Mike Anderson

Mike Anderson is a native of Raleigh, North Carolina. He served as a police officer for more than 22.5 years. With many generations of law enforcement in his family, Mike started with the Knightdale Police Department. Mike was named Knightdale’s first full time Community Services Officer in 1995. He taught the D.A.R.E. program in the local elementary schools and worked closely with all facets of community relations. Mike was awarded the Crime Prevention Officer of the Year in North Carolina in 1996 by the Governors Crime Commission for his work in establishing the first McGruff Safe House Program in the State of North Carolina. In 1997, he was named a semifinalist for Parade Magazines Police Officer of the Year for his work in juvenile crime prevention programs. Mike was also awarded the Fred Fletcher Volunteer of the Year award for his work with the little league baseball program in the City of Raleigh.
He went to the Cary Police Department in February 1998. There he served in several roles such as Patrol, Bike Patrol and Field Training Officer. He was awarded the Law Enforcement Medal of Valor in 2003 for courage under fire while evacuating a playground of mothers and their children during a violent jewelry store robbery where he purposely drew fire in the open from 4 suspects while the playground was evacuated. He served as a School Resource Officer for West Cary Middle and Middle Creek High Schools for nearly 10 years. A severe on-duty knee injury forced Mike to retire in June of 2013 as a Senior Police Officer.
Mike currently works for the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. He instructs the Critical Incident for School Faculty and Staff curriculum and is a federal instructor in Incident Response to Terrorist Bombings, Understanding and Planning for School Bombing Incidents and Prevention and Response to Suicide Bombing Incidents. He also wrote and presents a program entitled Policing in Schools: An Inside Look at Policing Outside the Box as well