GILBERTSONInvestigations Inc. (239) 571-1840
Use of Force
Self-Defense
False Arrest & Search
Criminal-Defense Support
Police Misconduct
Deficient Investigations
Failure to Train & Monell
Agency Training
From the record $640,000 jury verdict, with the jury crediting the expert testimony. Hunter v. City of Federal Way, W.D. Wash.
Retention $8,000–$9,000 retainer · 29–33 hours at $275/hr Full case history For Retaining Counsel
Gilbertson Investigations Inc. · Use-of-Force Expert Witness

Excessive Force,
Analyzed on the Record

Shootings · Restraints · Less-lethal force · De-escalation

Objective-reasonableness analysis under Graham v. Connor: the severity of the crime, the immediacy of the threat, active resistance and attempted flight, weighed on the totality of the circumstances. Every opinion is built from the record and measured against national police standards, agency policy, and the officer's own training.

Discuss a matter Call (239) 571-1840

Attorney and law-firm inquiries only

Practice areasUse of ForceFalse Arrest & SearchPolice MisconductFailure to Train & MonellDeficient InvestigationsSelf-DefenseCriminal-Defense SupportAgency Training
The Scope

What the analysis covers.

Individual engagements are scoped with counsel. Go deeper: Officer-Involved Shootings · Chokeholds & Restraints · Tasers, Canine & Less-Lethal.

Force events

  • Officer-involved shootings and deadly force
  • Wrongful-death cases involving police force
  • Chokeholds, carotid and neck restraints
  • Prone and positional restraints
  • Hands-on physical force
  • Force against restrained or handcuffed people
  • Force against fleeing suspects
  • Force involving moving vehicles, including shooting at or from vehicles

Weapons and tactics

  • Taser and electronic-control-device force
  • Pepper spray and chemical agents
  • Baton and impact weapons
  • Less-lethal projectiles
  • Police-canine force
  • SWAT and tactical operations
  • High-risk warrant operations

Standards and duties

  • Proportionality, necessity and available alternatives
  • De-escalation and crisis-intervention practices
  • Force in mental-health and behavioral-health encounters
  • Duty to intervene
  • Duty to render or request medical aid
  • Use-of-force reporting and administrative review
  • Agency use-of-force policy and training analysis

Retained in plaintiff excessive-force cases and in the defense of officers accused of excessive force.

The Engagement

Same discipline, every case.

01 · Conflicts & scope

Conflict check and a written scope with retaining counsel before substantive discussion.

02 · Retention

Retainer of $8,000–$9,000 covering 29–33 hours at $275 per hour.

03 · Record & report

The complete record against national standards; most reports finish within the retainer.

04 · Testimony

Deposition, hearings and trial, nationwide from RSW.

Full fee schedule and counsel FAQ: For Retaining Counsel →

From the Record

Related casework.

Jury verdict

Josiah Hunter v. City of Federal Way

U.S. District Court, W.D. Wash.

Trial testimony on excessive force; the jury agreed and awarded $640,000.

Open the case files Wrongful death

The Che Taylor Matter · City of Seattle

Retained December 2019

Report identified substandard practices; counsel credits a $1.5 million settlement.

Open the case files Jury verdict

Estate of Alfontish Cockerham v. City of Chicago

Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois

Police practices and use of force expert in a videotaped officer-involved shooting; $1.18 million jury judgment per retaining counsel.

Open the case files

Case accounts as published by retaining counsel. Outcomes depend on their facts; no result is promised for any other matter.

His insights, analysis, reports, and trial testimony are always persuasive.
James Bible, Attorney at Law · Seattle, WA
Questions

Asked before the record is sent.

What standard governs a use-of-force opinion?
The objective-reasonableness standard of Graham v. Connor: severity of the crime, immediacy of the threat, and active resistance or flight, judged on the totality of the facts and circumstances known to the officer, and measured against national police standards and the agency's own policy and training.
Which materials does the analysis rest on?
Body-worn and dash-camera video, surveillance video, 911 and CAD records, police and use-of-force reports, witness statements, deposition transcripts, training and disciplinary histories, and agency policies, reviewed as a complete record.
What does retention cost?
A non-refundable retainer of $8,000–$9,000 covering 29–33 hours of discovery review, report writing and conferences at $275 per hour. Most reports are completed within the retainer. The full published schedule is on the For Counsel page.
Retain

Send a use-of-force record.

Attorney and law-firm inquiries only. Conflicts are checked before anything substantive, and you will hear about a conflict immediately.

Use-of-force inquiry

For counsel litigating a use-of-force matter, on either side.

Inquiry sent.

You will hear back directly. If the matter is urgent, call (239) 571-1840.