- April 24, 2024
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Flagler County Sheriff Commander Mike Lutz keeps participants engaged in the Active Assailant Training class at the Flagler County Emergency Operations Center. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Mike Lutz says he tries to make the FCSO's Active Assailant Training class "memorable." Photo by Brent Woronoff
Mike Lutz has been conducting the FCSO's Active Assailant Training class since 2016. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Flagler Sheriff Commander Mike Lutz began his active assailant training class by stating that Flagler County is a very safe community.
Then, as he displayed information about mass shootings in his PowerPoint, he asked, "Can something like this happen here?" Heads nodded. Lutz answered for himself. "Yes it can," he roared. "If you don't think it can, you're fooling yourself."
The two-hour presentation at the Flagler County Emergency Operations Center on July 22 was part of a monthly training series sponsored by Flagler County Emergency Management and conducted by Flagler Volunteer Services in coordination with local organizations.
Lutz has been conducting the active assailant training class since 2016. He's traded out videos and updated information over the years.
Over 5,200 people have attended the training class, including city, county and school district employees, he said. But while he tells the participants that schools have been targets of violence since there were "settlers and Indians," the class has never been more relevant than it is now.
"It's the times," he said, after the volunteers had filed out. "People should know this."
The most important lesson, he said, is to be aware of your surroundings. It takes an average person a couple of seconds to react to a situation. For a person who is aware, cutting that lag time could save a life.
Look for the out-of-the-ordinary, Lutz said. Large awkward bags, a person taking video of a location, asking unusual questions.
Two fathers sat in the back of the classroom, each with a young son sitting next to him.
"This stuff helps in school," one father said after the class. "We wanted them to get something out of it. They need to be prepared."
Lutz showed a news report of the Columbine shooting 23 years ago. Police were sitting outside, waiting for the SWAT team. That was standard procedure back then, Lutz said. That's changed.
"We go in," he said of the Flagler County Sheriff's Office. "There's a (School Resource Deputy) in every school, two in the high schools. There will always be a uniformed officer in every school in Flagler County. We're going right in."
What happened in Uvalde, Texas, where officers did not confront the gunman for over an hour, wouldn't happen here, Lutz said.
"We all go through active shooter training," he said. "If there's one of us, we're going in. That's how we train."
All the doors in Flagler's schools are auto-locked, Lutz said. It was not like that a few years ago, he said.
Lutz showed surveillance videos of people not paying attention in an active shooter situation until it was too late. During the Stoneman Douglas shooting in 2018, a fire alarm went off that drew students out of their classrooms and into the line of fire.
"It might be up to you to save your own life," Lutz said. "If you see something, say something."
"We all go through active shooter training. If there's one of us, we're going in. That's how we train."
— MIKE LUTZ, Flagler County Sheriff's Office commander
At work, be prepared, he said. Have an emergency plan. Designate a shelter. For example, hide behind something substantial, like an air conditioning unit. If there is an active shooter on premises, find an escape route, leave your belongings behind and call 911 as soon as possible. If you have to hide, silence your cellphone, lock and barricade doors. Find a "hard corner" where you won't be seen. As a last resort, fight. Throw items, use a pen to stab an assailant in the neck or eyes.
Look for warning signs among fellow employees, such as depression and aggressive behavior. If you see something suspicious, Lutz said, call the FCSO non-emergency number: 386-437-4116. In an emergency, you can call or text 911. If you text, include your location and be prepared to answer questions if needed.
Lutz gets loud at times. He's engaging and uses shock value as well as humor to lighten a very grim subject.
"I try to make it memorable," he said. "We're trying to give people tools for their toolbox."
