PPWC 2014 Q&A - Dan Leyman

1. What was the defining moment that made your realize you wanted to be an FBI agent?

There really wasn’t a “defining moment” for me. I wanted to be in law enforcement since I was in high school. Initially, I joined my local police department as a reserve member. The more I got to see, the more I realized I wanted to be in Federal law enforcement, and I set my sights on the FBI. Luckily, the stars lined-up, and I was offered a slot in a New Agents Training class.

2. What is the one thing you cannot work without? What is your creative vice?

While I know it sounds corny, the one thing I need for every crime scene, and most law enforcement endeavors, is logic. If I don’t apply logic to a crime scene, processing it becomes mechanical. As I apply logic to a scene, I start developing a theory of what happened. This also requires a degree of imagination, grounded in reality. I test that theory by looking for evidence in places that, logically, there should be evidence. If I find evidence there, that begins to support my theory. If not, I may need to revise my theory.

3. If you could 'revive' any literary figure from the past for a one hour conversation, who would you choose?

Samuel Clemens, because he seemed to have life broken down to the basics, focused on common sense.

4. If we asked your friends and family to compare you to a cartoon character, which would they choose, and why?

Taz, the Looney Tunes Tasmanian Devil, because I’m always whirling around from one event to the next, often grumbling about things I have no control over.

5. What is one thing would you like aspiring authors to know about the road to success?

The definition of success is different for each of us. Often, the road leading there is or seems never-ending. If you aren’t happy, the road will become an arduous, spirit-killing trek. Each person must find or make their own happiness and contentment, thereby making that journey an adventure.

About the Expert: FBI Special Agent Dan Leyman has been in Law Enforcement since 1984 and with the FBI since 1991. He has investigated or supervised nearly every crime the FBI investigates, from bank fraud to bank robberies to terrorism. From Police Academy to FBI New Agent Training, Special Agent Leyman had undergone extensive education in identifying, collecting and preserving evidence at a crime scene. When the FBI’s Evidence Responce Team (ERT) was founded in El Paso, Texas in 1995, Special Agent Leyman became one of its first members. His success and experience earned him his current position as Team Leader of FBI Denver’s Evidence Response Team.