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  • 25-Year Law Enforcement Career
  • Served in Several Special Operations Units
  • Over 3,000 Tactical Entries
  • Served on Presidential Protective Detail for Presidents Clinton and Bush
  • POST Certified Firearms Instructor
  • Certified Force-on-Force Instructor
  • Extensive Industry Certifications
  • Recipient of Outstanding Police Duty Award
  • Awarded William Poelle Life Saving Medal

Todd Nielsen

Founder and President

A retired Special Operations Team Leader with 25+ years with the San Jose Police Department. His career focused on fugitive apprehension, human trafficking, narcotics, and training other officers. Todd is a skilled operator and performed over 3,000 tactical entries and is intimately familiar with real-world violence and what it takes to survive lethal encounters.

Todd retired as a full time police officer in August 2015. He started his law enforcement career in 1990 with the San Jose Police Department.

During his tenure, Todd has served in many Special Operations units which consisted of a convert and plain clothed Narcotic Enforcement, Critical Incident Teams, Rapid Containment Teams, Crowd Control and also doing High-Risk Warrant Service with his department and in conjunction with other local SWAT teams.

He has been a Field Training Officer (FTO) for over 10 years and AR-15 Operator (Specialist) for over 17 years. This has given him an opportunity to train many new and veteran officers. This has also allowed him to be a team leader most of his career. Todd has served as part of the Secret Service Dignitary Protection Operations for Presidents Clinton and Bush.

As part of being a full time instructor for his department, Todd developed and implemented a low-light tactical training program for his department along with training all in-service officers in Active Shooter Tactics, Use of Force, Dynamic and Slow Search Tactics, First Aid and CPR. Todd has worked as a Lead Instructor for a large domestic tactical training firm and has trained law enforcement officers from across the country, military contractors, as well as military personnel with the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) on numerous occasions prior to their deployments overseas.

He has also been awarded an Outstanding Police Duty Award, for his actions in June 2011 for hearing the sounds of gunfire, setting up a rapid response team, and arresting the still armed shooter within minutes of him doing the shooting.

Since retireing he has moved NTAC base of operations to the state of Utah. He has consulted with several product manufacturers on development of products for the firearms and tactical industries. He also acted as a stuntman, and a tactical and firearms expert in some small films.

Todd works closely with Fight Back Nation, teaching school teachers and administrators how to protect our students from active shooter violence, empowering teachers to protect the most valued and vulnerable of society... our children.

Todd is a POST Certified Firearms Instructor, a United States Concealed Carry Association (USCCA) Firearms and Tactical Instructor, a NRA Firearms Instructor as well as a certified force-on-force instructor. He has successfully completed many patrol, advanced, tactical and instructor level firearms training courses as well as CPR and Defensive Medicine (TCCC) certifications. He has also trained with many of the top instructors in the private firearms industry in addition to some of the leading military instructors in the world today.

Along with firearms and shooting, Todd’s hobbies include scuba diving where he was awarded the William Poelle Life Saving Medal for pulling a drowning diver out of the heavy surf and performing CPR on her and saving her life in 2005. He was a member of the National Tactical Officers Association (NTOA) and a proud Life Member of the NRA. He is also a proud supporter of Operation Care and Comfort, the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund and the COPS foundation.

“Beware of an old man in a profession where men usually die young.” ‑Kevin Lacz

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