McMahon, Deb
Legal Considerations for Crisis Negotiation Workshop (Limited to First 50 Attendees)

Legal Considerations for Crisis Negotiation is a practical, case-driven block designed for crisis negotiation supervisors and working negotiators who make high-consequence decisions in real time. The workshop translates constitutional principles and civil liability under 42 U.S.C. 1983 into operational choices at the command post: how you select personnel, set strategy, communicate with subjects, deploy technology, document actions, and decide when to engage - or disengage.

Using cornerstone cases, including Downs v. United States and City of Winter Haven v. Allen (specialized tactics and structured planning), Moon v. Winfield (negligent appointment/supervision), Graham v. Connor and Tennessee v. Garner (objective reasonableness and deadly force), City of Canton v. Harris, Walker, and Bryan v. MacPherson (training obligations), Baldwin v. Seattle (industry standards), Katz and Kyllo (privacy and surveillance), Quezada (escalation liability), and Hastings v. Barnes (qualified immunity limits) - you will build a legally sound playbook that aligns policy, training, and field operations.

We also address operational disengagement, the enforceability of promises (Kiritsis; Sands), and documentation that survives post-incident review.

Participants will complete the POLARIS Legal Liability & Risk Exposure Self-Assessment, an executive-level evaluation tool designed to help negotiators and team leaders identify organizational vulnerabilities, training gaps, documentation weaknesses, and potential liability exposures before they become critical incidents or courtroom issues.

Deb McMahon - Bio
Ms. McMahon serves as a senior instructor and curriculum developer for Crisis Hostage Negotiation and Peer Support Programs for Crisis Systems Management, LLC. Ms. McMahon retired as a Special Agent of the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division. Prior to her retirement, Ms. McMahon was an instructor assigned to Operations and Investigations Division, Advanced Law Enforcement Training, U. S. Army Military Police School, Fort Leonard Wood, MO. Ms. McMahon instructed advanced law enforcement subjects to criminal investigators who were assigned to municipal, state, and federal law enforcement agencies from throughout the world. In addition to her instructional duties, Ms. McMahon developed specialized advanced law enforcement training programs. During her twenty-one years of law enforcement experience, Ms. McMahon has performed such diverse duties as patrol, traffic accident investigation, desk sergeant, covert drug investigator, criminal investigator, protective services agent, and crime scene and evidence technician. She has also served as a senior criminalistics advisor, evidence program manager, and in a variety of positions on Crisis Response Teams. Ms. McMahon served in supervisory capacities as Task Force Commander, Drug Suppression Team Chief, and as Operations NCO to a seventy-person protective service security element for the 50th Anniversary NATO Summit. Operational assignments have taken Ms. McMahon throughout the United States, Europe and the Middle East. Some of Ms. McMahon's technical education and training include numerous Crisis and Hostage Negotiations courses, Countering Terrorism, Traffic Accident Investigation, Advanced Fraud Investigation, Protective Services, Child Abuse Prevention/Investigative Techniques, numerous advanced interview courses, gang training courses, and several Drug Enforcement Administration training courses. In addition to her technical training, Ms. McMahon has also attended more than twenty-six weeks of advanced leadership development and management training. Ms. McMahon has earned Bachelor of Science degrees in both Criminal Justice and Psychology. In a variety of environments, Ms. McMahon has served as a member of a crisis response team and has negotiated numerous hostage, barricaded subjects and potential suicide incidents. In addition to her practical experience, Ms. McMahon has authored Crisis Response Plans, has planned, executed and supervised major crisis response training events, and has published numerous professional articles on a variety of law enforcement topics, including crisis negotiation and crisis negotiation training. Ms. McMahon is currently the Training Director for the Missouri Association of Crisis Negotiators. Ms. McMahon has Bachelor of Science Degrees in Criminal Justice and Psychology from Drury University.