Richard Lichten - Expert Consultant Consultant to law firms, criminal and civil, both plaintiff and defense; public agency defense; prosecutors, and the media
661.406.7258
Richard Lichten ﷯ Police and Jail Procedures Consultant With a lifetime of service in the public sector encompassing patrol, jail/custody, and investigatory procedures, Richard Lichten is now a police and jail procedures consultant for attorneys, public agencies, and the media. He has been accepted as an expert to testify in State Courts and in United States District Courts and in Arizona, California, Hawaii, Missouri, New York and Nevada courts in the: • Citizen v. Citizen self-defense cases (personal weapons, knives, and firearm usage) • Use of force (less-lethal and lethal) • Use of the TASER and Pepper spray • Pepper spray decontamination protocol • Police practices • De-escalation techniques • Citizen v. Citizen self-defense cases (personal weapons, knives, and firearm usage) • Incidents involving the mentally ill • Arrest Warrant Operations • Exigent v. Non-Exigent police entry • Citizen’s right to resist excessive force by the police • Emergency Vehicle Operations • Supervision of police pursuits • Narcotics • Evidence collection in narcotics cases • Sexual assault investigations • Evidence collection in firearms cases • Use of private security guards • Prison inmate culture • Jail-made weapons • Gang vs. non-gang attacks on staff • Forced cell extractions • Inmate safety checks • Use of Restraint Chairs, Safety Cells and Sobering Cells • Jail food service • Jail and Prison - Inmate medical care issues • Possession of narcotics for personal use vs. for sales in state prisons • Inmate housing • Excited Delirium in police custody • Jail suicide and has authored numerous Rule 26 reports for cases in federal court. The Los Angeles County Superior Court (throughout Los Angeles County) has appointed Mr. Lichten in excess of 300 times as an expert witness. Mr. Lichten is also a member of the Public Defender’s Office police experts’ databases in Riverside County, San Bernardino County, San Diego County, Kern County, San Luis Obispo, Monterey County, and Orange County. Mr. Lichten has consulted in plaintiff and defense cases in Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi. Nevada, New York, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Washington DC, Washington State, Wisconsin, and Alberta Canada. Mr. Lichten authored Chapter 5, Best Practices by Correctional Staff in the book Suicide in Jails and Prison Preventive and Legal Perspectives, by Dr. A.E. Daniel. The book was released in April 2022. In 2013, Mr. Lichten earned the designation of Certified Litigation Specialist (CLS) from the Americans for Effective Law Enforcement (AELE). The Americans for Effective Law Enforcement was formed in 1966 and opened the Law Enforcement Legal Center in 1973. AELE is a research driven educational organization that produces and disseminates legal information through traditional seminars, electronic media, and direct contact. Mr. Lichten received his CLS after completing the following litigation-related required training in: • Lethal and Less Lethal Use of Force • Arrest-Related, Excited Delirium, Sudden In-Custody Death, Jail Suicide • Management, Oversight, and Monitoring of Use of Force, including ECW (TASER) Operations and Post-Incident Forensics • Discipline and Internal Investigations He served as a Lieutenant for various Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department stations as well as correctional facilities throughout Los Angeles County, and commanded many large-scale operations during major natural disasters such as wildfires and earthquakes. Other functions included Sergeant (patrol and custody), Narcotics Investigator, Detective, Patrol Deputy, and Training Officer. He was consistently commended for his professionalism, his outstanding performance, and his dedicated service to the community. He has provided training in the proper handling of various public interactions such as high-risk incidents, tactical command science in tense situations, use of force, proper patrol procedures, emergency skills preparedness and training, officer safety, incident report writing, California penal codes, police ethics, and supervision and leadership skills for newly promoted sergeants and lieutenants. In his thirty-year career, Mr. Lichten has amassed experience in analyzing use of force by his subordinates to determine if the force used was proper, reasonable, and within policy. Mr. Lichten has investigated numerous complaints from private citizens and inmates concerning allegations of deputy misconduct. Mr. Lichten commanded and investigated numerous high speed pursuits. Mr. Lichten was a participating member of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Pursuit Evaluation Committee. As a patrol watch commander, Mr. Lichten commanded numerous high-risk barricaded suspect operations as well as deploying K9s after dangerous suspects. As a watch commander in various divisions of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Mr. Lichten ensured that all staff followed proper protocol and procedures concerning high-risk incidents, officer involved shootings, vehicle pursuits, etc. In a custody environment, Mr. Lichten commanded responses to over 100 major inmate disturbances/riots within large correctional facilities (up to 4,000 inmates), dealing with barricaded inmates, forced cell removals, hostage situations, medical emergencies, fires, evacuations, earthquakes, and jail suicide prevention. As a lieutenant he lectured at the Sheriff’s academy on the POST certified topic of Crimes Against Persons. As a sergeant he attended the POST Career Integrity and Police Ethics facilitator trainer course on police ethics, and held over twenty ethics workshops for deputy personnel. As a narcotics investigator, Mr. Lichten testified over 100 times as a narcotics expert in over a dozen courts throughout Los Angeles County and Ventura County. In November 2014, the Institute for the Prevention of In-Custody Deaths (IPICD) certified Mr. Lichten as an instructor in the Prevention and Management of Suicide in Law Enforcement (both in patrol and in the jails). In October 2015, the Institute for the Prevention of In-Custody Deaths (IPICD) certified Mr. Lichten as an Excited Delirium and Agitated Chaotic Events instructor, which includes the Recognition, Responding, Managing, and Investigating Arrest-Related and Sudden, In-Custody Deaths. In April 2017, the Institute for the Prevention of In-Custody Deaths (IPICD) certified Mr. Lichten as an Arrest-Related and In-Custody Death Investigative Specialist. In January 2018, the Institute for the Prevention of In-Custody Deaths (IPICD) certified Mr. Lichten as a trainer in the area of the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) as it relates to law enforcement and the arresting, transporting, and jailing of wheelchair user suspects and suspects with other ADA defined disabilities. In December 2018, Mr. Lichten participated in the live webinar by the Justice Clearinghouse + IPICD, in "Excited Delirium and Agitated Chaotic Events: Recognizing, Responding, and Preventing Sudden, In-Custody Deaths." In March of 2019, Mr. Lichten completed the Institute for the Prevention of In-Custody Deaths (IPICD), "Effectively Classifying and Managing Transgender & Transsexual Inmates as well as Inmates with Autism and the ADA." In January 2019, Mr. Lichten completed the Justice Clearinghouse "Suicide Prevention and Intervention for Public Safety Personnel" webinar presented by Dr. Tammy McKoy-Arballo. In March 2019, Mr. Lichten attended the training by the IPICD, "Effectively Classifying and Managing Transgender & Transsexual Inmates as well as Inmates with Autism and the ADA." In September 2019, Mr. Lichten participated in the live webinar by the Justice Clearinghouse in "Suicide Prevention and Intervention for Public Safety Personnel" webinar presented by Dr. Tammy McKoy-Arballo. In April 2020, Mr. Lichten participated in the live webinar by AELE, re: “Metallic Handcuffs,” (injuries and litigation) by Dr. John Peters. In April 2020, Mr. Lichten completed the Institute for the Prevention of In-Custody Deaths (IPICD) AELE, webinar, “Less-Lethal Technology: Diversionary Devices” by A. David Berman. In July 2020, Mr. Lichten completed the Institute for the Prevention of In-Custody Deaths (IPICD), webinar, "Violent Prone Restraint issues" by Darrell Ross, Ph.D.. Mr. Lichten frequently provides media entities with information and perspective concerning law enforcement policies and procedures. He has also assisted public agencies with opinion, recommendations, and assistance in regard to training manuals, and has written numerous emergency procedures, evacuation plans, response plans, and operations plans. Mr. Lichten has lectured to the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s Office and to the Riverside Public Defender’s Office about police use of force issues. In the private sector he has planned and managed security at various large-scale events, and has provided close-in protection for numerous individuals. He conducts assessments to gauge effectiveness of security measures and recommends adjustments to reduce or eliminate security breaches. Mr. Lichten’s use of force expert testimony was cited in the May 30, 2012, published opinion of the Court of Appeal of the State of California, Second Appellate District, Division Eight, Alma Mendoza v. City of West Covina, et al. (http://www.courts.ca.gov/opinions/documents/B227812.PDF) , B227812, (Los Angeles County, Superior Court. Number: BC387119). In this opinion, the judgment was affirmed.
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