SIUSLAW NEWS | SATURDAY, JUNE 15, 2019 | 9A
SAFE from page 1A
During the SAFE event,
Florence Police Sgt. Len Lar-
son gave tips on protecting
oneself, personal trainer Roby
Hodge provided insight on
staying safe on walks and Bill
Herbner from the Siuslaw Rod
and Gun Club shared infor-
mation on the club’s handgun
safety course.
“All of this information is
to increase your awareness
and knowledge of important
things you can do to help en-
sure your own personal safety,”
Beveridge said.
In his presentation, Larson
discussed three main topics:
home safety and security, vehi-
cle security and personal safety.
“I’m going to talk about
preventative actions you can
take to protect yourself and
your wellbeing,” he said, urg-
ing people to be aware of their
surroundings, double check
doors and windows, keep ve-
hicles and doors locked and be
proactive about the safety of
oneself and others.
Larson said that criminals
prey on easy targets, so people
who are prepared have a lower
chance of becoming victims.
He also encouraged people to
“train their brain,” saying that
visualizing scenarios can help
with reaction time.
“We as police officers do
this all the time. When we’re
going to a call, getting ready
for a traffic stop or going to
contact somebody, we’re al-
ways doing the ‘If this happens
I’m going to do this’ or ‘If this
happens I’m going to do that.’
It helps with your reaction
time. If something happens
but you’ve already gone over
it in your mind, you’re going
to react to it way quicker,” he
said.
Florence Police Executive
Administrative Assistant Jamie
Gorder will make the presen-
tation available. Email her at
jamie.gorder@ci.florence.or.us.
“Remember, no one has
the right to harm you,” Lar-
son said. “There’s no right or
wrong way to act — you will
react instinctively to what you
have learned. Practice and a
good mental mindset will help
you survive. Mental and phys-
ical preparation is key to this,
it really is.”
During the question and
answer period, several audi-
ence members asked for clar-
ification on the Carter Lake
rape and previous incidents.
“We all learned after the lat-
est attack that there had been
two previous ones that most
of us didn’t know about,” one
woman said.
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Left, SAFE organizer Jacquie
Beveridge encourages people
to use their brains as their
best tool of defense in an
unsafe situation. Right, Roby
Hodge talks through a scenar-
io with an attendee.
PHOTOS BY CHANTELLE MEYER/SIUSLAW NEWS
south of Florence, is actually
within Douglas County, which
has made it difficult for peo-
ple to find out further details,
even though the victim was
from the Florence area.
Florence Police Command-
er John Pitcher explained the
difficulty in getting informa-
tion about the case, especially
because of the different juris-
dictions involved. Florence
police only work within city
limits; much of the rest of the
area is covered by Lane Coun-
ty Sheriff ’s Office and Oregon
State Police. However, in this
case, the incident happened in
Douglas County.
In addition, social media
posts — “well-intentioned,”
according to Pitcher — went
out with an inaccurate visual
account of the perpetrator.
“In law enforcement, we un-
derstand that with a traumatic,
chaotic event, those detailed
facts may not be accurate.
You’re in a fight for your life,
and you think you saw this or
the sun made it look like this,
but it may not be accurate.
That’s why you’ll never see a
police release put those type of
details out, because we know
those may or may not be accu-
rate,” he said.
When people said that the
accused did not look the posts
had reported, Pitcher said,
“That person is the person
who did those crimes. Guar-
anteed,” later calling him a se-
rial rapist.
The best way to get infor-
mation, Pitcher said, was to
contact local law enforcement
for the area a person is going.
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They would have the best in-
formation on safety.
People also brought up
other details about the Carter
Lake incident, including that
the woman had a dog. They
wondered what she did wrong.
“I don’t know the circum-
stances,” Larson said, “but it
sounds like she did really well.
She survived.”
Pitcher added, “We don’t
ever want to put blame on a
victim. We’re a safe communi-
ty and she felt safe. It just takes
one bad person. It doesn’t mat-
ter how big or small your com-
munity is, it just takes one bad
person.”
He added that the perpe-
trator is still in jail “and they
have a very strong case against
him.”
Larson’s presentation also
advised that people take a dog
or a friend with them when
hiking; carry a knife, gun, pep-
per spray or walking stick; be
ready to fight back or run; and
scream and be loud.
“Fortunately in Florence,
anytime anyone is yelling any-
thing at night, we (the police)
get called on it,” he said.
After he wrapped up, Beve-
ridge called Larson’s slideshow
a “Reader’s Digest condensed
version” of safety tips, which
led directly into Hodge’s pre-
sentation of additional in-
formation combined with a
practical self-defense demon-
stration.
Hodge based his section on
“SAFE,” giving tips under each
category: Smart Alert Fearless
and Equipped. He covered
topics from keeping one’s cell
phone battery charged to not
listening to music and being
aware of the environment.
“All of this is common sense
stuff,” Hodge said.
He also went over common
weapons and tools people
can bring on hikes, every-
thing from a cane or walking
stick through pepper spray,
bear spray, an air horn and
an alarm. He recommended
using pepper spray over bear
spray, since pepper spray is a
stronger concentration.
“Your hiking stick is a great
weapon,” Hodge said, begin-
ning the demonstration por-
tion of his presentation. “A
cane and a walking stick are
the same thing. These are all
effective weapons to protect
yourself. You can carry a cane
with you in an airport, on a
plane, in the mall, schools, a
bar and even a church. It is a
great weapon for immediate
protection.”
He said an altercation be-
tween a knife and a cane is like
a game of rock paper scissors —
the cane-as-rock could knock
the knife-as-scissors away.
“Which one would you rath-
er have?” he asked. “With a
cane or hiking stick, you do not
have to have special skills. In
fact, it makes up for your lack
of skills.”
In a series of movements, he
showed how to use a cane like a
club that can swing toward an
opponent, how to use an up-
ward motion to break a hold,
and, when held in front, how
a cane can act as a warning to
keep someone back.
“You don’t want to wait un-
til someone is in contact dis-
tance,” he said. “Distance is
your friend.”
Canes with a curved hook
can also be used to unhook
arm holds.
According to Hodge, canes
and walking sticks work well
with a person’s fight, flight or
freeze instinct.
“When being attacked, it
is built in your subconscious
mind to pick up a stick. If
you’re hiking and you have
your hiking stick or cane in
your hand, you don’t even have
to draw. It’s already drawn and
in your hand.”
He also advised using ver-
bal responses to keep some-
one back, including saying in a
loud voice, “No, stay back!” and
“Stop right there!” Although it
might look like you are becom-
ing the aggressor, it could actu-
ally keep you safe from people
looking for an easy target.
In conclusion, Hodge said,
“Always be prepared mentally
and physically for an attack,
since you never know if you’re
going to become the next vic-
tim. Be prepared and practice.
… I hope this talk was empow-
ering and you have a higher
level of awareness.”
After the demonstrations
and a short break, Herbner
spoke about the Siuslaw Rod
and Gun Club’s handgun safety
course.
“The course goals are basic
knowledge, skills and attitude
necessary to owning and using
a firearm in a safe manner. This
is a beginner’s class. It is not
advanced, it’s not intermediate.
It is right out of kindergarten,”
Herbner said. “If you’ve never
fired a firearm before, this is
the class to take. If you are an
experience shooter, you can
still gain a lot of information
from this class.”
The course is sponsored
by Florence Police Depart-
ment and Siuslaw Rod and
Gun Club. People can sign
up or read more information
at www.siuslawgunclub.com/
handgun-safety.
“It is basically safety. Safety
first is always prime in han-
dling any firearm,” said fellow
instructor Glen Harter.
The two men summarized
the class, which takes a full day.
It is a four-hour class divided
into sections followed by 50
rounds fired at the firing range.
“Practice practice practice.
You can’t practice enough,”
Harter said, who added that 50
rounds is not enough to gain
proficiency. Closer to 3,000
rounds fired would be a better
goal. “If something happens in
a stressful situation, you are go-
ing to react at the lowest com-
mon denominator of what you
have practiced.”
“It’s not something to treat
lightly,” Herbner added. “We
basically recommend if you
take the basic, kindergarten
class and you go on to take
some more classes and become
proficient.”
The club offers a firing range
and additional courses, includ-
ing how to attain a concealed
carry permit.
The men also said that peo-
ple considering purchasing a
gun should talk to the club first,
as the members would be able
to help people match the right
gun.
“If you don’t have a gun and
you want to learn, come to the
class first,” Harter said. “We
have guns you can use and give
you an idea of what you need.”
A third representative of the
club said, “Whatever you carry,
whether it be a gun, weapon,
knife, stick or cane, be prepared
to know how to use it. Practice
with it.”
The final presentation of the
night came from Adahy Lew-
is, with Coastal ATA Martial
Arts. He teaches classes at Lane
Community College Florence
Center on traditional martial
arts, real world applications,
knife defense and firearm dis-
arming. He also has plans to
create a low-impact course for
seniors.
“If you want to do it, there is
a way to make it happen,” Lewis
said.
Sign ups were available at the
end of the event.
Beveridge said, “We’re fortu-
nate we have people like Roby
and Adahy to do this training
for people, so avail yourself of
classes.”
If people want to see more
events like these, organizers
said, they should consider
getting involved and leading
future classes. Email SafeWom-
enFlorence@gmail.com
for
more information.
While SAFE ended without
a set date for future events, in-
terest during the event led to
people signing up for personal
training sessions, following up
with the rod and gun club and
purchasing, at the very least,
pepper spray and a hooked
cane.
“Our hope is that you will
leave here better prepared to
ensure your own safety and
hopefully share these tips with
others,” Beveridge said. “And
remember, your brain is your
best survival tool.”
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