Patrick Doering retired after a 28.5 year career with the Lake St. Louis (MO) Police Department. He was a Crisis/Hostage Negotiator for 20 of those years and spent the last three years as the Commander of the St. Charles County Regional Crisis Negotiation Team. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy, the FBI National Crisis Negotiation Course, and the London Metropolitan Police (Scotland Yard) National Negotiators course. Patrick is the former President and co-founder of the Missouri Association of Crisis Negotiators. He has presented case studies at several negotiation conferences across the country. He is currently the Crisis Negotiation Section Chair for the National Tactical Officers Association.

Rusty Hays began his law enforcement career in 1995 as a municipal officer with the Patton Township Police Department in Centre County, Pennsylvania. He then joined the Pennsylvania State Police, serving from 1999 to 2023. During his tenure with the State Police, Rusty was selected as a negotiator with the Department's Special Emergency Response Team. He was then appointed as a Team Leader and later Negotiations Unit Supervisor. Before his retirement, Rusty had the opportunity to serve not only as a negotiator but also to be involved in the selection, training, and mentoring of other negotiators in the unit and other departments. He has also been an instructor in various law enforcement topics, such as pre-hospital emergency care, CPR, and first aid. Rusty holds a Bachelor's Degree in Criminology from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania and instructor certifications from the Pennsylvania State Police, Pennsylvania Municipal Police Officer's Training and Education Commission, Pennsylvania Department of Health, National Rifle Association, and American Red Cross.