George T. Williams is a Police Training Specialist, and the Director of Training for CUTTING EDGE TRAINING, LLC, in Bellingham, Washington.  He has been a trainer of police overall since 1979, and a full-time trainer since 1987.  Mr. Williams, a California P.O.S.T. - certified Police Master Trainer, is responsible for the development and presentation of unique and varied training programs to SWAT, patrol, K9, and Police Administrators, as well as certifying instructors in Defensive Tactics, impact weapons, and shooting.  His experience in training law enforcement ranges from police academies, through municipal and county agencies to the state and federal government level.  A SWAT tactics and weapons trainer, he has been a consultant to several dozen teams in the Western United States over two decades.  As a Police Training Specialist, he has personally trained officers from 42 States and U.S. Territories, as well officers from 14 foreign countries.

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Background. Mr. Williams (a 5^th dan, Master Instructor in Tang Soo Do, 2^nd dan in Kuk Sool Hapki, with additional training in Aikido, Escrima, and Tae Kwon Do) began training peace officers and federal agents as a martial arts school owner in El Cajon, California.  When approached by officers requesting a realistic defensive tactics system be presented to officers, he developed a revolutionary system of police defense that is simple, non-technical, outcome-based, and free of complicated martial arts techniques.  It remains the only system that is effective for small or average officers who are not martial artists (Real-World Defense Countermeasures/Defensive Tactics).  He also created a unique program of firearms instruction that finally brings a realistic theory and method of firearms employment to the average officer (Firearms Seminars).  Mr. Williams was the primary tactical and firearms instructor to the “San Diego Border Crime Prevention Unit,” a joint U.S. Border Patrol and San Diego Police Department task force whose mission was interdicting border bandits at the San Ysidro, California border from 1985-1987.  Under his instruction, the team became so effective in their shootings of vicious border criminals that the President of Mexico demanded the team be disbanded, and President Reagan intervened.  The BCPU Team, through its tactics and use of reasonable deadly force, saved untold numbers of innocents from vicious border criminals.

In 1985, Mr. Williams became an adjunct faculty member for the State of California Governor’s Office at the California Specialized Training Institute.  In this capacity, he trained officers in defensive tactics, tactical firearms employment, building entry, vehicle stops, and officer survival scenario and role-playing.  Within two years, he became the Coordinator and Primary Instructor of the State’s Officer Safety & Field Tactics courses (Redefining Officer Survival).  Mr. Williams also was responsible for developing and presenting training programs in Terrorism Management and in Earthquake Emergency Management.

He accepted a position with the Tracy, California, Police Department, as the agency’s Training Specialist and a member of the management team (1994).  He was responsible for developing and presenting major training programs to comprehensively address all training required by patrol and SWAT officers at the various levels within the agency.  Additional duties included being a member of the management team and was intricately involved the evaluation of force by officers.

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Author.  He is an Advisory Board Member with The Police Marksman Association, and a frequent contributor to Law & Order, the NTOA's The Tactical Edge, the Defensive Tactics Newsletter, and other national police magazines, with well over 100 articles published (see articles).  Since 1986, Mr. Williams has interviewed the investigators of California peace officer murders, reviewing the facts and circumstances of each event. This information has been collated into a series of articles detailing the murders of California officers since 1980, and makes officer safety training suggestions, directly influencing the course content of academies and advanced training in officer safety.  He continues that study informally.  Mr. Williams was a founding and core committee member for the California P.O.S.T. Committee for the Study of Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted (LEOKA).

Expert Witness.  Mr. Williams serves as a risk management consultant and Expert Witness in civil rights litigation of officer-involved use of force.  Mr. Williams has been testifying in his capacity as an expert in both federal and superior courts since 1991, and has a solid reputation for fairness, consistency, and honesty.  Read about Mr. Williams' full credentials as an expert witness.

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Director of Training.  As the Director of Training of CUTTING EDGE TRAINING, LLC, Mr. Williams develops, oversees, and directly participates in major innovative training programs for law enforcement, other government agencies, and private industry throughout the United States and internationally.  With a cadre of nationally-recognized experts, CUTTING EDGE TRAINING, LLC, addresses all safety skills and liability training areas with cutting edge theory and exceptional practical training at affordable rates.   George is especially proud of the instruction in executive protection CUTTING EDGE TRAINING, LLC provided to the security team for the Tibetan Government-in-Exile.

• Benchmade Knife Company Corporate Trainer.  
  Benchmade is the manufacturer of the finest production knives in existence.  Their design, choice of premium materials, and dedication to the knife making art makes it a natural partner for Cutting Edge Training's premier knife training programs for law enforcement and the military.  

• Danner Boot Company Expert Panelist.
  There is no better boot than a Danner for anyone who needs quality, long-lasting footwear.  Professionals the world over wear Danners because they know that there is no boot that gives them a better chance of success in their mission.  Mr. Williams serves as an expert panelist advising and consulting Danner on boot design.

• Crimson Trace Corporation Master Trainer. 
  Mr. Williams is a Master Trainer and consultant to the Crimson Trace Corporation, manufacturer of the "LaserGrip" aiming system. 

Mr. Williams is a member in good standing of the following organizations:

• International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association (ILEETA).

• American Society of Law Enforcement Training (ASLET).

• National Tactical Officers Association (NTOA).

• International Wound Ballistics Association (IWBA).

• International Association of Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors (IALEFI).

• The American Gunsmithing Association (AGA).

Topics on which Mr. Williams has qualified or been asked to render expert opinions (this list is not exhaustive):

• Use of Deadly Force

• Police Tactics

• Police Force Employment

• S.W.A.T. operations and tactics

• Firearms

• Police Training

• Martial Arts

• Bladed Weapons

• Use of Force (Patrol, SWAT, Narcotics, Jail)

• Defensive Tactics

• Arrest and Control

• Police Vehicle Pursuits

• Domestic Violence

• Police Procedures

• Police Policies

• Impact Weapons

• Chemical Agents/OC

• Parole Searches

• Narcotics Warrant Service

• Use of Police Service Dogs as a Force Option

• Response to the Violently Mentally Ill

• Suicide-by-Cop

• Death by Indifference

• Barricaded Subjects
• Less-Lethal Force Employment

Areas in which Mr. Williams has conducted training of law enforcement and the military (this list is not exhaustive):

• Constitutional Limits of Police Use of Force

• Use of Force Civil Liability Prevention

• Supervisor Civil Liability Prevention

• Evaluation of the Police Use of Force

• Firearms:

• Handgun

• Shotgun

• Submachinegun

• Rifle

• Firearms Instructor

• Defensive Tactics & Suspect Control:

• Arrest & Control

• Weapon Retention

• Close Defense

• Knife Defense

• Club Defense

• Defensive Tactics Instructor

• Impact Weapons

• Impact Weapons Instructor

• Officer Safety & Field Tactics

• Officer Safety & Field Tactics for Canine Handlers and Supervisors

• Officer Safety for Arson Investigators

• Tactical Disturbance Control for Supervisors

• Search & Seizure

• Parole and Probation Searches

• Less-Lethal Weapons & Tactics

• Vehicle Stops

• Response to Hazardous Calls

• Response to Domestic Violence/Disturbance Calls

• Building Entry & Search for Patrol

• SWAT Firearms

• SWAT Tactical Response to Hazardous Situations

• SWAT Close Defense

• SWAT Entry & Search:

• Breech and Delay

• Dynamic

• Entry Fundamentals

• Responding to the Active Shooter

• Wound Ballistics

• Supervisory Management of Vehicle Pursuits

• Vehicle Pursuit Conduct

• Sudden In-Custody Death

• Police/Public Policy Development

• Driving Skills for Patrol

• Suicide-by-Cop

• Terrorist Tactics & Weapons

• Officer-Involved Shooting Investigations

• Bloodborne Pathogens/ Communicable Disease

• The Psychological & Physiological Effects of Deadly Force

• Threat Recognition And Avoidance

• Tactical Folding Knife

• Real-World Knife Combatives (for the military)

Mr. Williams may be contacted at gtwilliams@cuttingedgetraining.org, or at 360.671.2007