Meet the Instructors

Commander Timothy Plotts (Ret.)

Tim began his law enforcement career in 1984 with the North Carolina State Highway Patrol. He retired in April of 2012 as the Troop Commander of Troop B, with over 300 sworn and civilian employees in his charge. As a Troop Commander he had sole responsibility for the NCSHP’s response to events that occurred in southeastern North Carolina. Tim remains a sworn law enforcement officer with the Haywood County, NC Sheriff’s Office.  

Tim has been married since 1984 to his wife Beth and they have 2 grown daughters. 

Tim has an Associates of Arts degree in Criminal Justice, Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice and a Master’s Degree in Leadership and Management from Montreat College. He is a graduate of the 101st session of the Southern Police Institute at the University of Louisville, KY and Graduated from the FBI National Academy, class #242, Quantico, VA. He is a certified John Maxwell trainer, instructor, and coach. He is also certified to instruct the DISC Personality Assessment through People Keys and a certified instructor with the Arbinger Institute. He has been an FBI-LEEDA Instructor since 2011 with over 260 classes taught including all three of the Trilogy classes. Tim received the first annual William Hyatt Leadership Award from Western North Carolina University. He was selected by his peers at the University of Louisville to serve as a class officer. He also received the Meritorious Service Award from the NCSHP for service above and beyond the call of duty.

Course Taught:  Line Level Leadership

Captain Toby Darby

Toby Darby is a 26 year veteran with the Glendale Police Department (CA), where he serves as a Captain. Toby is also a veteran of the United States Air Force where he served four years as a law enforcement specialist.  Toby served on his department’s SWAT team for 19 years in various capacities and currently serves as the Division Commander of the Investigative Services Division.

In addition to his SWAT and tactical training experience, Toby has worked multiple assignments in Narcotics, including LA IMPACT and LA HIDTA. Toby has also served on the United States Marshals’ Regional Fugitive Task Force. Toby is one of the department’s regional active shooter response instructors, an instructor for the CA POST-approved basic SWAT school, and an instructor for the CATO Critical Incident Leadership class.

 Toby is a graduate of the Sherman Block Supervisory Leadership Institute (SLI) and CATO’s Strategic Leadership Program. Toby holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice Management.  

Courses Taught:  Critical Incident Leadership  &  Advanced CIL; Navigating the Aftermath

Chief Anthony Miranda (Ret.)

Anthony “Tony” Miranda has been a law enforcement professional for the last thirty-four years.  During this time, Tony has served as a Chief of Police for three different agencies within Los Angeles County (Bell, Irwindale, & Vernon Police Departments) for a combined executive experience of over 11 years. 

Tony received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Phoenix in Human Services and is nearing completion of his master’s degree in public policy and administration from California State University Long Beach.

In addition to serving his communities as chief, Tony was the Vice President of Los Angeles County Police Chiefs Association where he navigated a worldwide pandemic and summer of “Social Justice.”  He retired from Vernon PD in July of 2021 as President of the Los Angeles County Police Chiefs Association and is the past President (2022-2024) of the Peace Officers Association of Los Angeles County (POALAC). He also has been a subject matter expert for the Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST) Management Course presented by California State University Long Beach for the last 10 years. Additionally, Tony sat on the oversight board at the Rio Hondo Police Academy for 8 years.

Tony is currently working for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office as one of two Law Enforcement Liaisons for the county. In this role he works closely with the Los Angeles County Police Chiefs Association, the LAPD Chief, the Los Angeles County Sheriff, and other law enforcement professionals, assisting them as the primary point of contact for Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office resources and related matters. 

Course Taught:  Next Level Leadership