Teena Gooding

Law Enforcement Self-Defense

Teena has over 26 years of law enforcement experience in South Carolina. She started her career at the City of Cayce Public Safety in 1999 where she served as a patrol officer. In 2003 she transitioned to the University of South Carolina Police Department and worked her way up the ranks to serve as the only female Captain in the history of the department. She served as the Captain over the Operations Bureau which included: patrol, crime suppression, crime prevention, self-defense programs, and FTO. In 2019 Teena went to the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy as the instructor over all of the supervision and leadership courses to include Executive Management and the Chief’s School. She specializes in firearms, defensive tactics, self-defense, resilience, developing women leaders, suicide intervention, leadership and supervision.
She thrives on sharing her experience and knowledge to help you be the best version of yourself. Teena founded a Female Officer Survival School in 2011 and has taught thousands of female officers from over 6 different states. She also serves as a Law Enforcement PEER team member where she is trained to help officers who are in crisis and after critical incidents. She represented South Carolina to assist the Capital Police after the January Capital assault. Teena and her husband, Mike, live in the Midlands of South Carolina and have three children and a furbaby.