A unique opportunity to hear John Jacobson, a firearms examiner from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, will take place on Friday, April 24, at 7 p.m. in Heritage Hall of Cooper Hall on the campus of Sterling College. He has over 25 years of experience in law enforcement, several of those spent in forensics. The public is invited to hear his Friday evening presentation, “A Case Study: Accident or Murder? You Decide.”

“The presentation in Heritage Hall should be an interesting study for our students and the public to hear. Mr. Jacobson’s expertise in the subject of forensics and firearms will lend itself to an interesting case study with an in-depth look at the fine details of a homicide case,” said Dr. Mark Tremaine, assistant professor of criminal justice.    

Jacobson began his law enforcement career as a police officer with the South African Police Force in 1987. He earned a diploma in police administration from the University of South Africa and went on to become a crime scene investigator. He is also fully trained in the Integrated Ballistics Identification System.

In 2000, Jacobson earned a certificate in forensic firearm and toolmark examinations for specialists, and shortly after, he earned a degree in forensic criminalistics from the University of South Africa. His next career move led him to the San Francisco Bay area where he became senior forensic scientist, firearms technical lead for a private lab. Jacobson then moved to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives as a firearms examiner in 2012, and since has been hired for casework, training students in firearms and toolmark examination, and has conducted two international assessments.  

To date, Jacobson has attended over 2,600 crime scenes, completed more than 2,000 firearms examination cases and attended over 1,000 autopsies.  

Sterling College is a Christ-centered, four-year college located in Sterling, Kansas, with a mission to develop creative and thoughtful leaders who understand a maturing Christian faith. For more information, visit www.sterling.edu.