Instructors
Scott Savage
Scott is the founder and lead instructor of Savage Training Group. He is a working police officer with 20+ years of experience.
Steve “Pappy” Papenfuhs
Steve “Pappy” Papenfuhs is a retired Sergeant with the San Jose Police Department. Pappy has 29 years experience including assignments as an FTO Sergeant, Training Sergeant Detective Sergeant and SWAT team member.
Dominic Gamboa
Dominic Gamboa is a 28-year veteran of both the San Francisco and Santa Clara Police Departments. Sure he has the street experience to tell you what works and what doesn’t, but he’s also an expert-level instructor. Instead of “Death by Power Point”, Dom is known for captivating students and keeping them engaged.
Dan Flippo
Dan is a recently retired law enforcement officer with decades of experience in SWAT and Patrol and is also an instructor with the National Tactical Officers Association.
Mike Barnett
Mike recently retired as the Undersheriff of San Diego County in 2021 after three decades of distinguished service. As a sought-after trainer and speaker, he is committed to helping law enforcement officers and organizations succeed.
Paul Grattan, Jr.
Paul is a sergeant with the New York City Police Department and a Policing Fellow with the National Police Foundation. He is a full-time digital communications officer with the NYPD where he crafts messages for command staff and manages social media messaging.
Joshua Helton
Officer Joshua Helton is a 14-year law enforcement veteran with the Davis, CA Police Department. As a Detective, he specialized in sensitive investigations including domestic violence and strangulation cases.
Frank Lowe
With over 35 years of police experience he brings a wisdom and perspective that is hard to match. Frank spent 30 years with the Oakland Police Department where he retired as a Captain. Frank’s experience as an investigator, working in one of toughest cities in California, made him an obvious choice to teach our Modern Interview and Interrogation course.
Lloyd MacKinnon
Lloyd is one of those rare instructors that pours his heart and soul out when he is in the classroom. His passion and love for the “job” and members of law enforcement comes through every time he teaches and he always gives 110% to his students.
Donald Anderson
As a police Sergeant in the busy City of San Francisco and the Executive Officer of a 40-officer crisis negotiation team, Donald Anderson certainly has the experience and qualifications to be an instructor. But experience alone isn’t enough. We hired Donald because he knows how to teach today’s cops!