Pain Management

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Did you ever think that Sigmund Freud would be found in the pages of RECOIL OFFGRID? Freud is often cited as the originator of the pleasure/pain principle. This principle suggests that we’re born into pleasure and avoid pain at all costs. The problem is that we don’t always have control over pain. And when it comes to pain management, there can be all kinds of shades of gray as to how it feels and how we respond to it. Our mindset is probably the most important factor in dealing with both acute and chronic pain. Tools, such as medication, are also helpful in easing pain.

The Psychology of Pain

Everyone handles pain differently. Pain management has both a physical component and an emotional component. Physical pain can be different from one individual to the next because of our different genetic makeups. The emotional component also varies based on past experiences associated with pain. The patient’s perspective of their experience is different than my perception of their pain. This is what makes treatment of pain difficult as a physician.

I think that understanding the patient and their past experiences is the key to understanding how they handle pain. Some people will be tough as nails and work through pain and injury to complete their mission. Others will crumple on simple tasks, because they don’t mentally handle their pain well. About half of the treatment of pain is listening and understanding the patient’s perception of what the pain is and how it debilitates them. The other half of treatment is creating a plan that gives the person hope for a better tomorrow.

 

back pain management

Above: Even those who exercise regularly and eat well can often experience sudden pain. Don’t be cavalier about it. Over-exerting yourself with the assumption that it will “just go away” may make a bad situation worse.

In order to work through pain, it takes some mental fortitude on the patient’s part and some words of encouragement from everyone else. Understand that there’s a diference between pain and injury. Pain is something you can mentally work through and overcome temporarily to complete your mission. Focus on anything besides what’s causing the pain, and you’ll succeed. Take one step at a time. Sing one song at a time. Pick a landmark ahead and focus on reaching that goal. Pain will want to draw you back to giving in to it, but fight on. However, an injury may need to be addressed before continuing on with the mission. Maybe you lacerated your leg on a rock, and it needs attention. Maybe you fell and broke a bone. Perhaps you need to fashion a splint (check out Dr. Joe Alton’s article “Medical Improvisations” in Issue 36 of RECOIL OFFGRID). Treat the injury to the best of your ability.

Inflammation

We almost all recognize inflammatory pain. That throbbing, aching sensation that limits mobility, especially in a joint, can happen in any scenario. When an injury occurs to tissue, the body increases blood flow to the area. The blood carries cells from your immune system to help repair any damage. The area of concern becomes red and warm to touch due to the increased blood flow. Along with the blood comes increased swelling, from the by-product of what the inflammatory mediators are doing to the affected tissue. The pain comes not only from the injury and damaged tissue, but also from the swelling within the tissue. This is your body’s way of trying to keep you from further injury by making you limit your activity.

You may be familiar with the RICE mnemonic that was introduced by Dr. Gabe Mirkin in 1978. It has long been a standard procedure for acute musculoskeletal injuries. Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation were thought to be important in the first 24 to 48 hours of injury. The idea behind rest was to prevent further injury. Ice, compression, and elevation were to be used to decrease the amount of swelling in the injured area. Recently, there have been arguments against this model, including from Mirkin himself. He has suggested that rest and ice may not be the best after all and that this treatment slows healing. He now advocates for movement, and no ice, for the acute injury. Just stick to compression to limit swelling and elevation to help the blood flow return to the heart.

When should an anti-inflammatory medication such as ibuprofen or naproxen be used? Well, that depends. If you want the damaged tissue to repair itself in a natural fashion, then don’t use an anti-inflammatory. The tissue will take time to heal, though, and you may not be able to afford that time in a bug-out situation. If, on the other hand, you need to move through the pain, you could take the medications as needed. Anti-inflammatories work well with acute pain. When there’s no pill to take, you could forage for wild onion or garlic. These have anti-inflammatory properties and also boost your immune system. You might be lucky to find a willow tree. The inner bark contains salicylate-like properties, which will act like aspirin. The downside is that these options won’t be as potent as ibuprofen, but they may provide some relief that allows you to get back to safety.

Neuralgia

When pain comes from the nerve, it’s called neuralgia. Neuropathic pain can be elicited centrally or peripherally. When peripheral pain occurs, it can be due to lack of blood supply to the nerve (e.g., advanced diabetes) or metabolic deficiencies (e.g., vitamin B12 deficiency or thyroid hormone deficiency). This usually occurs in a fairly chronic setting and isn’t an acute event. It can feel like a numb sensation or no sensation at all. It may also feel like a tingling sensation. When the pain comes from a central location, it can be something pressing on a nerve near the spinal cord (e.g. tumor or intervertebral disc) or something that severed the nerve (e.g. trauma). The pain can be mild and consist of a pins-and-needles sensation, or it can be severe like an electric shock or burn that doesn’t go away. This can be seen in both an acute setting as well as chronic, as in a bulging intervertebral disc.

pain management work injury

Above: Above: Pain can be influenced by any number of factors, including age, activity level, pre-existing injuries, and heredity, just to name a few. If the onset of pain doesn’t improve with rest or is accompanied by other problems, seek immediate medical attention.

In a survival situation, the more common causes of neuralgia are from trauma. If you inadvertently cut yourself with an edged weapon (acute peripheral neuralgia) or fall from an elevated position and injure your back (acute central neuralgia), the solution to improve your situation isn’t easy. In the event of a severed nerve, you first need to stop the bleeding associated with the injury. The nerve will likely retract, and if there’s no immediate attention, there could be permanent damage and loss of function. Depending on which nerve is cut and what muscle it’s associated with, movement to safety may be a challenge. If your back is injured to the point where a disc between the vertebrae has been “slipped” or even herniated, the fix isn’t a quick one either. This too could affect mobility and, ultimately, your safety in a survival setting. Keep in mind that with the trauma you’ll also likely have musculoskeletal injury, which will hinder movement.

In a hospital setting, with a back injury, a combination of muscle relaxers, narcotics, and steroids (or anti-inflammatories) would be ideal. In this case, an anti-inflammatory would be needed due to the severity of inflammation and lack of mobility. The muscle relaxers would help with mobility by lessening the pain of muscle spasms. The narcotics are great for severe and acute pain management, but should not be used for chronic conditions. People tend to build a tolerance to narcotics, so the longer they’re used, the less effective they become. Some people are so afraid of their chronic pain that they depend on their narcotics as a crutch rather than face their fears associated with the pain. This situation has contributed to the “opioid crisis.”

Marijuana’s Role in Pain Management

The “wacky tobacky,” as my uncle used to call it, has been used for thousands of years for its medicinal properties. The popularity in the past few years in the U.S. has likely centered on revenue more than around healing potential. However, I’ve had many patients try it for chronic pain with good success. I don’t believe that it has been shown to help with acute pain.

weed tea

Above: Various glass bottles with CBD oil, THC tincture and hemp leaves on a marble background. Copy space, mockup. Cosmetics CBD oil

Although there’s ongoing research on the use of marijuana for pain relief, there isn’t much known about why it works. The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is something in our body that naturally produces some amounts of cannabinoids. The ECS seems to be involved in helping with pain management, inflammation, appetite, anxiety, sleep, mood, and many more aspects of our body’s homeostatic mechanisms. Whether our body produces it naturally, or we consume it in the form of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) or CBD (cannabidiol), we have two known receptors in our body where it has its effect. The CB1 receptor is generally associated with the central nervous system and helps with pain. The CB2 receptor is generally associated with the peripheral nervous system and helps with inflammation. Understand that these are huge generalizations and that each receptor likely has other roles as well.

In my professional experience, THC has been extremely helpful in people with chronic pain management and cancer. I’ve seen people reduce the amount of narcotics they consume once they switch to marijuana. I’ve also recommended it for patients with cancer who’ve lost their appetite. It has been really good at boosting their appetite to get them through their chemotherapy treatments. The downside of lighting up is the possibility of a fast heart rate (tachycardia), anxiety, paranoia, and cyclic vomiting syndrome. Many states now have medical marijuana dispensaries that are controlled by the government and filled with red tape.

CBD, usually in oil form, works a little differently than THC, and its mechanism of action isn’t completely understood. I’ve seen people use this with great success on chronic inflammation. It doesn’t work with acute pain management at all, in my professional experience. The downside of using CBD oil is its expense and the amount of time it takes to start working, often weeks.

offgrid cannabis map

Source: www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/cam/hp/cannabis-pdq

In Summary

Pain is a poorly understood phenomenon. Understanding the difference between pain and injury can get you through a difficult and traumatic situation. Knowing basic medical treatments can be helpful in stabilizing the injury. To treat pain properly, it helps to know what type of pain source you’re facing. The medications can then be directed accordingly. Keep in mind, in an austere setting, you may need to be creative with your treatments. The more you know about herbal medicine, the better prepared you’ll be to offer assistance. Remember that pain management is also a mental challenge, especially in a remote location. Stay positive and break things down to manageable tasks. If you have chronic pain, the challenge is overcoming the demons that prevent you from moving forward. An acute injury on top of chronic pain can seem impossible to overcome, but you can do it. Take baby steps and keep moving!

Further Education:

About the Author:

David L. Miller, DO, FACOI, is an internist in private practice for 20 years. His experiences away from the office have included time as a fight doctor in regional MMA events and as a team physician for 10 years at a mid-major university in the Midwest. Currently, he serves as the lead medical instructor for the Civilian Crisis Response team based out of Indianapolis.

WARNING:

This article is meant to be a general overview and is not a replacement for medical advice or training. Consult with your doctor before attempting any of the techniques described here.

Vertx Gamut 2.0 Loadout: The Office Escape Bag

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Unless you’re one of the fortunate few who gets to work from home every day, you probably work in an office, out in the field, or at some other remote location. I work approximately 14 miles from my house, and am lucky that between myself and home is my wife’s office and my children’s school. I like to think of these places as “checkpoints” along my route. In the event of an emergency that doesn’t allow me to drive to these places, I have the plan of walking or borrowing a bike. For this every day scenario, the Vertx Gamut 2.0 makes the cut for an escape pack to get us home. 

vertx gamut 2.0 open


The contents of this bag are designed to help me along the way, where I’ll be traversing a multitude of environments that include large agriculture fields, trailer parks, subdivisions, and industrial complexes. All these spaces are taken into consideration for ease of movement, potential resupply points, and possible threats. Route planning became an important aspect of this with several alternate routes. The shortest distance is the last leg, where I’d have children in tow. 

vertx gamut 2.0

The Pack

The base of the kit is a Vertx Gamut 2.0 Backpack in gray to maintain a lower profile in the urban jungle. At 25 liters, the backpack is just the right size to not overload myself and to keep some maneuverability. The straps are comfortable for long-term wear, and there’s a waist belt. The thin waist belt offers little in weight management, but will keep the pack from bouncing around during strenuous movements. I also prefer a pack that has a decent amount of internal organization, and this one delivers. Completed, this backpack kit weighs 22.2 pounds. Usually the pack sits in the back of my SUV, so its compact size is a plus for other cargo considerations.

Stuffing the Vertx Gamut 2.0

Externally, both sides contain water bottle pockets. These are left empty — instead, I use the pouch directly behind them to keep two 700ml Smartwater bottles (one per side). Keeping the bottles inside the pouch helps prevent them from falling out and the backpack from being too wide. Within the back panel is an empty 50-ounce CamelBak bladder that can be filled along the way. The top pocket has quick-access items that include spare prescription glasses, wrist-mounted GPS, Gorilla tape, and a headlamp. Lastly, the front compartment has a small lightweight shelter kit containing a Bushcraft Outfitters 10×7-foot tarp, four aluminum tent stakes, and varying lengths of 550 cord. 

Internally, the pack has a few zippered pockets and is mostly lined with loop Velcro. I affixed a Blue Force Gear Ten Speed Triple M4 Mag pouch to the top to keep more items close at hand without having to open up the entire bag. This includes a spare Glock 9mm 24-round magazine and a Yaesu FT-60R handheld ham radio (yes, I have my license). The radio has a small antenna and a large slim-jim antenna nearby. In the middle is a SOF-T tourniquet. Opposite in the pen pouches is a Leatherman tool, glass breaker, Sharpie marker, and lighter. 

The inside portion has two small zipper pouches that include spare batteries, zip ties, ExoTac Rip Spool, sillcock key, small mirror, notebook, and a Southord PXS-14 lockpick set. The lower pocket has wet wipes and an Aquamira Frontier Pro water filter. This filter works in conjunction with the Smartwater bottles and CamelBak bladder to keep me hydrated while on the move and resupply from the river or using the Sillcock key at commercial buildings.

In the main bag compartment is:

  •  First aid kit (booboo kit)
  •   Vortex Solo R/T 8×36 monocular
  •   Snowpeak cook set with fuel, spork, and mini stove
  •   1 serving Mountain House Mac & Cheese
  •   Compressed toilet paper in Ziploc bag
  •   Food bag (trail mix, granola bars, candy, etc.) — all contents are kid-friendly and can be eaten while on the move
  •   The bottom of the main compartment houses a waterproof bag with a hard-shell jacket, spare socks, shemagh, and work gloves.
  •   ESEE Knives PR4

Closing Thoughts

This bag is meant to sustain myself for movement to my wife, then to our children on an abnormal workday. It supplements my first line of gear carried on my body — Glock 19, pocketknife, bandanna, ankle trauma kit, and SureFire Stiletto flashlight. The radio is for the link-up between my wife and myself, as her bag has a similar one, as well as listening on the local stations for more information. The radio battery is checked weekly during the local net call.

The loaded bag is a comfortable weight for either my wife or myself to carry individually for the entire trek, in the event that we need to switch out the load. The purpose of three water storage items is to be able to drink on the move and have the ability to hand a bottle to my wife or the children without needing to stop. The included on-the-go snacks are mainly for the kids, but all are high in sugars, and Mountain House Mac & Cheese is their favorite in case we get stuck somewhere for an extended period of time and are able to boil some water with the small cook set. Having desirable snacks, such as candy, makes for a good bribe to keep the kids quiet and moving. 

Overall, the Vertx Gamut 2.0 and contents are no-frills and are meant to sustain me, my wife, and two children for a day-ish-long hike, over not-so-difficult terrain. The children’s school is the closest checkpoint to the house at 5.5 miles. It’ll be slow moving with them in tow, but the gear we have will make it somewhat easier. Still, route planning, physical fitness, and family communications are the most important elements in our plan to make it home safely.

More on EDC and Preparedness:

  • Layering your EDC and Survival Gear, read here.
  • For a layout of what to put into a Secondary kit, here's the article.

Situational Awareness & Threat Perception

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We don’t need to extol the value of everyday preparedness — if you’re reading this article, you already know its importance. But being prepared without looking prepared is a much more daunting task, and requires a conscious decision to blend into the environment. It offers the ability to go about your daily routine without being noticed or drawing attention. Some call this the gray man principle, others call it simply maintaining normality. The element of surprise can be paramount when it comes to addressing threats or other dangerous situations you may encounter. Alternatively, blending in can also help reduce the likelihood of being a target in the first place. In any environment, threat perception is key. 

One of the elements often discussed when referencing this philosophy is situational awareness — the ability to pay attention to your environment in a way that helps you decipher and analyze the things occurring around you. This is important in order to increase your chances of being able to appropriately respond to incidents. In a lot of ways, it’s the foundation for preparedness in general.

An important component of situational awareness is threat perception. Threat perception is our ability to evaluate the nature and degree of risk an individual, a group of people, or the environment itself may pose. When referencing people, our job is to evaluate whether a person is a perceived threat, real threat, or no threat at all. Correctly analyzing threats gives us the ability to react and present countermeasures as quickly as possible. Contrary to the super-power suggesting ideas that situational awareness typically drags around, the goal should always be to perceive things correctly, not obsess over each thing that could in some way be a threat. 

rossi pawn revolver

Above: Small revolvers, such as this inexpensive Rossi R351, can easily slip into a jacket pocket. They can also be fired repeatedly from that position.

There are many valid reasons someone in your vicinity might be carrying a weapon, just as you have valid reasons for carrying your own. However, it’s wise to be aware of anyone around you who might be armed. In some sense, this grounds Heinlein's idea that an “armed society is a polite society.” This information can be cross-referenced with the presence (or absence) of other warning signs, such as nervous or aggressive behavior, to indicate whether an armed individual might be about to use that weapon for nefarious purposes. No method of identifying a weapon is foolproof. Regardless of how proficient you become, you’ll never have a 100-percent success rate. Over time, you can get better and more competent at identifying who’s carrying a weapon; however, there are other factors you may not be able to gauge, such as legality and intent. A lot of people carry firearms and knives as part of their everyday carry and are perfectly legal in doing so.

Most of the indicators we’ll be discussing below are related to people who are illegally carrying, inexperienced in carrying, or are using improvised methods. Proper gear and training can and will negate many (if not all) of the cues mentioned below.

Let’s look at a few common indicators related to carrying weapons, more specifically handguns.

Physical Cues: Holsters (Or Lack Thereof)

Garden-variety criminals typically don’t use holsters. Carrying a holster on the belt makes it hard to discard the weapon and holster in a speedy fashion. For instance, if a crime is committed and the gun is tossed, having to deal with a holster only slows down the process. Improvised carry of handguns in the waistband or pocket typically allows for quick disposal with little effort.

To identify a threat, look for other methods and modes of carrying that may seem unorthodox in regards to normal concealment methods. Primary areas to scan are the front of the waistband, small of the back, and pockets.

Bulky Clothing and Bulges

As an early indicator of threat perception, look for bulges in clothing, or bulky layers which may be used for concealment. Weapons often print underneath outer garments, and bulkier clothing is a simple way to mitigate that. Sometimes printing is extremely obvious; other times it’s harder to identify. Printing tends to be more pronounced when the subject is twisting, turning, or bending over. Basically, any activity causing a subject's clothing to pull tight against their body can be a great time to identify a weapon, especially along the waistline.

green hoodie printing front

Above: Subject is carrying handgun in hoodie pocket, which is very visible through the fabric.

Is their clothing sagging on one side? If so, what could be weighing it down? This can be very pronounced when the subject is carrying in the pocket of a jacket or in the front pocket of a hoodie. But don’t jump to conclusions — other personal items like a large smartphone will do this as well.

In addition, if someone avoids taking off layers of clothing when indoors or in situations where they normally would, it could be a clue. Extra layers and bulk help conceal weapons, but only when it makes sense. The environment, weather, and social setting all have an influence on how people dress. Use these factors to establish what’s normal and look for anomalies.

Mismatched or Odd Clothing

This could be something like extra layers when the weather is too hot to warrant wearing them. When I was working at my old agency, we had a requirement to be covered up while in public. All of our gear, including our firearm, had to be concealed during the course of our day. This didn’t apply during operations or enforcement action, but it was standard for normal business. This meant a lot of times you’d see folks wearing a 5.11 (fishing/safari-style) vest, fleece vest, or another cover garment of sorts. No matter what you do, none of those looks work well or make sense during the month of August in Texas. It’s pretty much a dead giveaway that someone has a concealed weapon.

Behavioral Cues: Strong-Side Bias

Determine the strong side of the person you’re observing in order to make an assumption as to which side they may be carrying on. We’re not talking about absolutes here, so do a quick assessment to make your determination. Some quick things to look for could be which hand they write with, shake hands with, point or gesture with, or open doors with. You can also look to see if they're wearing a watch, which is typically worn on the support side.

Another indicator is the fact they may not swing their strong arm as much, preferring to keep it closer to the concealed weapon in an attempt to hold it or keep it in place. These are all in addition to the fact most folks are right-handed, which puts the odds in your favor.

threat perception grey shirt printing back

Above: Carrying IWB on his right side, the subject is slightly twisting and showing the bottom of the weapon’s grip while on the phone.

Once you determine the dominant hand, you’ll have a high degree of certainty that this will be the hand used to initiate an event. Even when carried near the centerline of the body, such as in appendix or small-of-the-back positions, weapons will typically be oriented toward the strong side.

Restless Hands

As the saying goes, watch the hands. Look for folks who are periodically touching or trying to physically check on the condition or location of their weapon. This may be happening consciously or subconsciously, and is common for illegal carry as well as legal carry of concealed weapons. However, it’s more prominent for those who are illegally carrying a weapon due to the less-than-ideal carry methods that are often used. If someone is using a  inside-the-waistband technique, the simple act of walking is enough to cause movement with the weapon, which will require frequent adjustment. An adjustment requires more effort than a security check and may provide a better opportunity for observation.

Body Position

When it comes to hiding things, people will naturally try to use their body as a shield between the item they’re concealing and a casual observer. When this happens, it can sometimes create odd positioning of their body in an attempt to move the item out of line of sight. This can also be observed when someone engages in physical contact with another person. Whether it be unwilling contact due to a crowded environment or willing contact in the form of a hug, look for the person to awkwardly blade their body to shield their weapon or to prevent it from making physical contact with the other person.

Threat perception grey shirt cell phone

Above: Inside-the-waistband (IWB) carry on right side of subject. Rear of slide and backstrap of grip are catching the shirt fabric despite the subject trying to conceal with his forearm.

Grasping

If someone is carrying using a less-than-ideal method, they’ll typically be forced to grasp or hold the weapon during physical activity. Running, jogging, or even a brisk walk could be enough to displace a handgun stuck inside the waistband. This is also true if their preferred concealment method is inside the pocket. Look for signs of this at the onset of someone doing something physical. When the physical activity is over, look for the grasp to be released followed up by a quick adjustment.

grey shirt printing front

Above: Subject is adjusting the gun, as the lack of holster has caused the weapon to start falling too far into his pants.

Abnormal Gait

Less common, but still possible, is the carry of a weapon inside a boot or shoe, or even an ankle holster. Either way, carrying something inside the leg of your pants or inside your footwear will often cause unnatural movement. The weight and discomfort alone are typically enough to give off visible clues related to a disrupted or shorter stride.

Verbal Indicators

As simple as it may seem, what someone says may be as important as what they do. If you experience or witness someone displaying pre-assault indicators combined with very specific wording that indicates violence or the intended use of a weapon, you should treat it as such. It’s not uncommon for someone to threaten the use of a weapon prior to the actual event.

Closing Thoughts on Threat Perception

When you start to notice someone displaying these characteristics, it increases the odds they may be carrying a weapon of some sort. Is it foolproof? No. Is it automatically indicative of an impending gunfight? Certainly not. This is just one piece of the information-gathering process. If an individual displays several of these signs and also appears visibly agitated or uncomfortable, your situational awareness should be heightened, and you should seriously consider your options for escape or response if the threat escalates.

As a reminder, a lot of the same mannerisms listed above are often displayed by folks legally carrying concealed weapons, which may include you. It’s important to be aware of how we may be projecting our lawful carry, and to avoid giving up any advantage we may have. If we know what to look for when trying to identify a threat, we can avoid giving off those same cues when we’re legally carrying. It’s also dangerously naïve to assume the bad guys aren’t on the lookout for these behaviors — if anything, they may be more observant than we are, since it’s a core component of their daily survival. Experienced predators often develop a keen sense of which victims will be easy prey, and which victims might fight back.

threat perception cover

There will always be threats and serious situations outside of our control. However, we should continually seek to improve the things we can control. Threat perception is one of the many things we can and should work on. Getting better at threat perception allows us to reduce the amount of time from action to reaction. Alternatively, it also gives us the ability to effectively mount a countermeasure that’s unexpected by a bad guy. It’s hard to respond to a threat if you’re blindsided by it. As you get better at spotting weapons — and hopefully better at concealing your own — assume everyone is armed, and prepare accordingly.

About the Author

Cody Martin is the owner of Risk Strategy Group, a company focused on physical security and risk mitigation, and the founder of Option Gray. Cody spent more than 11 years in federal law enforcement, including time working in executive protection, narcotics, violent crime, and explosives. Cody was also an instructor and threat management coordinator for firearms, defensive tactics, and officer survival.

For professional Inquiries: riskstrategygroup.com

For more of his writing: optiongray.com

Situational Awareness Info Dump:

Theresa Flores: Surviving Human Trafficking

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In This Article

The public is often led to believe that human trafficking only happens in other countries. Theresa Flores is living proof that it’s been happening in the United States for a long time. It’s often linked to some very sinister people in positions of power, and no one’s immune to it. She was trafficked as a young girl in the Michigan suburbs, before the internet existed and names like Jeffrey Epstein were in the 6 o’clock news. She escaped her nightmare and not only detailed what she endured in her book, The Slave Across the Street, but became a respected authority on the topic and relentlessly tours the country working with other survivors to fight this perverse form of conscription.

In Theresa’s words, human trafficking is a “silent epidemic.” It’s orchestrated by highly sophisticated criminals who use intimidation, extortion, bribery, and violence to continue its onslaught. Various businesses are fronts for it. The dark web is a marketplace for victims being bought and sold. Social media, apps, interactive video games, and hangouts where children congregate draw predators out of the woodwork looking for victims to exploit. Their future may include sexual and emotional abuse, beatings, organ harvesting, forced labor, torture, or murder.

We spoke with Theresa Flores about her experience, what the public needs to know to protect themselves and their kids, and how her organization, SOAP (Save Our Adolescents from Prostitution) Project, raises awareness. The question then becomes, will you dismiss her personal account as an isolated incident that could never happen to your loved ones, or will you be convinced that it deserves more coverage than other hot topics on the evening news ever did? After reading her story, and our feature on this topic elsewhere in this issue, we hope you’ll agree that no child should have to suffer through this kind of sordid opportunism.

ywca

After hearing Flores speak, other survivors often get the courage to confide in her and seek advice.

RECOIL OFFGRID: Where’d you grow up?

Theresa Flores: All over the place. That was probably one of the things that made me more vulnerable than the average kid — we moved every two years. I was born in Ohio and my dad got a job with General Electric, so we moved all over Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan. 

Tell us about how your experience being trafficked began.

TF: In the middle of my freshman year in high school, we moved to a new area that was outside of a big city. It was very different for me and fast-paced. A boy from school started to notice me and asked if I wanted to go out, but I wasn’t old enough to date. For about six months he groomed me, but as a kid you think they’re courting you because you’re getting a lot of compliments. One afternoon, he asked me if I wanted a ride home from school, but he didn’t take me home. Instead, we went to his house. I was drugged and raped. After that, he and the group that he was in, which was like a middle-class, Middle Eastern gang, ended up blackmailing me with photos they took while I was drugged and selling me to men for the next two years.

theresa flores age 17

Stratford, Connecticut, 1983. After escaping, she struggled to heal during her senior year of high school.

What year was this and how long did it go on for?

TF: I met him in 1979, but it really began in 1980. It was my sophomore year and all of my junior year. I was 17 when I got out.

How were they orchestrating this?

TF: The men behind it would call on a private line I had at my house around midnight several nights a week and demand that I appear right away. I would sneak out of my house, and they’d pick me up. They’d take me to these really nice houses all around the area. I’d go into a downstairs area where all the men were at. I remember seeing guns and money.

They would put me in a bedroom, and many men would come in and out of there over the course of several hours. Then, they’d take me home. No one ever asked me who I was, how old I was, or where I was from. Nothing like that. They went in and pretty much did their business and laughed about it. Several of the same guys that I went to high school with were in charge and always around. They were always watching me to make sure I knew who I belonged to and didn’t get out of line.

Miraculously, my dad ended up getting transferred to another state far away, so I didn’t tell anyone I was leaving. I was able to escape, and I know they were looking for me afterward and priming other people to continue this.

flores prayer

Flores feels prayer is just as important in combating the evils of trafficking before an outreach.

What did it ultimately culminate in?

TF: The low point was when I was taken to a dingy motel in inner-city Detroit where I was auctioned off to the highest bidder over and over and raped by multiple men. I strongly believe that, because I was left there afterward, they had no intention of taking me home. The sun was coming up, and my dad was home.

There was a waitress in the café next to the hotel I went into who helped me and called the police. They came and took me home. The policeman was nice and understood what was happening, but I wasn’t in any mental or physical position to confide in him at all. I think my parents assumed I’d been out partying. The next day my dog went missing. I received a call from these guys, heard my dog in the background, then heard a gunshot, so I wasn’t going to be talking because of the threats.

I firmly believe that they probably would’ve taken me somewhere cross-country if the police hadn’t come. When I left there that kind of affected their plans. I went back to school that next week, and they took me out during school. They’d come up to me and say, “We’re leaving now.” It still happened even after that night, but much less. I think they were grooming another girl as well. Finally, it really started to slow down at the end of the school year. They took me after school one day to someone’s house where a bunch of their friends were. It was just a bad situation. I got beat up a bit and went home. It was probably the next week or two that we got transferred.

After I moved, I’d be working as a waitress somewhere and there’d be a phone call for me, which was weird because I’d just moved there and no one knew me. Either there’d be no one on the other end or a man would say, “Hello Theresa,” and I’d hang up. Weird things would happen, but we lived a thousand miles away. I was always looking over my shoulder, and it wasn’t until my senior year in high school when I decided to call the police in Birmingham, Michigan, which is where I’d lived. I think that the police officers that recovered me may have been in Detroit. I tried to find the records of when they brought me home, but I’m not sure if they even filed any. I told whoever I was on the phone with that something had happened to me a few years ago and gave them a brief scenario of it, and they basically told me that with the statute of limitations there was nothing they could do. That was disheartening, to say the least.

What can you tell us about the men behind it?

TF: I looked into this a lot and worked with the FBI on it. It seems they were part of the Chaldean Mafia. They’re very much still involved in prostitution, weapon and drug trafficking, and are extremely dangerous. They’re primarily in the Detroit area, but have spread to the San Diego and Phoenix areas. When I was working with detectives, they told me the group was very difficult to catch and lots of people are scared of them. They’re a very rich, powerful population, especially in Detroit.

Were any of them apprehended?

TF: No, they weren’t. By the time I got the attorney general’s office to listen to me and reported the names, it was probably 12 years ago. I did an MSNBC special and was on the Today show and had to give the names of the men to be able to air the segment. They didn’t say who it was during the broadcast, but their lawyers had to do some background checks. All I know is they came back to me and said that it was good to go.

There were three main guys that went to school with me. I’m on the Facebook page for my high school graduation year, so some of them know who these guys are and have let me know that a couple have died. Those two were not the head of it though. One was shot inside a party store that he owned or his family ran. The other committed suicide. The third, who was the main guy, is still alive to my knowledge. The last time I Googled him he lived in Novi, Michigan.

This could happen in any neighborhood, though. There are many groups involved in trafficking. People shouldn’t think that they’re safe just because there aren’t any Chaldean Mafia members in their area.

theresa flores speaking to crowd

Do you know how they put the word out on the street about you to others when you were being trafficked?

TF: I don’t. It’s a tight-knit culture. I was in church with a lot of them as well. I remember a high school girl I sang with in the choir — she’d made a comment about not being allowed to speak to me. I think it’s one of those things where everyone knows who needs to know. Somehow, they’re all well connected like any mafia.

Tell us how you created SOAP Project and what it does.

TF: I was giving talks and someone asked me to speak in Michigan. Obviously, I was pretty terrified to go back there, but I felt safe with this group. In the beginning, I always had police protection. One night when I went to Michigan to do a talk, I was coming home and got lost. I had a meltdown, panicked, and wondered what can I do about this? These audiences are so interested in stopping this, but I didn’t know what to tell them about how to stop it.

I have a lot of survivors reach out to me who want to help or are just not doing well. I thought, what can we do to help the girl who’s in it right here, right now? I thought of my worst moment in that hotel in Detroit and thought that’s where we need to help that girl — right there in that hotel. It just came to me. I decided what we’d do is reach out to hotels and motels where these girls are at, let them know, and educate them. That’s how it was born 10 years ago.

My team consists of survivors, counselors, law enforcement, retired firemen, and religious personnel who help in many ways, including in prayer, and are from seven states. They pay their own way to do this and work tirelessly to keep me safe, to organize the volunteers during an outreach, and to collaborate with local authorities when a victim is recognized. They also work with survivors who need advice.

soap project badges

Your organization distributes soap bars to these hotels in areas where you expect a high concentration of trafficking with a number to call, right?

Theresa Flores: Yes, the number goes to Polaris Project, which is in Washington D.C. It’s a 24-hour hotline. They’re one of the lead human trafficking organizations in the country. They get massive funding from the government and are a non-governmental organization (NGO).

How do you work with survivors?

TF: We don’t actually do the rescues. It has happened by chance, but we give out missing children posters along with other items. We’ve been in hotels talking to staff where these girls are standing right there, but we let law enforcement handle all that. As I was speaking, people were coming up to me saying it’d happened to them too. I could see how broken they still were. Even though I’ve been in abusive relationships, I’ve had a blessed life, went to school, and decided I wanted to help these ladies because many don’t have families and the resources that I’ve had. I started doing retreats with them. We fundraise with volunteers and pay for their airline tickets. We had 25 survivors come to our first retreat in Columbus, Ohio. We just kind of poured into them — mind, body, and soul.

We teach them classes about how to share their story in public, how to do an interview, we hold self-defense classes, teach them how to cook, and be a good mom. We have healthy relationship classes. A lot of times they’ll go into domestic violence relationships because they don’t know any better. They don’t know how to be loved after something like that. I started doing the retreats probably eight years ago and that has just blown up. We’ve had over 200 women at our retreats.

I have an office in Monroe, Michigan, where we have case management. If law enforcement recovers someone, they can call us and we’ll have someone that’ll go get them immediately. We have housing arranged with the Salvation Army to get them a bed, and the next day we can help them get their life back together. We have free trauma-trained counseling with a lady named Lennie Alcorn who is very experienced in these matters, and we have a support group that meets once a month as well. We’ve created an amazing support system that they never had before.

purse and revolver

What do you think the most common misconception is about human trafficking?

Theresa Flores: There’s two. One is that she wants to do it. They see a woman on the street or a woman checking into a hotel that’s not dressed very nice, and they judge her without knowing there’s absolutely no way that someone would want to sell their body 20 times a night. She’s being put up to it. The other is that it only happens in other countries — people still think that.

In your TED Talk segment you referred to human trafficking as a “silent epidemic.” Why?

Theresa Flores: We have hundreds of thousands of kids being trafficked. There are 1.3-million kids missing at any given time in the United States. That’s a huge number. We should be able to get funding for everything we do, but we don’t. We have 3,500 kids a month who go missing just here in Columbus. Granted, the majority are usually recovered within the first few days following their disappearance, but those that aren’t have a much higher chance of becoming victims of trafficking. It’s an epidemic solely because of the kids, but the kids are 50 percent. There’s another whole side to it that involves adult men and women. We focus a lot on the kids because 77 percent of all kids being trafficked will go on to become adult prostitutes. They’re still considered trafficked because usually they’ll have a pimp or someone blackmailing them.

How have you taught your own children about your experiences and the world of human trafficking?

Theresa Flores: You walk into my house and see boxes of my books and flyers, so there’s no way they couldn’t know. I’ve had them volunteer for me as well. My son’s in college now and helps map out hotels for me and call them to find out how many rooms they have. My oldest daughter works part time for me, runs the whole SOAP Project, and handles all the soap orders. My middle daughter is going to be a child psychologist and graduates this year. My husband is VP of our board. Everyone in my family has been affected by my coming out and sharing what happened. They’ve all been devastated. I can remember each and every time they found out and the response that they had, from my uncle to my mom to my dad. That was the hardest time right there, so they’re all a huge part of this.

I remember one time thinking this would never happen to my kids since they know so much about it, but then I thought it was foolish to think that because I was a single mom for 10 years. If someone came up to my son, who is the only boy in the family, and said, “Hey, I got your mom, you need to go do this,” or “I know where your sisters are and you need to do this,” he’d have done it in a heartbeat. The most important thing is for parents not to be foolish. This can happen to any kid.

Something that really stood out was how your victimizers had enough confidence to do what they did and know that you wouldn’t go to the authorities.

Theresa Flores: It’s funny you say that. The two things that people probably say to me the most is number one, “Why didn’t you just tell your parents or the officers that day?” The other is, “Why did you fall for this? They probably weren’t going to do anything. Why didn’t you just walk away?” People honestly don’t even consider you’re a child. It’d even be hard for an adult. If someone came up to you and said, “I’ve got your wife, I’m gonna kill her. What’s your bank card number?” A lot of people would do whatever it took, right?

theresa flores candice owens

Partnerships with local groups are essential to rescuing victims around the country.

What do you think potential victims should do to stack the odds in their favor to convict the individuals behind this? The obvious answer is go to the police, but what other steps should they take?

TF: That’s tough because most victims are never going to prosecute or consider going after these guys. There are several reasons why, but that’s why we have so few convictions. We have no one to testify, no witnesses, so it’s difficult to make a case without her there. I believe that’s why they’re not getting harsher sentences. That girl just wants her life back because she’s terrified. I’m still terrified, and I’m 54 years old. I have nightmares where I’m in a hotel, there’s a knock, and they’re there. If I got a phone call from the police telling me they had one of them and wanted me to testify, I’d have to think long and hard on that. Because of that, it’s difficult to say what she could do to protect herself.

What do you think the most discouraging part of this battle is?

Theresa Flores: All of it, but the most discouraging thing is that a lot of law enforcement and higher officials are involved in this. That’s why we’re not getting anywhere. No one is going after the demand. I can give out 2-million bars of soap, and it’s not going to change it. We have to go after the guys who are buying her. This issue isn’t getting solved partially because law enforcement is sometimes involved and prosecution becomes more challenging. I hate to say it, but it’s the truth. Probably 95 percent of the survivors I know were forced to have sex with law enforcement. I wasn’t; that’s not my story, but I know quite a few.

How are victims typically targeted?

TF: A lot of it is through the “Romeo pimp.” The pimp is a trafficker and is the one going up to vulnerable girls. It could be girls who are poor, or her parents both work, or she’s just average looking and insecure — those are the ones especially at risk of this happening. Pimps will go up and befriend them or buy them nice things. One of the ways it happens is through these guys who act like their boyfriend. It’s very rarely kidnapping people off the street. I’d say the second biggest way is parents. We have a lot of family members who sell their kids, and it goes undetected. I think about 40 percent of the women who come to our retreats were trafficked by family members first.

What can you tell us about how victims are randomly prospected?

TF: Guys will look at a kid’s social media to see how many friends they have, what they’re complaining about, how often they’re online. We do hear a lot about social media infiltration and coercion. We had a 12-year-old girl in a little town here in Ohio talking to who she thought was a 14-year-old boy, and he convinced her to meet him at the library. Thankfully, she went with another friend and found out it was a 22-year-old guy, and then she alerted who she needed to and got lucky after that, but social media is a huge way that this happens.

Even interactive games like Fortnite, where you can talk to others you don’t know, those are ways child stalkers are going after them. I think they throw out a huge net to see what they can get. The kids who are smart, have good social skills, and a good support network usually escape their grasp, but the ones that don’t are the ones who get caught. A trafficker can go up to a hundred girls in one day at a mall and maybe only one will fall for their scam that starts with something like telling her how pretty she looks, but that’s all it takes.

Is there an average age for victims?

Theresa Flores: The average age of entry into trafficking is 13. A lot of the women I see, if they were trafficked by a Romeo pimp, it’s usually around 15 to 17. But then again, I think the reason the average age goes down is because you have a lot of parents, grandparents, and step-parents trafficking their kids as young as 4 to 6 years old. I have hundreds of women’s applications and so many were trafficked very young, and those are the ones that have the hardest time recovering. Those are the ones in desperate need of help.

How can parents mitigate the risk factors?

Theresa Flores: I think a lot of parents have no clue it’s going on. It’s only by educating themselves about it. Unfortunately, not many schools even talk about this. Every college freshman orientation should have a mandatory class on it, if not sooner. Parents might assume their kids know about trafficking or that they don’t let their kids go someplace like the mall by themselves, but it’s not just that. That helps, but the parents have to get good at seeing the signs of them changing. It’s really up to all of us as a community. We’ve all seen that girl when we left the theater late at night and she’s just standing there by herself. How many of us actually go up to her and ask if we can help her or if there’s anything she needs? We don’t do that, or instead, we judge her. It’s really going to take all of us as a society to change this.

theresa flores bio

Meet Theresa Flores:

Family: Married with three children

Home: Columbus, Ohio

Recommended reading list:

The Slave Across the Street
by Theresa Flores

Slavery in the Land of the Free: A Student’s Guide to Modern Day Slavery
by Theresa Flores and PeggySue Wells

Renting Lacy: A Story of America’s Prostituted Children
by Linda Smith

A Seat at the Table: The Courage to Care About Trafficking
by Celia Williamson

Theresa Flores’ Everyday Carry

Smith & Wesson .38

Damsel in Defense purse

Favorite song: “Black Water” by the Doobie Brothers

Favorite quotes: 1) “Justice will prevail.” 2) “What one generation accepts, the next embraces.”

Personal idol: Mother Teresa

Favorite place to vacation: Vegas or the beach

Coke or Pepsi? Diet Pepsi

iPhone or Android? iPhone

Favorite Holiday: Halloween

URL: www.soapproject.org

The War on Human Trafficking is not over, read more:

  • Learn about the strategies of predators here.
  • Here's first-hand accounts of how to fight back.

Pocket Shot Pro Arrow Kit Review

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What happens when a slingshot gets it on with a bow and arrow? The Pocket Shot Pro Arrow Kit is born. Not long ago, Pocket Shot updated the classic slingshot to a circular handheld design, allowing for a smaller package with greater versatility. More recently, they took it one step further and added features to allow the handheld device to fire arrows for increased capability and lethality.

The traditional slingshot came about in the mid 1800s with the advent of vulcanized rubber. It quickly gained popularity and even became a symbol of rebellious kids like Dennis the Menace in pop culture. Pocket Shot replaced the vulcanized rubber, which can be prone to cracking and drying out, with a latex compound that increases elasticity while maintaining a smaller, more robust package. The base of the latex pouch is reinforced for added durability for using various types of projectiles without damaging the pouch, and also features a loop for use with a release. The next evolution for Pocket Shot was the addition of a “whisker biscuit” arrow rest. The biscuit is a series of fibers arranged into a donut shape that acts as a hold for arrows. The fibers are designed to permit arrow fletching to pass through without affecting stabilization of flight. The Pocket Shot design allows for easy change out of the pouch as needed with the use of the included key. 

Unboxing the Pocket Shot Pro Arrow

The Pocket Shot Pro Arrow Kit we were sent includes a wrist brace, making it more similar to a traditional slingshot or “wrist rocket” as some refer to them. The wrist brace makes it easier to get a full pull on the pouch for maximum velocity with added stability. The strap is adjustable with Velcro. Also included was an arrow release, which for the uniformed, essentially gives you a trigger instead of using your fingertips to release the bowstring. A couple of arrow nock caps were included to round out the system. The pouch is advertised as a 40-pound draw weight, making it legal for hunting in most areas (check your local laws). Inside the pouch is a nock point that gives an audible click when the arrow is properly loaded. Loading an arrow is straightforward — push the arrow into the pouch, through the whisker biscuit, and seat the nock into place.

Pocket Shot disassembled

In the Field

Shooting the Pocket Shot Pro Arrow Kit is simple. Pull the pouch to the rear and release. The author found this concept easy, but only after punching himself in the face … twice. A traditional slingshot is aimed by looking over the top and setting the intended target between the two arms. A traditional bow and arrow are aimed when the string is back, generally against the shooter’s face, and the eye looks toward the target above the arrow. The Pocket Shot seemed like a traditional slingshot, and physics being what they are, upon release the shooter’s hand came back and hit him in the mouth. After a repeated attempt, it was learned that it’s necessary to aim this product like a traditional bow and arrow rather than a slingshot to avoid a busted lip. What this represents is the learning curve with any new piece of gear and the importance of practice. Plus, simple trial and error.

pocket shot full draw

After a few sessions, the aiming became a bit more natural and arrow placement became somewhat repeatable, although sniping a squirrel from more than about 15 feet would be difficult. For reasons yet unknown, the nocks of some arrows broke upon impact with the practice bag. One side would shear off and launch into oblivion. The kit does include nock covers so perhaps this is a known issue. It’s also important to note that traditional feather vanes became damaged while loading them into the whisker biscuit. Plastic types held up much better over time without sustaining damage. Keep this in mind when you choose arrows.

Conclusions

With practice, the Pocket Shot Pro Arrow Kit can be a valuable survival tool. The size comparison to a traditional bow and arrow makes it significantly more portable and packable. Replacement parts are inexpensive and can be stockpiled, and arrows are readily available across the country. The bowhunting market’s variety of specialized broadheads gives the user an ability to tailor the tool to desired game, and possibly even use it for defense if better options aren’t available. The fact that this can also be used as a slingshot with ball bearings or even pebbles means that you have an almost limitless supply of ammunition that you don’t need to tote around, saving weight.

Pocket Shot Pro vs Collapsable Bow

The Pocket Shot is a good option for those who cannot carry a rifle for survival but want the ability to kill small to medium game. Will this replace our hunting bows? No. However, it’s much more compact, a lot of fun to shoot in the backyard, and may find a place when we go out on day trips to the mountains.

 

Further Education:

  • Archery 101: Arrow Selection and Survival Bows.
  • For a video review of the Pocket Hammer Pro, go here.
  • We made a roundup of Survival Slingshots, here's the list.

 

Ed Calderon and Ernest Emerson Team Up to Teach Surviving Inside the Killzone

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Since an early age, we’ve been conditioned to believe that there are clearly identifiable good guys and bad guys. Your first experience with this concept may have been a game of cops and robbers played with your friends, or a fairy tale where the dastardly villain is always out to get the kind-hearted prince. These stereotypes are woven into our psyche, and although as adults we realize them to be an oversimplification of reality, it’s hard not to think of bad guys as irrationally evil. After all, those of us who play by society’s rules struggle to truly understand someone who would rob, rape, murder, or commit other violent acts with no hesitation. But understand them or not, they exist among us. Thankfully Ed Calderon and Ernest Emerson offered a course teaching not only how to know the enemy, but training to get to know ourselves. 

Preparing to defend yourself against these predatory individuals means you must be realistic about their actions, their motivations, and even their thought process. They’re not so different from the rest of us. They’re rational and motivated. You might train and practice your defensive skills a few times a month, as permitted by your career; they train and practice daily because victimizing others is their career. And it’s entirely possible that they see you as the villain in their life story — the obstacle impeding them from reaching their goals.

Accepting the reality of a complex adversary is the first step to surviving an encounter with one. As Ed Calderon puts it,

“If you dehumanize the enemy, you become blind to him.”

With this in mind, Calderon drew on his experience working against ruthless cartel members in Mexico and joined forces with renowned knifemaker and combatives instructor Ernest Emerson to offer a two-day class titled “Surviving Inside the Kill Zone.” Rather than ritual-based martial arts skills, this course emphasized reality-based street fighting lessons, and each of these experienced instructors offered a unique take on how you can defend yourself in a hostile environment.

killzone ground emerson

Day One: Understand the Adversary with Ed Calderon

Ed Calderon served as the lead instructor for the first day of the course. Most of his lessons revolved around the concept of the adversarial mindset, and how it should guide your training. Those who have read our previous articles about Calderon’s courses should recall this term —
essentially, it means learning to think like your opponent, so you’ll be better prepared to face him. This is harder than it sounds, especially if you’re attempting to think like a real, multifaceted bad guy instead of the default stereotypes.

“Evil shouldn’t be like the Chupacabra. You shouldn’t be stunned when you see it.”
—Ed Calderon

Calderon broke down his adversarial mindset lessons into a few segments:

Primitive Tools

One of the first ways to understand the adversary is to look at the tools he may use. As Ed Calderon pointed out, it’s easy for those of us with weapons experience to see photos of street criminals’ equipment and laugh. It’s not uncommon for Mexican cartel members to carry cheap AR-15s with eBay-grade sights — if they bother installing sights at all. A mugger’s definition of concealed carry might be walking around with a beat-up revolver in a jacket pocket. While you’re thinking about zeroing the micro red-dot sight on your Gucci Glock build, your adversary is probably loading his pawn shop pistol with the cheapest ammo he can find and carrying it without a holster. The same can be said of edged weapons — $200 name-brand knives are rare, but $2 fruit knives are common (Calderon calls them “the AK-47 of the knife world”). This also applies to impact weapons, such as knuckle dusters or a lock on a length of cord, and even chemical weapons, such as brake cleaner or roach spray applied to a victim’s face.

killzone tools

To demonstrate the adversarial mindset, students were instructed to create improvised weapons using household items....

The tools may be crude, but one of the biggest mistakes you can make is to assume the individual wielding them can’t use them with brutal effectiveness. Ed Calderon explained that .22LR is commonly used in murders because it’s cheap, plentiful, and associated with small guns that are easy to conceal. Even if its ballistic performance isn’t on par with larger handgun calibers, it can kill just the same, especially if applied repeatedly at close range.

calderon weapons

Ed Calderon evaluated the students’ handiwork, discussing criteria such as durability, grip comfort, and penetration...

The ultimate extension of this concept is one of man’s earliest weapons: a pointed stick. It’s deadly and easy to make, just like the improvised shivs you’ll see convicts crafting in prison. To develop a firsthand experience with this primitive yet effective category of tools, students were given a homework assignment to make an improvised shiv from household items in approximately 5 minutes. (You can read the web-exclusive article about the weapon this author made at offgridweb.com/?p=20010.)

Simple Techniques

Most street criminals have zero formal martial arts training. They build strength and motor skills through work experiences — swinging a hammer at a construction site, chopping food in a kitchen, or slaughtering animals on a farm. They learn tactics by passing along knowledge of successful techniques among their associates or studying videos on the internet. Their software is often just as simple as the hardware mentioned in the previous segment, but that doesn’t make it less effective.

Ed Calderon says we need to anticipate “unrestrained brutality without remorse,” and that the way to prepare yourself for it is through exposure. That means watching the same gory, uncomfortable videos your foes do.

To illustrate the most common techniques, Calderon showed students several clips, including security camera footage of an assassination in a South African restaurant, dashcam footage of a taxi driver being stabbed to death in Mexico, and a particularly stomach-turning video created by ISIS terrorists. The latter was a high-definition, professionally produced instructional film in which the French-speaking narrator set out to teach his overseas brothers how to efficiently murder infidels. He recommended selecting a common, disposable kitchen knife, and showed the ideal weak points to target — the carotid artery in the neck, the subclavian artery under the collarbone, the brachial artery in the armpit, and the femoral artery inside the thigh. Then he calmly turned to a blindfolded and bound prisoner and stabbed and slashed each of these locations as if he were carrying out a classroom demonstration on a mannequin. The victim bled to death on camera as the terrorist instructor continued to speak, completely unfazed. This instantly conveyed Ed Calderon’s message about the existence of remorseless, intelligent evil.

You might ask, why should we be learning techniques used by terrorists and vicious murderers? The answer is simple: It’s virtually impossible to defend against a technique you’ve never witnessed or studied. For the practical application of these lessons, students were given rolled-up pieces of insulation foam with a strip of red tape wrapped around one end. These represented knives — not only are they safer than dull metal or hard rubber for full-intensity sparring, but their spongy texture more accurately represents the feeling of jabbing a blade into flesh. Ed Calderon teaches only three core movements with these simulated blades:

Downward stab to the neck/shoulder

Forward stab to the chest/heart

Upward stab to the groin/lower abdomen

Each of these moves can be augmented in numerous ways. For example, grabbing the opponent by the back of the neck or earlobe to pull them forward, using a forearm to pin them against a wall, or stepping onto their foot and shoving to throw them off-balance. Students paired up and tried each of these methods with the foam weapons, stabbing with full intensity and trading off so both had the opportunity to attack and be attacked. In the end, each realized that avoiding these simple edged weapon attacks is far harder than flashy martial artist YouTube videos make it seem. However, experiencing these techniques allowed students to begin preparing for them.

Ed Calderon's TERTIA PUGNA

During the class, Ed Calderon discussed a concept he calls tertia pugna, Latin for the third fight. It separates a violent encounter into three distinct stages:

The First Fight: Battling denial and the “it won’t happen to me” mindset. This requires putting aside feelings of doubt, fear, and apathy that might stop you from taking steps to prepare and train. It’s one of the hardest fights, and one that most people lose. Don’t forget that this isn’t just your fight; it also affects your family and friends. Spread out your knowledge and make them an asset.

The Second Fight: The event itself, an actual fight in which someone tries to victimize you. Trust your gut if something is off, use the skills you’ve developed through training, and if you lose a fight, learn from your failure. The arrows embedded in the back of Ed Calderon’s sneak reaper logo symbolize the past mistakes of a seasoned warrior, which he carries with him and uses to his advantage.

The Third Fight: What happens after. You may need to diagnose yourself and your loved ones for immediate physical injuries (e.g. perform a blood sweep). Some injuries may be less obvious, such as a concussion or TBI. There are also those which are invisible: PTSD, self-doubt, and self-hatred. Know that you may be blamed or criticized for your actions. Accept the fact that you won’t be the same. Don’t bottle up your pain; be willing to talk about it.

calderon stabbing training

Ed Calderon demonstrates how an aggressor can pin a victim against a wall with his forearm before delivering multiple...

Day Two: Understand Yourself with Emerson Combative Systems

For the second day of the course, Ernest Emerson took the reins as lead instructor. If you’ve shopped for a folding knife in the last 25 years, you’ve almost certainly heard of his company, Emerson Knives, and the tremendous impact it has made on the industry as a whole. But Ernest Emerson is much more than just a knife-maker or edged weapon specialist, and opened Day Two by making that clear. He explained that he’s been studying self-defense skills since long before he began making blades, and Emerson Combat Systems is an extension of his passion for well-rounded training.

“You have far more to fear from a deadly man than a deadly weapon … if you are a fighter, then it does not matter what tool you have in your hand.”

—Ernest Emerson

Emerson covered a wide range of topics from a structured syllabus, ranging from situational awareness and pre-threat indicators to psychological challenges that may arise after using lethal force. However, we gleaned two fundamental lessons from his presentation:

1. Explosive Power

It’s easy to assume that the key to winning a fight is superior strength, but that’s not necessarily the case. There’s a fundamental difference between the skill set of a lumbering strongman who can pull a semitruck and that of a fighter who can throw a lightning-fast, precise knockout blow. Ernest Emerson refers to this difference as “explosive power.”

Awareness and good judgement are necessary to determine when it’s time to fight, but the instant that stimulus is received, your action should be immediate and explosive. Emerson says that your victory relies on three key types of action:

Bias for Action: Think of this as an on-off switch. You must know your criteria for use of force, and when those criteria are met, the switch is flipped. At that point, your default state cannot be to flee, freeze, or contemplate what to do. There should be only one response: fight back.

killzone training

Grabbing the shirt collar, earlobe, or back of the neck with the support hand allows the attacker to pull the victim...

Efficiency of Action: Efficiency is defined as minimizing wasted effort. Ernest Emerson describes the perfect self-
defense technique as fast, simple, and easy to learn and train. It delivers exactly enough energy to end an altercation and leaves its user ready to disengage or follow up with more techniques if necessary.

Violence of Action: “What stops violence? Only a greater force of violence.” If you find yourself in a fight, you must be ready to immediately unbalance, damage, incapacitate, or even kill your opponent. There are obvious legal and moral considerations for each of these actions, but those should be pondered long before a fight begins. When the fight is on, violence is the answer.

Emerson began the practical training segment by teaching students an effective startle response. If a startling or potentially dangerous stimulus occurs, your reflexive response should be to prepare yourself for immediate counterattack. In a defensive situation, you’ll typically be reacting to a foe who acted first by throwing a punch or revealing a weapon. Your best hope of gaining the upper hand is to move quickly and force the opponent to react to you. That equates to instantly shifting your feet into a stable fighting stance, raising your hands to guard your head, dropping your center of gravity, and engaging what Ernest Emerson calls “ferocious resolve” — the will to do whatever is necessary to prevail. Students stood in place and repeatedly practiced the startle response as Emerson called out “threat!”

Developing this startle response might make you feel foolish when there’s a false alarm — Emerson told students that he’s snapped into a startle response a few times when friends or family members surprised him, and had to take a deep breath and laugh it off afterward. But for those who are serious about self-defense, it’s better to appear a little jumpy and endure a few embarrassing moments than to be caught unprepared when an attack occurs. That hand you feel grab your shoulder at a crowded bar might be a friend getting your attention, or it might be a violent drunk lining you up for a sucker punch — it’s better to be ready for the more dangerous option.

2. Unstoppable Endurance

“Fatigue makes cowards of us all.” Although Emerson emphasizes that strength isn’t necessarily the decisive factor in a fight, he’s clear about the fact that endurance might be, especially in a real-world setting where first responders may be several minutes away if you’re lucky.

Imagine you’ve just approached your car in a dark parking lot, when a hostile individual steps out of the shadows to confront you. Ideally, you’ll be able to quickly incapacitate him or escape, but what if you can’t? What if the attacker begins grappling with you or pins you against the car? What if additional attackers join in? At this point, the priority may shift from explosive power to endurance. If you want to be hard to kill, Ernest Emerson says you need to have “more gas in the tank” than the opponent. The only way to know how much fuel you’ve got left is through exhaustive training, so buckle down and get ready to sweat.

emerson boxing

Ernest Emerson demonstrated the All-Out drill by lightly hitting a punching bag as fast as possible for a minute to...

One method Emerson used to test students’ endurance required boxing mitts and a heavy bag. Students stepped up to the bag and were instructed to sidestep around it in a circle, lightly tapping the bag with constant rapid-fire punches for a full minute. This elevates heart rate, but it’s only the beginning of this “All-Out” drill. After a buzzer at the one-minute mark, students had to immediately switch to pummeling the bag as hard as possible for 30 seconds. It left even the most physically fit students breathing hard, and reinforced the lesson that you’ll need substantial energy reserves to finish a fight.

Another drill involved something many fighters would agree is one of the absolute worst-case scenarios: being knocked to the ground and assaulted from various angles by multiple attackers. Each student was told to lie down on their back on the mat, and Ernest Emerson and his assistant instructors used pads and sticks to simulate attacks coming from all sides. This forced the students to keep their guard up to protect their head and neck, observe and deflect incoming blows from the sticks, and simultaneously use their feet to deliver kicks to the pads, pushing the attackers back with all their strength. Some students froze up in a defensive position due to the onslaught; others went entirely on the offensive but struggled to block the attackers’ sticks. As seconds ticked by, each grew tired and overwhelmed.

In the end, the message was clear — the only way to know you’ll be able to keep fighting longer than your opponent is to know you have more endurance than he does.

Attributes of a Combat Mindset

Emerson Combat Systems is based around 10 core attributes, which were outlined on the course syllabus:

1.  Education: Cultivating your knowledge of self-defense skills, threats, and the environment.

2.  Situational Awareness: Tactical awareness of your surroundings and anyone who is close enough to cause you harm.

3.  Preparation: Training in a realistic manner and building up physical fitness and endurance before a fight.

4.  Bias for Action: Immediate response to a threat, as opposed to freezing.

5.  Proper Mindset: All defense is offense. Accept violence and know that you will prevail.

6.  Ferocious Resolve: Unflinching determination to do whatever is necessary to win the fight.

7.  Gut Feel: Trust your gut survival instinct; it only exists to protect you.

8. Faith: In your abilities, your cause, and fighting the good fight.

9. Moral Clarity: Know when you’re in the right and your attacker is in the wrong. His actions caused your actions.

10. Never Quit, Never Give Up, Never Surrender.

Concluding with Ed Calderon and Ernest Emerson

The world we live in isn’t always clear-cut, and the adversaries we face aren’t one-dimensional. Criminals and other predatory individuals are often just as motivated and logical as we are. They select techniques with proven effectiveness, and they carefully choose the time and place for a confrontation — it’ll always be one where you have (or at least appear to have) a disadvantage. Expect to be alone and expect to receive little to no warning before an attack.

Ed calderon Ernest emerson killzone

In order to prepare for these real-life threats, it’s critical to understand your adversary and understand your own strengths and weaknesses. If you become the victim of a violent crime someday, the education and training you’ve accumulated will help you be prepared to react without a second thought — as Ed Calderon puts it, “The worst planning is better than the best improvisation.”

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Self-Defense Against Sexual Assault

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Watch any TV show about criminals and the people who catch them for long enough, and you’ll inevitably see an episode that begins like this: A lone woman out for a jog early in the morning, or drunkenly walking to her car after a night at a club, is suddenly not alone. She may not know it — she might have headphones on or be fiddling with her phone — but we, the viewers, see her stalker appear. He — burly and indistinct, maybe wearing a ski mask or hoodie — slinks out from behind a tree or a parked car and creeps up behind her, weapon in hand. She might notice him just in time for a cut-off scream, or the scene might just fade to black. In film, we see sexual assault coming from miles or minutes away. 

The next time you see this woman, she’ll either be in a hospital bed, or detectives will be crouching over her body searching for clues. In rarer scenarios, her screams will attract attention from other people who come to the rescue, or she’ll manage to fight him off herself and immediately report the incident to the police.

There are a lot of dangerous misconceptions about sexual assault in this country. Some of them exemplified by the situation above. There’s an idea that rape is perpetrated by strangers, that it only happens when people don’t pay attention to their surroundings or let themselves get drunk, or that they’re bringing the risk on themselves by being in the wrong place, dressed the wrong way, at the wrong time of night.

Other common myths are that rape and sexual assault are rare, that it’s a thing that only happens to women, and that it always results in easily perceptible violence. After all, can a person have been raped if they don’t show signs of a struggle? If they didn’t even fight back? Can we call it rape if they were drunk, or high, or said “yes” at the beginning of an encounter and only switched to “no” once things were already underway?

Data collected by the Department of Justice and the FBI over decades show that rape and sexual assault are crimes experienced by 1 in 6 American women and 1 in 33 men. Eight out of 10 rapes are committed by someone known to the victim, usually either an acquaintance or a former/current partner, and over half of all rapes take place in or near the victim’s home. In cases of sexual assault against a juvenile, the percentage of crimes committed against them by someone they know is 93 percent. The use of weapons in sexual assault, apart from the assailant’s own hands and feet, is relatively rare — 11 percent total, and slightly more guns than knives.

sexual assault crowd

Data collected by the Department of Justice and the FBI over decades show that rape and sexual assault are crimes...

The truth is that for most victims, rape and sexual assault aren’t random acts of violence. They’re typically perpetrated by someone the victim knows — the hookup who had some time alone with her drink, the person in a position of authority she doesn’t feel she can say “no” to, such as a prison guard, or maybe the roommate’s boyfriend who keeps hanging out in their dorm room. This degree of familiarity brings a lot of complication with it. It’s easy to visualize violence against a predator you’ve never met before, but much harder when it’s someone you know, someone who your family likes, someone you thought you were friends with, or someone you might have to see and deal with every day.

According to the Bureau of Justice’s National Crime Victimization Survey, rape is one of the least-reported crimes in America. Out of every thousand cases of sexual assault identified in this survey, 230 were reported to police, 46 reports led to arrests, nine cases got referred to prosecutors, and only five cases led to a felony conviction. Hundreds of thousands of rape kits containing crucial DNA evidence sit untested in evidence rooms or crime labs because detectives or prosecutors haven’t requested the data, or the crime labs are overwhelmed. There are no federal laws mandating the tracking and testing of rape kits, either. To someone already suffering from insecurity over whether or not they’ll be believed if they report their assault, numbers like this are discouraging.

The prevalence of rape and sexual assault have noticeably dropped over the past several decades, and thanks to movements like #MeToo, the issue is a larger part of our social discourse than ever before. RECOIL OFFGRID has assembled a panel of experts in the field of women’s self-defense to cover common questions about how to prevent and protect yourself from sexual assault. This panel consists of myself, martial arts trainer Cath Lauria; SIG Sauer Director of Training and Special Events Hana Bilodeau; and Rhonda Lent, who also has a background in law enforcement.

What verbal de-escalation techniques can be used to thwart an attack, and what’s the overall role of psychological self-defense?

CL: The most effective de-escalation techniques start early, and they don’t even have to be verbal to work. Setting and maintaining boundaries is the best thing a person can do to help protect themselves against assault before things get physical. Does that drunk guy at the office holiday party keep coming up to you asking for a hug? Offer a handshake instead. If he insists, tell him you’re just not interested in a hug, thanks. What if he calls you a bitch? Well, who cares what he thinks, as long as you’re safe.

sexual assault defense

If things get to the point where threats are being made, where physical boundaries are being crossed, and where you feel unsafe — this is the time for more forceful de-
escalation techniques. Volume goes up, hands go up — put a physical and a sound barrier between you. You don’t have to curse and threaten in turn, and it’s better if you don’t. Be clear: Tell them to back off, to leave you alone, shout for others to call the cops. Do this loudly. You want people to hear you, to rip away the veil of privacy and secrecy the assailant is trying to create. If they continue into physical assault after this? Then, it’s all systems go, because you know that you’ve done your best to de-escalate the situation by letting them know that attacking you is going to be a big mistake.

HB: Verbal de-escalation is an invaluable skill. As was discussed in the article, despite common misconceptions, most sexual assaults occur by someone known by the victim. Because of this familiarity, most often there’s a grooming phase prior to the actual assault. Due to manipulation on behalf of the suspect, the victim is often left confused and scared and, in many instances, doesn’t verbally or physically resist. Because of the shame that the abuse leaves behind, we find a large majority of victims don’t report the abuse immediately, if at all. It’s the responsibility of modern society to fight the root of the problem if we intend on making a notable difference. We need to breed into our youth body positivity and respect. Teach them to have a voice and how to use it. Whether a stranger or a trusted loved one, implementing “verbal Judo” could potentially be the defense that changes the outcome.

RL: I’ve been accused of “victim blaming” when discussing the development of soft skills. This is what I always say, and I will say it again. If we lived in a perfect world, we wouldn’t have to lock our houses or lock our cars. If everyone had the same moral and ethical compass and 100 percent abided by a set of rules, we wouldn’t have to take measures to protect our personal belongings from theft. The same logic applies here. The purpose of developing hard and soft self-defense skills is to minimize risk.

warning sign at a bar

Verbal De-Escalation Skills

If the threat isn't imminent, be clear on how you want things to unfold. Self-confidence is key to verbally and nonverbally delivering what your needs are in that moment. This is about creating boundaries and is an excellent way of testing the waters in how logically the other person will respond.

Say “NO!” loud and clear. This will tell the attacker that whatever happens from that point forward isn’t consensual. When a threat is imminent, you’re past the point of verbal de-escalation. This point requires action. Look around for avenues of escape — if you can escape safely, do it! If you cannot safely escape, you must assess whether or not it’s feasible to physically fight off the attacker.

It’s worth noting that internet safety applies here, especially in the event that you’re meeting up with someone in person who you have only spoken to via internet, text, or email. If you’ve met someone who’s a friend of a friend, those soft skills and being mindful of safety applies here. Meet in a public place, don’t share your personal address, and don’t meet in a place that puts you in danger until you really know what they’re about. Take note of avenues for a safe escape and remove yourself from the situation. If those skills have already been applied and things lead in a direction you’re not prepared for, the next point applies to you.

warning signs in a car

Psychological Self-Defense for Sexual Assault

If you get the sense that something isn’t right, listen to your gut. Intuition is a primitive survival mechanism. Don’t allow your brain to convince you that your gut feeling isn’t warranted! Get beyond a possible mentality of “it won’t happen to me.”

SELF AWARENESS: Understanding what your limitations are and what you’re capable of doing under stress will empower you to know how to handle the situation in a confident way.

SITUATIONAL AWARENESS: The development of this skill is a means to avoid the situation before things escalate. Awareness of your surroundings and a person’s behavior can tip you off on what’s about to happen.

WHEN-THEN THINKING: This is a great technique to psychologically and physically prepare for a threat. This is also known as “scenario planning” and “scenario thinking.” It’s not only a means to address your physical skills and pressure test them, but it’s also a way to think about all kinds of scenarios that you might find yourself in and problem solve them. The benefit is to be able to break things down, without stressors, in order to look at things from a place of logic and analysis. Create a list of what you’d do. This technique creates a “file” in your brain that lets you know that you’re familiar with the situation, if one of those situations occurs. You’ll be able to respond with more confidence and go through the steps necessary to handle it. If you create that scenario in a safe training environment, you can also take note of where things went wrong, remediate them, and execute the actions repeatedly to “hardwire” your response to make it second nature.

What are some of the best techniques you’ve found that a person can use to effectively defend themselves once the attack has begun? How can martial arts enhance basic self-defense skills? Given that most rapes are perpetrated by people the victim knows and take place in their own homes, how do you feel about the use of weapons in a rape defense context, and what type of weapons training is appropriate?

CL: If it comes to the point that an attack is unavoidable and you’re fighting back, remember that the best targets are the ones that can’t be strengthened with steroids. The face — the eyes in particular — and the groin are excellent targets, and a strike there doesn’t require a lot of force to be painful. You don’t even have to hit the eyes or the groin square on to get someone to back off — the body’s flinch response is built-in. As for the old saying that you should never hit a guy in the groin because it’ll just make them madder … it’s true, it will make them mad. It will also be really, really painful, so let them be mad and doubled over holding their junk while you get to safety.

The best thing that martial arts and combatives training can bring to a basic skillset is a better understanding of how to deal with and use adrenaline. Your adrenaline is triggered in assault situations — the fight-or-flight response becomes engaged, and when that happens a lot of fine motor skills go out the window. Gross motor movements are your best bet and practicing those skills under the effect of adrenaline is an excellent way to improve your chances of actually remembering how to protect yourself once the fight is on. It’s imperative to have a basic understanding of grappling and ground skills as well, given that all rapes take place at extremely close range. People don’t become rapists because they want to go toe-to-toe with someone — rape is a crime of power, revolving around being able to intimidate and control someone else. The harder it is to control you, the less inclined they’re going to be to try.

sexual assault knife training

Martial Blade Concepts instructor Rhonda Lent is shown here teaching a student edged-weapons combatives techniques.

A case in point: A friend of mine in the Peace Corps was attacked while she was sunbathing on a beach. The man tried to get on top of her, she kicked and hit and screamed like a banshee, and he fled in under a minute. She wasn’t a trained martial artist, but she had talked to me and my husband about the basics of self-defense, and she remembered enough of our advice to make her assailant think twice.

As for the use of weapons in cases of rape defense, my initial response is to say: Use whatever you’ve got. If you carry a weapon or have something makeshift on hand, and you can access it and use it without putting yourself in more danger, great. However, weapons aren’t a panacea. Do you want to risk using a gun in your own home, if it means you might hit someone else in the house? Do you want to bring a knife into the situation even if you haven’t trained with it, just because you hope it looks intimidating? You won’t help yourself by fumbling it, and the last thing you want is for your own weapon to be used against you.

HB: I’m not sure we can appropriately categorize “best techniques of defense,” as every victimization is different and individualized to that specific victim. What I do think we can say is martial arts and self-defense training are known to enhance one’s self esteem and awareness of a person’s physical capabilities. Having this training undoubtedly could aid in a hand-to-hand situation.

RL: As far as techniques go, and I know that RECOIL is well informed on this system for good reason, I’m partial to Martial Blade Concepts (MBC), founded by Michael Janich. MBC and its subsystems will give the practitioner concepts on how to defend against a particular angle, based on zones of defense using structure, rather than muscular strength. For this reason, I favor this system as a female, considering most male subjects will be larger and stronger than me. MBC also includes topics on situational awareness, avoidance, and de-escalation, which is an indicator of a well-rounded system.

If you are looking for something to train, look at the system in its entirety and figure out if it’s a good fit for you. You have to be prepared to meet violence with violence. Attacks to the eyes are a great means of creating a window of opportunity for escape.

sexual assault fight back

Martial artist Cath Lauria demonstrates takedown techniques on a would-be assailant during an exercise to simulate a...

Martial arts can enhance basic self-defense skills by:

Building character, as practice in a martial art can provide you with a mentor who inspires specific character traits, leadership, and physical skills.

Creating self-discipline. There will be times when you don’t feel like training and you would rather do something else, but because you’ve made a commitment to training in that martial art, a commitment to your peers, and commitment to your leadership and mentors, you go!

Creating a foundation of body awareness. When I teach, a large amount of my time is spent on how to move the body in an efficient way. Training in a martial art will naturally provide this skill. You are able to make that mind and body connection, create coordination, and understand how to generate power when necessary. On the flip side, body awareness will also teach you what your physical limitations are. Understanding what you are physically capable of is paramount in the application of self-defense.

Training has an enormous impact on our psyche as individuals, along with a physical skill set. The above skills create self-confidence. Training in a martial art takes dedication, and not everything is easy. You have to work for your successes, learn from your failures, and learn the value of never giving up when things become challenging. This confidence will filter into who we are as a human. It instills empowerment for us to stand up for ourselves.

Disclaimer: I am not American. I live in Canada, where there are significant limitations on what can be legally carried. So, what I use and carry possibly differs from many of the readers of RECOIL magazine. What I would advise is to use a weapon that you are most comfortable with, competent with, and one that you can legally justify using. If you opt to use a weapon, make sure you learn how to use it proficiently, under stress, and in dynamic situations that will best replicate times where you may need to use it. You must understand the weapon’s capabilities and limitations.

sexual assault defense pistol

As director of training and special events for SIG Sauer Inc., Hana Bilodeau is a huge advocate for self-defense...

How do you feel about compliance theory? Is there a time when compliance is the appropriate response in a sexual assault situation?

CL: Firstly, I want to make it clear that even if a victim is threatened, coerced, or drugged into complying with assault, that doesn’t diminish the fact that they were sexually assaulted against their will. The only person who can make the call about how to resist in the moment is the victim. If they feel that compliance is their best chance at getting through the situation with the least amount of harm, then that’s their choice and it should be respected.

In essence, though, compliance is already at work in the vast majority of sexual assault cases, because these victims are capitulating to the threat of greater violence if they don’t comply. Rape is a crime largely predicated on the premise that the victim will be compliant. Given the prevalence of rape in our society, compliance as a strategy isn’t working to solve the problem. The best option in the vast majority of cases is to upset the predator-prey dynamic by fighting back immediately and vigorously. If you are going to fight, then be prepared to commit fully from the beginning. By the time the situation gets physical, a number of boundaries have already been crossed and there is no longer any room for half-measures.

HB: Is compliance theory an appropriate response to a sexual assault? I think it is very common for people to think to themselves “I would never comply,” “I will not be a victim,” “I will fight.” However, until it actually happens, no one can speculate how it will transpire, what the victimization entails, or how one will respond. Having investigated hundreds of abuse cases over my career, I can honestly say that in some instances, compliance was the answer to the victim’s survival. Are there other methods that work? Absolutely! But the methods of defense used are very specific from case to case.

RL: Frankly, it doesn’t matter how I feel about the compliance theory. The bottom line is that in this particular scenario, the victim knows their personal level of training, has their own sense of situational awareness, the realities of their physical abilities and limitations, and their perception of the threat. The victim is led to make a decision to fight off the subject or to physically comply while making it clear that they are not consenting. Only the victim can determine if compliance is a valid option for them.

What do you think people should know about post-incident response? What options should victims be aware of, and what steps should they take, in terms of legal, medical, and psychological care?

CL: The decision to report a sexual assault can be a complicated one. There are a lot of reasons a person might not want to report the assault — maybe the attack was interrupted or the assailant stopped before finishing the assault. Maybe the victim and the attacker have been intimate before, and the victim feels like this lessens their credibility. Maybe they don’t have any physical injuries and are worried about providing enough proof, or are concerned about getting into trouble of their own for breaking a rule when the assault occurred — say, a teenager getting drunk before it happened.

One thing to keep in mind is that in the Unites States, thanks to the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act, a person can have a sexual assault forensic exam, otherwise known as a rape kit, done anonymously, only identifying the victim with a code. That anonymity can be dropped later on if the victim decides to report the crime. That being said, there is a time limit on reporting to the police, which can vary from state to state.

One excellent resource for assault survivors is RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network), who run the National Sexual Assault Hotline (800-656-4673) which, among other things, can help them find a local health facility that can perform a rape kit. They can also get them in touch with local sexual assault service providers who can offer information and resources for counseling, victim advocacy, hospital accompaniment, and emergency shelter, among other things. Their website (www.rainn.org) also has a breakdown of the statutes of limitations on different sex crimes in different states. In the end, the most important for a victim of sexual assault is to be safe with people who care for and believe them.

isolation is dangerous

Taking proper steps to report, seek medical attention, and mental health care are extremely important steps in taking...

HB: Post incident, I think that it’s very important for victims to know that the reporting process is just that: a process. I also think it is important to acknowledge that the criminal justice system is not a place for closure for victims. Taking proper steps to report, seek medical attention, and mental health care are extremely important steps in taking back control of your life. This will aid in transitioning the mindset from victim to survivor.

RL: Two things about post-incident response: understand what your body may go through immediately following the incident and know what steps to take to report the rape.

First, understand that what has just occurred is physical, emotional, and psychological trauma. The sympathetic nervous system (SNS) has been triggered, therefore, many symptoms may arise. The body has to eventually return to its regular state, which will have its own set of symptoms (for you curious readers, have a look at the parasympathetic nervous system). Both sets of symptoms include vasoconstriction and vasodilation. This is why serious injuries can go undetected until vasodilation has occurred. This means that the veins will dilate, rushing blood back into the extremities, post event.

Second, call a family member or friend for support. Get assessed by a medical professional asap, not only for the assessment for injuries, but also to have a rape kit completed. Report the incident to law enforcement in the appropriate jurisdiction. Contact a legal professional. Talk to a mental health expert to process the trauma. If you are unsure where to start, complete an internet search for post rape resources available in your area.

For more reading on self defending against sexual assault and abduction, check out this article written by a 16 year veteran law enforcement officer.

About the Authors:

Hana L. Bilodeau has over 15 years of law enforcement experience, serving both locally and federally. Hana spent a large part of her local career in the detective unit investigating crimes against people, predominantly sex crimes. She was well known for her interview skills of both victims and suspects garnering multiple convictions. Hana has a wealth of knowledge in a number of different defensive modalities and presently serves as director of training and special events for SIG Sauer Inc.

Cath Lauria has been a women’s self-defense instructor for over 20 years, working with both Model Mugging and Fast Defense, which specialize in adrenal stress conditioning. She has multiple black belts and is a Certified Associate Instructor in Martial Blade Concepts.

Rhonda Lent has been employed by a state-level law enforcement organization for the past 22 years. Her experience includes membership in a tactical unit, control tactics, communication, and use of force. She currently works in a law enforcement oversight capacity. She privately facilitates training in Michael Janich’s Martial Blade Concepts and its related systems as the first and only female Certified Full Instructor, worldwide.

Alone Season 7 Contestants

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Bursting into its Seventh Season, the survival Series Alone upped the challenge by requiring contestants to last 100 days on Northern Vancouver Island. Where before, contestants fought against the environment to survive, and their own mind to stay in the competition, not knowing how long their challengers had lasted, the new condition for victory also came with a greater prize. The winner would walk home with One Million Dollars. Here's a recap of the Alone Season 7 Contestants just in time for tonight's big finale.

Unique in the survival Genre, Alone presents a very personal, in the moment example of what long-term survival looks like as contestants are allowed to take a limited selection of equipment out into the field while they self-document their experience and strategy. Each player an expert in their trade, the selection of gear often doesn't vary as much as could be expected. Rather, it is the mindset that chooses who wins and who taps out.

alone season 7 amos

photo provided by HISTORY

Amós Rodriguez

Age: 40

Occupation: Primitive Skills Instructor

Growing up amidst the El Salvador Civil War taught Amós the way of the wilderness, and how to remain alert in times of conflict and confusion. These experiences crafted his understanding of the world, with a volcano as the backdrop for building the skills to teach primitive living courses.

 

Alone Season 7 roland

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Roland Welker

Age: 47

Occupation: Hunting Guide

All around adventurer, trapper, hunter, and guide in the far reaches of Alaska, Roland set out to make Alone Season 7 his latest conquest. The antiquated tone of his living has given him the ability to say “I have done everything I ever wanted and nothing I don’t feel like.”

 

alone s7 callie

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Callie Russell

Age: 31

Occupation: Ancestral Living Skills Instructor

Living a nomadic life as an Ancestral Living Skills Instructor in the Flathead Valley of Montana, Callie has already walked away from the urban. Callie is a scavenger-gatherer who lives nomadically following the seasons and wild food. She is always striving to understand the role humans play in the intricate web of life. Starting in 2010, she has lived in the wilderness, continually honing her backcountry and survival skills with a herd of pack goats.

alone s7 correy

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Correy Hawk

Age: 30

Occupation: Traditional Bowyer

Correy Grew up with a bow in hand, and after his time as a U.S. Marine, he returned home to launch his own business crafting primitive bows, arrows, and quivers. His skillset continues beyond the draw, however, as he has looked to Northern Vancouver Island to be his rite of passage.

 

alone S7 Joe

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Joe Nicholas

Age: 31

Occupation: Biologist

Joe began a career in the U.S. National Park Service, where he lost his home to the 2018 California Wildfires. Yet that didn't sideline him, instead, he continues to work in research and land management. Bringing with him experience as a wilderness traveler, fisherman, builder, horticulturist, naturalist and geographer, Joe brought a well rounded skillset to the arctic.

 

 

alone season 7 joel van der loon

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Joel Van Der Loon

Age: 34

Occupation: Primitive Skills School Owner

A world traveller of 40 countries, often reaching remote locations by sea, Joel's first bushcraft experience began in Tanzania, East Africa. Having taught celebrities, military, families, and children, he's trained with herdsman and hunter-gatherers across the world.

 

 

Alone S7 Kieth

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Keith Syers

Age: 45

Occupation: Homesteader

For a member of the American Mountain Men, an organization with stringent requirement for living off the land and using equipment from the decades before the civil war, the occupation of homesteader sounds much less strange to a man who already lives the life. With the exception of the challenge of the arctic, and surviving alone instead of with his wife who lives with him on the bank of the Ohio River, Keith's long time in the brush has already included winter. His overall motto is “Do good, don’t die”.

alone season 7 kielyn

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Keilyn Marrone

Age: 33

Occupation: Winter Wilderness Expedition Operator

A native of Northern Ontario, Keilyn's business is teaching through long experiences in the wilderness. With respect, not fear, of the winter, her optimism for the challenge of Northern Vancouver Island is tempered by already living where the closest neighbors are 10 kilometers away.

 

 

alone S7 mark

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Mark D’Ambrosio

Age: 33

Occupation: Sniper & Survival Skills Instructor

A 10-year veteran of U.S. Marine Corps who partook in special operations, Mark is now the lead instructor at Branded Rock Canyon, near Grand Junction, Colorado. As a Marine, he taught cold-weather mountain operations, he started International Mountain Survival, where he concentrates on sniper, survival, rappelling, and tracking.

 

Alone s7 Shawn

photo provided by HISTORY

Shawn Helton

Age: 43

Occupation: Tool Maker

Inventor of the “Settler's Wrench,” Shawn runs an online survival channel called “Shawn with the Wild.” His educational approach, paired with the smaller-than-small-town living in Tennessee, as a contender he looks to the arctic as both a challenge and a dream come true.

MINDSET and Alone Season 7

With 90 days being the longest for any contestant to last so far, the new requirement of 100 days in the field hasn't gone unnoticed. Neither has the $1 Million reward for Alone Season 7.

Unique in that Alone is filmed, not by crews, but by the contenders themselves, each person knows that if they don't capture it on camera, it might as well not happen. On top of water, food, shelter and heat, the additional responsibility of managing a camera brings its own complications. Imagine stalking a deer for sustenance, only to be thinking of where the camera could catch the right shot. Without any directors or script each scene captured shows its authenticity, so long as the survivor has the presence of mind to get the film rolling.

Across the cast, and across the episodes we've seen that Mindset comes into play just as much if not more than the physical skills each cast member brings tot he table. But for all the conversation on mindset, it can be tough to nail down. Examples abound, as each time a food is harvested, a genuine gratitude followed, and for those who kept a positive attitude, it payed off in the long run. Having a strategy, and a proactive approach to maintaining both mind and body is what makes a survivor thrive, especially when alone.

Alone Season 7 is set to finale today, August 20th, 2020, at 8/7c.

 

To see the contestants from Season 6 of Alone, go here.

 

 

 

Independence Training: Shooting vs Fighting

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Knowing how to shoot doesn’t necessarily mean you know how to fight. You might be able to drill holes in a bull’s-eye consistently at the range, but real fights generally don’t involve an assailant standing motionless, 20 yards away, in front of a dirt berm. They’re high-stress confrontations in less-than-ideal circumstances, and they often happen with only a few feet separating you from your attacker. Luckily, Independence Training in Arizona has a course to augment shooting skill with fighting knowledge.

In order to learn more about integrating shooting skills into a real self-defense situation, I attended a 1.5-day Close Contact Handgun course hosted by Independence Training in Arizona. Instructors Cecil Burch and Glen Stilson began the class at an unusual time: 7 p.m. on a Friday. As the sun set, students paired up in a dimly lit parking lot and practiced approaching one another with realistic lines such as “Hey man, can you spare some change?”

For those being approached, one of the first lessons was related to footwork — backing up blindly can lead to stumbling; moving in an arc around the oncoming individual is a safer way to keep your distance. While moving continuously, students practiced verbal de-escalation in three stages: ask (“I don’t have any change. Can you please give me some space?”), tell (“I’ve got nothing for you. Stay back.”), and command (“I SAID STAY BACK! Don’t come any closer!”).

Escalating tone, volume, and body language will make your defensive posture clear to the individual and any nearby witnesses. If they continue to approach despite direct commands, it’s likely that they’re looking for more than just some spare change. This information can be combined with other pre-threat indicators you observe, such as nervous glances or furtive hand movement, to determine if a fight is imminent. Much like a heart attack, identifying the telltale symptoms and reacting quickly will greatly increase your survival rate in a self-defense situation.

On the morning of day two, students lined up at the range with our EDC guns holstered. Burch and Stilson demonstrated four positions for drawing from concealment:

indpendence training escalator 1. Clear cover garment; securely grip weapon.

2. “The Elevator:” Draw weapon up until side of thumb is indexed against chest. Keep wrist straight, elbow high, and shoulder muscles tense. Muzzle will be angled downward.

3. “The Escalator:” Move weapon across chest, joining with support hand at center of sternum and remaining close to body. Muzzle should be level.

4. Fully extend arms into a normal shooting stance. independence training full extension

On the range at Independence Training students stood directly in front of cardboard targets, drew and fired from position two, stepped back and fired from position three, and stepped back again to fire from position four (see photos). This taught us how to switch stances based on an attacker’s distance, rather than defaulting to full extension and allowing the assailant to grab or deflect the weapon.

After about 200 rounds of live fire, the remainder of the day was spent in role-playing scenarios that incorporated all of the skills taught in the class. Students were provided with Ultimate Training Munitions (UTMs) — chalk pellets fired hard enough to sting and leave a visible mark on clothes. In these scenarios, some hostiles backed down after verbal commands, while others drew concealed weapons and started shooting. Difficulty ramped up as additional characters entered the scene, acting as bystanders, good Samaritans, or accomplices.

No student walked away unscathed, and valuable lessons were learned from every welt. As it turns out, it’s a bit more challenging to shoot the bull’s-eye when it’s returning fire. For more information on future classes from Stilson and Burch and more at Independence Training, go to independencetraining.com and iacombatives.com.

Keep an eye out for a recap of another training experience in the next edition of The Final Weapon. Until then, get out there and work on sharpening your own skills — when the time comes to use them, you’ll be glad you did.

What If You’re Confronted by Someone Impersonating a Law Enforcement Officer?

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Many of you who are regular readers of RECOIL OFFGRID know the tactical landscape quite well by now. You could easily procure clothing and equipment of various contexts to persuade the uninformed that you have scepters of authority and special privileges. In fact, if you read “The Crimson Perception” in Issue 35, you’d have a working knowledge of how, combined with a convincing story, you could easily fool many into thinking your disguise was the real deal.

What if someone used this trickery for nefarious means and attempted to pull you over in what looked like an actual squad car or law enforcement motorcycle? Their badge and clothing might appear official. How would you know if it’s an actual police officer or an imposter? What are your rights to verify credentials or refuse to comply if you think your life’s in danger? How far can you go without being charged with resisting arrest if you’re wrong? In this edition of What If, we’ve asked attorney Jason Squires and former law enforcement officer Hana Bilodeau to weigh in on what your options are if you think you’re being spoofed.

The Scenario:

The Setup: For years, the news has reported situations where people have been pulled over by individuals impersonating law enforcement officers. Sometimes it’s merely a self-righteous vigilante attempting to issue phony parking tickets. Unfortunately, there are other situations where someone has procured a car or motorcycle with law-enforcement-oriented features, badges, and duty gear, then confronted an individual under the pretense that they’ve committed a crime. In these rare situations, the imposter has often been a deranged individual using the guise of law enforcement to abduct, rob, or kill their unsuspecting victims.

The Complication: After a Friday night out with friends, you’re driving home after midnight when you notice you’re being tailgated. You can see it’s a solid-color American sedan with dark paint, a visible push bar, and a spotlight on the A-pillar. You think you may have been slightly over the speed limit, but you haven’t been drinking, so you’re only mildly fearful that you’ve broken any laws. Suddenly, you see red/blue flashing lights flicker on inside the windshield and grille of the car behind you. You’re driving through an industrial section of town where there are no open businesses, foot traffic, or other vehicles around. You think this may be an unmarked squad car, but are suspicious since you can’t see the exempt symbol on the plate or any other markings. You’re apprehensive about pulling over in this area, so you attempt to buy time by driving under the speed limit for a few more blocks.

When you refuse to pull over right away, the tailing car blips a siren, turns its spotlight on the back of your car, and uses the loudspeaker to command you to pull over immediately. You’re still not positive it’s a cop, but stop ASAP because you don’t want to get charged with evading. You pull over in a secluded part of this industrial area, and a man gets out with what looks like typical duty clothes: tactical pants, duty belt, radio, button-up shirt, holstered pistol, and boots. He asks you to roll down the window, shines a flashlight in your face, says he suspects you’ve been drinking, and asks for you to provide him your license and registration. You comply, and he goes back to his car, mutters inaudibly into a hand mic connected to the radio on his belt, and returns to your vehicle. He then asks you to get out of the car so he can conduct a field sobriety test.

As you’re not convinced this is legit, you ask for the officer’s credentials. He quickly flashes a generic-looking badge. You continue to question his credentials and ask him to call a supervisor, but he says that’s not possible right now. He becomes increasingly irritated, and says you’ll go to jail if you resist his orders. You remain suspicious, but consent to the test since you haven’t been drinking. After performing the tests by following his pen with your eyes, reciting the alphabet backward, and walking a straight line, the officer tells you to turn around and put your hands behind your back, then audibly gets out a pair of cuffs. What are you entitled to demand in order to protect yourself from unlawful incarceration from someone who may be masquerading as a police officer? Do you attempt to flee or fight at that point if there’s any doubt in your mind? Do you wait to use a hidden cuff key to escape later on if it becomes clear you’re dealing with an imposter?

Every now and then we hear a news broadcast about a report of an individual impersonating a police officer, followed by speculation as to why someone would do such a thing. We’ll never know what makes these criminals tick, but one thing we do know is that a person who is posing as a police officer is doing so to gain some sort of power over someone else, innately putting that person at risk.

Preparation

Living with a defensive mindset requires preparing for the unknown. Scenario-based training is the best way to determine whether or not you’re mentally and physically prepared for a situation where your life or safety may be compromised. Designate a couple minutes a day where you can mentally run through a scenario to figure out where you may be vulnerable. While out for your nightly jog, ask yourself a couple of questions. If someone were to attack me at this moment, what would I do to protect myself? As you’re driving to work and stopped at a light, ask yourself, if someone were to attempt to carjack me at this moment, how would I survive? While wandering through the mall with your family, ask yourself, if an active shooter event were to transpire, how would I get myself and my family to safety? If the answers to these simple hypothetical scenarios leave you questioning your safety, you now know you have to make alterations to your day-to-day routines to better equip yourself should your safety be compromised. Now that we’ve started turning the wheels on our mental preparation, let’s move back to the scenario at hand.

Step 1. Research: Do some research on your geographical area. Who has jurisdiction in the city and towns you frequent? Is it the sheriff’s office, state police, local police, or federal law enforcement? Once you have the answer to that question, do a simple online search of the residing department’s badge and patch, which is typically openly displayed on their daily uniform. Become familiar with what the badge and patch looks like for each of the entities that represents the jurisdiction in which you reside. Researching the badge and patch versus the uniform of the entity is advisable because most departments have multiple units, and each unit’s uniforms may be different based on their job assignment.

For instance: duty uniform, dress uniform, detail uniform, summer uniform, winter uniform, bike unit, motorcycle unit, plain-clothes unit, and the list goes on. One thing remains the same across the board: Each department has a patch representing the entity. This patch is either proudly displayed on each shoulder of their uniform shirt or just one of the shoulders on the issued uniforms. Each officer is issued a department ID card and badge with a badge number. These are widely used as a means of primary identification. It’s common policy that the officer is required to carry each of these items with them when on duty.

Step 2. Know your rights: Although each state and municipality will have differing and unique laws and procedures regarding traffic stops, it’s important to know that there are certain rights at the federal level that are common across the United States.

The “plain view doctrine” prohibits law enforcement officers from investigating inside a vehicle or anything else outside of plain view without a warrant. You don’t have to answer an officer’s questions during a stop, although this may be frustrating for the officer. In most cases, you’re only required to provide license, registration, and insurance information if applicable.

Step 3. Practice your verbal cues: Questioning your safety doesn’t need to come across as combative or confrontational, especially if the person you’re dealing with is actually a law enforcement official. The job of a police officer is very difficult. The reasons they do things at times may not be readily understandable for the average person; most likely they’re acting in a manner to protect themselves and others. Be sure to practice verbal and physical restraint even if you feel agitated. Hopefully, this will allow you and the person of authority to come to a common ground.

On Site

You’ve properly prepared your defensive mindset, and you’ve identified that the vehicle, area of stop, and officer all appear suspicious. Let’s take a look at how to safely mitigate this uncomfortable situation.

When the officer approaches, only roll the window down enough to pass your personal effects out to the “officer.” If you don’t see proper identifiers — name tag, badge, badge number, or department patch, politely address the officer: “Good evening sir/ma’am. I didn’t see a name badge, what is your name? What department do you work for?” You can even bring up the elephant in the room. “This is a rural area, and I’ve never seen an unmarked cruiser like that. I didn’t see identifiers on your uniform. What department do you work for?”

what if impersonating officer pullover

The hairs on the back of your neck are still standing. If you have cell service, the next step would be to call into the department and request a second unit or a supervisor to respond to your location to confirm the identity of the officer. If you don’t have cell service, when the officer returns with your personal documents, in a respectful manner while maintaining your safety inside your vehicle, explain to the officer that you don’t feel comfortable with the circumstances of this traffic stop. Request the officer have an additional unit or supervisor car dispatched to the area for your safety. Remember, you’re not obligated to exit the vehicle at this point if you believe your safety is a risk.

Every jurisdiction will either have additional officers on duty or a mutual aid agreement with surrounding towns or the state. Be persistent and respectful in your request for an additional unit, stating that you will comply with every lawful order once the officer’s identity is confirmed and an additional unit arrives. Remind the officer you’re not resisting his/her commands and that, no matter the time frame, you’ll patiently wait in your vehicle for the second unit to identify the initiating officer. Once that occurs, you’ll fully comply with what is being asked of you.

Crisis

The pressure is now on. Even though you’re politely and respectfully communicating with the officer, he/she is now agitated and threatening additional charges and/or physically removing you from your motor vehicle. What steps should you take now that things seem to be taking a turn for the worse?

Stay strong: Continue to calmly and respectfully request that the officer have a secondary unit respond to the traffic stop to identify him/her as an active LEO and witness the traffic stop. If the officer doesn’t have appropriate identifiers on their person, such as a department ID, badge, and badge number, they’re most likely breaking one or more of the department’s policies. Most departments have a policy stating that when an officer is working in an official capacity, they have the duty to appropriately identify themselves to the individuals at hand to get them to comply with the lawful order.

Even with the impending threat of additional charges, if it’s proven that the individual is actually an officer, you’ll have your time to answer to any additional charges and explain that your behavior was to ensure your safety.

Repeat No. 1: Stay strong. Listen to your gut. If something doesn’t feel right, it’s probably not right. Escalating your demeanor to meet the level of another never ends well. Remain calm and strong in your request for proper identification and a witnessing unit for the remainder of your interaction with the officer.

The best advice I can give when it comes to personal safety scenarios is: “Get comfortable with the uncomfortable.” The average person will never feel comfortable when faced with having to disobey a person of authority. If you’re acutely aware of your surroundings and do your diligence to keep up to date on what your local/state municipalities offer for modes of safety, you’ll know if something isn’t right. If an officer is behaving in a manner that makes you feel uncomfortable, you definitely should err on the side of caution until your suspicions are either confirmed or refuted. It’s an officer’s job to keep you and the public at large safe. In doing so, they must make sure your rights and needs are met during their interaction with you, no matter how egregious of an offense you may or may not have committed. Not everyone puts your safety at the forefront, which is why it’s even more important for you to stay aware, trained, and diligent in your endeavors of survival. 

Preps

In my vehicle, I have my driver’s license, registration, and proof of insurance. I keep all the information up to date and contained in a single folder. I don’t want to fumble for documents and give an officer the impression I’m confused or possibly impaired. I also have my cell phone with a full charge. I have absolutely no contraband in my vehicle and keep it orderly and tidy. I want to convey that I’m organized and lucid during any encounter, especially after midnight on a weekend.

I’ve consulted with an attorney regarding what exactly “reasonable suspicion” means in layman’s terms. This is the minimum standard by which a law enforcement officer is allowed to initiate a traffic stop. The officer under this standard must ask themself, “Do I have a reasonable suspicion that a violation of the law has been committed?” Notice the law doesn’t require reasonable suspicion that a crime has occurred. So, the vehicle code is a completely acceptable reason to initiate a traffic stop. What’s the vehicle code? It’s the annoying set of laws or city ordinances that describe exactly how you must make a left-hand turn, maintain functioning lights, and so on. I always make sure my vehicle has all exterior lights functional, and I always wear my seatbelt. This is good preparation to avoid unnecessary law enforcement encounters. So, if I get a crack in the windshield, I must get it fixed to be compliant with these laws.

I keep a functioning flashlight in the car with fresh batteries. The glove compartment is free of clutter and has the flashlight and registration and current proof of insurance in an envelope. My license is in my wallet. I have tools to fix flats, and my wallet contains multiple forms of proof to establish my identity. I have debit cards, credit cards, gym membership, etc. Law enforcement can be somewhat suspicious when a person only possesses a driver’s license and no other form of identification. I also carry a firearm, as is legal in my state (Arizona).

The Stop

The car travels unusually close to my rear bumper. In previous law enforcement encounters, the officer didn’t follow so closely. I’m immediately concerned and suspicious because if I made an abrupt stop, this person would hit me. It makes sense that a true police officer would maintain a safe distance. This person, maybe an officer, isn’t being safe — that’s a red flag.

The emergency lights are activated. Damn. I see blue and red light emanating from his front grille. This tells me I’m not dealing with a normal police cruiser, and I begin to wonder whether this person is really a member of law enforcement. I notice that the lights don’t flicker or pulsate the way normal law enforcement lights in my area do. And the lights I’m seeing are very different. However, I notice the large push bumper, like squad cars sometimes have for traffic patrol. So, I’m seeing an undercover police car that looks just like a normal police car without the normal markings — another red flag.

I want to pull over, but I’m concerned. This is a bad part of town. I’ve noticed red flags and I’m suspicious. I realize that law enforcement has the power to stop cars and detain individuals. I certainly don’t want to be charged with a crime merely because I have concerns. I slowly proceed as far as I can to attempt to get to a well-lit, well-traveled road or intersection. If it’s not available, I know I have to stop. The approach suggests law enforcement, so as a law-abiding individual I must comply.

The person gets out of the vehicle and approaches my car from the rear. It’s at this time that I look for overt signs of personal security. Meaning: I’m expecting the officer to shine his flashlight into the rear compartment to make sure there are no threats hidden inside. I expect the officer to position himself at the B-pillar (the spot where the driver’s seatbelt retracts into). Officers usually stand there initially to protect themselves from an armed assailant trying to swing a weapon around at them. This position allows them to immediately back up, putting the driver in the position of shooting over his shoulder. Unfortunately, this person does none of the things I expect him to. He walks right up to the car and turns and faces me near my driver-side mirror. He’s looking back at his car and looking around for some reason. He keeps his flashlight directly in my eyes to distract me. I notice he has the usual uniform that can be purchased at any surplus store.

This person asks me strange questions, like does anyone know you’re out here this evening? He asks for my license and never really looks at it. He appears to have a radio on the belt, and not the lapel-mic most have. I see no body camera on his person even though most agencies now require body-worn cameras. At this point I’m in a precarious position. If I follow the law, I might possibly endanger myself because I’m not sure he’s a police officer. So, I ask, “Are you really a police officer?” This enrages him. He’s more aggressive at being challenged. I ask to speak to a supervisor. He says there isn’t one available without making a single radio request. I have my firearm in my car, but I know better than to ever pull a firearm on a police officer or even a would-be police officer. My brain and my accelerator are my weapon, not my pistol.

The person orders me out of the vehicle. He didn’t go back to his patrol car and run my name like almost all officers do right away. For all he knows, I’m Ted Bundy. This is an extreme red flag. For their own safety, real officers need to know if I’m wanted in Kansas for murder, for example. They usually go back to the car and run my name to make sure there are no outstanding wanted notices or warrants anywhere in the nation.

He again orders me out of the car. I ask again for him to call for a supervisor. He says in a much louder tone, “Out of the car, now!” He’s definitely escalating the encounter. I say: “Officer, I don’t believe you are a true member of law enforcement, and I need proof you are who you claim to be.” He quickly flips a badge that I couldn’t read. I state again, “I need to have a supervisor here immediately, and I will wait patiently for the supervisor to arrive.” I notice there’s no backup present either — red flag.

Failure to obey a lawful order is a crime. Unlawful flight from a pursuing law enforcement officer is a crime. Resisting arrest is a crime. Being alive is not a crime. As a human you might have to balance these competing concepts with your survival. If you’re truly afraid and your fear is reasonable and articulated, you wouldn’t likely be charged with a crime. However, you’d better start laying the foundation for a defense by calling 911.

If the person made you believe — truly believe — that he’s not a member of law enforcement, and you believed that your life was in danger, you could argue that you had no choice but to flee and immediately dial 911. 

“911. What is your emergency?”

“Please help me, please send help. There’s a man pretending to be law enforcement who just tried to abduct me. I am Jason Squires, I live at this address, and I’m heading eastbound on XYZ Street or wherever you direct me to find true law enforcement officers. I’m not running from the law. I’m running to the law for help. Please help.”

What if the person was a cop and you just sped away? You might be charged. There’s never a consequence-free option in this world. And pulling away from law enforcement will bring down the hammer. However, the 911 call you made will certainly help minimize your exposure. Calling your buddy before 911? You’re going to be in trouble. Calling 911, which is nearly always recorded, begins a new problem, and a sergeant will almost certainly be ordered to arrive. In fact, 911 will likely direct you somewhere and tell you to wait until a marked unit arrives, and by unit, I mean several units.

At that time, you’d better explain all the reasons why you felt like he was there to kill you pretending to be a cop. If you clearly and calmly describe all indicators that he was not a police officer, you might even get what we call in the industry a “street acquittal.” However, there are aggravators like speeding away and not doing everything 911 says. Don’t be the guy who says, “I was scared and went home.” That guy is going away. Don’t say, “I don’t trust any member of law enforcement, so I ran to my girlfriend’s house.” That person’s also going away. Remember, run to the law, not away from the law.

Let’s envision a place where you don’t have cell signal. The suspected imposter chose this area specifically because it’s a cellular dead spot. There are so many different examples of how this could occur. I might slowly (I said slowly) drive until I find a signal and immediately call for 911. I would calmly state that a person appears to be pretending to be law enforcement and give my name and information.

what if impersonating officer handcuffs

We cede tremendous power to law enforcement. Bad guys occasionally take advantage of the power law enforcement has over motorists. Retired patrol cars and motorcycles can be cloned to look like current law enforcement vehicles. Bad guys can use this approach to apprehend unsuspecting members of our communities. I will add that females possess great latitude when it comes to articulating fear. No, they’re not weaker. However, a woman claiming she’s afraid is more likely to be believed than a male counterpart.

Finally

Police officers must identify themselves. They must divulge their badge numbers. Officers must ask for supervisors if requested, or at a minimum backup officers. 911 is the most powerful tool to bring the real good guys to your location. A bad guy won’t wait for them to show up. Asking to proceed to a more lighted area or commercial parking lot is reasonable. Expressing fear is appropriate under some circumstances. For example: “Sir, your car doesn’t look like law enforcement and you have refused to provide a supervisor or additional units, I fear for my safety and I’ve called 911.” If the officer gets aggressive, wait until the good guys get there and be prepared to explain every single detail as to why you didn’t believe he was law enforcement. And lastly, always protect yourself from bad guys by using your brain. If it doesn’t seem right, call 911 immediately.

Conclusion

We’ve probably all heard about situations like this in the news or have seen YouTube videos of someone impersonating a law enforcement officer. While some are comical, others are much more nefarious. Kenneth Bianchi, also known as the “Hillside Strangler,” along with his cousin Angelo Buono, impersonated police officers using fake badges to lure women into complying with their commands during their crime spree. Remember, it’s not a crime to ask questions when something doesn’t pass the proverbial smell test.

Earlier this year, the shooting in Nova Scotia involved a gunman dressed as a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police who also drove a fake police car. Obtaining a used squad car or modifying one to have certain features that look similar to a legitimate unmarked squad car is easier than you might think, and to a certain extent it’s perfectly legal. Take some time to do an internet search on impersonating law enforcement and you’ll see how frequently this crime takes place. Know your rights, be cautiously cooperative, and stack the odds in your favor by having evidence recorded via a dashcam.

About the Authors

Hana L. Bilodeau

Hana L. Bilodeau has over 15 years of law enforcement experience, serving both locally and federally. Hana spent a large part of her local career in the detective unit investigating crimes against people, predominantly sex crimes. She was well known for her interview skills of both victims and suspects garnering multiple convictions. Hana has a wealth of knowledge in a number of different defensive modalities and presently serves as director of training and special events for SIG Sauer Inc.

www.sigsauer.com / hana.bilodeau@sigsauer.com /

Instagram: @hana.bilodeau

 

Jason SquiresJason Squires has been an attorney in Arizona for over 21 years. He has an emphasis on self-defense and firearms cases. During his off-time, he’s an avid three-gun competitor across the country. He’s also a collector of military firearms and vehicles. You can check out his practice at squireslawaz.com.