Bedford Police To Hold Public Active-Shooter Response Class

BEDFORD, NH — In the nightmare scenario that has become more and more common across the country and on the nightly news in recent years, Bedford Community Emergency Response Team Director Paul Brock said the worst thing anybody can do is nothing. What you can do to help yourself and others in an active-shooter situation will be the focus of next week's Bedford CERT Civilian Response to an Active Shooter Event: Avoid, Deny, Defend class.

"The worst thing you can do is stand there, try to meld into the background, and hope the shooter goes away," Brock said. "Studies show that you need to do something active. That could be to run away and hide. That could be to avoid the shooter, or deny them access to you. If the other two options are not available to you, it could be trying to do something to defend yourself or others. But studies show that doing nothing is not a plan. Hoping for the best is not a plan."

Those attending the class open to all Bedford residents on Oct. 24 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Bedford Safety Complex will learn how to formulate that plan in their minds so they don't freeze in a violent-intruder event at a church, school, mall or concert.

"Though we hope our residents never have to use what they learn in this class, the training will give people knowledge and options to protect themselves in a situation where a person poses imminent harm," Bedford Chief John Bryfonski said.

Bedford Police Operations Support Commander Lt. Michael Bernard will be presenting the class that is sponsored by the Bedford Police Department in coordination with the Bedford CERT.

"We've run the class for different groups a few times and this time came up with the idea of opening it up to the public," Brock said. "We've had church groups request it — for reasons nobody understands churches have become targets for these crazy guys. Our goal is not to make people afraid to go to church. Our goal is to get people to think through what they might do in an emergency. If you see an accident where somebody is bleeding, if you are involved in an active-shooter emergency, if your spouse falls down the stairs clutching their chest, if you've thought about it ahead of time it bolsters the chances that you'll know what to do. It's all about mental preparation."

Brock said "Avoid, Deny, Defend" allows that the response could be different for different types of people.

"If you are a 5-foot-1, 115-pound woman you might not be the best candidate to jump on the back of some linebacker with a gun," Brock said. "So then you might do what you can do to avoid the shooter, or deny them access to you. If you are a bigger person, maybe the best response is to take positive action to save your life, or save the life of others."

Brock pointed last weekend's church shooting in Pelham where wedding guests help subdue the suspect until police could arrive.

"We are not looking to turn civilians into cops or first responders," Brock said. "But we want to get people to think: 'What would I do if?'"

Seats are limited to about 40 attendees. Residents interested in attending are asked to RSVP to info@bedfordnhcert.org.