Active Violence: Part 1

Dan McGee, M.P.A, B.A Social and Criminal Justice
PATROL SYSTEMS LLC
October 5, 2015

So here we are again. I certainly do not mean to sound ho-hum, but I have a hard time finding my scream at this point. Not because I am not mad. Not because I have no voice at all. It is because we (the citizens of the U.S.) have not learned one darn thing. I am frustrated with us!

I became a certified School Resource Officer in 2002, the first in our county. I began studying school violence at that time because I had strong concerns. I had not forgotten tragedies like Columbine (1999), Eugene, OR (1198) and Stamps, AR (1997). As a matter of fact in my research I located so many more incidents of active violence on school property that I was utterly shocked we had not locked schools down to near jail procedures at this point.

How many of you remember Bath Twp. MI in 1927? Well probably none of you, but it happened. And it was horrible. What about Swarthmore, PA in 1955? Houston, TX 1959? Sure, by now you may have heard of Charles Whitman and the Texas Tower Shooting in Austin, 1966. But what about Grand Rapids, MN (1966), Brampton, Ont., CA (1975), Los Angeles, CA (1984), Lewistown, MT (1986)? You see there are so many more incidents in the past that people haven’t even heard of because our media was paper driven at the time. Now, with huge cable news on 24-7 we hear about it as it is happening and for weeks afterwards. Yet, we've made little use of the lessons of the past. 

The U.S. Secret Service (along with others) conducted the Safe Schools Initiative (2002) where they studied school violence. One of the key findings was a no finding at all. You say what? It did not shock me that they could not build a profile of a shooter, therefore giving law enforcement little to go on. For Pete’s sake, most of these are school kids committing these crimes. They are not carrying signs around saying they are mad and going to commit violence. But surely the study gave us something? It did, if you read it and implemented it, but I saw no one react and act on it. Still, school officials treat kids like kids. I mean they don’t believe that the hostile comments they make are true. They don’t evaluate security for security sake, they have to manage a school. Teach kids, pass proficiency tests, etc. I don’t blame the schools. I blame the morons who have (and are still) failing their communities because they are primarily interested in self-preservation.

Speed forward to 2012 and Newtown, CT. Here came a major wave of concern as a known crazy takes weapons into an elementary school killing 20 kids. What was the immediate concerns of many? We need to make schools gun-free zones. Or, lets arm everyone. Or, let’s take guns away from people who are not attached to violence at all. My favorite were the state governments. Let’s revamp our laws by using commissions to study school violence and give us recommendations (and we will use private companies to help us author lawful language). I am sure none of the private people capitalized off helping write these recommendations. Oh wait, um er, let’s just move past that…

The state of Ohio revised how schools look at violence by adding additional requirements for violence drills, including mandating at least one lockdown and one evacuation, along with a third drill.  And let me be clear, the State of Ohio (including the Attorney General) did NOT specific any specific company to obtain training from (that’s not only a good thing, that is the ethical thing). Yet, many believe the Attorney General mandated a specific company and this company has die-hard followers who have zero knowledge, study, or command of leadership and tactics, let alone school violence. In fact, I have a local elected official using this fear to capitalize so no one notices his failing leadership. I have seen officers become regurgitating fools because they are not looking at school violence trying to prevent it, they are looking to keep their jobs and be important. (Side note: If you are doing things just to get noticed, instead of doing things simply because they are the right things, then you are a bum…) Yet, with all of the studying of these incidents no one acted on prevention. I even was recently ridiculed because I believe we have done the minimum when it comes to seeking out prevention methods. People running their lips in the press to get noticed, not because they actually know. Basically it is all reactionary. And in many cases extreme reactions without little thought. I mean, I see it as greedy people capitalizing on the fear of these incidents and as long as they are spewing verbiage that was different than the past, people are buying it!

McGee believes there little control in
active violence situations, even when prepared.
And many officials are not willing to practice true security.
He believes kids and parents are being fooled into buying
snake oil when it comes to school violence. (Photo from Philly.com)                      


                                                                                    

This week we saw two major things come to head. One was another tragedy at a community college in Oregon. Another was a thwarted plot in California. And, I can hear it now. “See, see, we need to do this, or we need to do that”. Ask yourselves when you hear the fools shout from their rooftops, how much is about preventing these attacks versus extreme rhetoric and knee-jerk reactions? Let’s run here or take guns away from everyone! Right? I mean I can already hear some local people running off at the mouth, like their one course attended and no experience whatsoever makes them intelligent on the subject.

Over the next several blogs I am going to talk about school violence, the methods being used to combat it and where I think we should go. I am going to talk about lockdowns versus evacuations, security, guns on campuses, and how we can start to tackle true prevention methods. There is more we can do, different things we can do, and much snake oil to return to their sellers….

Now? More rhetoric. More take guns away. More lets run to Wal-mart. So here we go again. Except this time, let’s not accept reaction and poor ideas. Let’s not accept inexperienced dolts to lead us to what? Let’s not accept that we spend more money on school activities than security each year. Keep in mind I will never say we can fully prevent attacks.  What I will say is we can do things to make them harder to accomplish. We have prime examples of hardened targets in the U.S. and while crazies still attempt to attack them, it is too hard most of the time to accomplish the goal. The problem is that we can only learn from the past on these incidents (well some can learn, others just try to keep their jobs…) And we will always be behind because we have to deal with attacks and plans as they develop. So, let’s actually learn something and make some changes, and in future articles I am going give you my thoughts.   

Until then, take a breath. Knee-jerk reactions have never done any good. Sure I think we need to do something quick, but a bandage isn’t surgery. This issue requires an MRI and long-term care. School violence has been going on for hundreds of years. We do not have to speed forward just to say we did something. We need to thoughtfully plow forward ensuring what we do is right…

God Bless,

Dan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Daniel McGee holds a Master in Public Administration, a B.A. in Social and Criminal Justice, an A.A.S. in Law Enforcement, and has served the public for almost 20 years as a police officer. He holds certifications in various topics including as a National Tactical Officer Association Active Shooter Instructor, Certified School Resource Officer, an Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy Instructor, Defensive Tactics and Firearms Instruction, as many more. He is a member of the National Rifle Association (Lifetime), International Association of Chiefs of Police, National Defense Academy. He is a board member for the Senior Citizen Glenview Apartments and is the spokesperson for the Williams County Area Crime Stoppers. He is an author and President of P.A.T.R.O.L. Systems LLC.

Home Defense: Less Than Options

Home Defense: Less Than Options

By Daniel McGee, M.P.A.
August 24, 2014

Recently I was asked about less-than-lethal options for self-defense purposes. There is a huge craze in various self-defense weapons. Many people are marketing their own versions and the masses are sucking them right up. But are they all really made the same and what do you need to know?

First, I want to make sure that my readers understand what less-than-lethal actual means. The word lethal means “(1) of, pertaining to, or causing death; deadly; fatal [and] (2) made to cause death” (lethal, Dictionary.com). So if something is less than it means that it shouldn’t be like the normal. So, if something is billed as less-than-lethal it means it shouldn’t cause death and is not designed to cause death. These are the defensive tools out there like pepper spray or electronic stun devices. Then there is what we call less-lethal. If something is less-lethal it means in a common manner it is not designed to cause death, but it comes with higher risk because it can cause fatality. Things like batons, bean bag rounds for shotguns, or rubber slugs for shotguns very well could cause death if they strike certain spots and if misused.

So, in order for my readers to consider self-defense, or home defense tools to put in your kit you need to ask yourself one question. Do you feel lucky?  Now I am not trying to be a smart ass by channeling Dirty Harry, but the question is real. How lucky do you feel? Maybe the first question you should ask yourself is what am I trying to accomplish with having a self-defense tool?

There are legions of people out there who “say” if someone attacks them they would just “wound them” and run. Well, do you feel lucky punk? Do you? So what happens when your less -lethal option malfunctions, but the other guy is carrying a gun? What happens after the initial effects of the less-than-lethal option wears off or does not have the affect one would think? I am a pepper spray/OC instructor. I think it is a very effective tool for self-defense. The very first time I took a dose of oleoresin capsicum I hated it. That was almost twenty years ago. Since then I’ve take hundreds of doses for training as an officer and while instructing. While it still does affect me, it does not have the effect it should. I’ve learned to deal with it. And, as an instructor I can say that it sometimes takes many seconds before pepper spray can take effect on any person even if you’ve deployed it correctly. I am not even talking about other factors like wind, rain, masks, blocking, or malfunctioning of canisters.

The first time I saw a police Taser® deployed it blew a suspect completely across the back of a cruiser seat. Much to my surprise the suspect popped right back up and started yelling “do it again!” Not long ago I observed an officer’s Taser® malfunction due to battery issues. Take a look at this news video clip.



In this case, the officer was lucky. But, he pulled an electronic stun device to stop this suspect and it didn’t work. He ended up shooting the suspect. Now, this is in the police world where Constitutional protections are greater to civilians from police; while case law, as well as Use of Force training and policy dictate how officers act. In the basic civilian world of self-defense you have what I would call a minor variation in latitude with your actions. No, I am not saying you can just shoot someone, but I am saying you aren’t required to wear a 15 pound belt with pepper spray, a baton, an electronic stun device, and a gun. You aren’t necessarily required to go through a progression of a force continuum to act. In basic, you need to establish you are in fear for your life and that your actions would be reasonable to a reasonable person (there is more to this and this will be another blog). 

So, imagine you hear someone breaking into your home. You get your stun gun from your nightstand and proceed down the stairwell. You see a suspect and yell to them to get out. They turn and have something in their hand, possibly a gun. You deploy your stun gun and it malfunctions. What next? “Wait Mister Bad Guy, I’ve got to get my Glock 22 from my gun safe, would you mind waiting and we can try this again”? Umm, no. I think I’ve made a decent enough point about these types of devices. 

Now, what about the new fad of having less-lethal shotguns in the home? There are many options for less-lethal firearms, not just shotguns. They have rubber impact bullets for small firearms, as well as rubber slugs for shotguns. The truth is they aren’t a bad option, but again I ask what is the intention for using such a weapon? The police often use them for crowd control to help deter aggressive protestors or in single-person suicide situations. But, you wouldn’t see them used to stop someone who is shooting at them. Even though this next video is of a bunch of goof balls, I think it does tell a good story…

First, that hurt! But notice he was able to get up. He even had a laugh. Now, let’s exchange that little tool (the guy, not the gun) for someone who is a motivated attacker. He wants to rob, kill, rape. Let’s add alcohol and/or drugs to the fold. Do you think that the bean bag would stop him? Do you think it would disable him enough that he couldn’t pull out a gun and shoot at you? Now the thing with less-lethal weapons is that they can be lethal. Shoot a bean bag traveling at 400 feet per second at someone’s head or neck you could kill them. Hit them in the throat, same thing. So, if you’ve bought your bean bag shells because you don’t want to kill someone, but you accidentally do, how are you going to react (sorry to burst you pacifist's bubble). BUT, those are supposed to be the exceptions to the rule for these weapons. And there is the argument that if the suspect gets the weapon from you and it is a bean bag round then they cannot kill you. Umm, if they take your weapon and shoot you with it and it doesn’t kill you, they’ll beat you to death with the butt end. Stop trying to justify passiveness in self-defense. 

I am not against less-lethal or less-than-lethal. I believe having something to defend yourself with is always better than nothing. But, I am the guy who says give yourself some options. I’d rather see you carry some pepper spray and a gun, or a knife and a gun versus use bean bag rounds. Better yet, understand that attackers attack without warning. Sometimes making it impractical to remove a gun from a holster. Learn some hand-to-hand combat skills to compliment your self-defense tool chest.


You have a right to protect yourself and there is no guarantee regardless if you use a bean bag or a jacketed hollow point. And if you have a family, making the right choice is essential. Anything can malfunction, but if the "less" options are less effective and don't neutralize the attacker, well, your screwed. And now you've got your family to worry about.
 

Of course this is my opinion, but I’m not tossing bean bags with an effective range of 30-40 feet at someone who is breaking into my home. I’m going to stop them because I owe it to my family to protect them. No offense to the less options out there. They have a place. But, I cannot in good conscience tell you that they should be what you use as your sole, only self-defense tool. 

Hopefully this gives you some insight. God’s blessings to all for safety!

Dan

References:

lethal. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged. Retrieved August 24, 2014, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/lethal

Police: Man Shoots At Officer After Being Stunned By Taser. Retrieved August 26, 2014, from http://youtu.be/7LS3LLYXRYQ (VIDEO).

Shot by Bean Bag. Retrieved August 26, 2014, from http://youtu.be/W_ymNErgGkQ. (VIDEO)



From the Mountain

From the Mountain
by Daniel McGee, M.P.A.
August 10, 2014

 

I’ve said it many times. Probably more directly to people than in my blogs or Facebook postings. Everything looks great from the mountain, but come slum with me in the valley and you’ll get a real perspective.

I just don’t understand how people believe that living in a dream world is an actual, realistic, grounded, and moral interpretation of life. I think everyone dreams of having money, nice things, etc., but it is the realization that those things don’t matter over goodness is where one’s thoughts should be. If I am lucky enough to ever be rich or famous that will only be a side-effect of my hard work and desire to be a husband, father, and Christian. I am not perfect. I am not right all of the time. I am not the best at what I do. I am not the most effective at being a good person by any means. What I am is realistic. What I am is a hard worker. What I am is willing to endure my problems and make life work with me, not for me. What I am is someone who not will read scripture, but research the stories behind it.

What I am is not a person with a lot of money. My profession is not what I would call the best paying in the world. But I do what I do because I believe God called me to the police service as a way to give. I have bills to pay and often am cutting corners and making late payments in order to make sure other things are attended to. I’ve taken money out of my pocket and given it to a stranger many times for gas or food. I’ve stopped what I am doing in my day to buy a kid an ice cream or pop, even knowing that dollar could be used to help pay a bill. I’ve taken many vacation days  to go give free seminars and work with youth. I am not bragging, but simply trying to set the tone for this blog. Maybe it is a little reckless sometimes to give when I should be doing something else with my money. But, I’ve chosen to give without regard to the consequences of certain things and because I know God will take care of me. My parents taught me that it is important to give, even if it may hurt us.

I have many people within my life (whether professionally, personally, work-related,  that I just know) who sit atop of the mountain and look down at us real folk in the valley. But, I am not really sure of what they see. Maybe they weren’t spanked enough as kids? Maybe they weren’t people who were told they had to work hard, but given everything. And that brings up a side point…If YOU aren’t earning it then don’t say it is yours. If YOU are given everything, then please don’t make excuses for everything else. Everyone wants a bail out, but some depend on it and some just use it when needed. Anyways, I digress…

Recently I had the opportunity to have a discussion where a couple stated they were doing something out of the goodness of their heart, but yet expected something in return. I am just not sure how one can do something for goodness with an expectation attached to it (for themselves at least). That is like saying ‘I will only do those things that are right IF it makes me feel good’.

The apostle Paul wrote a letter to the Church of Philippi (maybe many letters combined) and visited the city to help them establish their Christian faith. In the book of Philippians, Paul writes to the church and describes how they should act and the things they need to do in order to establish a solid Christian faith and to help fend off divisions in the church and the teaching of false prophets. Scholars believe there are truly many reasons for Paul’s writing of the letter(s). One particular piece of scripture (Philippians 2:4) reads “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others”. When I read this scripture I can interpret it as many things, but for sure I think it applies to the couple from above. They wanted to do something nice as long as it applied to their own interest(s) as well. Not their own interest of being a Christian, but something along the lines of money or a gift in return. Christ wants us to do the right things and do them without regard on how we will be paid for our acts. The Lord our God will take care of us and our needs. It is when we enter into things with expectations and when we expect reward that we suffer. God does not give to our level of desire; he gives to our level of need and our love for Him. That’s it. No more, no less.

When we live on a mountain sometimes we believe that things are just as easy to roll up the mountain path as they are to come down. Whether or not my readers get what I am trying say in this blog I hope you take at least this from it. God will provide you your needs and in order for you to establish a strong relationship with God, do not enter into giving with the expectation of receiving. Proverbs 19:17 reads “Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed”. The word “poor” doesn’t necessarily mean just money poor, it can be advice poor, or time poor, or in need of other services.

That couple I was referring to, well, it is unfortunate because I am unsure they have the eyes to see past their noses. I hope one day they can see outside of the foggy windows of their glass house because it may be too late. Yes, Christ did die for our sins but I am not one who believes we can be reckless and ignorant because of it. I still, and deeply, believe that God is our judge and he will let us know in the end. Christ’s death is NOT a free pass for being a sinful human. There is so much more to it than that…

Give because it fills your heart with goodness, not because it fills your pockets with money.

Take care and God Bless!

 

 

 

 

Change, Lessons from Chuck Connors

Change, Lessons from Chuck Connors
Daniel McGee, MPA
July 26, 2014

 

I woke up this morning way too early. A day I could actually sleep in and at 5:50 AM I heard the sounds of a Three Stooges short-episode from the television I had left on all night. Oops! Never-the-less I turned over on the couch giggled a little and tried to drift back to sleep. It just didn’t happen. Then, at 6:00 AM old episodes of Chuck Connors and The Rifleman aired. I watched the first show and got me a cup of coffee in between the next.

I sat and watched for quite some time and it hit me. Wow, this television show embodies everything that is great about America! Or at least should be great.  I watched as this tall, commanding fella walks around and greets people with a smile. I watched as he talked rational lessons with his son, always making the most of each teachable moment. I watched as he used a high moral standard to thoughtfully dissect situations. And I watched as he proudly carried his rifle only to use it when necessary and as needed.

Of course, my mind doesn’t work like many. I sat and watched the episodes with anticipation of what Lucas McCain would do next, but all the while was thinking to myself, ‘how did our society get away from character’? President Obama ran with a slogan “Change We Can Believe In”, but my question has always been, what change? What change is it exactly that we need? Why change?

You remember the old adage don’t you? Don’t change what isn’t broke…But somehow, we look at the world through a very skewed lens. We forget how our country started and we forget the standards of character set long ago. I mean when was the last time you heard someone refer to a person as a gentleman or a lady, only because of their character? Chivalry refers to an old order or requirement for medieval knights. Dictionary.com defines chivalry as “(1) the sum of the ideal qualifications of a knight, including courtesy, generosity, valor, and dexterity in arms” and “(5) gallant warriors or gentlemen”.  Do we have such people and do we still have a society where the majority is for the majority?  Business is corrupt. Politics is corrupt. I know a lot of people who go to church and who would con you out of your shirt if they could.

I don’t believe chivalry is dead, but I do believe we have allowed ourselves to be so selfish and so invested on being liked, we’ve forgotten that our actions speak louder than words. We don't act with chivalry, common sense, or a high moral standard, so why would anyone believe our words? The President said he wanted change and we certainly got it. We are now more despised by the world than maybe at any time in history. Why is this? Because his words and actions don’t match. How many times have we heard him speak from his soapbox about Israel being an ally, yet our government has done little to support Israel and funneled millions (if not billions) to Palestine and their Hamas controlled government?

But I digress, because I don’t want to make this about President Obama. It is about us as a society. We are always looking for an angle to accomplish things and never seem to be willing to just be ladies and gentlemen about it. Never willing to be open and honest. If we cannot accomplish something society never wants to admit it. Somehow, lying about our inability to do something is better than admitting we can’t.

Maybe I’m being a little sentimental. You see change is subjective and just because the change I want is Rifleman-esque does not mean I am with the majority. However, I am going to end this little rant of a blog with some questions for my readers…

1. What would you do if everyone was upfront and honest with you?
2. How would you feel if someone held the door open for you? Allowed you to move in front of them at the grocery line because you have only few items versus their cart full?
3. When was the last time, instead of becoming defensive, you took an opportunity to have a thoughtful discussion with someone you disagree with?
4. When we teach our children do we use only one method? Do we employ various methods? Are any of those methods sitting down and explaining chivalry?

Change sure is subjective. But, I think I am right on this. I’d love to be known as a generous person with a rational way about me. I’d love to be remembered for doing the right things. It will only be through my actions that people will remember. Not any of my words. If I could have the character that Lucas McCain had in The Rifleman that would be great. I don’t mind admitting I need some change. I’d love to be that gallant warrior and gentleman. We need some change, we need to look at how we currently act and maybe put a little Rifleman in our life…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References:

chivalry. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged. Retrieved July 26, 2014, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/chivalry

Photo Credits:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rifleman#mediaviewer/File:Chuck_Connors_Johnny_Crawford_The_Rifleman_1960.JPG