Chris Kuyper

After 28-years of service with the Roanoke County (VA) and Charlotte-Mecklenburg (NC) Police Departments, Christian Kuyper retired in 2022 at the rank of Commander.  His career path in law enforcement began in 1994 and led him through assignments as a patrol officer, Criminal Investigations Detective, Uniform Division supervisor | Commander, and as Commander of the Department's Special Operations Division, which included overall supervision of the Traffic Enforcement Unit, Community Services Unit, and the School Resource Officer (SRO) Unit assigned to the Roanoke County Public School System.  He served 15-years as a member of the Roanoke County SWAT team assigned as Entry Team Leader, responsible for planning, training,  and developing tactical responses to special operations missions, and as Assistant SWAT Commander, responsible for  developing and revising procedures regarding use of the team, personnel selection, training, oversight of team missions, developing competence of individual members and of the team as a whole.  During his SWAT career, Chris attended basic and advanced SWAT Operator courses through LEAD Consultants (LAPD), SAMSCATT, and the National Tactical Officers Association (NTOA).  He served over twenty years as a basic academy and in-service police instructor specializing in Active Threat (Shooter), Incident Command System, Terrorism, Civil Disturbance | Mobile Field Force, Chemical Munitions, Oleoresin Capsicum (OC), Specialty Impact Munitions, Noise-Flash Distraction Devices, TASER, Building & Environmental Searches, Tactical Planning, and SWAT Operations.  He was also a Firearms, Defensive Tactics, MEB baton, PR-24, and Shoothouse Instructor, and is also ALERRT Level I Active Shooter and Active Threat Instructor certified through the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC).  As a result of his training and experience, Chris transformed law enforcement tactical response to critical incidents in the Roanoke Valley.  

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During his law enforcement career, Chris was the Department's K9 Supervisor, Mobile Field Force Commander, and Grants Coordinator.  He has also completed certification courses in Tactical Firearms, Basic Campus Threat Assessment Team Training, Advanced Threat Assessment for Higher Education, Human Trafficking Investigations, Homegrown Violent Extremists - Tactics, Trends, Threats, and Awareness, The Tactical Lifesaver certification course, Field Training Officer, Basic and Advanced Gang Investigations, Hostage Rescue Procedures, The Reid Technique of Interviewing and Interrogation (Basic & Advanced course), Introduction to Explosives & Terrorism (FBI), SWAT Commander's Course, the National Tactical Officer Association (NTOA) Critical Incident Patrol Supervisor, Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED), Law Enforcement & Military Protective Services Operators Training Course, HK Armorer, and FEMA's Tactical Emergency Medical course,  He has also attended the FBI National Academy Associates First Line Supervisors Course, the Institute for Leadership in Changing Times (ILCT), and Police Executive Leadership (PELS) courses through the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police. 

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Following his SWAT teams response to an active shooter incident at Virginia Tech in 2007, Chris created a mass casualty | critical incident prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery training program for schools, businesses, and houses of worship that has been attended by hundreds of participants in the Roanoke Valley.  He also helped create emergency response plans for schools and businesses that integrated law enforcement response plans, which enhanced partnerships and overall response to critical incidents.  During the final year-and-a-half of his law enforcement career, Chris finished as the top candidate in a nationwide search for a Police Executive Fellow assigned to the FBI's Active Shooter Task Force through the Office of Partner Engagement (OPE) | Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) in Washington, D.C. During this assignment, Chris instructed active threat (shooter) courses at the FBI Academy in Quantico, VA, conducted research for related subject-matter FBI publications and reports and conducted training across the United States to school administrators, police officers, Federal police and fire departments, school resource officers and FBI administrative personnel.  He is currently the Director of Security Operations for a private school in Roanoke, VA, a board member for Children's Trust, and a member of the School Safety Committee for Roanoke County Public Schools.    

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