assigned as a Canine Handler for six years. During this assignment, he conducted, or was directly involved as a search team member on hundreds of tactical searches that involved felons or persons believed to be armed. Prior to his assignment in Metro K9, he was assigned as an operator for the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) platoon for approximately seven years. During this assignment, he was directly involved in hundreds of critical incidents including barricaded suspects, high-risk warrant services, hostage rescue and canine searches involving armed suspects.  

Over his 32 years with the Los Angeles Police Department, Sergeant McDonald has worked specialized units including Metro Mounted Unit, South Bureau CRASH (Gang Enforcement), Special Problems Unit, Bicycle Unit in addition to uniformed Patrol. Sergeant McDonald attended San Diego State University where he graduated with a Bachelor's of Science Degree in Criminal Justice Administration. Sergeant McDonald previously served with the US Marine Corps until 1988. 

Mike Goosby

Areas


  • K9 Operational (specialized) tactics
  • K9 team tactics
  • National certification standards
  • K9/SWAT integration
  • Dog behavior
  • Electronic collar
  • Identification of problem behavior
  • Remedial training
  • K9 Unit leadership and ICS

Mike is a 31-year police veteran including 23 years of K9 experience with the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), where he was assigned as the Chief Trainer for the Metropolitan Division K9 Platoon. He is a nationally recognized expert in K9 Tactics, Perimeter Containments, Command Post Operations (Command and Control), as well as off leash search techniques. Mike oversees all aspects of K9 training, maintenance, and K9 selection for the LAPD K9 Platoon. 

 

Mike has also worked and supervised other divisions / units within the LAPD, including patrol, narcotics, C.R.A.S.H., Vice, Safer Cities Initiative, Community Relations, and the Community Law Enforcement and Recovery (CLEAR) unit.

 

Mike is a nationally recognized expert in police canine operational tactics, dog behavior and police canine training. Mike conducts numerous seminars and classes throughout North America, instructing on the proper use of the E-Collar (off leash control), K9 Search Team Tactics, K9-SWAT Integration, Perimeter Containments, Command Post Operations. Mike is also an expert and provides training in active shooter response and Multi Assault Counter Terrorism Capabilities (MACTAC).

 



Eugene Ramirez

Areas
  • Law enforcement risk management
  • Mitigation of police liability
  • Police practices litigation & agency defense
  • K9 operations and policy
  • SWAT - training and specialized operations
Eugene P. Ramirez, a founding member of the firm, graduated from Whittier College School of Law (J.D., 1987), where he was Notes & Comments Editor of the Law Review, a member of the Moot Court Honors Board and President of the Student Bar Association. At Whittier, he received an award as the Best Oral Advocate and the Outstanding Moot Court Graduate Award. He received his undergraduate degree in Political Science from California State University, Long Beach (B.A., 1983), where he minored in both Criminal Justice & Public Policy.

 Before joining the firm, Mr. Ramirez worked as a Deputy District Attorney for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, where he conducted numerous misdemeanor and felony jury trials, including murder trials. He has also worked as a reserve police officer for the Whittier Police Department and the Monterey Park Police Department.

 He serves as an advisor to several public entities on the issues of use of force, canine and SWAT issues and policies and procedures. He has provided training to thousands of police officers and supervisors, from around the country and Canada, over the past 20 years. 

 Mr. Ramirez regularly speaks to Chiefs of Police Organizations on liability and supervision issues. He also addresses supervisors of all ranks on how to recognize risk management issues.

 Mr. Ramirez is an instructor on liability issues for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Basic SWAT School. He is the General Counsel for the California Association of Tactical Officers (CATO) and an instructor for the National Tactical Officers Association (NTOA). He is General Counsel for the United States Police Canine Association (USPCA). He was a member of the State Attorney General’s Blue Ribbon SWAT Committee and he was a member of POST’s Executive Advisory Committee for SWAT Teams. He was a member of the LAPD Board of Inquiry, which examined LAPD SWAT operations. He is an approved California POST instructor. 

Mr. Ramirez was profiled in the April 2003, California Lawyer Magazine, for his work in defending law enforcement. He was honored with the 2004 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association of Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs (ALADS). He has been named as a (626) 826-3006, (626) 826-3006 Super Lawyer for Southern California. He was also named to the distinguished American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA), in 2005, an award only bestowed upon proven trial attorneys. Mr. Ramirez is also an Associate Fellow in the Litigation Counsel of America.

 He was selected as the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department’s Trial Lawyer of the Year in 1993 and, 2006, by two different Sheriffs. He was selected as the 2009 Alumni Attorney of the Year for Whittier School of Law. He has been selected twice as one of the Top 25 Municipal Attorneys in California by the Daily Journal. Mr. Ramirez has been awarded Certificates of Appreciation from the United States Army Special Operations Command (Fort Bragg, North Carolina) and from the United States Secret Service.

Ad Hoc Team Members

Policing Solutions is comprised of a core team as well as an ad-hoc cadre of nationally renown experts in specialized police operations and police leadership, who are contracted on a case by case basis and who are selected for their expertise in your specific area of concern and need.