Donald R. Ledbetter

Mr. Ledbetter has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mining Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines in Golden Colorado, (1981). Prior to his law enforcement career he was responsible for the investigation and analysis of accidents in underground mining and surface milling operations in Tennessee and Missouri including underground operations in the USA and Canada (1981 – 1988).
He is currently the West Coast Instructor with the International Firearm Specialist Academy, responsible for teaching multi-day seminars on firearm technology and compliance at law enforcement agencies nationwide.
Prior to his retirement from the Seattle, Washington Police Department (2004 – April 2021) he was awarded a number of Letters of Appreciation and Excellence Awards,. He was a Detective, Acting Sergeant in the Crime Scene Investigation Unit, where he was responsible for locating, documenting, collecting and analyzing physical evidence recovered at primarily violent crime scenes, and developed and presented training programs in crime-scene mapping, shooting incident documentation and shooting incident reconstruction. to both Seattle Police Department personnel and outside agencies. He supervised and directed the activities of up to six detectives at primarily violent crime scenes, and was the lead investigator of at least 50 Officer-involved shootings, and the lead investigator or Supervisor of over 100 shooting incidents including a mass shooting in which he was the lead Crime Scene Investigator, and which was later reported on by Court TV.
Mr. Ledbetter has numerous certifications, memberships, and qualifications in the forensic and firearm fields. He also has had extensive training in crime scene investigation, advanced shooting analysis & reconstruction, crime scene investigation and reconstruction, firearm technology & specialist training, use of force Investigations, forensic digital photography, post blast investigation, Integrated Ballistic Identification System – IBIS, and practical homicide investigation. He has also taught Crime Scene Response to Mass-Casualty Incidents, CSI Response to Mass Murder at Multiple Locations, Documenting Bullet Defects for Shooting Scene Reconstruction, Total Station
Crime Scene Mapping, and Burial Recovery of Human Remains