NJ – L.E.A.D.S. -L.E. Active De-escalation Strategies 3 Day – Instructor Training

Passaic County Sheriff Thomas Adamo NJ
Hosting
L.E.A.D.S. –Law Enforcement Active De-escalation Strategies
3 Day – Instructor Training
March 3 –5, 2026 0800 – 1630
Lt. Kevin F. Dillon (ret) – Presenter

Nationally Recognized Conflict Resolution & De-Escalation Certification

The Award winning L.E.A.D.S.™ Law Enforcement Active De-escalation Strategies program was developed in 2007, and has become one of the most trusted and widely adopted  de-escalation training systems used by law enforcement and corrections professionals across the United States. De-escalation classes are a dime a dozen, this course has been tested and proven by street and corrections officers over the past 18 years from Honolulu to Alaska!

Through a dynamic mix of lectures, demonstrations, role play, and scenario-based applications, students will learn to:

• Recognize and manage aggressive behaviors before they escalate.
• Employ positive communication and proven de-escalation techniques.
• Anger management and confrontation avoidance strategies.
• Emotional modulation when responding to highly emotional incidents.
• Discuss tactical responses when diffusion is ineffective or inappropriate.
• The “Switch” Moment – In high-conflict encounters, there is often a distinct moment when the subject’s behavior shifts from verbal resistance to active aggression. Recognizing this switch is a critical skill.
• Cognitive Lock – Officers can get “stuck” in a single tactic under stress, repeating the same ineffective commands instead of transitioning to a new approach.
• Articulation Matters – In litigation or review, you will not be judged solely on the fact you used force, but on whether you can clearly articulate why verbal tactics were no longer appropriate.
• Officers effectively de-escalate on a daily basis, however there is no evidence to validate. Officer learn to document, quantify and measure evidence to show patterns of success.
• Integrated Training – Strategies on how verbal, physical, and tactical options must be trained together, so the transition between them is seamless.

Graduates of this program become certified to teach L.E.A.D.S.™ Active De-escalation Strategies, empowering their agencies with evidence-based methods that reduce negative  encounters, improve officer safety, quantify conflict resolutions and strengthen community

ONLY $695.00

Reviewed and Approved by the Department of Justice

 

REGISTER HERE

LOCATION of TRAINING:
Passaic County Police Academy
214 Oldham Rd., Wayne, NJ 07470
Kyra Deegan  – Training Division
kdeegan@pcsheriff.org  / 973.225.7844

RECERT COURSE EVALUATISON AND FEEDBACK

Oakland County Sheriff’s Office – MI
Dec. 11 – 12, 2025

 Please assess the quality of this presentation.
100% of attending students rated this course at the highest level of 5 Excellent.
This is a great reminder for veteran officers because they‘ve more likely than been doing this. It’s a paramount course for new recruits. 

Great use of video and explanation of the thought process with basic easy to understand science, anatomy, and Physiology, backing up the training material. 

Lieutenant Dillon always does a great job of teaching and holding audiences attention. Videos were all good.

KD is always very well done. 

As always, Lt. Dillon is extremely professional and knowledgeable. Information is very relevant and up to date. 

The material was relevant and well put together. I found everything easy to follow and to understand. 

Great material. 

Based on research which backed up information. 

great curriculum, should be implemented into the Academy in department in services.

Excellent quality.

Great use of stories and anecdotes.

Always learn so much from you!

Kevin was engaging and personable. 

Very good presentation. I can see how three days would have helped. Lots of information. 

 KD was great at keeping the attention of the students. Very animated and had a ton of relatable stories

 Please assess the instructors of this program.

100% of students attending rated this course at the highest level of 5 Excellent.

Kevin is passionate about the topics he instructs. 

KD does an awesome job engaging class, is energetic and transfers to knowledge always enthusiastic and knowledgeable on the topics he is presenting. 

Always the best training with KD. 

The instructor was knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and had great real-life stories 

Kevin is the best 

As always, great instructor 

knowledgeable. Presented the material great. Good mix of stories and material 

One of the best instructors I have ever had 

Very engaging. Nose material very well. No reading off PowerPoint. 

 KD is a true professional in very knowledgeable on this topic. 

Please explain how this training will enable you to change or improve your present assignment.
100% of attending students rated this course at the highest level of 5 Excellent.

 Remind me to talk to the trainees I have with me while I’m their FTO.

Helps explain the reasons behind the officers response to resistance training / incidents.

Help when I do response to resistance forms,  and training other how to speak to subjects for body worn camera purposes. More info in reports.

Gave me tools to slow down and think during different high stress incidents.

Implement the de-escalation teaching. Teach deputies on additional techniques 

New de-escalation tactics to try while working as well as a better understanding of the human response to stress and fear. 

Help with communication skills. 

This will help us in conducting our in-service and help distribute the message of de-escalation tactics to our deputies. 

Reinforce my past practices of my style of policing. 

Always looking to increase knowledge and it was interesting to hear about the brain in some physiology. 

Will assist me with de-escalating deputies.

Learned some great ideas for interviewing and interrogating that I didn’t know before.

I will be able to better de-escalate situations. 

As the training Sergeant responsible for bringing leads to our agency. The information taught by Kevin is crucial. His ideas on what to teach and how to teach it are spot on. 

In addition to law enforcement we also teach civilians de-escalations, great for both. 

This has allowed me to hone in on my de-escalation skills and now I am able to teach it.