Anthony J. Raganella is the founder and CEO of NY Blue Line Consulting Group, a company which provides law enforcement training, consulting, and expert witness services nationwide.  He is a retired 25-year decorated New York City Police Department Deputy Inspector, and his resume of achievements and professional pursuits exemplifies excellence and demonstrates what true dedication can mean to the safety and security of a large city.  Describing himself as a leader that “gets involved,” Anthony has taken everything he does to the next level with a keen eye toward attention to detail and forward progress.

          While at the NYPD, Anthony spent 8 years as the Commanding Officer of the Disorder Control Unit, a citywide department unit primarily responsible for planning, assessing and ensuring the Department’s training and readiness in public order, protests, and civil unrest operations, as well as major events and emergencies.  The unit also provided on-scene tactical and logistical support, as well as coordinated the response of critical NYPD resources at incidents. Anthony worked closely with other New York City agencies and major venues to plan and test for capabilities, continuities, and contingencies during high-risk events.

          As Commanding Officer of the Disorder Control Unit, Anthony regularly developed policy, as well as evaluated and implemented training, equipment and best practices related to public order, Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), and active shooter response tactics, theory and technique.  Anthony was the NYPD visionary for reorganizing decentralized city task forces into what is now the current centralized Strategic Response Group (SRG).  He also supervised the creation of the NYPD’s first bicycle squad dedicated to crowd management/control along with its policy & training.  Anthony was instrumental in planning and coordinating the NYPD’s strategy, training and field operations during New York City’s Occupy Wall Street movement and the recent Black Lives Matter protests.  Anthony was also the co-chair on the Civil Disturbance Subcommittee for the 2015 Papal visit to New York City and conducted international public order research for the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) in 2017, where he continues to work with NIJ serving on their Special Technical Committee (STC) to develop standards for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and training within U.S. law enforcement Civil Disturbance Units (CDU).  Anthony is considered a subject matter expert on matters related to protests and civil unrest and he has been a leading advocate in the development of public order policing standards in the US. As such, he served as a consultant to FEMA’s Center for Domestic Preparedness and is an approved expert witness in Federal court on such matters.  Most recently, he has worked closely with the National Tactical Officers Association (NTOA) to develop and co-author the nation’s first-ever public order response and operations standard for policing.

          Prior to commanding the Disorder Control Unit, Anthony spent a majority of his career in various ranks within one of the NYPD’s specialized rapid-response crowd control units.  During his career, he has been involved in the policing of over 2,000 demonstrations and major events, as well as the relevant training of tens of thousands of NYPD officers.  Anthony has been recognized by numerous officials and organizations, and has amassed in excess of fifty honors and awards for his various efforts and achievements.

In relentless pursuit of professional and personal advancement, Anthony has completed his Master Degree in Public Administration, summa cum laude, from Marist College; a Bachelor of Science Degree in Behavioral Science, summa cum laude, from New York Institute of Technology; an Associate of Science Degree in Criminal Justice, summa cum laude, from Nassau Community College, as well as being a graduate of the 24th Session of Columbia University’s Police Management Institute, and the 223rd Session of the FBI National Academy.

          Additionally, Anthony is the author of several published peer-reviewed journal articles and text book chapter supplements in the field of public order and criminal justice, and has presented the findings of his work at numerous symposiums nationwide.  Anthony is very active in professional associations and alumni groups, and is a frequent guest-lecturer at local colleges and criminal justice events.  He has been selected to serve on the FBI National Academy Associates Speaker’s Bureau.

In addition to his consulting firm, Anthony co-founded Rising Star Promotions, an educational tutorial service focused on supplementing and supporting studies of officers seeking elevation through promotional exams.  He continually develops study material and course curricula while leading recurring courses since 2006.  The result has been successfully facilitating thousands of officers’ advancement efforts within the NYPD.

          Although Anthony has dedicated his professional life to law enforcement, he hasn’t limited himself to just police work. Anthony is also active in organizing fundraising events to support various causes for his high school alma mater’s alumni association – La Salle Military Academy – where he sits on the Board of Governors.

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