Areas of Expertise: Fingerprints; Evidence Analysis & Spoliation; Criminal Forensics; Forensic Photography; Crime Scene Analysis; Criminal Investigations; DNA Forensics; Eyewitnesses & Memory; Eyewitness Testimony, Memory; Forensic Mapping; Law Enforcement; Police Procedures; Private Investigators; Weapons; Analytical & Consulting Labs; Laboratory Testing; Chemistry; Handwriting; Interview & Polygraph; Fraud; Questioned Documents; Stalking; Fire, Arson & Explosions; Ink Identification, Dating; Use-of-Force.
With a distinguished career spanning more than 30 years, Mr. May has a world-wide reputation in the areas of forensic latent print analysis, executive-level management, quality assurance and crime scene investigations and analysis. Mr. May's recognition meets and exceeds the U.S. admissibility standards (Daubert/Frye) and UK forensic regulations (FSR codes) and is highly regarded worldwide.
Mr. May has a diverse background in both forensics and law enforcement. Prior to his current position as the Crime Lab Manager for the Corpus Christi (TX) Police Department's Forensic Services Division, Mr. May spent 26 years as a trooper with the Michigan State Police, one of the nation's premier law-enforcement agencies. Aside from considerable knowledge of general investigations and law-enforcement operations, his deepest expertise, and greatest passion, lies with forensic science. Mr. May spent most of his career within the MSP Forensic Science Division, beginning as a technical expert in latent prints, crime scene investigation, and forensic photography. He rose to the position of supervisor in latent prints and was ultimately promoted to laboratory director at the Sterling Heights Laboratory in Metro Detroit. He retired in 2020 as a decorated command officer with multiple commendations to his name, including awards for professional excellence and lifesaving, among others.
Mr. May is a latent print examiner with nearly 25 years of experience and has been a consultant with Riley, Welch, LaPorte and Associates for roughly 20 years. He has conducted latent print casework and technical reviews across the United States and beyond, having been qualified as an expert witness across multiple jurisdictions. He is a recognized expert in the use of automated fingerprint identification systems (AFIS), digital enhancement techniques, evidence processing using a variety of physical and chemical techniques, and latent print visualization using alternate light sources and lasers. He is also a subject matter expert in digital photography, having taught crime scene and general photography for multiple agencies, and is an accomplished photographer in his own right.
In addition to technical acumen in his forensic specialties, as a laboratory executive Mr. May is a recognized leader in the forensic community. He has served as a laboratory director across multiple systems, with broad knowledge of lab operations, facility design, policy development, budgeting, human resources, metrics, process evaluation, and more. In his current role, Mr. May was instrumental in securing funding for and directly implementing the laboratory's very first electronic laboratory information management system (LIMS). He was also responsible for completely modernizing laboratory technology and best practices, adopting 3D scanning for crime scenes, incorporating drone technology, and upgrading the lab with state-of-the-art latent print processing equipment. During his tenure Mr. May has dramatically improved all aspects of the lab's operations, bringing them in line with ever-evolving industry standards.
As an integral part of his leadership portfolio, Mr. May is intensely committed to forensic quality assurance. He is a trained accreditation assessor with extensive knowledge of the ISO 17025 standard for forensic testing laboratories. Aside from taking an active, hand-on role in his own lab's quality management, he regularly participates in Association of Forensic Quality Managers (AFQAM) conferences and workshops. As a result of this commitment, under Mr. May's leadership his laboratory's quality system has been recognized by the Texas Forensic Science Commission as a model of excellence for others to emulate.
Mr. May is an active participant in the wider forensic community in many other ways as both a technical expert and as an executive. He represents the Texas Association of Crime Lab Directors (TACLD) on the Texas Forensic Science Commission's Rapid DNA Working Group, which is responsible for developing policy/procedure, training, and agency guidelines for the deployment of Rapid DNA technology across the state. He is a longtime member of the International Association for Identification (IAI), as well as the American Society of Crime Lab Directors (ASCLD), Texas Association of Crime Lab Directors (TACLD), and local and regional associations.
Mr. May's complete curriculum vitae (CV) can be found below.