Erik Brown

Erik Brown is a forensic scientist, independent consultant, and Instructor in Arizona State University’s School of Interdisciplinary Forensics. He brings more than three decades of analytical laboratory experience, including more than 27 years in forensic science, to his teaching and consulting work. His professional background spans forensic toxicology, firearms examination, shooting incident reconstruction, controlled substances identification, and the interpretation and presentation of scientific evidence in criminal and civil litigation.

Brown earned his Bachelor of Science in Environmental Toxicology from the University of California, Davis, in 1995. During his undergraduate research, he analyzed polychlorinated biphenyl residues in water for use in criminal and civil litigation. He subsequently worked in environmental analytical laboratories in California and Arizona, examining air, water, soil, and oil samples for regulated pollutants. His responsibilities included laboratory supervision, gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis, quality control, and analytical method development.

In 1998, Brown joined the Phoenix Police Department’s Laboratory Services Bureau as a criminalist, conducting firearms examinations, arson evidence examinations, and controlled substances analyses. He moved to the Chandler Police Department’s Forensic Science Section in 2005, where his responsibilities included forensic alcohol analysis, firearms examination, and controlled substances identification. Since 2007, he has worked as an independent criminalist and forensic consultant.

Through Forensics Guy, Inc., Brown maintains an active consulting practice supporting criminal and civil litigation. His work includes blood and breath alcohol interpretation, alcohol impairment assessment, field sobriety testing review, retrograde extrapolation, dram shop toxicology, firearms identification, shooting reconstruction, and forensic laboratory methodology review. He has made more than 900 expert witness appearances and has qualified as an expert in multiple states in municipal, justice, superior, and federal courts.

Brown’s professional qualifications have included certification as a firearms examiner through the Association of Firearm and Tool Mark Examiners and Diplomate status with the American Board of Criminalistics. His training also includes standardized field sobriety testing, breath alcohol instrument operation and quality assurance, the Robert F. Borkenstein alcohol and drug courses, and forensic shooting scene reconstruction. He is a regular member of the Association of Firearm and Tool Mark Examiners and has published in the AFTE Journal on serial number restoration and TASER performance.

Throughout his career, Brown has provided instruction to attorneys, law enforcement personnel, forensic professionals, and students. His presentations have addressed blood alcohol testing, firearms evidence, gunshot residue, evidence collection, and the effective use of expert witnesses. He joined ASU in August 2025, where he teaches forensic science, toxicology, forensic chemistry, and testimony and ethics. His teaching draws on laboratory practice and courtroom experience to help students evaluate scientific evidence, recognize the limitations of forensic conclusions, and communicate findings clearly and responsibly.