Mr. Smoot is the Managing Partner of 21CP Solutions and a subject matter expert on policing and public safety. Building on a 30+ year career in law and policing, he now consults internationally on issues related to Constitutional Policing, Public Employment Labor Law, Pension & Benefits Law, Section 1983 Civil Rights Litigation, Body Worn Cameras, Use of Force, Supervision, Officer Safety & Wellness, Recruiting, Retention, and Hiring. He has served on multiple teams monitoring both state and federal consent decrees involving law enforcement agencies, including in Cleveland and Baltimore.
Mr Smoot was a police and public safety advisor to the Obama-Biden Presidential Transition Teams and a Member of President Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing. He also was part of the Executive Session on Policing and Public Safety at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government from 2008 to 2014. He is a member of several national Boards and Committees, and regularly speaks at conferences, meetings, and forums on topics related to public safety, police-community relations and law enforcement agency operations. He has appeared on CNN, C-SPAN, and several national news affiliates talking about critical issues in modern policing.
Mr. Smoot’s career in law enforcement labor relations and legislative advocacy began in Illinois and he remains the Emeritus Director and Chief Counsel of the Police Benevolent & Protective Association and the Police Benevolent Labor Committee in Illinois. He also is the Area 4 Vice-President of the National Association of Police Organizations (“NAPO”), a national law enforcement advocacy group representing over 250,000 police officers. Other noteworthy service in his native state includes his 2015 appointment to the Illinois Commission on Police Professionalism by then-Governor Bruce Rauner, and his current role on the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board (ILETSB). First appointed to ILETSB in 2020 by Governor J.B. Pritzker, he became its Chairman in 2023. As ILETSB’s Chairman, he currently leads the agency which is responsible for the oversight and training of more than 35,000 sworn law enforcement officers and over 6,500 sworn correctional officers across the state. Mr. Smoot also spent 12 years as an elected Alderman and ten years as Police Commissioner in Leland Grove.
Mr. Smoot holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice Sciences from Illinois State University and a Juris Doctor degree from the Southern Illinois University School of Law, where he served as the Business Editor of the SIU Law Journal. He holds several Certificates in Police Union Leadership from Harvard Law School, has been recognized as one of the “Top Employment & Labor Attorneys in Illinois” by the publishers of Chicago magazine, and was admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court in June of 2011.
Current Advisory Activities
International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training – Member
Council on Criminal Justice – Member
National Association of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) – Legal Council
Police Executive Research Forum – Member
Future Policing Institute – Fellow
Measures for Justice – Member
American Law Institute –Principles of Law, Policing – Advisor
Chicago-Kent College of Law – Public Sector Labor Law Program – Advisory Board Member
Policing Project at NYU Law School – Advisory Board Member
National Conference of State Legislators – Legislator Police Academy – Faculty & Advisor
National Civic League – Advisory Board Member
Council of State Governments – Consultant
Law Enforcement Leaders – Member
Fight Crime: Invest in Kids – Member
Measures for Justice – Advisory Board Member
Alli Connect – Public Safety Mental Health Services – Advisory Board Member
