Lt. Robert Doherty became a Verbal Judo Instructor in 2005 following a train-the-trainer course instructed by Dr. Thompson. Lt. Doherty has over 30 years of experience as a police officer, detective, and instructor for the Maine Criminal Justice Academy. For over 15 years, he has brought the principles and philosophy of Verbal Judo to over 3,000 City of Portland employees. 

Lt. Doherty is particularly skilled at training uniformed police officers, civilian staff, and members of the private sector. Drawing from first-hand experience after defusing and deescalating thousands of encounters. Lt. Doherty draws an audience in, relating real-life experience to his instruction style. This technique has been beneficial when teaching students how to respond when on camera (dashboard, body camera, and phones).

Lt. Doherty is exceptional at imparting Verbal Judo techniques to all communication skill levels. Ensuring that newer employees and those with tenure recognize that they are continuously speaking as empathetic professionals is critical to this presentation. Lt. Doherty lives in Portland, Maine, and is a graduate of the 283rd session of the FBI National Academy.