The Sachse Police Department will host a free active shooter response training open to all community members on Saturday, Oct. 3, at 9 a.m.
The session takes place at the Sachse Public Safety Building, 3815-D Sachse Road. No registration is required.
Called Civilian Response to Active Shooter Events (C.R.A.S.E.), the course teaches the Avoid, Deny, Defend model developed by the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT) program at Texas State University. ALERRT has trained law enforcement officers nationwide since 2002 and created the C.R.A.S.E. curriculum in 2004 to extend that preparation to civilians.
The three-part strategy works like this:
- Avoid: Pay attention to your surroundings, have an exit plan and move away from the threat as quickly as possible.
- Deny: Create barriers between yourself and the threat, turn off lights and stay out of sight when getting away is difficult.
- Defend: If avoiding and denying are not possible, be prepared to protect yourself.
The training also covers the history and prevalence of active shooter events, medical considerations and how to plan drills, according to ALERRT. Under ALERRT policy, C.R.A.S.E. sessions are always provided at no cost to participants. Individuals are not authorized to charge for presenting the Avoid, Deny, Defend protocol.
Residents, business owners, employees and anyone else interested can walk in. The department's announcement did not list a contact number or an end time for the session.
The Oct. 3 class is part of a broader slate of free safety programs from Sachse police. The department is also offering a free Rape Aggression Defense (R.A.D.) self-defense course for women, with four three-hour sessions running from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Oct. 14, 21 and 28 and Nov. 4 at the same Sachse Road location, according to Sachse News. That course does require registration.
The full C.R.A.S.E. announcement is posted on the city's website.
