Garrett Schaaf, Supervising Investigator

Garrett brings over 17 years of investigative and legal experience and expertise to his role as a Supervising Investigator. Garrett joined COPA in the summer of 2017 and has held the titles of Investigator (July 2017), Major Case Specialist (March 2020), and Supervising Investigator (October 2021).

Garrett joined COPA with more than six years of experience as a law enforcement officer, a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice Administration from Columbia College of Missouri, and a Juris Doctor from the University of Florida. Garrett also has experience working in state and federal prosecutor offices, a federal administrative regulatory agency, and a private criminal defense firm. As a public servant, Garrett stives to be effectively efficient, which requires him to be as effective as possible while ensuring responsible stewardship of resources entrusted to the government by the citizenry.

In his current role, Garrett assists with the creation of policies and procedures for investigative activities while serving as a technical, investigative, and process resource for staff. Garrett reviews complaints while making jurisdictional, assignment, criminal referral, and investigation recommendations. Garrett provides input on a wide variety of investigations and is tasked with review of completed investigations. Using his persistence, attention to detail, and organizational and collaboration skills, Garrett has successfully led efforts to reduce investigative case ages without compromising investigative quality.