Avoid, Deny, Defend: County Workers Get Active Attacker Training

Fayette County held active attacker training sessions for County employees on Friday, May 6 inside the district courtroom.

Fayette County Emergency Management Chief Craig Moreau conducted the training. The class was mandatory for all County employees who work in an office setting. It was optional for other employees, such as road and bridge workers. Law enforcement and EMS had previously attended specialized training.

“Avoid, deny and defend – these are the options you have to survive,” Moreau told the attendees. “Hide and hope is not a good scenario.”

The class watched survivor interviews and surveillance video of several high profile attacks, such as the massacres at Sandy Hook Elementary and Virginia Tech. Moreau showed the class that in almost every case, the people who took action had a far better chance of survival than the people who froze or laid down.

One teacher at Sandy Hook told a classroom to run out of the school when the attack began. Many of them survived. The students in one classroom at Virginia Tech survived by jumping out of a second floor window while their heroic professor died defending the classroom door. Moreau pointed out that at both Sandy Hook and Virginia Tech, the students and teachers who hid under desks almost all died.

“Don’t make yourself an easy target,” Moreau warned.

Moreau also trained the class on the use of tourniquets and other first aid techniques to treat traumatic injuries such as gunshot wounds.

“We’re calling this an ‘active attacker’ class, not just ‘active shooter,’ because we’re seeing more and more attacks that don’t involve guns,” Moreau said. “Sometimes the attacker uses a vehicle to plow into a crowd of people.”

Moreau said his office will offer the class for free to groups such as assisted living centers or churches. Contact the Fayette County Office of Emergency Management by calling (979) 968-6469.