Board of Directors
President
DETECTIVE JOSEPH RUHLIN
Clearwater Police Department
joseph.ruhlin@myclearwater.com
Detective Joseph Ruhlin has been with the Clearwater Police Department since 1992 and has been a homicide detective since 2005. He is a Computer Voice Stress Analyzer Operator and was one of the first operators at the Clearwater Police Department helping found the program. Detective Ruhlin has also been a burglary detective, FTO, patrol sex crimes investigator, intoxilyzer operator and is radar certified.
Vice President
ROBERT MILLER, RETIRED
Formerly Miami-Dade Police Department
Retired Detective Robert “Bobby” Miller was a Law Enforcement Officer with 30 years of distinguished service with the Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD), Miami-Dade County, Florida. He retired honorably on September 30, 2020.
Prior to a career in law enforcement, Detective Miller served 6 years in the United States Marine Corps.
In 1991, after the completion of a nine-month academy, Detective Miller was assigned to uniform patrol at the MDPD Midwest District Station. He was transferred a year later to the Northwest District Station where he continued patrol for the next three years.
Following patrol, Detective Miller served in the district’s Team Police Unit and the Crime Suppression Team. His foundation as an investigator became rooted when assigned to the General Investigations Unit. Detective Miller’s investigative experience advanced with a six-year assignment in the Criminal Investigations Division (CID) – Robbery Bureau. He finally achieved his personal goal and in 2002, he was transferred to the CID – Homicide Bureau.
His fourteen plus years of vast experience in the Homicide Bureau included assignments in a Rotational Homicide Team, the Strategic Investigations Squad (S.I.S.), the Traffic Homicide Unit and the Cold Case Squad.
During a seven-year period, Detective Miller was also a part of the MDPD’s prestigious Honor Guard Unit. Detective Miller served his last three years with MDPD in the Professional Compliance Bureau – Public Corruption Section before retiring.
Detective Miller is a former commission member with the Florida Sheriffs Association Cold Case Advisory Commission (CCAC). For over 20 years, he has been a guest lecturer at the University of Miami School of Law.
He is currently the Vice President of the National Homicide Investigators Association (NHIA) and previously held the position of Secretary.
Treasurer
MICHAEL BEAVER
Clearwater Police Department
michael.beaver@myclearwater.com
Sergeant Michael Beaver has 20 years of law enforcement experience. He is originally from Michigan, where he began his law enforcement career working for the Flint Police Department. He moved to Florida, making a long-term home at the Clearwater Police Department within Pinellas County. Sergeant Beaver served as a Field Training Officer and Street Crimes member within the Uniformed Patrol Division. He was selected as a detective for the Robbery Unit in 2016 and later transitioned into the Homicide Unit. In 2022 Beaver was promoted to the rank of Sergeant and is currently assigned to the Homicide Unit.
Secretary
BERTHA "B" DURAZO, RETIRED
Los Angeles Police Department, South Bureau Homicide Division
Detective Bertha “B” Durazo was born and raised in Los Angeles. She began her career with the Los Angeles Police Department in 1996. She worked patrol and narcotics before promoting to the rank of Detective in 2003. At LAPD’s 77th Division, her investigative assignments included Crimes Against Persons, Auto Theft, and Robbery. In 2006, she was reassigned to the Major Crimes Division and tasked with terrorism-related investigations.
In 2007, Detective Durazo transferred into LAPD’s South Bureau Homicide Division, and she was promoted to the rank of Detective Supervisor in 2008. She served as a homicide investigator and as a Violent Crime Task Force supervisor. In 2013, she volunteered to join the division’s Cold Case Unit, where she remains today. Since then, she has been involved in solving many complex cold case investigations through comprehensive review of case files, exhaustive use of forensic advancements, and application of effective interview and interrogation techniques of witnesses and suspects.
Detective Durazo holds a BA and MS in Criminal Justice from California State University – Fullerton, and California State University – Long Beach, respectively. She continues to supplement her knowledge, training, and experience through inter-agency networking, and current membership with both the California and National Homicide Investigator’s Associations.
Regional Director of Medicolegal Death Investigators
BRETT EDWARD HARDING, CHIEF DEPUTY CORONER
Ada County Coroner's Office
Chief Deputy Brett Harding began his career in medicolegal death investigation in 1988 when he joined Florida’s District 21 Medical Examiner’s Office as a Forensic Investigator. In 1990, he entered the field of organ transplantation where he received critical care and surgical training. This was followed by a year of clinical research before returning to medicolegal death investigation in 1997. Mr. Harding successfully became a Registered Medicolegal Death Investigator and then one of the first Board Certified Medicolegal Death Investigators in the State of Florida. He went on to serve on both the Advisory Council and the Board of Directors for the American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators.
Chief Deputy Harding is a Fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, a Fellow of the International Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners and one of only 25 psychological autopsy investigators in the United States. He has served on multiple institutional advisory boards and has been an adjunct instructor at Florida Gulf Coast University, Edison State College and the University of Nevada Las Vegas School of Medicine. Mr. Harding has published numerous articles in the Journal of Forensic Sciences as well as the Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology. He served as the Chief Forensic Investigator for Florida’s District 5 Medical Examiner’s Office and the Assistant Coroner for the Clark County Coroner / Medical Examiner’s Office in Las Vegas, Nevada, before becoming the Chief Deputy Coroner at the Ada County Coroner’s Office.
Board Member
JEFF LEWIS, RETIRED
Formerly Miami-Dade Police Department
Before embarking on his career with the Miami-Dade Police Department, Jeff served honorably in the United States Air Force. During this time he acted as a Security Police Investigator at Homestead Air Force Base where he conducted a wide-range of investigations.
Detective Jeff Lewis retired from the Miami-Dade Police Department in 2010. His 30-year career was marked by countless commendations and accolades. Prior to his tenure in Homicide, Jeff spent 13 years as a Robbery Investigator where he acted as lead detective on thousands of armed robbery cases. Jeff was assigned to the Homicide Bureau during the last 14 years of his career, where he assumed responsibility for hundreds of high-profile, complex murder investigations.
Throughout his career Jeff has attended numerous gang-related training seminars and has received extensive training in interviews/interrogation techniques, crime scene investigations, robbery/homicide investigations as well as general law enforcement and weapons training.
Jeff has also participated in a variety of Federal Task Forces, many receiving national media attention, formed to combat extremely violent gangs of robbers. Jeff has successfully collaborated on gang investigations with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), the FBI, DEA, ATF and the Secret Service He has testified in hundreds of state, Federal and civil proceedings.
While participating in a Crime Suppression initiative in the Liberty City area, Jeff was wounded by gunfire and received the Purple Heart, one of the Miami-Dade Police Departments highest honors.
Jeff is currently volunteering with the Seminole County Sheriff's Office investigating Cold Cases.
Board Member
THOMAS "TOMMY" CAHALAN
Melbourne Police Department, Major Crimes/Homicide Unit
Detective Thomas “Tommy” Cahalan attended the Brevard County, Florida, Law Enforcement Academy in 2001, after moving to Melbourne, Florida, from his home State of Massachusetts. He began his law enforcement career in 2002 as a Uniformed Patrol Officer for the Melbourne Police Department. After serving his first 6 years gaining respect from his peers and establishing himself through his exemplary work in the Patrol Unit, Tom was assigned to the Criminal Investigations Division as an Intelligence Detective, responsible for investigating high profile criminal targets and violent gang members. Tom later transferred to the General Crimes Unit, where he investigated hundreds of burglaries, robberies, and property related crimes.
Tom has been serving as a Major Crimes/Homicide Detective since 2012, and he is primarily responsible for investigating Homicides, Sex Crimes, and Child Abuse cases. In the course of his career, Tom has investigated hundreds of homicides and death related cases, and has been instrumental in the arrest and successful prosecution of numerous violent criminals. He has received numerous accolades and commendations, and has been recognized in lectures and training seminars for his effective interviewing skills.
Tom holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Administration from Barry University, and has acquired several hundred hours of advanced training pertaining to police work, criminal investigations, and forensics. He is a member of the Child Abduction Response Team (C.A.R.T.), The National Sex Crimes Investigators Association, and TheNational Homicide Investigators Association.
Advisory Member
MARK BOUDREAU
Lieutenant Mark Boudreau has been a member of the Flint Police Department since 2004 and is currently assigned to the Criminal Investigations Bureau where he oversees the Major Case Unit, SAKI Unit, and Youth Services Bureau. Lieutenant Boudreau was promoted to the rank of lieutenant in 2014 and has served as a shift commander in the Patrol Operations Bureau as well as commanding the Crime Area Target Team (CATT Squad). He also serves as the Flint Police Department's lead crisis negotiator.
Lieutenant Boudreau earned his Bachelor of Arts from John Jay College of CriminalJustice in New York City and is also a graduate of the Michigan State University School of Staff & Command.
Advisory Member
MICHAEL CONNELLY
Michael Connelly was born in Philadelphia, PA on July 21, 1956. He moved to Florida with his family when he was 12 years old. Michael decided to become a writer after discovering the books of Raymond Chandler while attending the University of Florida. Once he decided on this direction he chose a major in journalism and a minor in creative writing — a curriculum in which one of his teachers was novelist Harry Crews.
After graduating in 1980, Connelly worked at newspapers in Daytona Beach and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, primarily specializing in the crime beat. In Fort Lauderdale he wrote about police and crime during the height of the murder and violence wave that rolled over South Florida during the so-called cocaine wars. In 1986, he and two other reporters spent several months interviewing survivors of a major airline crash. They wrote a magazine story on the crash and the survivors which was later short-listed for the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing. The magazine story also moved Connelly into the upper levels of journalism, landing him a job as a crime reporter for the Los Angeles Times, one of the largest papers in the country, and bringing him to the city of which his literary hero, Chandler, had written.
Michael is the bestselling author of thirty-seven novels and one work of non-fiction. With over eighty million copies of his books sold worldwide and translated into forty-five foreign languages, he is one of the most successful writers working today. His very first novel, The Black Echo, won the prestigious Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award for Best First Novel in 1992. In 2002, Clint Eastwood directed and starred in the movie adaptation of Connelly’s 1998 novel, Blood Work. In March 2011, the movie adaptation of his #1 bestselling novel, The Lincoln Lawyer, hit theaters worldwide starring Matthew McConaughey as Mickey Haller. His most recent #1 New York Times bestsellers include The Dark Hours, The Law Of Innocence, Fair Warning, The Night Fire, and Dark Sacred Night. Michael’s crime fiction career was honored with the Diamond Dagger from the CWA in 2018, and the Outstanding Contribution To Crime Writing Award at the 2022 Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate, England.
Michael is the executive producer of Bosch and Bosch: Legacy, two Amazon Studios original drama series based on his bestselling character Harry Bosch, starring Titus Welliver. These both stream on Prime Video and Amazon Freevee. He is the executive producer of The Lincoln Lawyer on Netflix, starring Manuel Garcia-Rulfo as Mickey Haller. He is the creator and host of the podcasts Murder Book and The Wonderland Murders & The Secret History Of Hollywood. He is the executive producer of the documentary films, Sound Of Redemption: The Frank Morgan Story and Tales of the American. He spends his time in California and Florida.
Advisory Member
WILLIAM "BILL" HODGMAN,
ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEY, RETIRED
Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office
Mr. Hodgman received his undergraduate degree from UCLA in 1975 and his law degree from Hastings College of Law in 1978. He joined the District Attorney’s Office in November 1978. While serving in different trial and special prosecution units, Mr. Hodgman tried to jury over 140 felony cases, including more than 40 murder cases. In 1991, he was the lead trial lawyer in the securities fraud prosecution of Charles H. Keating, Jr. After securing convictions in that case, he was selected as the 1992 Outstanding Prosecutor of the Year by the California District Attorneys Association and the Los Angeles County Association of Deputy District Attorneys (ADDA). In 1993, Mr. Hodgman was one of the lead prosecutors involved in the investigation of Michael Jackson regarding child molestation allegations. In 1994 and 1995, he was one of the lead prosecutors in the double-murder prosecution of O.J. Simpson. In 1996 and early 1997, Mr. Hodgman successfully prosecuted and secured a nine year prison sentence against Marion “Suge” Knight, the founder of Death Row Records. In October 2000, Mr. Hodgman was inducted into the American College of Trial Lawyers in Washington, D.C.
From January 2001 to April 2002, Mr. Hodgman was the Head Deputy for the Ad Hoc Rampart Division which was charged with the responsibility of investigating and prosecuting cases arising from the Los Angeles Police Department Rampart Division police misconduct scandal. From April 2002 to March 2005, Mr. Hodgman was Head Deputy of the Sex Crimes Division. In that assignment, Mr. Hodgman coordinated the investigation and prosecution efforts regarding the Catholic clergy sexual abuse of children scandal. From March 2005 to December 2012, Mr. Hodgman was Head Deputy for the Target Crimes Division and supervised the Crimes Against Peace Officers Section (CAPOS), the Arson Section, the Stalking and Threat Assessment Team (STAT), the Child Abduction Section, and the Psychiatric Section. CAPOS is the special prosecution unit dedicated to prosecuting violent offenders who kill or attempt to kill law enforcement officers engaged in the performance of their duties. From December 2012 to January 2019, Mr. Hodgman served as the Assistant District Attorney overseeing the office’s line operations. Previously, he served as the Director for Central Operations and the Director for Special Operations. Mr. Hodgman received the Career Prosecutor Award from the ADDA in 2014. the Prosecutor of the Year Award from the Loyola Law School Fidler Institute of Criminal Justice in 2017, and the Career Achievement award from the Los Angeles County Bar Association Criminal Law Section in 2019.
He is a guest lecturer at the Executive Leadership Program and the Public Safety Leadership Program at the University of Southern California’s Safe Communities Institute.
Advisory Member
KELLY OTIS, CHIEF INVESTIGATOR
District Attorney's Office, Wichita, Kansas (Sedgwick County District Attorney's Office)
Kelly started in law enforcement with the Wichita Police Department in February 1985. He worked midnight shift in patrol for almost 11 years. He was then promoted to Detective where he spent one year in Narcotics and then was promoted to the Homicide Unit where spent 11 years.
He was offered the position of Chief Investigator at the D.A's Office in 2007. He supervises 13 investigators, 8 commissioned investigators and 5 civilians.
Advisory Member
DAVID RIVERS, RETIRED
Formerly Miami-Dade Police Department
David Rivers retired as a Detective Sergeant in the Metropolitan Dade County Police Department after over 27 years of service 20 years in the Homicide Bureau. As a lead investigator and supervisor, he assisted in the investigation of several hundred homicides, suicides, accidental and other death investigations.
On April 11, 1986 he supervised the crime scene portion of the investigation of the largest shootout in the history, to date, of the F.B.I. He and several of the involved agents have given presentations on this incident for 35 years as of 2021.
In 1988 he was assigned as Supervisor of the “Cold Case Squad” which was responsible for the continuing investigation of information received on over 1,800 open homicides dating back to 1951. Miami Dade PD was one of the first departments in the country to have a Cold Case Squad.
He has taught and consulted on cases in the United States, Canada, Holland and the United Kingdom.
Advisory Member
LISA SKINNER, SPECIAL AGENT, RETIRED
Federal Bureau of Investigations
Lisa G. Skinner is a retired Federal Bureau of Investigation Supervisory Special Agent. During her 27 years as a Special Agent with the FBI, she served in the following Field Offices: Houston, Texas; Washington, D.C.; Tampa, Florida; Seattle, Washington; Knoxville, Tennessee; and Anchorage, Alaska. Her final assignment was as an instructor at the FBI National Academy at Quantico, Virginia.
Ms. Skinner’s investigative experience includes: Fugitives; Espionage; Foreign Counterintelligence; Domestic Terrorism; and Civil Rights. In 1994, the Hillsborough County, Florida Bar Association recognized her as the Federal Law Enforcement Officer of the Year. The award was presented for her investigation and the successful prosecution of two active duty U.S. Army personnel for Espionage. She is a graduate of the Department of Defense Polygraph Institute and served as the Polygraph Examiner for the Knoxville and Anchorage FBI Field Offices. Prior to being assigned to the FBI Academy, she served as the Chief Security Officer for the Anchorage FBI Field Office.
From 2006 until her retirement in 2013, Ms. Skinner was assigned to the FBI Academy as an instructor for the National Academy. While at the FBI National Academy, she was designated as an adjunct professor for the University of Virginia, and served as an instructor for Interviewing Strategies through Statement Analysis, Analysis of Verbal and Nonverbal Behavior and Investigative Interviewing and Interrogation. In addition to her instructor duties at the FBI National Academy, she lectured nationally and internationally to various law enforcement departments and agencies on the foregoing topics.
In 2012, Ms. Skinner received the Jefferson Award from the University of Virginia for the research she and Dr. David Matsumoto conducted in verbal and nonverbal indicators of deception and veracity. This research was the basis of the class that they created specifically for the FBI National Academy, which combined Dr. Matsumoto’s years of research on microfacial expressions and emotional leakage with the techniques of statement analysis. Dr. Matsumoto’s and Skinner’s research has been published in the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin and in the Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology.
Ms. Skinner now serves as an Independent Consultant for Humintell and provides training in statement analysis and evaluating truthfulness and detecting deception through nonverbal behavior. She also assists law enforcement departments and agencies with investigative and interview strategies.
Ms. Skinner’s publications include:
- Exploiting Verbal Markers of Deception Across Ethnic Lines: An Investigative Tool for Cross-Cultural Interviewing, Sandoval, Matsumoto, Hwang and Skinner, FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin (LEB), July 2015
- Reading People: Behavioral Anomalies and Investigative Interviewing, Matsumoto, Skinner, and Hwang, FBI LEB, March 2014
- Positive Effects in Detecting Lies from Training to Recognize Behavioral Anomalies, Matsumoto, Hwang, Skinner and Frank, Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, November 2012
- Evaluating Truthfulness and Detecting Deception, Matsumoto, Hwang, Skinner and Frank, FBI LEB, June 2011
Ms. Skinner received her Bachelor of Science degree in Corrections and Law Enforcement from Jacksonville State University and her Juris Doctor from the University of Alabama.
Advisory Member
CHRISTINA WITT, PHD
Calgary Police Services Homicide Unit
Detective Christina Witt, PhD, has twenty-three years police experience with the Calgary Police Service. Dr. Witt has been a homicide detective since 2011, with prior experience in patrol, undercover drug officer, and child abuse investigator. Dr. Witt has presented at numerous criminal justice conferences in Canada, Australia, and the USA. Dr. Witt has also been teaching as a sessional instructor at Mount Royal University in the field of Economics, Justice and Policy Studies, periodically since 2010. Dr. Witt has a Master of Science Degree in Forensic and Legal Psychology and her PhD in Criminology, with a research focus on Best Practices of Homicide Investigations.
Advisory Member
DAVE ROSS, RETIRED
Dave Ross was born in Texas and grew up in Wyoming and Colorado. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps after high school and served for over 20 years before retiring to pursue a career in law enforcement. He joined the Los Angeles Police Department in 1996 and retired honorably in 2023 after 26 years of service.
With the Los Angeles Police Department, he served tours as a patrol officer, field training officer and gang officer. He was promoted to the rank of Sergeant and served as a patrol supervisor. After being selected for the rank of Detective in 2009, he worked a variety of detective assignments before transferring to South Bureau Homicide Division in 2010. As a homicide investigator he initially worked fresh cases. In 2013 he volunteered to join the Cold Case Unit and specialized in cold case investigations until his retirement.
He is an active member of the California Homicide Investigators Association. His main homicide interest remains the investigation of cold cases.
Advisory Member
ARNIE ARMOROS
In September 1980, Amoros began his 28-year Law Enforcement career with the New York City Police Department. During his New York City Police career, he worked and supervised three department divisions, including the Patrol Division, the Detective Bureau and closing out his NYPD career with the Organized Crime Control Bureau; During his last assignment Amoros worked under the Organized Crime Investigative and Electronic Surveillance division under U.S Attorney Rudolph Giuliani contributing to several Major Organized crime family indictments and arrests.
In 1991, upon his retirement from the NYPD - he moved to Central Florida with his family to be close to his parents. In 1996, his Police career continued as he joined forces with the Seminole County Sheriff’s office. During his tenure as a full time / Part time deputy he was assigned to Patrol duties, the Security division, the Division of Children and families and the Special Operations Range and Water unit.
Upon his first year, Amoros was instrumental in addressing various protocols within the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office and helped contribute to the restructuring of their policies, rules, and procedures. As part of his contribution and noted for implementation, Amoros helped introduce the concept behind Community Policing to the Sheriff’s office that same year - resulting in the development of numerous community planning and outreach projects.
On September 15, 2001, 4 days after the attack on the World Trade Center - Amoros traveled to New York City to assess and assist in the search and rescue mission at the World Trade Center (Ground Zero) with a direct report to Sheriff Don Eslinger- who immediately upon request dispatched and assigned 7 Sheriff Deputies and a K9 to work under Amoros; Sheriff Eslinger subsequently traveled to New York whereby Amoros introduced Sheriff Eslinger to Chief William Allee the NYPD Chief of Detectives who was initially in charge of Ground zero. During his assignment at Ground Zero, Amoros was tasked with Managing the Temporary HQ and responsible of registering and deploying all out of state Law Enforcement personnel and securing their assignments and accommodations.
Upon return from 9/11 Amoros transitioned his knowledge and experience to work for the State of Florida’s law Enforcement branch of the Department of Financial Services covering the State Fire Marshals Arson Explosion Division and the Division of Insurance Fraud. During his tenure with the State, he was recognized by both divisions for most arrests and case closures in the State of Florida and was later awarded the Davis Productivity Award in 2008.
Since coming to Florida, Amoros has been involved with several civic and political organizations and is always seeking to help his community and law Enforcement officers in many ways. In 2017 he was selected by the Puerto Rican Day Parade committee for Hispanic Achievement and honored as a Parade Dedication recipient. In 2020 Congressman Darren Soto recognized Amoros for his loyal dedication, leadership, and commitment to his community by bestowing the Congressional Award of honor upon him.
Amoros is very involved with many legislators in the Democratic and Republican parties and has been instrumental in supporting and building relationships with many of these legislators. As part of his legislative input, Amoros successfully authored Amendment 3 in the 2016 election whereby “All 1st Responders injured in the line of duty and considered 100% disabled-would now qualify for a Homestead Tax exemption on their property. Amoros also co-authored a New York state bill that was recently passed and signed into law effective January 2022 in New York State; This bill will help save the lives of many individuals - as it address’s all vehicle’s without airbags, to wit: an Airbag Disclosure bill - better known and recognized as “The Anthony Amoros Bill” in New York State. This bill was written on behalf of his Nephew Anthony Amoros who lost his life because of a missing airbag that had been removed from the vehicle prior to the purchase. This bill is now being addressed and re-written by Amoros to be introduced at the upcoming 2022 fall session in Tallahassee.
On behalf of all 9/11 1st responders, Amoros is in the process of submitting a 9/11 health treatment bill for all 9/11 1st Responders - whereby it would provide all 9/11 first responders the proper health and treatment programs that are so deserved within every state in the union; currently these first responders are not receiving the proper medical treatment within their state of residency, as a result they are having to travel back to New York’s Mt. Sanai Health, Monitoring and treatment Program for medical services.
Amoros is currently the President of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 176, whereby prior to Covid-19 he oversaw 221 active, retired and associate Law Enforcement members. Amoros was instrumental in starting and implementing a school mentorship program to middle school students within various communities in Orange and Seminole County.
In his continued effort to help his community and his Law Enforcement partners, Amoros has recently started a Cold Case Squad for the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office under the leadership of Sheriff Dennis Lemma consisting of 8 retired Homicide and Major Crimes detectives from various Law Enforcement agencies who are now responsible for bringing some form of closure to the victim’s families - as the squad has now solved 3 cases and are beginning on their 4th in less than 3 years.
