“If it bleeds, it leads,” goes the old newspaper maxim, attesting to the notion that violence attracts readers. But the reverse is equally true: “If it leads, it bleeds.” In other words, those who are willing to get out front — for a battle, a cause or a position — will take the most blows.

No one has taken more blows lately than Lou Mizell. The security professional was once at the pinnacle of his field. He’s a former Marine who has fought in five wars. He’s an ex-intelligence operative who has taken down drug traffickers and terrorists during missions in more than 100 countries. He is the creator of an unmatched database of more than three million crime, terrorism and security incidents, cobbled together from sources as diverse as legal cases, insurance reports, newspaper articles, intelligence briefs, and his own interviews of suspects. The cases span 100 “systems” (e.g., insider threats, bombs and bombers) and 80,000 categories. He has appeared as a security expert on “Oprah,“ “Today,“ “Good Morning America“ and “60 Minutes,“ identifying trends such as road rage and murder for hire in the suburbs. He had dozens of people working for him, conducted troubleshooting missions around the globe, and had the top people in media on his speed dial.