I just finished a week long instructor development course for Use Of Force. I would highly recommend this course to anyone in law enforcement who's looking to be an instructor for Use Of Force or related curriculum (Taser, Consim, Firearms, etc.)
From my personal perspective as an instructor, Instructor Willadson did a great job creating a relaxed classroom environment. He displayed humor and a willingness to let the class get somewhat off topic as long as the information being discussed was pertinent and valuable. He could also easily bring the class back on topic if the discussion went too far off into the weeds. Not once did he seem uptight or frazzled. I was impressed by this because accomplishing that is not always as easy as it looks. Instructor Willadson seemed like a very genuine down to earth person, rather than a stereotypical robotic teacher.
The class material itself was a fantastic balance of video material, handouts, questions and answers. It kept my attention and it was very engaging. Additionally, I have a slightly different discipline in the field. I work in a transport unit and I don't deal with the issues in quite the same way a patrol or traffic officer would. All of the instructors were very thoughtful about this and they made accommodations (to the best of their ability) to make the material fit my line of work. It might be no big deal for them, but it felt above and beyond to me. Instructor Noregon (I hope I'm spelling his name correctly) assisted Instructor Willadson. He was also very thoughtful and informative. One thing I liked about both instructors was their no-nonsense approach. They were kind and professional, yet when I made mistakes in the scenario part of training, they told me directly and we discussed it professionally without them trying to placate me in any way.
I've had several opportunities to attend training at DPSST and each learning experience has been great and perhaps progressively better. All DPSST Staff, to include those working at the front desk and the cafeteria were kind and professional at every interaction. (Side note: I couldn't get much of a smile out of the woman who folded the sandwich wraps, but she was still polite and it was fun to try.) ????
In closing, this agency gets an A+ from me.