CCW Safe

In this week's episode, Mike and Stan talk about the Citizen's Use of Force Continuum that was developed by CCW Safe.  

They talk about the foundation of the continuum being preparation and avoidance.  

Preparing and avoiding is something that we do everyday, but probably don't even think about it. We wake up in the morning and most of us check the weather for any warnings, including heat waves, tornadoes, flash flooding, etc.  We grab a cup of coffee and before heading into work, we check the latest traffic reports to avoid traffic jams or accidents that may set us back. We strive to make our days as efficient as possible, and we try to avoid delays and potentially dangerous situations.   

When it comes to self defense and personal protection, it should be no different. We should recognize and accept the responsibility that comes with carrying, and we should always have a good understanding of risk, and where there is a higher risk in terms of our personal protection.

Location is a great example of this. I’m sure we all know of areas where we wouldn’t want to be stranded late at night, or where we wouldn’t want to take our kids anytime of day. But there are probably more locations, that we might not give much thought to, that could have elevated risks in terms of personal safety. If you are new to an area, have relocated, or are just unfamiliar with some of the surrounding areas where you live, most cities now have crime mapping available online. Even though I am not from Chicago, and live nowhere near there, I love this site that breaks down virtually every violent crime related issue in Chicago. If you can’t find anything online where you live, you can always call the non emergency line of your police department, and ask for a PIO (public information officer) or for someone who might have some information on crime in your area. 

They also talk about the first layer of the continuum pyramid, being Situational Awareness.  Situational awareness is the first level in the civilian use of force continuum. From an early age, we all learn things to look out for.  Situational awareness is also based on your personal experiences, knowledge, or from information from others. It is the most important part of the continuum, because every action will be based off of your situational awareness.  

Situational awareness is not only just your ability to notice things that are out of place, or potentially dangerous, but also your ability to quickly make complex decisions, based on the information you have at that time.

For more information, check out the earlier articles on the continuum, which covers Preparation and Avoidance and Situational Awareness. 

In this week's podcast, Mike and Stan talk about some of the myths that we get from callers and new members.  

Below is a list of the top 12 myths about our service.  Stan and Mike talk about each one of these in detail in this podcast.  

CCW Safe is a reimbursement plan...Wrong!

CCW Safe has a cap on their plans and what they say is too good to be true…Wrong!

CCW Safe does not connect you to an attorney when you call their emergency line; you have to leave a message and then they call you back…Wrong!

CCW Safe Will not let you choose your own lawyers…Wrong!

CCW Safe does not pay 100% up front defense funds…Wrong!

CCW Safe does not provide training to its members…Wrong!

 

and more... 

In this podcast episode, Stan and Mike interview Bob O'Connor, investigator for the Florida State Attorney's Office. 

Bob is a highly experienced criminal investigator, and has had the opportunity to be involved at both the investigator and major case supervisory/management roles in multiple high profile, media-intensive investigations over his career. Those cases and the various assignments over a 40 year career provided Bob with a unique perspective of the criminal justice system and the interaction between the police and the public. He has worked at the local, county, state and federal levels successfully, using multiagency cooperation as the basis for mutual accomplishments.

Time: 1:10:57

In this special edition of "In Self Defense", Don West and Shawn Vincent follow up on the Stephen Maddox case.  In this episode, the two hosts interview Stephen Maddox, CCW Safe member and Mike Darter, Co-Founder and CEO of CCW Safe.  

This is the first case in the industry that involved a full trial of a self defense case being charged with first degree murder.  CCW Safe defended Stephen in that trial, and ended up paying over $350k in the case.  Stephen was found not guilty after a deliberation that lasted just over one hour.  

In this podcast, they talk with Stephen and give an indepth interview of the incident through the veridct of not guilty.  

In this episode, Stan and Mike interview Don West, National Trial Counsel for CCW Safe.  They talk about an in depth history of Don's legal defense career, and talk about his role with CCW Safe.  Runtime 1:04:57.

 

In this episode, Stan and Mike finish the discussion about the core values of CCW Safe.  They final two core values in this discussion are Experience and Leadership.  They talk about the experience and leadership of the founders of CCW Safe, as well as the employees of CCW Safe, but more importantly the attorneys, the panel advisors of CCW Safe and others that CCW Safe has aligned themselves wtih.  

Time: 56 minutes. 

In this episode Stan and Mike talk with George Holt, George spent 25 years in law enforcement, and is now the preisdent of Solutions Group International, which provides specialized security services, tactical training, threat assessments and leading edge anti-terrorism / counter-terrorism applications to law enforcement, security, government, military, entertainment, and corporate sectors worldwide.

Mr. Holt is a co-founder and President of SGI. Mr. Holt provides direct oversight to our Special Operations and Tactical Training Division. He recently retired from a Los Angeles area law enforcement agency at the rank of Sergeant II, after 25 years of cumulative service. In addition to serving as a Team Leader on a full-time SWAT team, he has served as a departmental accreditation manager (responsible for policy development and review in accordance with CALEA accreditation standards) and a Patrol Division Watch Commander.

He is a graduate of the Rio Hondo Police Academy (basic recruit class) and the Los Angeles Police Department's Sergeant and Watch Commander Schools. He is a certified Range Master & Firearms Instructor, as well as a graduate of both the Fullerton Police Academy's S.W.A.T. Sniper School and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department S.W.A.T. School. Mr. Holt is highly decorated, having been awarded the Police Star Medal twice for heroism and bravery in the line of duty (1996 and 2001).

Mr. Holt has trained police and military personnel worldwide in various areas of tactical operations and enjoys an international reputation as a highly skilled instructor. Mr. Holt also has extensive experience in the private sector, having provided personal security for several high profile clients in the fields of business, politics and entertainment.

Mr. Holt is committed to utilizing his extensive training and experience to ensure that all of the services offered by SGI are of the highest quality and exceed industry standards.

In this episode, Stan and Mike talk about the core values of CCW Safe.  They talk about how CCW Safe developed the core values for the company, and how important it is to the founders and to the company.  The core values of Commitment, Dedication, and Caring are discussed in this episode, and how they play a role in the day in, day out services of CCW Safe.  The two other core values of Leadership and Experience will be covered in an upcoming podcast.  

In this episode of "Inside CCW Safe" Mike and Stan talk with Gary Eastridge, Critical Response Coordinator for CCW Safe.  There's alot more to CCW Safe's critical response program than just a call center when dealing with citizens who have been involved in a self defense shooting.  The three talk about critical incidents, what they are, and how they are handled by CCW Safe.  CCW Safe bases the handling of critical incidents on their experience as police officers, and experience they recieved after being involved in shootings themselves.  

Gary is a retired law enforcement officer. He started with the Oklahoma City Police Department in February 1979 retiring in 2000 as an Inspector in the Homicide Unit. Gary also served as a department firearms instructor after receiving his CLEET certification in 1986. After retirement he worked as a police officer with the International Police Task Force (IPTF) in support of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). Gary worked homicides with counterparts from 53 nations as well as mentoring local Police officers. Gary was named Chief Investigator for the Oklahoma County District Attorney’s office in January of 2007 where he served until his retirement in April of 2017 to accept his position with CCWsafe. He reviewed all officer involved shootings occurring in Oklahoma County as well as in custody deaths and other significant and high profile investigations / prosecutions.

In this second episode of Inside CCW Safe Podcast, Mike interviews Stan on his history in law enforcement and his emphasis on training.  For 15 years, Stan was a trainer for the Oklahoma City Police Department, four years of that actually assigned to the police academy.  

The two discuss the importance of training for concealed carriers, the logging of training, and more. 

Stan Campbell has over 20 years of experience as a police officer in Oklahoma City. He retired as a Lieutenant over a street crime team, and spent over 10 years on the Tactical Unit (SWAT) and has spent 15 years developing and teaching self-defense curriculum. Stan is a certified National self-defense Instructor and has also instructed officers in British Territories. Stan has extensive experience and knowledge in the critical incident command system, officer involved shootings and use of force incidents.