West Texas JPCA
Bill Blackwood LEMIT
TRAINING ANNOUNCEMENT
Verbal Judo Tactical Communications
Basic Officer Course
West Texas JPCA Annual Training Conference
April 14-15, 2011
Wichita Falls, Texas
NOTE: Class will run from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily, with lunch from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Course Credit: This course is hosted by the West Texas JPCA, and accredited by the Bill Blackwood Law
Enforcement Management Institute of Texas (LEMIT). Upon completion of the course, attendance rosters will
be filed with LEMIT for 16 hours of TCLEOSE continuing education credit under Course Number 3027,
Verbal/Nonverbal Communication.
Course Summary: This is a two-day program designed for officers whose duties require them to resolve
tense confrontations peacefully and safely. Verbal Judo is the top rated law enforcement communication
course in the country with over 700,000 officers, from over 700 departments, as graduates.
What is Verbal Judo?
Verbal Judo, or Tactical Communication, enables officers to further preserve law and order – while maintaining
their own and the public’s safety by using Appropriate Presence and Words as force options.
Verbal Judo is based on the principle of Judo itself: using the energy of others to master situations. It contains
a set of communication principles and tactics that enable the user to generate cooperation and gain voluntary
compliance in others under stressful conditions, such as hostile suspects, upset or frightened victims, or any
action which places the officer and the community at odds with each other.
Verbal Judo teaches a philosophy of how to look creatively at conflict, offering specific, powerful, and usable
strategies to resolve tense situations. The presentation is geared primarily but not exclusively to law
enforcement situations. You will learn to respond to situations, rather than react to personal feelings,
understanding how to deal with difficult people using conflict management tactics to defuse confrontational
encounters.
Verbal Judo teaches participants how to better themselves in terms of professionalism and conflict
resolution. The benefits are straightforward, yet compelling, as Verbal Judo is designed to help
reduce the number of physical confrontations through effective communication between officer and
citizen. As a result, the potential for officer injuries, subject injuries, citizen complaints, and legal
liability is reduced. Verbal Judo training will not eliminate physical confrontations – it will simply make
them less likely.
About Dr. George “Rhino” Thompson and Verbal Judo
Dr. George Thompson
Dr. Thompson (“Doc Rhino“) is the President and Founder of the Verbal Judo Institute. Over the last 26 years, he has
personally trained more than 700,000 individuals in Tactical Communications -- a program he developed in 1983 for
defusing conflict and redirecting behavior with words.
Verbal Judo was originally developed for police, corrections, and security professionals and is now a required course in
numerous states. More recently it has been tailored for other organizations (e.g., mental health, the gaming industry,
hospitals, businesses, schools) and for use by civilians to protect themselves from verbal assault and physical violence.
Dr. Thompson has a B.A. from Colgate University (1963), a Masters and Doctorate in English from the University of
Connecticut (1972), and has completed post- doctoral work at Princeton University in Rhetoric & Persuasion (1979). He
has written and published four books on Tactical Communications.
What’s most unique, however, is that Dr. Thompson is himself a police veteran, having worked previously for the Emporia
(KS) Police Department and the Sandoval County (NM) Sheriff’s Office. His own experiences, perspective and insight into
the law enforcement profession, combined with his educational and literary achievements, are what set this course apart
from all others in terms of training law enforcement officers to perfect their interpersonal communication skills.
Widely published in magazines and periodicals, his training has been highlighted in such national media outlets as NBC,
ABC, & CBS News, CNN, 48 Hours, Inside Edition, LETN, In the Line of Duty, and Fox news, as well as in the LA Times,
NY Post, Sacramento Bee, and other publications.
Doc’s Verbal Judo Institute offers its training via live events, digital media, and free online newsletters.
Awards and Honors:
Publications:
Voted Outstanding Educator of America, 1975
Guest Instructor , Law Enforcement Training Network(LETN)
Columnist for Police One and Corrections One
Contributing Expert to the Better Kids Institute
Black Belts in Judo and Tae Kwon Do
Verbal Judo: The Gentle Art of Persuasion
Verbal Judo: Redirecting Behavior With Words
Verbal Judo: Words As A Force Option
The Verbal Judo Way Of Leadership
Hammett’s Moral Vision
Constable Rick Gammon
Rick Gammon is the elected Constable for Precinct 2, El Paso County, Texas. Born and raised in St. Louis,
Missouri, he joined the US Army in 1989 at age 17, working for nearly nine years as a weapons technician on
numerous weapon systems, from small arms to main armament weapon systems. He spent nearly four years as
a Unit Armorer and Small Arms Technician, where he gained vast knowledge and experience with Beretta M9
(92FS) pistols and the Colt M16 / M4 rifle group. His achievements included three Army Achievement Medals
and two Good Conduct Medals before ending his tour of service honorably in 1998.
Rick then began his career in law enforcement, completing the Basic Peace Officer Course at El Paso
Community College in 1999 and completing his Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice Administration from
Park University with honors in 2003. He began as a Reserve Deputy Constable with Precinct 3 for over two
years, before landing full-time with the Socorro ISD Police Department in 2002 as a Police Officer / School
Resource Officer. In 2004, he moved to the Texas Tech Police Department – El Paso Campus, to assist in Patrol
and Administration, planning for upcoming campus expansion of the medical school. In 2006, seeing an
opportunity he had always kept his eye on since his start, he ran for and won a vacant-term election to the
Precinct 2 Constable’s Office, and began his tenure there on January 1, 2007, winning unopposed in 2008 for a
full four-year term.
His law enforcement achievements and certifications include Master Peace Officer, Mental Health Peace
Officer, Public Information Officer, Civil Process Proficiency Certification, Verbal Judo Instructor, Basic Police
Instructor, and Gang Resistance Education And Training (GREAT) Instructor. He is a graduate of the LEMIT
Constable Leadership College, and is currently enrolled in the LEMIT Leadership Command College, awaiting
Phase 2 assignment.
