Firearms Expert Witnesses: 5

Chief Chet Epperson (Ret.), MBA, has over 44 years of experience as a Law Enforcement / Police Professional for the Rockford Police Department in Rockford, Illinois. Chief Epperson spent 33 years as an active law enforcement officer and 10 of those years as Chief of Police. 

Chief Epperson maintains practical experience as a municipal police chief, implementing several police reforms in his police agency along with accountability processes. He was instrumental in reforming the Rockford Police Department by enhancing its relationship with the community and providing internal and external transparency. Chief Epperson assisted in the formulation of a multi-jurisdictional task force to investigate officer-involved police shootings, in-custody police deaths, and serious uses of force.

Litigation Support - Since 2016, Chief Epperson has been serving as a Police Practices consultant, providing court-appointed expertise in police agency Federal District Court Consent Decrees. He is an expert in applying constitutional standards, state Law, policy, and practice to police incidents. Having Instructed courses on police use of force, internal affairs, and discipline, Chief Epperson is qualified to opine on cases of this nature for both plaintiffs and defendants. His police and jail litigation services include thorough reporting, deposition, and trial testimony as needed.

Areas of Expertise:

View AGR Police Practice Group's Consulting Profile.

My name is David T. Sweeney.  I am a Police Policy and Procedure expert and a retired 34-year veteran police leader with Seattle Police and Oregon State University PD.  I have decades of experience supervising a large number of police officers and supervisors. I am currently employed as adjunct faculty in the School of Police Staff and Command at Northwestern University. I enjoy assisting with expert reviews of policing best practices for a variety of legal standards for police departments. As an expert witness, I have been pleased to work with both plaintiff and defense attorneys. I will give you an honest assessment of your case, so that I can provide the best reports and helpful testimony. I have experience with 41 total cases: 16 defense cases and 25 plaintiff cases.

Litigation Support - My goal is to improve best practices in policing by offering expert witness and police consultation services. I am also a trained mediator specializing in workplace conflicts. I provide honest, unbiased opinions. I will be happy to review and discuss your case. I will point out strengths and weaknesses of the case, and we can work on next steps, whether it be further case review, expert report, deposition, or trial testimony. I have spent 21 years as a sergeant and lieutenant, responsible for training and reviewing topics such as police pursuits, use of force, police tactics, de-escalation, police supervision, less lethal weapons, active shooter, SWAT, crowd control, legal standards, EEO, Human Resources, U.S. 1983 cases, and more.

 Areas of Expertise:

View David T. Sweeney's Consulting Profile.

Daniel G. O'Kelly has over 46 years of experience as a range instructor, firearm designer, builder, auditor of licensees, collector, and expert on firearms and ammunition. 

Mr. O'Kelly served for 11 years as a Police Officer and for 23 years as a Special Agent for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). As one of ATF’s leading firearm experts, he was Lead Instructor of Firearm Technology at the ATF National Academy. Since his retirement from the ATF, he has served as a Senior Corporate Manager for Cabela’s, the then largest firearm retailer in the world, where he co-developed a firearm technology and ATF compliance training program for that company, and is the Founder/Director of IFSA. 

Mr. O'Kelly then founded and is the Director of, the International Firearm Specialist Academy (IFSA), a guild of award-winning experts, former Federal Agents, Investigators, Police Officers, Medical Doctors, and an Attorney, in the Firearm and Forensics field.

Litigations Support -  Mr. O'Kelly has testified continually in depositions and in criminal & civil cases in State, Superior, Circuit, District and Federal Courts since 1978, and has been recognized as an expert witness in Federal and State courts since 1990. He has opined on the topics of:

 Noteworthy Cases

• Retained as Defense expert in the Alec Baldwin case.
• Testified in four Federal trials on the topic of federal firearm definitions from 2014 to 2019 which resulted in ATF undertaking a 2-5 year rewrite of the definition of a firearm “frame or receiver”, which reached a SCOTUS decision in 2022. 
• Testified in trials wherein 1289 items of firearm-related evidence were ruled out by the Court as a direct result of his testimony.
• Worked undercover in three international illicit arms dealing cases, including the Diveroli case which sparked the movie "War Dogs", and is one of two ATF Agents to ever perform an undercover investigation of illicit international firearm trafficking in Europe.   

View Daniel O'Kelly's Consulting Profile.

Dr. Roy G. Taylor is a current Chief of Police with over 40 years of experience in a wide-range of federal, state, local, and private criminal justice positions. Dr. Taylor specializes as an expert witness in Police Practices and Procedures and Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice. Current Positions:

• Chief of Police Blue Ridge Public Safety (2014)
• President/CEO Signal 88 Security of Charlotte (2012)
• President/CEO Capitol Special Patrol (2012)
• Chief of Police Capitol Special Police (2002)
• Lt. Colonel – Provost Marshal, Army National Guard (2000)
• Antiterrorism / Emergency Management Branch Chief DoD (2007)
• Provost Marshal Joint Civil Support Task Force, Joint Chiefs of Staff (2014)

Litigation Support - Dr. Taylor is called upon to analyze cases from both defense and plaintiff perspectives. His services include case review, written reports, deposition, and trial testimony as needed. 

Areas of Expertise:

View Roy Taylor's Consulting Profile.

Emanuel Kapelsohn is an internationally recognized Firearms Training and Use of Force consultant who has instructed thousands of police and security officers, federal agents and others throughout the U.S. and abroad since 1980. A graduate of Yale University and Harvard Law School, he is a practicing attorney in addition to his consulting work. 

As vice president of the Internat’l Assoc. of Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors, Mr. Kapelsohn is a certified in force science and shooting scene reconstruction, and as an instructor in numerous law enforcement disciplines. He is a featured presenter at national and international instructor conferences. He has authored over 130 published articles, is Associate Editor of "Standards & Practices Guide for Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors," and principal author of "Firearms Training Standards for Law Enforcement Personnel," and "Guidelines for Simulation Training Safety." 

Mr. Kapelsohn testifies as an expert witness in civil and criminal cases in state and federal courts nationwide, and has testified by invitation before both houses of Congress. 

Testimony on the Following Subjects:

View Emanuel Kapelsohn's Consulting Profile.