Staff Profile - Clay A Campbell


Staff Profile - Clay A. Campbell
	Clay Campbell joined Boster, Kobayashi & Associates in 1987 after 20 years with the Oakland Police Department and two years with the San Leandro Police Department. In Oakland he initially served as a beat officer in the Patrol Division and then as an evidence technician, “CSI” in modern parlance. Clay worked for one year in the Office of Chief of Police as an Investigator in the Internal Affairs Section. He was promoted to Sergeant in 1971 and spent most of the rest of his career in the Traffic Division. Clay was a motorcycle squad supervisor for nine years. The remainder of his Oakland Police career was spent as a Chief Accident Investigator.
When Clay retired from the Oakland P.D. in 1985, he was hired by the San Leandro Police Department as their civilian Traffic Investigator. In San Leandro he conducted most of the department’s technical follow-ups and all of their accident reconstruction. It was during his time in the San Leandro P. D. that he began doing some part-time work for Tom Boster. In 1987 Clay resigned from the San Leandro P.D. and joined Boster, Kobayashi & Associates on a full-time basis. The majority of Clay’s caseload involves reconstruction of automotive and motorcycle accidents. While with the Oakland Police Department, Clay studied the technical aspects of traffic accident investigation and reconstruction at the Traffic Institute of Northwestern University. (See The Traffic Institute on this page for the origins of accident investigation.) Several of the courses Clay took at the Traffic Institute were taught by J. Stannard Baker. Mr. Baker has been referred to as the founder of the field of traffic accident reconstruction and “the father of traffic crash investigation in the U.S. ” Mr. Baker is credited with establishing accident reconstruction as a science by applying the laws of physics and developing mathematical equations to apply to the field. According to Clay, Baker had white hair and mustache, wore silver metal frame glasses he would take off as he talked, and was always outfitted in a bow tie. (See J. Stannard Baker on this page for more information on this legend.) On a more personal note, Clay is married to Sally Campbell, a Registered Nurse. He and Sally live in Walnut Creek with their two daughters, one of whom is in college and the other a junior in high school. His third, and oldest, daughter lives in northern California and teaches high school in Palo Cedro. Clay is very active in his church where he serves as the sound technician and has also served as a deacon. Clay is a member of the Society of Forensic Engineers and Scientists, The Municipal Motorcycle Officers of California, and The National Association of Professional Accident Reconstruction Specialists. He also holds a license as a Private Investigator in California . If you would like to review Clay’s Curriculum Vitae, it is available at http://www.bosterkobayashi.com.