Police Division
E.R.O.C. Blue – Instructor Bios
Larry Rutherford
Director
Cleveland Police Department, Traffic Commissioner (Retired). He is a 30 year law enforcement veteran with experience as an OPOTA Driving Instructor and an OPOTA Train the Trainer Certification. Larry has vast experience in teaching including OPOTA Basic Academics and was Officer in Charge of Training, Cleveland Police Academy. He is also Lieutenant Colonel, US Army National Guard, Military Police (Retired), 25 year veteran.
Dave Schultz
Lead Instructor
Dave has been an EROC instructor with DriveTeam since 2007. Dave is a 36-year veteran of the Bay Village Police Department. Dave has OPOTA certifications as a Basic and Tactical driving instructor as well as a Pursuit Intervention Technique instructor. He also has training in Vehicle Dynamics and Driving Exercise Design through The Vehicle Dynamics Institute. Dave is a retired short track stock car and autocross racing driver and has participated in numerous high performance driving schools.
Donn Heckelmoser
Instructor
Lieutenant Westlake Police Department (retired). Donn is a 28-year law enforcement veteran and has been teaching Police Driver’s Training for his own department and various Basic Police Academies throughout the area since 1978. He is certified as a Basic and Advanced Driver Trainer. His training also includes A.L.E.R.T. International, General Motor’s Advanced Accident Avoidance Techniques, Trac Time’s High Speed Vehicle Handling, Vehicle Dynamics and Handling at the Ohio Department of Public Safety’s Transportation Research Center, coaching the Emergency Vehicle Operator and Use of Force and High Speed Pursuits and certification in SkidCar instruction.
Kerry Shaw
Instructor
Police Officer with 20 years of service and currently serves the East Cleveland Police Department. Kerry attended EROC training in June of 2003 and just completed a 40 hour Tactical Driving School in London, Ohio. Kerry has been an instructor for DriveTeam since the spring of 2007.
Barbara L. Slepecky
Instructor
Barb retired from the Bay Village Police Department after 34 years of service. She was involved in training for most of her career and held several positions including Field Training Officer, ADAP Instructor and Training Supervisor. In addition, she was certified as an instructor through the Ohio Peace Officer Training Council and taught various law enforcement classes at Cuyahoga Community College. Barb joined DriveTeam as a driving instructor in 2011.
Thomas Levy
Instructor
Special Agent, Federal Bureau of Investigation, retired after 23 years of service. Police Officer, City Of Fairview Park and City of Bay Village for a combined 7 years. He was a Field Training Officer, Accident Investigator and Evidence Technician while serving as a police officer. Attended the F.B.I. 40-Hour Emergency Vehicle Operation Course and Police Instructor Course. Tom was also a Chemical Weapons Investigator for the Defense Threat Reduction Treaty. He has been an instructor at DriveTeam since 2016, in the Corporate, Teen and Police divisions.
Thurston Voisine
Instructor
Thurston has been a police officer for the City of Parma for 20 years. In 2010, Thurston became a certified instructor through the State of Ohio with OPOTA, and in the same year became a certified OPOTA Driving Instructor. Thurston started off as a student here at DriveTeam, attending the Basic Essentials, Advanced Essentials and the Pursuit driving courses. Thurston also attended several Basic, Advanced and Dynamic courses through OPOTA located in London, Ohio. Thurston has been the lead driving instructor for his department for 8 years. Thurston has been with DriveTeam since 2015 and has been an instructor with TRI-C Police Academy for 6 years.
Jamie Gallagher
Instructor
Chief, North Olmsted Police Department (Retired). Jamie is a 34-year law enforcement veteran with previous experience as an OPOTA certified instructor in firearms, tactical operations and basic accident investigation. Jamie is a certified ALICE instructor and has taught over 600 employees of the North Olmsted Schools in responding to violent critical incidents. During the course of his career, he was the department’s chief firearms instructor, supervisor of SWAT, supervisor of the detective bureau (12 years) and was the department Chief for the last six years of his career. Jamie has an associate degree in Criminal Justice and is a graduate of the FBI National Academy.
Jeff Leslie
Instructor
Thurston has been a police officer for the City of Parma for 20 years. In 2010, Thurston became a certified instructor through the State of Ohio with OPOTA, and in the same year became a certified OPOTA Driving Instructor. Thurston started off as a student here at DriveTeam, attending the Basic Essentials, Advanced Essentials and the Pursuit driving courses. Thurston also attended several Basic, Advanced and Dynamic courses through OPOTA located in London, Ohio. Thurston has been the lead driving instructor for his department for 8 years. Thurston has been with DriveTeam since 2015 and has been an instructor with TRI-C Police Academy for 6 years.