Less Lethal Weapons For Church Protectors

Warrior Wednesday

• This is taken directly from our LIVE Broadcast (skip forward 90 seconds to get into the show)

alking Points:

- How less-lethal force options are growing in the private security space

- Why should I carry less lethal if I can carry a gun?

- How Byrna is becoming the "one-stop-shop" for self defense options

Originally from the Dallas area, Schirard attended college at Texas Tech University earning Bachelor of Arts in Communications in 2004. Shortly after graduation, Schirard was hired by the Galveston Police Department in January of 2005 where he spent his first five years assigned to patrol. While on patrol, Schirard also served as a Field Training Officer (FTO) and went on to completely redesign the department's current Field Training Program that it uses to train new Officers. In 2010, Schirard had the opportunity to serve as Galveston Police Department's Training Coordinator for two years until he was promoted to Sergeant in April of 2012.

As a Sergeant, Schirard served several years as a patrol supervisor and in administration where he helped design and launch the Office of Professional Standards, Education and Training; a unit built to prioritize training officers over disciplining them. He severed in that role until he was promoted to Lieutenant in 2015 where he took command of a patrol shift. In April 2017 Schirard was then again promoted to Captain where he served as the Operations Bureau Commander for the department until his retirement.

Schirard was also a member of Galveston SWAT from 2006 until 2019, and was the Team's Commander from 2016-2019. During his time on the team, he has served in the entry team as point, the sniper team, and as the sniper team leader over the course of hundreds of operations. This experience has allowed him several opportunities to train all around the country with some of this nation’s finest police officers and SWAT operators as well as numerous members from the military's special operations community.

Schirard has also been an adjunct instructor with the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training program through Texas State University since 2012 and travels throughout the country training police officers how to response to active shooter events. After his role as the Tactical Operations Director at the Santa Fe High School Shooting in May of 2018, Schirard has also keynoted several national conferences including the ALERRT national conference on "Commanding in Chaos". Schirard is also a published author whose most important work appeared in a peer reviewed journal covering the importance and methodology to work towards the integration of police and medical services during active shooter response.

In 2020, Schirard was recruited by Byrna Technologies to lead a team charged with starting the Law Enforcement and Private Security division of Byrna, a publicly traded non-lethal weapons company. Since his onboarding, the company has experience exponential growth in both the consumer and Law Enforcement space going from $1.6 million in sales to over $40 million in the span of just two years.

Schirard also proudly served in the Texas Army National Guard as an Infantry Lieutenant in the 3rd Battallion, 141st Infantry from 2012 to 2016. In his off time Schirard is also a nationally competitive skydiver as well as a commercial pilot.