Dana Paduano

Firearms, Tactics, & Medical Instructor - Rochester, New York

A 27-year veteran of the New York State Police. Dana is true up-through-the-ranks professional with seven years of experience as a Trooper, seven years as a sergeant, and twelve years as a station commander and zone sergeant.

Dana volunteered and served in some of the most tragic and trying times in American history. These were ranging from natural disasters such as floods to hurricanes to terrorist events such as the attacks on September 11, 2001, completing a rotation at the collapse of the World Trade Center within 24 hours of the incident.

During his career, he was a certified Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), a state certified Fire Investigator, Hazardous Materials (HAZMAT) | Radiological Technician, and certified by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) as a Clandestine Laboratory Technician. Dana is a proud member of the International Association of Arson Investigators and the National Tactical Officers Association (NTOA).

Dana currently holds an Associates of Applied Sciences in Police Science and a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice.

During Dana’s career, he had extensive experience leading an organization with as many as 94 staff members tasked with addressing criminal investigations, operations and training. He is an expert in Incident Command System (ICS) and National Incident Management System (NIMS).

Dana brings an enthusiastic approach in knowledge and expertise in defensive tactics, weapons manipulation and small team tactics. He leads, teaches, and mentors from not only a textual basis, but from an experiential perspective.