Written by Victoria Deane
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Recently, a friend of
my
sister attended a personal Safety workshop, and it jolted me. It was
given
by Pat Malone, who has been a bodyguard for famous
figures
like Farrah Fawcett and Sylvester Stallone. He works for the FBI, and
teaches hand to hand combat for police officers and Navy SEALS. This man
has
seen it all, and knows a lot. He focused his teachings on HOW TO
AVOID
BEING THE VICTIM OF A VIOLENT CRIME. He gave us some statistics about
how
much the occurrences of random violence have escalated over the recent
years, and it's terrible. Something like 99% of us will be exposed, ie., be a
victim
of a violent crime. Here are some of the most important points included in his presentation:
The three reasons women are easy targets for random acts of violence
are:
2. Body language (keep your head up, swing your arms, stand straight
up).
3. Wrong place, wrong time (DON'T be walking alone in an alley, or
driving
in a bad neighborhood at night).
4. Women have a tendency to get into their cars after shopping, eating,
working, etc., and just sit (doing their checkbook, or making a list,
etc).
DON'T DO THIS! The predator will be watching you, and this is the
perfect
opportunity for him to get in the passenger side, put a gun to your
head,
and tell you where to go.
AS SOON AS YOU GET INTO YOUR CAR, LOCK THE DOORS AND LEAVE.
2. If you are parked next to a big van, enter your car from the
passenger
door. Most serial killers attack their victims by pulling them into
their
vans while the women are attempting to get into their cars.
3. Look at the car parked on the drivers' side of your vehicle, and the
passenger side. If a male is sitting alone in the seat nearest your
car, you
may want to walk back into the mall, or work, and get a guard/policeman
to
walk you back out.
IT IS ALWAYS BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY.
4. Always take the elevator instead of the stairs. (Stairwells are
horrible
places to be alone.)
5. Do not get on an elevator if there is a weirdo already on there (of
course bad men don't always look bad).
6. Do not stand back in the corners of the elevator, be near the front,
by
the doors, ready to get off or on.
7. If you get on the elevator on the 25th floor, and the Boogie Man
gets on
at the 22nd, get off when he gets on.
8. If the predator has a gun and you are not under his control, ALWAYS
run!
9. POLICE only make 4 of 10 shots when they are in range of 3-9 feet.
This
is due to stress.
10. The predator will only hit you (a running target) 4 in 100 times.
And
even then, it most likely WILL NOT be a vital organ. RUN!
11. As women, we are always trying to be sympathetic: STOP IT, it may
get
you raped, or killed.
12. Ted Bundy, the serial killer, was a good looking, well-educated
man, who
ALWAYS played on the sympathies of unsuspecting women. He walked with a
cane, or a limp, and often asked "for help" into his vehicle or with
his
vehicle, which is when he abducted his next victim.
13. Pat Malone told us the story of his daughter, who came out of the
mall
and was walking to her car when she noticed 2 older ladies in front of
her.
Then she saw a police car come towards her with 2 cops, and they said
hello.
She also noticed that all 8 handicap spots in the area were empty. As
she
neared her car she saw a man a few rows over calling to her, for help.
He
wanted her to close his passenger side door. He was sitting in the
drivers' side, and said he was handicapped. He continued calling, until
she
turned and headed back to the mall, and then he began cursing at her.
She
wondered why he didn't ask the 2 older ladies, or the policeman for
help,
and why he was not parked in any of the empty handicap spots. As she
got
back to the mall, two male friends of hers were exiting, and as she
told
them the story, and turned to point at the car, a male was getting out
of
the back seat into the front, and the car sped away.
DON'T GET CAUGHT IN THIS TRAP.
14. Tips to saving your life, if you have gotten into a violent
situation:
B. If you are driving, react immediately in the situation, and crash
your
car while still going 5 MPH
C. If he's driving, find the right time, and stick your fingers in his
eyes.
He must watch the road, so choose an unsuspecting time and gouge him.
It is your ONLY defense. While he is in shock, GET OUT. (This sounds
gross,
but the alternative is your fault if you do not act.)
D. RESIST: don't go along with him: run, if you are able to scream, you
DO
NOT want to get to crime scene # 2
E. DON'T EVER GIVE UP!
16. GET A CELL PHONE. There are packages for $19.95 a month that allow
you
to program only 911 into the dialing out program (this is for parents
who
say it is too expensive for their kids to have a cell phone.)
17. BREAK DOWNS: (avoid this by ALWAYS keeping your car in good working
order).
18. If your car breaks down: you better have a cell phone to call for
help,
and lock your doors.
19. Keep a blanket, and a pair of warm clothes and boots, and a
flashlight
in your car always for emergencies.
20. If you don't have a cell phone: (shame on you)
21. And it's noon on a business day, you MAY want to put your hazards
on and
walk to safety
22. And it's 2 a.m.: put on your warm clothes, and walk to a lighted
area.
23. You are a perfect target if you are sitting in your car broken
down.
24. Predators search the highways for easy targets like you
25. And you're on a desolate road: walk away from the car (in your warm
clothes) and go to some bushes, or some area AWAY from your vehicle.
It will be cold, and uncomfortable, but you DO NOT want to stay in your
car,
and there are no psychic boogiemen waiting in the bushes who knew you
were
going to break down.
26. Physical defenses that we can use against the violent predator:
B. RUN!
C. Find an obstacle, such as a parked car, and run around it, like ring
around the rosie.
This may sound silly, but over the years, 5 women have told Pat Malone
that
this SAVED THEIR LIVES.
D. Your last hope is getting under the car. Once you are under there,
there
are tons of things to hold on to, and he will not be able to get you
out,
and will not come under for you (most likely). Usually they give up by
this point. The catch here is that YOU MUST PRACTICE GETTING UNDER THE
CAR.
You
must have a plan (he will have one); know if you will be going on your
back,
front, from the side or back of the car.
It must be practiced.
E. Never let yourself or anyone that you know be a "closer" in any type
of
business (bar, store, restaurant, gas station). Pat knew Danielle, who
was
the girl from Chesterland that just died from being shot point-blank by
some
kids while she was closing at the local gas station. He talked with her
the
night before she died, and asked whether it ever scared her to close
alone.
She said yes, but said "I'll be alright, Pat, I'll be alright."
She wasn't. I didn't mean to scare you with any of this, but honestly,
I
hope it did. It should. Our world is not as safe as we pretend that it
is,
and living in our fantasy worlds WILL get us in trouble, sooner or
later.
"It won't happen to me" doesn't cut it, and is a bogus expectation
anyway.
Pat Malone said again and again that the women who die EVERY MINUTE
from
violent crimes expected to go to bed tonight, and get up tomorrow, and
do it
all over again, and again, and again. No one expects it, but we must be
prepared and aware so that we HAVE A PLAN.
I would encourage you to pass this on to all women, not just your
friends
and family, but everybody. We all need to hear it!
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