Sergeant Daniel Cruz has over 13 years of law enforcement experience. Sergeant Cruz began extensive training in control and restraint techniques and became an instructor and trained DCF staff and police officers at the Connecticut Juvenile Justice Training Center. In 1999, Sergeant Cruz began working at the University of Connecticut Police Department in Storrs, CT. He is a state certified law enforcement instructor in the ASP Baton, O/C Spray, Handcuffing, Firearms, Use of Force and all hands on training from the L.O.C.K.U.P.® System. Sergeant Cruz is a member of the City of Waterbury Emergency Response Team (ERT).
Sergeant Cruz started his Arrest and Control L.O.C.K.U.P.® Instructors training with the spring course of 2001 and is now one of the only members to achieve the rank of Senior Master Instructor of the L.O.C.K.U.P.® System. Sergeant Cruz has a martial arts background that includes Chinese Kenpo, grappling arts and hand-to-hand combat and a 2nd degree black belt in the L.O.C.K.U.P.® Police Combat System. Sergeant Cruz has been selected as a member of the L.O.C.K.U.P.® Travel Demo Team and is an avid physical fitness practitioner.
Sergeant Cruz competed in several bodybuilding contest shows since 1997 and placed 3rd. He specializes in helping officers with their workouts and nutrition. He teaches a newly developed program, specifically for officers, called Police Combat Fitness. The program develops a solid foundation for an officer’s physical fitness needs using nutrition and modern day fitness and weight training techniques that are consistent with the combative philosophies of L.O.C.K.U.P.®.