By TODD GOTTULA
UNK Communications
KEARNEY – Veteran police officer, tactical operations and drug enforcement expert Kurt Frisz is the keynote speaker at the Criminal Justice Conference at University of Nebraska at Kearney.
Frisz served 30 years with the St. Louis County (Mo.) Police Department and currently is chief of police for the Wentzville (Mo.) Police Department.
His talk, “Police Response to Civil Unrest,” is at 9:15 a.m. Monday (Oct. 2) at UNK’s Ponderosa Room in the Nebraskan Student Union. It is free and open to the public.
Frisz executed hundreds of high-risk hostage and barricade situations as a tactical team leader, and he led operational and administrative response to numerous civil unrest events, including three presidential debates and the World Ag Forum Conference.
A graduate of the FBI National Academy, Frisz responded to the intense clashes between police officers and protesters that engulfed Ferguson, Mo., in 2014 after a police officer shot and killed Michael Brown. The incident triggered numerous days of protests and unrest where there was looting, vandalism and burning buildings.
Frisz has been supervisor of St. Louis County’s drug enforcement bureau, commander of the county’s multi-jurisdictional drug task force and commander of the tactical support bureau.
He has received numerous awards throughout his career, including two Medals of Valor, Distinguished Service Citation, two Meritorious Service Citations, and the International Association of Chiefs of Police Excellence in Aviation Award.
UNK’s Criminal Justice Conference is hosted in conjunction with the department’s annual Criminal Justice Career Fair. The career fair provides students the opportunity to meet with representatives from dozens of Nebraska and regional agencies at the federal, state and local level.
UNK Criminal Justice Conference
Monday, Oct. 2
Nebraskan Student Union – Ponderosa Room
8:30 to 9 a.m. – Conference Registration and Career Fair
9 to 9:15 a.m. – Conference Welcome
9:15 to 10:30 a.m. – “Police Response to Civil Unrest,” Chief Kurt Frisz, Wentzville, Mo., Police Department
10:30 to 11 a.m. – Career Fair and Break
11 to 12:15 p.m. – Nebraska Veterans Treatment Court discussion with Mark W. Ashford, Douglas County Judge; Bob Blanchard, Douglas County Veterans Treatment Court Coordinator; Jeff Lux, Douglas County Attorney; William Harry, Douglas County Public Defender.
12:15 to 12:30 p.m. – Career Fair and Break
12:30 to 1:30 p.m. – Lunch
1:30 to 2:45 p.m. – Emergency Response Demonstration and Panel Discussion; Kearney Police Department / Buffalo County Sheriff’s Office Emergency Support Unit
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