About the speaker
Sam Lenda served for more than three decades as a City of Oak Creek Police Officer and police trainer in Wisconsin. During that time, he served on all shifts and held numerous assignments, including Crime Prevention, Bike Patrol, Traffic, Court Liaison, and others.
Sam was a founding member of the department’s training unit and helped design and build the outdoor and indoor ranges. He became the department’s lead firearms instructor and head armorer. After attending FBI-sponsored Basic Sniper Operator training in 1986, he assisted the department in founding the Selected Marksman Unit and helped write policies and operational plans for the new unit. He served as both a member and team leader until retirement.
Sam was also an original member of the department’s Emergency Response Unit (ERU), helping to develop and organize the team. He is a veteran of the Oak Creek Police Department’s shooting team, having competed in regional and national events. In 2000, he competed in the North American CAN-AM Police and Fire Games where his team secured a gold medal and Sam earned an individual silver medal. Sam is a lifelong shooter who coaches police officers and college students in firearms competition.
During his career, Sam was involved and named as a principal in two homicide investigations regarding officer-involved police shootings: Dale Messing on May 28, 1991 and the Sikh Temple Active Shooter Incident on August 5, 2012. In both case reviews, officers’ actions were found to be justified and privileged in accordance with Wisconsin statues. As a result of the decisions and actions Sam Lenda took during the Sikh Temple shooting, he was awarded numerous State of Wisconsin and local commendations. He was also honored to be recognized by the U.S. Congress with the bestowal of the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor, the highest national award for valor by a public safety officer.
In 1986, Sam began a complementary career as a police instructor at Milwaukee Area Technical College. He teaches Firearms and Arrest Tactics in the police recruit academy and police in-service programs and serves as the director for the school’s firearms range. Sam is currently the lead firearm/rifle instructor at the college’s police academy. He holds a Wisconsin Department of Justice Law Enforcement Standards Board certification to teach: • Constitutional Law • General Law Enforcement • Handgun & Rifle • Professional Communications • Scenario Training • Tactical Response • Vehicle Contacts. In addition, I have instructed Basic SWAT, Advanced SWAT, Basic Sniper, Advanced Sniper, Shoot-house Instructor, Basic Room Clearing, Close Quarters Combat Techniques, Handgun Tactics for Wisconsin CCW Permit Holders and Wisconsin Concealed Carry Permit certification.
He is one of the Milwaukee Area Technical College Master Instructors for Instructor Development and Handgun & Rifle. As a scenario instructor, he has set up hundreds of training scenarios for recruits, tactical officers, and citizens. In addition to his role as an educator and coach, Sam has continued to be a life-long learner. He earned a Master’s degree while working as a police officer and law enforcement trainer. As a working law enforcement trainer and a very recently retired career police officer, his expertise in contemporary Wisconsin police training and procedures is current, substantial, practical and credible.
