Dr. Travis Norton
Travis Norton is a retired 25-year law enforcement professional. He is an accomplished police lieutenant and SWAT Commander and has trained officers in police practices nationwide. Travis was the training division and professional standards unit lieutenant for a mid-size police agency and was responsible for the police academy, field training program, officer misconduct investigations, and use of force reviews and investigations. Travis has been an instructor for over 15 years in de-escalation, less-lethal weapons, tactical science, active shooter response, SWAT, critical incident response, chemical agents, and crowd management. He currently instructs for the National Tactical Officers Association (NTOA) and the California Association of Tactical Officers (CATO). Since 2020, he has been a guest lecturer in police practices and use of force at the University of Southern California (USC). Travis also serves as a policing fellow at the National Policing Institute (NPI) and the Future Policing Institute.
Travis is the Strategy Development Chair for the NTOA and a committee member of the NTOA Tactical Response and Operations Standard for Law Enforcement Agencies. He was selected as an active shooter SME by NPI and Safe and Sound Schools for several active shooter reviews and leads a critical incident review team for CATO. These positions provide Travis the opportunity to review active shooter incidents and officer-involved shootings nationwide and abroad. He has written numerous peer reviewed articles and academic papers referencing swat operations, crowd control, less-lethal use of force, and active shooter response. Travis has also been interviewed multiple times in the media, including the New York Times, The Atlantic, USA Today, and the LA Times.
Over the past four years, Travis has provided consulting and expert witness services to several large metropolitan agencies in tactical operations, officer-involved shootings, use of force, crowd control, chemical agents, and less lethal. He also has experience working with agencies that are under federal consent decrees. Travis is available nationally and works with plaintiff, defendant, and criminal court clients and in state and federal court.
- Crowd Control
- Deadly/Excessive Force
- Law Enforcement
- Police Procedures
- School Security
- Violent Crimes
- Workplace Violence
- Q: Please list your professional accreditations, degrees, licenses, and certificates granted:
- A: Doctor of Policy, Planning, and Development - University of Southern California
Master of Science - California State University at Long Beach - Emergency Services Administration (Outstanding Thesis Award)
Bachelor of Science - California State University at Stanislaus - Computer Information Systems
Cal OES & CSTI Certificates:
Emergency Management Specialist Certificate
Terrorism/Homeland Security Specialist Certificate
CATO Chemical Agents Instructor
CATO Less Lethal Instructor
Defensive Tactics Instructor
Force Science De-escalation Instructor
Force Science Analyst Certification
CA POST Instructor Development Institute Level 2 Core Course
ALERRT Exterior Response to Active Shooter Events – Train the Trainer - Q: Please list your affiliations or memberships in any professional and/or industry organizations:
- A: Member, California Association of Tactical Officers (CATO)
Member, National Tactical Officers Association (NTOA)
Honorary Lifetime Member, Arizona Tactical Officer’s Association
Member, International Association of Chiefs of Police
Member, American Society of Evidence Based Policing
Member, American Society of Criminology
Policing Fellow, National Policing Institute
Policing Fellow, Future Policing Institute
- Q: Please list any teaching or speaking experience you have had, including subject matter:
- A: Please see website under Media for media appearances.
Instructor for the National Tactical Officers Association (NTOA) and California Association of Tactical Officers (CATO) in the following:
SWAT Team Leader
SWAT Team Commander
Crowd Control
Less Lethal use during Riots
Supervising Patrol Critical Incidents
Tactical Diagramming
Active Shooter Leadership
Crisis Decision Making
De-escalation
Use of Force/Deadly Force
Tactical Science
Guest Lecturer - University of Southern California - Police Practices & Use of Force (2020-Present)
Presentations:
US DOJ COPS Office Webinar - Strengthening Law Enforcement and Decision Making Skills During an Active Threat Incident - 2024
Ohio Tactical Operations and Public Safety Conference - 2024 (Critical Incident Leadership & Response to Civil Disorders)
North American Active Assailant Conference - 2023
São Paulo, Brazil Police Training Conference - 2023 (use of force and critical incident response)
Keynote Speaker, Louisiana Tactical Police Officers Association Annual Conference - 2022
NTOA Webinar - Less lethal use during Riots - 2021
NTOA Virtual Conference - Lessons Learned from Active Shooter Events & Protests and Riots - 2020
California Peace Officers Association Conference - Less Lethal and Impact Munitions update - 2020
NTOA Webinar - Managing a Dynamic Tactical Problem for the Patrol Supervisor - 2020
NTOA Conference - Active Shooter Lessons Learned - 2019
Arizona Tactical Officers Association SWAT Commander Symposium - Leading Tactical Teams during Novel Events - 2019
NTOA Conference - Tactical Diagramming - 2018
CATO Conference - Lessons Learned from Large Scale Critical Incidents - 2019
Incident Command Forum - 2017
National Tactical Officer Association Conference - Leading during the uncertainty of critical incidents - 2017
CATO Annual Conference - Hostage Recovery during Active Shooter Incidents - 2017
CATO Annual Conference - Planning for Large Scale Events - 2016 - Q: Have any of your accreditations ever been investigated, suspended or removed? (if yes, explain)
- A: No.
- Q: On how many occasions have you been retained as an expert?
- A: 11
- Q: For what area(s) of expertise have you been retained as an expert?
- A: Use of force, Use of Deadly Force, Crowd Control, Less Lethal. Have consulted on multiple other areas of expertise.
- Q: In what percentage of your cases were you retained by the plaintiff?
- A: None- However open to working with plaintiffs.
- Q: In what percentage of your cases were you retained by the defendant?
- A: 100% - will work with both plaintiffs and defendants.
- Q: On how many occasions have you had your deposition taken?
- A: 1
- Q: When was the last time you had your deposition taken?
- A: 2021
- Q: On how many occasions have you been qualified by a court to give expert testimony?
- A: 2
- Q: On how many occasions have you testified as an expert in court or before an arbitrator?
- A: 2
- Q: For how many years have you worked with the legal industry as an expert?
- A: 4
- Q: What services do you offer? (E.g.: consulting, testing, reports, site inspections etc.)
- A: Consulting, expert witness, expert reports, and policy evaluations.
- Q: What is your hourly rate to consult with an attorney?
- A: $225.00
- Q: What is your hourly rate to review documents?
- A: $350.00
- Q: What is your hourly rate to provide deposition testimony?
- A: $400.00
- Q: What is your hourly rate to provide testimony at trial?
- A: $3500 flate rate
Available Upon Request