Daytona Beach, FL – A special workshop being offered this weekend by the Daytona Beach Police Department aims to teach people what to do if they’re caught in an active shooter situation.
The 2-hour workshop – which is being taught by DBPD Captain Lance Blanchette – will begin at 10 AM Saturday on the second floor of DBPD Headquarters on Valor Boulevard. It’s free and open to the public.
DBPD Chief Mike Chitwood says those who go will learn techniques that can be applied to almost any kind of situation where someone takes out a gun and starts shooting.
“This is an opportunity to educate our community on the dangers of these types of situations,” Chitwood added. “The whole purpose of this seminar is to get people to think about what to do in the event they are confronted with an active shooter. The people who stay calm and have a plan are more likely to survive.”
The law enforcement agency held a similar seminar last August and Blanchette says this is something he’d like to do for the public a couple of times a year, at least.
“It’s based upon a simple philosophy of ‘run, hide, fight’,” Blanchette added. “Even though the concept sounds very simple, we go into depth as to not only where do you run, [but] what do you hide behind. And, if you fight, what it takes to have that active mindset to be a successful fighter.”
Blanchette says the techniques in the seminar – which DBPD has offered for some time to businesses, schools and other types of interested groups – apply to anyone whether or not they’re armed and in almost any kind of public setting, including schools, malls, work and places of worship.
Part of the seminar, according to Blanchette, will also address how people who are armed should behave in these kinds of situations if they want to stay alive and whether it makes sense for people to walk around armed or not.
“One of the questions I always get asked is, what if I’m in a theater and I pop up and I take out a bad guy and the police come in and see me?” Blanchette noted. “This is a problem because the police [are] gonna see you as a potential bad guy. So I kinda give some ideas and some pointers [on] what to do in that scenario.”
The concepts being taught in the seminar are part of the “Run, Hide, Fight” training given to Federal Bureau of Investigation agents.
No reservations are required to the seminar. Refreshments will be provided.
Over 100 people attended the August seminar and a similar number is expected this time around, per Blanchette.
Anyone who wants more information can call DBPD at 386-671-5100.
Copyright 2016 Southern Stone Communications.