Michael Brave, Esq., M.S.
Manager/Sole Member, LAAW International, LLC
Email - brave@laaw.com
Of Counsel in the Phoenix office of Manning & Kass, Ellrod, Ramirez, Trester LLP
Phone - (651) 248-2809
Michael Brave of LAAW International, LLC, of Counsel, Phoenix office of Manning & Kass, Ellrod, Ramirez, Trester LLP, as a member of the Government Entity Liability team. Formerly Senior Director-Legal Counsel, Director: CEW Legal of Axon Enterprise Inc. (Axon) [formerly TASER International, Inc., name changed on 5 April 2017], and Consultant to the Axon Scientific and Medical Advisory Board (SMAB) and Officer Litigation Committee (OLC). He is former President of the International Force Institute, Inc. Mike has served as a chief, [part-time] sworn officer (for 40+ years) (retired in good standing on May 4, 2022), trainer, and licensed or admitted attorney in multiple jurisdictions. has a wide range of law enforcement experience: has been retained as an expert in 300+ federal and states Constitutional issues, international inquests, and others, and consulted on many more; involved in 725+ post-incident temporal officer-associated deaths (O-ADs), and coordinated or oversaw 1,700+ expert retentions; and presented or trained on force and other subjects 1000+ times in the U.S.A., Mexico, Canada, Panama, Austria, and U.K.
He has participated in force-options instructor programs, and received instructor certifications in, force options including: firearms: handguns, shotguns, submachine guns, and specialty weapons; baton/impact force options (Monadnock® PR-24, Pneu-Gun Ballistic Baton, Tactical Baton, Tactical Glove); Psycho-Motor Skill Design Instructor (PSDI), Justice System Training Association (JSTA); Lateral Vascular Neck Restraint (LVNR®); chemical and inflammatory agents (Captsun II, oleoresin capsicum (OC), chloroacetophenone (CN), orthochlorobenzalmalonotrile (CS), Defensive Tactics Institute (DTI), Defense Technologies, Inc., Aerosol Subject Restraint (ASR), Mace Security International, PepperBall®, Sabre®); distractionary munitions (Special Purpose Low Lethality Anti-Terrorist Munitions (SPLLATM), distractionary devices); defensive tactics; spontaneous knife defense; handcuffing and restraint (DTI, RIPP® Restraints, BoloWrap®, WRAP®); and various electroshock weapons (ESWs), including handheld stun guns and shields, TASER® Conducted Energy Weapons (CEWs), Stinger™, Electroshock Weapons (ESWs), stun weapons, the Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter (G.LO.V.E.), E-Bands, and others. Also trained and certified in multiple aspects of human performance, human factors, human limitations, and mental chronometry.
His experience includes having served as a faculty member for the Americans for Effective Law Enforcement (AELE), Law Enforcement Legal Center; Legal Advisor and a founding Advisory Board member of the International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association (ILEETA); and former Board member and Legal Advisor to the Institute for the Prevention of In-Custody Deaths (IPICD). Additionally, he has served on the National Advisory Boards of the Police Law Institute, the Jail Law Institute, and DTI; former member of the Executive Board of American Society for Law Enforcement Trainers/Training (ASLET); Executive Committee Member of the Legal Officers' Section (LOS) of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) [IACP Life Member and LOS member]; and as a consultant, author, and part owner to the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Manual. Also held memberships in other organizations including, but not limited to, California Force Instructors Association (CALFIA), International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training (IADLEST), American Jail Association (AJA)(Life Member), International Police Association (IPA)(Life Member), the International Association of Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors (IALEFI), National Tactical Officers Association (NTOA), National Sheriffs’ Association (NSA)(Life Member), Police Executive Research Forum (PERF), and International, International Municipal Lawyers Association (IMLA), National, ALERT, and formerly the Law Enforcement Training Officers Association (LETOA) of Wisconsin. Also, a Senior Member, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS).
Since the early 1980s, Mike has presented many law enforcement training programs or presentations, the majority of which were force and/or risk management related. These presentations were mostly in the U.S.; international programs included: Mexico, Canada, Panama, Austria, and the United Kingdom. These presentations and training programs have included National and International Law Enforcement and Risk Management Conferences, including: the IACP, IACP-LOS, ASLET, ILEETA, IPICD, IALEFI, AELE, IMLA, CALFIA, LETOA, Public Risk Management Association (PRIMA), State Risk and Insurance Management Association (STRIMA), and others. He has provided force training to numerous organizations and law enforcement agencies, including the instructional staff at the U.S. Secret Service Academy. He is an IADLEST Nationally Certified Instructor (INCI), Charter INCI #000022. IADLEST International Certified Instructor (IICI). Train-the-Trainer ICAT (Integrating Communications Assessment and Tactics) Certified (PERF).
Mike has authored or co-authored published papers or articles in periodicals including the Police Chief, American City & County, Prosecutor, Police & Security News, Public Risk, ASLET Journal, Casino Enterprise Management, International Use of Force Journal, Law Enforcement Legal Defense Manual, IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc, International Journal of Case Reports and Images, Forensic Science, Medicine, and Pathology, Government Liability, For The Defense, Medicine, Science and the Law, International Journal of Legal Medicine, ILEETA Journal, and others; and has presented several programs on the Law Enforcement Television Network (LETN); and several treatise chapters.
Mr. Brave is formerly the Chief of the Intelligence and Investigative Operations Unit, Office of Enforcement Operations (OEO), Criminal Division, United States Department of Justice (DOJ), Washington, D.C. In that position, he oversaw several highly sensitive law enforcement programs. He held a concurrent position of Deputy Director, International Operations of the Federal Witness Security (WitSec) Program, coordinated foreign aspects of the Program, including a portion of Plan Colombia. Mr. Brave's other DOJ duties included: OEO Use-of-Force and Firearms Training Officer, Criminal Division (CRM) Security Officer, and Division Watch Officer. He was a sworn Special Deputy United States Marshal, and his National Security Information security clearance, including courier credentials, was above Top Secret.