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Bio

Selected to begin in April 2011 as the Director of Police for The University of Texas System, Michael J. Heidingsfield was most recently the Senior Assistant Sergeant at Arms for Police Operations and Homeland Security for the United States Senate and held that position since August 2008. In that capacity, he directly oversaw the Senate’s preparations for security of its members, the protection of the Senate both as a complex of facilities and as an institution, the counter-terrorism measures employed to ensure enduring constitutional government and the overarching law enforcement and security measures necessary to guarantee public safety, continuity of operations and enduring constitutional government. He has served as a senior participant and advisor for such National Special Security Events as the 2008 Democratic and Republican National Conventions and the 2009 Presidential Inauguration.

Preceding this appointment, Director Heidingsfield served for eight years as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Memphis Shelby Crime Commission in Memphis, Tennessee. Prior to his move to Memphis, Director Heidingsfield served for eight years as the Chief of Police and Director of Public Safety for the City of Scottsdale, Arizona. His law enforcement service in Arizona and Tennessee was preceded by a 13-year tenure at the Arlington (TX) Police Department, leaving there as the senior deputy police chief after having been selected through a nationwide recruitment to lead the Scottsdale Police Department. At the time of his retirement from the City of Scottsdale, he was accorded the title of Chief of Police Emeritus. Director Heidingsfield began his law enforcement career with The University of Texas System Police from 1973-1975.

Following his graduation from college, Director Heidingsfield served as an active duty Air Force officer at the conclusion of the Vietnam War and subsequently retired in 2004 as a full colonel in the Air Force Reserve assigned to the Security Forces Directorate at the Pentagon. He was called to active duty in the wake of the attacks of 9/11 and served as a team chief in the Air Force Crisis Action Center in the Pentagon. His Air Force career took him to Europe, Central America, Southeast Asia and the Persian Gulf.

He received his BS degree in Criminology from Florida State University in 1973 and his MA degree in Liberal Arts from Texas Christian University in 1990. While at Florida State University, Director Heidingsfield was an Air Force scholarship recipient and a distinguished graduate of the ROTC commissioning program.

He is a published author and speaker in the fields of criminal justice policy, policing, leadership and ethics, and has presented before the International Association of Chiefs of Police, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Major City Police Chiefs Association, Police Executive Research Forum, US Navy Post Graduate School and at Oxford University, England. Director Heidingsfield has provided advice to the Israeli National Police on the issue of violence de-escalation, to the Bermuda Police Service on international law enforcement accreditation and has served as a trainer for the Ministry of Public Security in Costa Rica. He received three gubernatorial appointments for criminal justice posts in the State of Arizona and has served as a subject matter expert for the Defense Threat Reduction Agency at Camp Delta, Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba on the security of Taliban and Al Qaeda detainees. He also served as an instructor on leadership for the Indonesian National Police executive corps and for a 20-year period was an assessor and team leader for the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies.

While on a 14-month leave of absence from the Crime Commission from 2004-2005, Director Heidingsfield served in Baghdad as the Contingent Commander for the US Department of State’s Police Advisory Mission in Iraq. His role was leading the effort to retrain and reconstitute the Iraqi Police Service, overseeing a staff of 1000 in doing so and traveling throughout Iraq. He survived five insurgent attacks during that mission. He was also selected in 2007 to serve as a member of the Congressionally-mandated Independent Commission on the Iraqi Security Forces, again traveling to Iraq. Most recently, he was asked to serve as senior police advisor and subject matter expert to the President’s Special Envoy to the Middle East for Regional Security. Both his Iraq Commission and Middle East Special Envoy work was done at the request of and under the leadership of the immediate past National Security Advisor, General James Jones.

Director Heidingsfield is a graduate of the Senior Management Institute for Police, generally considered the most advanced police executive training in the country with faculty drawn primarily from the Harvard University Schools of Business and Government. Finally, he currently serves on the Board of Directors for the National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism in Oklahoma City.

 

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

2008-Present: Senior Assistant Sergeant at Arms for Police Operations and Homeland Security, United States Senate, Washington, DC. Reporting directly to the Sergeant at Arms and Chief Law Enforcement Officer of the US Senate, this position includes development, management and leadership of all security, emergency preparedness, law enforcement, counter-terrorism and continuity of government operations and functions in order to ensure the continuing protection of the United States Capitol, the US Senate, the nation’s 100 Senators, their staffs and facilities, as well as protection of the legislative process of the institutional body itself as part of enduring constitutional government; includes operational roles in recurring National Special Security Events; direct coordination with federal and local agencies for counter terrorism and protection.

2000-2008: President and Chief Executive Officer, Memphis Shelby Crime Commission, Memphis, Tennessee. Served as the chief executive officer of this criminal justice public policy and research organization created by the leadership of the business and civic communities in 1997 to promote positive change and reform in the regional criminal justice system; to restore confidence in local law enforcement; to reduce crime and fear; and foster partnerships and collaborations among public and private organizations to improve the administration of justice; accomplished through the pursuit of evidence-based best practices research nationally, advocacy for the adoption of best practices locally with the commitment to the outcome of improved public policy; served as a strategic resource for local criminal justice agencies, and generally provided the community oversight of and an independent voice on the state and success of the criminal justice system in Memphis, Shelby County and the Mid-South region.

Oct 2004-Jan 2006 (on leave of absence from Memphis Shelby Crime Commission): Contingent Commander, US Department of State Police Advisory Mission, Baghdad, Iraq. Selected by the State Department and its primary security contractor to serve for 14 months in their senior executive role responsible for the training and reconstitution of a 135,000 member Iraqi Police Service and the management of 540 US police advisors and 500 support staff members in a combat environment; worked directly with the senior Department of Defense leadership in the US Embassy, the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement, the FBI, the intelligence community and the Iraqi government focusing on the permanent security and continuity of government of the nation of Iraq, counter-terrorism, intelligence collection, restoration of the rule of law and the rebuilding of public confidence in the Iraqi Police Service; executed over 100 ground missions throughout Iraq, was engaged by the enemy on multiple occasions and continuously focused on dynamic force protection, counter-IED and anti-WMD/CBRN efforts.

1998 – 2000: Director and Faculty Chair, Law Enforcement Programs, Rio Salado College, Tempe, Arizona. Responsible for the management, growth, development and delivery of an undergraduate law enforcement discipline with approximately 1700 full time students enrolled; this program was an integral part of the largest community college district in the nation; successes included the development of a practitioner-focused baccalaureate degree in Police Science offered nationally through distance education under the oversight of Ottawa (KS) University.

1991 - 1998: Chief of Police and Director of Public Safety, Scottsdale, Arizona Police Department. Responsible for the leadership and management of 500+ full-time personnel and a $37+ million budget; capital improvement project successes included an automated fingerprint identification system, police training and patrol district facilities; position included the delivery of full police services to a community of 200,000+ with a rapidly diversifying and growing ethnic, economic and population base; significant accomplishments included college education and fitness requirements for new and promoted police officers; the implementation of community policing; the implementation of an external organizational study; development and institutionalization of a Professional Standards capacity, SWAT and Community Affairs units and permanent positions on the state police academy training staff; enhancement of a model civilianization program and creation of a police-youth intervention strategy; successful completion of national accreditation/reaccreditation and implementation of a master police officer program; also responsible for the broadest possible operational integration of public safety resources and activities in the city including fire, emergency medical service, emergency management and security of city-owned facilities/property to ensure the continuity of government operations in the face of a catastrophic event; accorded the title of Chief of Police Emeritus upon retirement; mentored command officers who became successful police chiefs in Wisconsin, Alaska, Colorado, Arizona, California and Florida.

1989 - 1991: Senior Deputy Chief of Police, Uniformed Services Bureau, Arlington, Texas Police Department. Responsible for the leadership of 250+ sworn and civilian staff representing all Patrol, Traffic, Special Operations and Community Services Divisions; significant accomplishments included implementation of an external resource utilization analysis, design of a beat design/patrol allocation process resulting in more equitable police services, key role in national accreditation, and primary responsibility for development of the department's first formal response to emerging gang violence; mentored supervisory officers who became successful police chiefs or sheriffs across Texas.

1988 - 1989: Commander (Captain), South Patrol Division, Arlington, Texas Police Department. Responsible for the delivery of patrol services to a designated geographic area of the city; significant accomplishments included successful reorganization and geographic decentralization of the patrol function and the implementation of community-based policing.

1988: Shift Commander (Lieutenant), Patrol Division, Arlington, Texas Police Department. Responsible for the establishment of division goals and objectives; direction, control and coordination of first line supervisory activities; significant accomplishments included bringing a unified operational philosophy to an unstructured patrol unit at the request of the Chief of Police.

1986 - 1988: Commander (Lieutenant), Special Investigations Division, Arlington, Texas Police Department. Responsible for the administration and management of the most sensitive categories of criminal investigations under the office of the Chief of Police; areas included Vice and Narcotics, Organized Crime, the Career Offender Project, joint DEA Drug Lab Task Force participation and Criminal Intelligence; significant accomplishments included development of a successful drug forfeiture program, development of a model program dealing with criminal intelligence and repeat felony offenders, authorship of the first comprehensive Special Investigations Standard Operating Procedures and successful integration of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms’ local office into the daily operation of the Career Offender Project, a first nationwide.

1984 - 1986: Commander (Lieutenant 1985-1986), (Sergeant 1984-1985), Internal Affairs Division, Arlington, Texas Police Department. Responsible for the investigation of allegations of police misconduct and supervision of those investigations and inspections assigned to the Internal Affairs Division; significant accomplishments included revision of the Internal Affairs process and authorship of the first comprehensive General Order on internal discipline in the department.

1982 - 1984: Sergeant, Crimes Specific Task Force, Criminal Investigations Division, Arlington, Texas Police Department. Responsible for direction of a squad of criminal investigators in the apprehension of offenders involved in major crime categories; the direction of all vice and narcotics operations and the coordination of undercover police operations as well as police intelligence efforts; significant accomplishments included development of the first citizen narcotics complaint system and management of a highly successful statewide methamphetamine drug laboratory investigation/seizure team.

1981 - 1982: Sergeant, Patrol Division, Arlington, Texas Police Department. Directly responsible for management of line police officers and all related operational, evaluation, disciplinary, and scheduling requirements.

1978 - 1981: Police Officer/Field Training Officer, Patrol Division, Arlington, Texas Police Department. Responsible for field training of Police Academy graduates and delivery of in-service training programs; significant accomplishments included the development of the first Field Training Officers' Manual and the department's post-Academy training program.

1975 - 1978: Police Officer/Sergeant in Charge of Criminal Investigation Division, University of Texas System Police, Arlington, Texas. Responsible for insuring all criminal offenses against or involving State University interests were properly investigated; conducted background investigations on University of Texas System Police applicants; guest instructor at the University of Texas System Police Academy.

1974 - 1975: Officer in Charge of Law Enforcement, 96th Security Police Squadron, Dyess AFB, Texas. Responsible for installation law enforcement; supervision of the Criminal Investigation Section and a major USAF Base Correctional Facility; worked in direct partnership with the local Office of Special Investigation detachment and Air Force Intelligence; held rank of Second Lieutenant and First Lieutenant, USAF.

1973 - 1974: Officer in Charge of Weapon Systems Security, 96th Security Police Squadron, Dyess AFB, Texas. Responsible for security and protection of assigned USAF aircraft and conventional/nuclear weapon systems; worked in direct partnership with the local Office of Special Investigation detachment and Air Force Intelligence; accomplishments included successful redeployment of 96th Bomb Wing assets from bombing campaigns in Vietnam; held rank of Second Lieutenant, USAF.

 

UNITED STATES AIR FORCE RESERVE

2000-2004: Mobilization Assistant to the Director of Security Forces, United States Air Force, the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.; Served as the reserve counterpart to the Air Force Director of Security Forces; retired at the rank of Colonel; activated and assigned to the Air Force Crisis Action Center at the Pentagon as a team chief in the wake of the attacks of 9/11—in this capacity worked directly with Air Force Intelligence and Headquarters Office of Special Investigation on the protection and sustained employment of Air Force combat assets, force protection and anti-WMD/CBRN effort, and the implementation of sensor technology in the field; service prior to the Global War on Terror included the Persian Gulf following the first Gulf War and the Security Forces Battle Lab; military awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit, War on Terrorism Service and the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medals.

1998 – 2000: Individual Mobilization Augmentee to the Director of Security Forces, Air Combat Command, Langley AFB, Virginia; Served as the senior reserve Security Forces officer in Air Combat Command; held the rank of Colonel.

1996 - 1998: Special Assistant to the Commander for Inspector General Matters, Headquarters, Tenth Air Force, Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base, Ft. Worth (Carswell Field), Texas; Name-selected for assignment to the Office of the Inspector General to conduct senior level investigations, both criminal and administrative, on behalf of the office of the commander; held rank of Colonel.

1994 - 1996: Deputy Chief of Security Police, Headquarters, U.S. Air Force Reserve, Robins AFB, Georgia. Assisted in the command oversight and management of 3000 reserve security police personnel and 400 full-time Department of Defense police officers assigned throughout the continental United States; held rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

1992 - 1994: Assistant Director, Security Police Operations, Headquarters, U.S. Air Force Reserve, Office of the Chief of Security Police, Robins AFB, Georgia. Responsible for leadership of staff visits to combat-ready units nationwide to insure their preparation to sustain their air base ground defense mission; also a staff advisor on leadership for field commanders; held rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

1990 - 1992: Combat Information Officer, Air Force Reserve Ground Combat Readiness Center, Bergstrom AFB, Texas. Responsible for coordination/standardization/evaluation program for combat training provided during peacetime; wartime responsibility as ground defense force commander; held rank of Major.

1987 - 1990: Chief of Operations, Headquarters, Tenth Air Force, Office of the Chief of Security Police, Bergstrom AFB, Texas. Responsibility as a senior staff officer for the formulation of staff policy regarding Air Force Reserve Security Police peacetime operations and wartime mission requirements; included participation in deployments to insure combat readiness; held rank of Major.

1980 - 1987: Commander, 301st Security Police Squadron, Carswell AFB, Texas. Responsible for overall leadership, direction, guidance and training of assigned personnel to insure successful completion of the unit's military mission--air base ground defense in a combat environment and protection of USAF resources; multiple deployments overseas; held rank of First Lieutenant, Captain, and Major.

 

EDUCATION

Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, Texas; 1990
Master of Liberal Arts Degree (With emphasis on Public Policy)

Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida; 1973
B.S. Degree in Criminology (Minor in Sociology)

 

SELECTED PROFESSIONAL TRAINING

In excess of 4,000 hours of criminal justice training including the Senior Management Institute for Police, Police Executive Research Forum, North Andover, Massachusetts; this is generally considered the most advanced police executive management course in the country with faculty drawn primarily from the Harvard University Schools of Business and Government; 1986

Institute for Police Executives, School of Public Affairs, Arizona State University; 1992

Law Enforcement Executive Development Seminar, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Quantico, Virginia; 1995

 

SPECIAL RECOGNITION/ACHIEVEMENTS

Member, Board of Directors, Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism, Oklahoma City, OK, 2007-Present

Who’s Who in Memphis, 2005 and 2006

City Manager's Award of Excellence, City of Scottsdale; 1993

Executive of the Year Award, Scottsdale (Arizona) Chapter, Professional Secretaries International; 1991

Police Officer of the Year Arlington Police Department; 1979

Honor Graduate, USAF Security Police Academy, 1973 and University of Texas System Police Academy, 1975

USAF Reserve Officer Training Corps Scholarship Recipient & Distinguished Graduate Florida State University; 1970 - 1973

 

PROFESSIONAL ENRICHMENT

Guest Lecturer, Caruth Executive Institute, Dallas Police Department, 2009

Member, International Association of Chiefs of Police; 1989 – Present

Member, Police Executive Research Forum; 1990 - Present

Member, Arizona and Tennessee Associations of Chiefs of Police; 1991-2008

Special Advisor and Law Enforcement Subject Matter Expert for Gen James Jones, Presidential Special Envoy to the Middle East for Regional Security, 2008

Adjunct Faculty Member, Scottsdale Community College, 1993 – 1998; Ottawa University/University of Phoenix, 1996-1999; University of Memphis, 2000-2008

Presenter (on Terrorism), Oxford University, Oxford, England, 2007

Member, Independent Commission on the Iraqi Security Forces—“Jones Commission (General James Jones, now National Security Advisor) ” (US Congress), 2007

Assessor/Team Leader, Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc., Fairfax, Virginia; 1987 – 2007

Lecturer on Terrorism, US Navy Post Graduate School, Monterey, CA, 2007

Presenter, Police Executive Research Forum; 1998, 1999, 2005, 2006 and 2007

Presenter on Terrorism, Major Cities Police Chiefs Association, 2005

Seminar Leader, Senior Leadership Workshop for the Indonesian National Police, Jakarta, Indonesia; 2003 and 2004

Security Subject Matter Expert, Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Camp Delta, Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba (re: security of terrorist detainees); 2003

Principal Participant, "Project Triangle," with the Police Executive Research Forum and the Israeli National Police (re: less lethal police weapon technology and violence de-escalation); 2001

Presenter, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Training Center; 1999

Presenter, International Association of Chiefs of Police; 1991, 1994, 1998

Security Consultant to the Commissioner of Major League Baseball, New York, New York; 1987 - 1996

Governor's Appointments: Arizona Auto Theft Prevention Authority, 1992-1993 and Arizona Criminal Justice Commission, 1993-1997

Trainer (on force protection), Ministry of Public Security, Costa Rica, 1989

 

PUBLICATIONS

Contributor, "Independent Commission on the Security Forces of Iraq--Report to Congress," Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, DC, September 6, 2007

Contributing Author, "Patrol Level Response to a Suicide Bomb Threat; The Iraq Perspective," Police Executive Research Forum, April 2007

Guest Commentator on Iraq, National Public Radio, 2005-2007, Public Broadcasting Service, 2007

Co-Author, "Policing in Iraq: Lessons and Impacts on Policing in the United States," published in Subject To Debate, Police Executive Research Forum, Vol. 20, No. 5, May 2006

Profiled by Scripps Howard News Service, 2005 and 2006

Author, Preface, "Understanding Today’s Police," Third Edition, Mark L. Dantzker, Prentice Hall, 2001

Contributing Author, "Contemporary Police Organization and Management—Issues and Trends," William G. Doerner and M.L. Dantzker, Butterworth-Heinemann, Boston, 2000

Contributing Author, "Police Organization and Management—Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow," M.L. Dantzker, Butterworth-Heinemann, Boston, 1999

Contributor, "Understanding Today’s Police," Second Edition, Mark L. Dantzker, Prentice Hall, 1999

Co-Author of "The Missing Link To Police Professionalism," published in Law Enforcement News, Vol XXV, No. 520, October 1999

Author of "A Community's Relationship With Its Police," published in Law and Order Magazine, Vol. 45, No. 1, January 1997

Author of "A Chief's Definition of Community Policing," published in The Journal: The Voice of Law Enforcement Magazine, Vol. 4, No. 4, Fall, 1997

Author of "Community Policing: A Chief’s Definition," published in Law and Order Magazine, Vol. 45, No. 10, October 1997

Author of "Pointed Questions About Your Police Agency," published in Law Enforcement News, Vol. XXII, No. 452, September 1996

Author of "Cop's Commentary - A National Policy for 1995 and Beyond", published in Law and Order Magazine, Vol. 43, No. 2, February 1995

Author of "Viewpoint", an article on 'Capital Punishment - One Perspective,' published in Corrections Forum Magazine; July/August 1993

Author of "Reflections on Capital Punishment", published in Police Chief Magazine, Vol. LX, No. 9, September 1993

Author of "Capital Punishment - Afterthoughts of a Witness", published in Law and Order Magazine, Vol. 41, No. 10, October 1993

Author of "Arlington Police Department and the U. S. Treasury: Effective Partners," published in Police Chief Magazine, Vol. LVIII, No. 3; March 1991

Author of "Career Offenders - A Nontraditional Approach to Investigative Policing," published in Law and Order Magazine, Vol. 35, No. 10; October 1987