Dr. Michael Schlosser

Dr. Michael Schlosser retired as the Director of the Police Training Institute at the University of Illinois, after 20 years of service – nine years as an instructor and eleven years as Director. He holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Governor’s State University, a Master’s Degree in Legal Studies from the University of Illinois-Springfield, and a Doctorate in Education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He retired as a Lieutenant from the Rantoul Illinois Police Department after 20 years of service. During that time, he held positions as field training officer, field training supervisor, detective, juvenile officer, wellness director, control tactics instructor, and canine supervisor.  When he became the director of PTI in 2012, he continued to teach the courses he was passionate about, including de-escalation training, arrest and control tactics, and police officer wellness.

Dr. Schlosser is credited for groundbreaking efforts toward police reform through implementation of innovative curricula for improving police practices. His overall emphasis is on de-escalation training, community policing, and intensive integrated scenario-based training.

Dr. Schlosser, through PTI, has been involved in numerous research projects in collaboration with various colleges at the University of Illinois. Dr. Schlosser has authored dozens of articles, is co-author of the book The POWER Manual: a Step-by-Step Guide to Improving Police Officer Wellness, Ethics, and Resilience, made numerous radio and television appearances, and given over 200 presentations across the country on topics such as community policing, police tactics, police training, use of force, de-escalation techniques, control and arrest tactics, the intersection of police and race, diversity, police officer wellness, police family wellness, and various other topics related to American law enforcement.