About ARC Tactical
Founded in 2016, ARC Tactical is a corrections focused training, consulting, and expert witness company. We prepare officers and agencies to meet the real demands of correctional environments through practical, legally informed instruction.
Our courses cover use of force, defensive tactics, dynamic cell extraction, prisoner transport, court operations, emergency response, de escalation, team tactics, restraint systems, and instructor development. We have trained professionals from more than 300 agencies across 44 states and four countries.
Corrections is our focus. Our programs address the legal, operational, and human challenges unique to jails and prisons. Each course combines current legal standards, proven tactics, realistic scenarios, and practical decision making, helping students understand how, when, and why to apply their skills.
Our instructors bring decades of frontline, supervisory, academy, and instructor experience to every course. We adapt training to each agency’s policies, staffing, equipment, and mission because every facility operates differently.
We believe effective training must be realistic, repeatable, defensible, and ready to use. ARC Tactical helps develop confident officers, capable instructors, and stronger teams so correctional organizations can respond under pressure and support safer outcomes for staff and inmates.
Tim Fasnacht
Tim Fasnacht is a corrections leader, instructor, consultant, and court-recognized expert with over twenty years of law enforcement experience. He serves as Owner and Executive Director of ARC Tactical and Director of Training for Safe Restraints Inc., delivering corrections-focused instruction throughout the United States and internationally. Tim previously served as a corrections academy commander, corrections sergeant, correctional officer, Field Training Officer, detention programs coordinator, and reserve police officer. He has provided more than 3,500 hours of instruction and developed corrections academy curriculum. His specialties include use of force, defensive tactics, firearms, de-escalation, cell extraction, emergency response, prisoner transport, court security, restraint systems, and instructor development.
Tim is a Master Defensive Tactics Instructor, Master WRAP Instructor, firearms instructor, Taser instructor, CERT instructor, Blue Courage instructor, and ABLE instructor. He also provides expert analysis and testimony in correctional use-of-force litigation and has consulted for government agencies, correctional organizations, schools, churches, hospitals, and law enforcement partners.
Joshua Ryle
Director of Operations - East
Josh Ryle is a corrections leader, Master Instructor, and keynote speaker with 25 years of experience serving the corrections profession in Tennessee. His career spans prison and jail operations, from low custody reception centers to maximum security mental health facilities. He has served as a correctional officer, jail deputy, Field Training Officer, Jail Operations Corporal, Courts Complex Deputy, chemical agents instructor, and Training Division Sergeant.
Josh currently serves as Director of Operations East and Master Instructor for ARC Tactical, as well as a Detention Facility Specialist for the State of Tennessee. He develops and delivers practical training that prepares correctional professionals for the physical, mental, and operational demands of working inside secure facilities.
His areas of expertise include defensive tactics, use of force, chemical agents, less lethal munitions, firearms, TASER, restraint systems, de escalation, emergency response, court security, inmate transportation, staff development, and instructor training. His instructor credentials include C.O.R. Tactics, defensive tactics, chemical agents, firearms, TASER, CPR, and correctional emergency response tactics.
Josh is also committed to strengthening leadership and improving workplace culture within corrections. His training addresses communication, resilience, staff wellness, workplace toxicity, and the leadership challenges created as experienced professionals retire. His approach emphasizes preparation, prevention, accountability, and practical solutions that help officers remain safe, adaptable, and effective throughout their careers
Tim Higgins II
Director of Operations - West
Timothy Higgins II is a law enforcement professional, instructor, consultant, and expert witness with more than 20 years of experience serving the law enforcement and corrections communities. He leads Higgins Training & Consulting, where he provides advanced tactical training, use of force consulting, equipment guidance, and agency support designed to reduce risk, lower liability, and preserve human life.
As Director of Operations and a Master Instructor with ARC Tactical, Tim delivers realistic, scenario based training for corrections professionals across the country. His instruction focuses on use of force, control tactics, de escalation, cell extractions, emergency response, team operations, prisoner transport, and instructor development. His training philosophy combines current law, practical experience, sound decision making, and techniques professionals can confidently apply in real world situations.
Tim also works with Compliant Technologies to provide agencies with innovative nonlethal compliance solutions, including the G.L.O.V.E., and the professional instruction required for safe, effective, and responsible deployment. Through Bishop Defense, he assists law enforcement agencies with firearm trade ins, equipment evaluations, duty weapon upgrades, riot gear, and system procurement.
In addition to his training and consulting work, Tim provides expert analysis and testimony in civil and criminal cases. He evaluates incidents through the lens of current use of force law, agency policy, training standards, correctional operations, and the totality of circumstances facing the professionals involved.
Throughout his career, Tim has remained committed to equipping law enforcement and corrections professionals with the knowledge, training, tools, and confidence needed to perform their duties safely, responsibly, and effectively. His work reflects a clear mission: protect officers, strengthen agencies, improve outcomes, and preserve human life.
Robert Ellsworth
Director of Training
Robert Ellsworth brings 23 years of criminal justice experience to his work as a corrections professional and instructor. His career includes service as a corrections deputy, warrant officer, Field Training Officer, Critical Response Team leader, court transport coordinator, and lead defensive tactics instructor.
Robert has extensive instructor training in defensive tactics, firearms, Taser, patrol tactics, use of force, ground survival, weapon retention, impact weapons, crisis intervention, tactical medicine, and high risk transportation.
His teaching combines current law, practical experience, and proven training methods to help professionals build confidence and perform safely and effectively under pressure.
Gary DeBeeld
Director of Emergency Medical
Gary DeBeeld is a corrections professional, firefighter, EMT, and medical instructor committed to helping others build lifesaving skills. He began his career in 2000 and became a volunteer firefighter and EMT in 2006.
Since 2007, Gary has served as a lead corrections medical instructor, teaching first aid, CPR, AED use, and tactical medical response. He is a certified instructor through the American Red Cross and American Heart Association, and earned his federal Tac Med Instructor certification in 2018.
Gary also cofounded Trifecta Training & Consulting, where he combines self defense, firearms, and first aid instruction for law enforcement personnel, businesses, professionals, and civilians committed to protecting lives.
Dave Saffell
Director of Peer Support/CIT
Dave Saffell brings a unique combination of military service, corrections experience, leadership, and instructional expertise. A proud United States Navy veteran with 14 years of military service and over 13 years of experience in corrections, Dave has dedicated much of his professional life to serving others, developing leaders, and improving safety and wellness within the corrections profession.
Currently serving as a Detention Facilities Specialist and statewide instructor with the Tennessee Corrections Institute (TCI), Dave specializes in Crisis Intervention Training (CIT), Peer Support, Emotional Intelligence, leadership development, and correctional operations. Throughout his career, he has worked closely with correctional professionals, administrators, and agencies to strengthen communication, enhance officer wellness, and promote safer, more effective correctional environments.
Dave's military career helped establish the foundation of his leadership philosophy. During his 14 years in the United States Navy, he developed a strong appreciation for teamwork, accountability, resilience, and service to others. These values continue to influence his approach to leadership, training, and professional development.
As an experienced instructor, Dave believes that effective training should do more than provide information—it should challenge perspectives, build confidence, develop practical skills, and inspire meaningful change. His instructional style combines real-world experience, interactive discussions, practical scenarios, and humor to create an engaging learning environment where participants feel comfortable contributing and growing.
Dave is a firm believer in lifelong learning and personal development. He views education as an ongoing journey of discovery and believes that integrity, humility, curiosity, and a willingness to learn from others are essential qualities of effective leadership. His passion for training is driven not by recognition, but by the opportunity to make a positive difference in the lives of those who serve their communities.