With America “in the midst of horrific mass attacks against everyday civilians,” Marietta Police Chief Dan Flynn says national media outlets are guilty of glorifying shooters and terrorists.
“Conceivably, if the national news media would stop morbidly glorifying active shooters and terrorists by displaying their names photos and manifestos over and over, new shooters would not be inspired or motivated to seek similar infamy, but that is unlikely to occur,” said Flynn in an advisory entitled “Personal Safety and Security in 2017.”
“Therefore, the best overall response for Americans at this point is to educate ourselves not only in the methods of public safety, but also in the methods of personal security and situational awareness.”
Here is Flynn’s entire article:
"America is in the midst of a series of horrific mass attacks against everyday civilians. The most recent attacks have been against groups of bicycle riders in New York and a congregation worshiping at church services in Texas. Both of these latest attacks occurred just weeks after 20,000 citizens attending a music concert in Las Vegas were attacked by a deranged gunman who killed 58 people. Sadly, the rapid succession of attacks has left many asking “ Is there anywhere we are safe?” The fact is, in recent years, there have been attacks in schools; military installations, workplaces, large entertainment venues, and a transportation venue in New York City. None of the attacks fit the same profile, except that they seem to randomly strike all demographics of citizens.
"Most Americans seem to agree with the premise that we must live our lives without fear, but adapt to potential for danger everywhere. We must not give in to terrorists and we cannot completely escape the behaviorally ill some, not all, of whom are violence prone and moving about freely in our society. Moreover, given the variety and random nature of the venues where attacks have occurred, it is not possible to predict the location of future attacks nor feasible to avoid schools, workplaces, churches or recreation venues, etc. So how then can we adapt to the potential danger, yet live our lives in a normal way while remaining as safe and secure as possible?
"Conceivably, if the national news media would stop morbidly glorifying active shooters and terrorists by displaying their names photos and manifestos over and over, new shooters would not be inspired or motivated to seek similar infamy, but that is unlikely to occur. Therefore, the best overall response for Americans at this point is to educate ourselves not only in the methods of public safety, but also in the methods of personal security and situational awareness. There are differences between the concepts of safety and security, but it is more vital than ever to be aware of the rationale and methods of both.
"The Marietta Police Department supports and conducts recurring free seminars for the public. The seminars are conducted by certified police instructors presenting a research-based program known as Civilian Response to Active Shooter Events (CRASE). The CRASE Program was developed by Texas State University’s ALERRT (Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training) in cooperation with the FBI. Although there are other commercial and free training courses on the topic of personal safety and security, the staff of the MPD and many other law enforcement agencies in metro-Atlanta feel that CRASE provides the most practical tips for civilians who may inadvertently find themselves caught in a dangerous situation. Examples of the instruction include, but are not limited to tips such as the following:
1. Before entering a building, room or gathering, stop and look inside. Is anyone acting in a suspicious manner?, Is anything or anyone noticeably out of place?, Does it feel non-specifically dangerous? If any answer is yes, do not enter.
2. Upon entering any venue, building, room or gathering of any kind, take note of where the exits and potential alternate escape routes are in case you have to leave due to the outbreak of violence. Also, know that the natural tendency for crowds in an emergency situation to want to exit through the same place they originally entered. This causes dangerous bottlenecks and injuries.
3. Know that police officers will lay down their very life to protect you, but even the best police departments in the world can’t be everywhere all the time and their response time varies. Learn and teach the Avoid-Deny-Defend response strategy in case you unfortunately find yourself in any venue where violence breaks out.
4. When traveling around in the public, always be aware of activities occurring in your surroundings. Frequently scan the area and if you see something suspicious or dangerous at an intermediate distance, avoid it immediately.
5. Learn about critical lifesaving measures. In a mass casualty event, fire service personnel, EMTs, and paramedics may become overwhelmed. When that occurs, civilians are needed to step up and assist with the injured. The simple methods of the “Stop the Bleed” campaign can be learned by anyone and make a real life-saving difference for the wounded.
"Alarming as it may be, random attacks against groups of civilians in the U.S. are on the increase and whether they are being committed by terrorists or violent behaviorally ill individuals, for the time being there does not seem to be an end in sight.
"Just as we learned about “stop-drop-roll” as children, we must now acknowledge the need to train our minds to respond to Avoid-Deny-Defend. Strategies for improving our personal safety and security are available through credible police or commercial training courses for civilians. The training should address specific methods of personal security in this; the unfortunate age of random large-scale attacks against the American public."
