I know the 'other' officer, a good man, in that tragic blue on blue. While exonerated, that incident impacted him very greatly, ultimately leading to him leaving law enforcement. (He has done a screen play about it.)
That incident, and similar ones, inspired one cop to invent an inexpensive, convenient to carry, unobtrusive, easily deployed and very visible identifier for those of us not in uniform to be readily identified by other security and responding LEOs and not mistaken for the offender(s).
What would be your recommendation for training to avoid "Tunnel Vision" during high stress situations?
Thanks for all you do. You are a blessing to those that will pay attention. We are in the process of putting together a Safety Team, and I can see it's not an easy task. After listening to several different presenters in this field, I consider you to be my go to authority on the subject of church security. I appreciate your advice.
Our leader asked how he could get good participation to future meetings. I suggested two meetings. One midweek after work and one after second service on Sunday. Have the midweek before or after a regularly scheduled meeting so some are already coming into town that day. You know if they can't make it to both they personally don't want to participate.
Great article. I would like to make those involved stand out like a sore thumb. Take, for instance, the MAGA hats. If you saw someone wearing those from a block away, they'd stand out. Why not have something similar for concealed carriers? They carry the baseball hat to church and set it beside them in the pews. If something goes down, don the hat and everyone knows who they are (including local LE). No question about who they are, so if you see them running to and fro, everyone is on the same page. To bump up security, you could even have different colors and cycle through the colors (just in case a bad actor figures out the strategy). Send them a secure message prior to Sunday service (Yellow today; or Red today; or Lime Green today).
Keith, coming from the Nonlaw-Enforcment side, this is very beneficial for me and those who serve together with me so we can better prepared when called to act and in the process avoid loss of life from friendly fire. This verse is for you my friend Ezekiel 38:7. We are really blessed by your service and happy to support the ministry that God call you to!
We have a Guardian team at the private Christian school that I work at. The team is better trained than the majority of local law enforcement officers, and these are the sashes that we wear in the event that we have to deploy. They are inexpensive and help to easily identify team members, to other team members and law enforcement arriving on scene...https://dsmsafety.com/
As the leader of our churches safe team, I am always concerned about non team concealed carriers. We discuss frequently how to deal with non team CCW in the event of a shooting situation. I like the idea of getting the CCW folks together for a meeting. I just don’t know how to invite them. We are in North Carolina and anyone with a CCW can carry into church. Do we announce it from the pulpit? Send out a church wide email? We try to keep a pretty low profile for our team.
I've lived through (I wasn't involved) a blue on blue fatality and what you have shared is precisely correct. It changes your perspective and you were totally correct about how a loss like Officer Wilkins should inform all of your future plans. Keep up the great work. Those who carry should keep the team informed, and the team keep it confidential from the rest of the church. ABC!
Keith,
I know the 'other' officer, a good man, in that tragic blue on blue. While exonerated, that incident impacted him very greatly, ultimately leading to him leaving law enforcement. (He has done a screen play about it.)
That incident, and similar ones, inspired one cop to invent an inexpensive, convenient to carry, unobtrusive, easily deployed and very visible identifier for those of us not in uniform to be readily identified by other security and responding LEOs and not mistaken for the offender(s).
I've been using them for several years.
I talk to him every once in a while. It was a sad day for so many people. Can you put up the link for the identifier?
Keith;
What would be your recommendation for training to avoid "Tunnel Vision" during high stress situations?
Thanks for all you do. You are a blessing to those that will pay attention. We are in the process of putting together a Safety Team, and I can see it's not an easy task. After listening to several different presenters in this field, I consider you to be my go to authority on the subject of church security. I appreciate your advice.
Our leader asked how he could get good participation to future meetings. I suggested two meetings. One midweek after work and one after second service on Sunday. Have the midweek before or after a regularly scheduled meeting so some are already coming into town that day. You know if they can't make it to both they personally don't want to participate.
Great article. I would like to make those involved stand out like a sore thumb. Take, for instance, the MAGA hats. If you saw someone wearing those from a block away, they'd stand out. Why not have something similar for concealed carriers? They carry the baseball hat to church and set it beside them in the pews. If something goes down, don the hat and everyone knows who they are (including local LE). No question about who they are, so if you see them running to and fro, everyone is on the same page. To bump up security, you could even have different colors and cycle through the colors (just in case a bad actor figures out the strategy). Send them a secure message prior to Sunday service (Yellow today; or Red today; or Lime Green today).
Keith, coming from the Nonlaw-Enforcment side, this is very beneficial for me and those who serve together with me so we can better prepared when called to act and in the process avoid loss of life from friendly fire. This verse is for you my friend Ezekiel 38:7. We are really blessed by your service and happy to support the ministry that God call you to!
Thank you Matt. I really love that verse!
We have a Guardian team at the private Christian school that I work at. The team is better trained than the majority of local law enforcement officers, and these are the sashes that we wear in the event that we have to deploy. They are inexpensive and help to easily identify team members, to other team members and law enforcement arriving on scene...https://dsmsafety.com/
As the leader of our churches safe team, I am always concerned about non team concealed carriers. We discuss frequently how to deal with non team CCW in the event of a shooting situation. I like the idea of getting the CCW folks together for a meeting. I just don’t know how to invite them. We are in North Carolina and anyone with a CCW can carry into church. Do we announce it from the pulpit? Send out a church wide email? We try to keep a pretty low profile for our team.
The best way is to announce in the newsletter, the pulpit, email and word of mouth. Then serve them breakfast as an incentive
I've lived through (I wasn't involved) a blue on blue fatality and what you have shared is precisely correct. It changes your perspective and you were totally correct about how a loss like Officer Wilkins should inform all of your future plans. Keep up the great work. Those who carry should keep the team informed, and the team keep it confidential from the rest of the church. ABC!
I like to open carry at our church.. we also have a rifle rack by the podium