Safe Selling: Personal Safety & Active Shooter Response Training Recap

Orange County REALTORS® members were treated to a two-hour safety training, in honor of Safey Month, at the OCR’s Fountain Valley office on September 10th. Safe Selling: Personal Safety & Active Shooter Response Training was provided by retired police detective Glen Garrity, who discussed tips for preventing workplace violence and how to react in an active shooter situation.

Glen spoke about the four response options during an active shooter situation: Run, Hide, Fight, and Play Dead. He showed videos of the various Run options, and explained when to run straight, when to move in a zig-zag pattern, and the best way to time one’s escape. He also provided ideas for where to Hide, showed some examples, and explained the importance of ensuring you’re both concealed and covered but that your hiding place doesn’t hinder your ability to escape. Garrity then demonstrated several Fight techniques, as well as how to escape zip ties and provide emergency medical assistance to oneself or others. Lastly, Glen explained the lesser-known Play Dead option and how to utilize it effectively.

Garrity also spoke about situational awareness, expectation blindness, OODA Loop (people’s natural thought processes – Observe, Orient, Decide, Act, repeat.), de-escalation techniques, how to respond when law enforcement arrives, lessons learned from past active shooter situations, and how to use all the information to up one’s chances of survival. He provided important nuggets, such as “Under pressure, you don’t rise to the occasion, you sink to the level of your training”, “Escalation occurs during a real or perceived lack of safety, respect, and/or concern about the problem”, and “When in an active shooter situation - DO SOMETHING.” At the end of the class, attendees were offered the opportunity to practice escaping from zip ties and proper gun take away techniques, in addition to a Q&A session.

For more Safety Month classes, including Holding a Successful Open House, Click Smart, Stay Safe: Cybercrime Secrets from the DA, and Real Estate Lessons Learned, visit www.ocrealtors.org/Safety-Month or www.ocrealtors.org/calendar for OCR’s full class schedule.