Jesus M. Villahermosa, Jr. was a deputy sheriff with the Pierce County Sheriff's Department since 1981 until he retired in 2014 after 33 years of dedicated service. He ended his career as a Sergeant on Patrol in the Peninsula Detachment in Gig Harbor Washington. Jesus previously served as the Supervisor of the Court Security Division of the Pierce County Courthouse for four years where he coordinated and supervised the security for high profile criminal and civil cases.
Jesus was on the Pierce County Sheriff's S.W.A.T. Team from 1983 to 2013 where he served as the point man on the entry team until 2013 when he left the Team. His numerous certifications include being the first certified Master Defensive Tactics Instructor for law enforcement personnel in the state of Washington and serving as a Firearm's Instructor and an Active Shooter Instructor. Jesus has extensive anti-terrorism training and as a S.W.A.T. Team member he has responded to numerous life and death situations including Active Lethal Threats. Jesus also served as the Director of Campus Safety at Pacific Lutheran University in a contract partnership where he worked all security aspects related to staff and student safety at the University.
Jesus' experience as a law enforcement officer has fueled his passion for people and their emotional, mental, and physical safety. He has spoken professionally since 1986, presented on safety-related issues and has trained over 900,000 professionals throughout this country and Canada, including hundreds of colleges, universities, school districts and some of the largest corporations in America. Jesus' knowledge of the various professions he has worked with and the many challenges its students, parents, staff and employees face, along with his humor, real-life stories from the streets, and the practical application of the taught techniques guarantee for a memorable presentation that transforms participants and offers real-life resources for crisis or vulnerable situations.
Jesus has also spoken to tens of thousands of students all over the country in motivational assemblies regarding themes of choices, consequences, respect and active lethal threat survival.
Jesus attended and completed a course taught by the United State Secret Services' National Threat Assessment Center in Washington, D.C. where targeted school and workplace violence prevention was the focus of the course. Only 26 to 30 police officers from around the United States were accepted into this course, which was only offered four times a year. Jesus has taught hundreds of school districts around the country in numerous school related issues with one of the most popular courses covering lockdown development and implementation. Jesus' extensive knowledge in the area of lockdown makes this course a must for any institution trying to create a lockdown plan as part of their crisis response plan.
Jesus has also spoken for corporate America on issues relating to workplace violence and has taught to some of the largest corporations in the country. Jesus' personal experiences as a law enforcement officer and SWAT Team member, past and present, in the areas of violence in our society, keeps his information fresh and up to date.
In addition to co-producing segments of The Sheriff's Report on Comcast Cable, Jesus has been a guest or interviewed for a variety of radio and T.V. talk shows including CBC radio in Canada, CNN, Headline News and NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw. He has been quoted in numerous national publications including The New York Times and most recently, the Chronicle of Higher Education. Jesus is featured in numerous videos covering topics such as Gangs, Breaking Up Fights, Use of Force Issues, Campus Intruder Contacts and Work Place Violence Prevention.
Jesus has also trained tens of thousands of bus drivers around the country on issues related to personal survival on a bus and is currently developing new programs to fill the needs for our nation's bus drivers to keep themselves and their students safe!
His thought provoking ideas are given with a humorous note and will surely inspire those in attendance in believing that they can help to make our schools and workplaces a safer place to learn, teach, and work!
Jesus Villahermosa is available for Keynote and conference seminars as well as individually tailored training segments for your institution.
