CCW Safe

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.   

In this first episode of Inside CCW Safe, with founders Stan Campbell and Mike Darter, they talk about the history of CCW Safe, the history of the founders, and the importance of structuring CCW Safe after the "Police Union Model".   Mike and Stan were both former police officers with Oklahoma City, and Mike also worked for DOJ-ATF under a contract to manage of their violent crime programs in N. Texas and Oklahoma.   This is the first in a weekly podcast talking about CCW Safe, the self defense legal industry, and the firearms industry.  

In this episode of "In Self Defense", Don West and Shawn Vincent talk about the "Loud Music" case involving Michael Dunn.   Dunn fatally shot seventeen-year-old Jordan Davis at a convenience store parking lot after an argument over the loud music Davis and his friends were listening to in their red Dodge Durango. While Dunn claimed Davis made death threats, displayed a shotgun, and attempted to get out of his car to attack him, no evidence or witness testimony corroborated his account.  Dunn fled the scene and failed to contact law enforcement. A witness memorized Dunn’s license plate number, and detectives apprehended Dunn at his home the next day. He was eventually charged with one count of first degree murder for the shooting of Jordan Davis, and three counts of first degree attempted murder for firing at a car full of teenagers as they sped away. The state threw in a charge of throwing or firing “deadly missiles” for good measure.     During the first trial, scrappy criminal defense attorney Cory Strolla, operating on a shoestring budget, made an impassioned argument that the state failed to disprove, beyond a reasonable doubt, Dunn’s claim that he shot Jordan Davis in self-defense.  According to a juror who spoke to reporters after the trial, Strolla convinced two members of the jury that state had not met their burden.  They refused to convict Dunn on the murder charge and forced a mistrial on the central count.  The jury was unanimous, however, on the three counts of attempted murder, although the opted for the lesser charge of second degree, telling the state they believed the act was done in the heat of the moment, not as a premeditated plot to kill. They found him guilty for the “deadly missile” charge as well.   The mandatory minimum sentence for second-degree murder in Florida is 20 years -- each.  Dunn would get 60 years in prison for the shots he fired that hurt no one, and he’d have to stand trial a second time to resolve the question surrounding the shot that took Jordan Davis’ life. During the second trial, experienced public defender Waffa Hanania represented Dunn and worked methodically to convince the jury that “Jordan Davis escalated this situation until he ended up dead.” The jury didn’t buy it.  After a short deliberation, they gave the state exactly what they asked for: a guilty verdict for first degree murder.  The verdict meant that the jury didn’t just reject Dunn’s self-defense claim -- they felt that at some point in the argument, Dunn made a deliberate decision that he was going to kill Jordan Davis, and then he did. Don West, veteran criminal defense lawyer and National Trial Counsel for CCW Safe said that the Dunn trial provides a “list of how not to act” as a concealed carrier.  Here’s a list of some of Dunn’s biggest mistakes: When Dunn pulled into the convenience store, he heard the loud music. He could tell it was coming from the red Dodge Durango, and he chose to park right next to it anyway.  Had he chosen any other parking spot, Davis would be alive, and Dunn would be free. Dunn chose to confront the teenagers in the SUV about their loud music.  While it was within his rights to so, a grown man shouldn’t be surprised that cocksure teens out with their friends might take umbrage at a request to turn down the radio. Dunn invited the argument that ensued. Once Jordan Davis got angry and started shouting obscenities, Dunn could have disengaged.  He could have looked away or moved to a different parking spot. Instead, he rolled down his window and, stealing a line from Robert De Niro in the film Taxi Driver, he said, “Are you talking to me?” Dunn told investigators, “I went over this a million times, and what I should have done is put the car in reverse . . . it was fight or flight. I don’t think there was any time for flight at that moment.”  Dunn did have enough time, however, to reach across the passenger seat, open the glove box, grab his holstered pistol, draw the weapon, and rack the gun before firing. Dunn fired too many times.  The fact that the first jury failed to convict on murder says that the first round of bullets Dunn fired could have been considered justified.  But everyone agreed that the final burst of gunfire was without justification. Dunn fled the scene and failed to report the shooting to investigators, Don West says there was no plausible scenario to explain why Dunn left the scene without reporting the shooting to authorities -- unless he had done something wrong. Dunn spoke to police investigators without the advice of an attorney. His voluntary testimony was used against him in court. Clearly there are many lessons here for the concealed carrier, but perhaps this is the most important: don’t confuse anger for fear. No one could present any solid evidence or witness testimony to bolster Michael Dunn’s claims that Jordan Davis produced a shotgun and was starting to get out of the SUV to attack him.  Without such evidence, combined with that fact that Dunn fled without calling the police, it must have appeared to most jurors that Dunn was inventing facts to justify the shooting. The second jury, with their first degree conviction, said that Dunn’s actions amounted to pre-meditated murder.  Perhaps that’s true.  The jurors with dissenting votes on the first jury must have felt that Dunn’s fear could have been reasonable.  Perhaps that’s the truth. Or perhaps the truth is somewhere in between, in a murky gray area where fear and anger mix.  Self-defense is a matter of life and death, but it’s not often black and white.  Should you ever find yourself suffering the tragedy of having to defend yourself with deadly force, people are going to look into your heart to determine whether its filled with fear or anger. Before you ever pull the trigger and take a life, you’d better be sure about what those people will find.   

Michael Drejka, 47, has been charged with the July 19 death of Markeis McGlockton outside a Clearwater convenience store, Pinellas County State Attorney Bernie McCabe said. Drejka was being held at the county jail on $100,000 bail. It is unknown if he has an attorney. This podcast is a follow up discussion on the topic since charges have been filed.  Don and Shawn discuss the case, and also introduce Mike Darter, co-founder and CEO of CCW Safe.  

Stan Campbell, Co-Founder and COO for CCW Safe, recently hosted the Firing Line Radio Show for Phillip Naman, as he was on vacation.  This show is now in podcast form at CCW Safe.   The show features attorneys Matthew Cubiero and Kyle Sweet.  Matthew Cubeiro’s primary practice areas include firearm regulatory compliance and litigation. He also assists with local ordinance issues, legislative analysis, civil rights advocacy, and general civil litigation with Michel and Associates in Long Beach, California. Kyle Sweet is a Co-Founder and the general counsel for CCW Safe, and founder owner of Sweet Law Firm in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.   The three talk about the recent Second Amendment case out of Hawaii, where the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that Hawaii officials had violated George Young’s rights when he was denied a permit to openly carry a loaded gun in public to protect himself.  They also discuss other Second Amendment and self defense topics.   

This episode of "In Self Defense" features Don and Shawn talking about the recent shooting in Clearwater, FL over a handicapped parking spot at a convenience store.  On Thursday, July 19th, Markeis McGlockton parked in a handicap spot with his girlfriend and three young kids before going inside a convenience store with his five-year-old son to buy snacks. Outside, Michael Drejka approached McGlockton's girlfriend, Britany Jacobs. Jacobs says Drejka yelled at her for parking in a handicapped spot without a permit. Surveillance footage shows McGlockton then walked out of the store and shoved Drejka to the ground. Seconds later, Drejka pulled out his gun and fired a single shot at McGlockton in the chest. The 28-year-old stumbled back into the store and collapsed in front of his son. Drejka has a concealed weapons permit and told police he shot McGlockton because he feared for his life. Don and Shawn talk about the case in relation to Florida's self defense laws, and the "Stand Your Ground" law.   Below are a couple of news links to the case: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/clearwater-florida-stand-your-ground-shooting-markeis-mcglockton-parking-spot/ https://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/crime/No-arrest-in-fatal-shooting-during-argument-over-handicap-parking-space_170174041  

Don West and Shawn Vincent talk about the Gasser case out of Lousiana. 56-year-old Louisiana man Ronald Gasser had been arrested for a road rage incident before. In 2006, a motorist dialed the “How's My Driving?” bumper sticker on Gasser's work truck to complain. The number went to Gasser's cell phone, and he took umbrage with the criticism. At the intersection of Holmes Boulevard and Behrman Highway -- just outside New Orleans -- Gasser got out of his truck and confronted the motorist, punching him several times in the head and body. While the charges were eventually dropped, Gasser’s attorneys were desperate for the judge in his 2018 murder trial to rule that jurors would not learn their client once wound up in cuffs for beating up a guy at the exact intersection where, ten years later, he would shoot and kill local sports hero and former New York Jets running back Joe McKnight. The judge did, however, allow prosecutors to present this “prior bad act,” and an appeals court agreed, writing in their opinion that the previous road rage incident “helped establish intent and lack of accident and mistake.” It proved devastating at trial. The jury took seven hours to render a manslaughter conviction, and the judge sentenced Gasser to 30 years behind bars.

  In this episode, Don and Shawn talk about the last 3 shooting cases, which all happened in residences, and all ended up with felony convictions.  Kaarma, Smith and Wafer are all currently serving prison sentences.  Don and Shawn talk about the series and give more insight on the cases, and what could have been done to avoid convictions.

In this episode, Don West and Shawn Vincent talk about the Ted Wafer/Renisha McBride shooting. Ted Wafer, a 54-year-old airport maintenance worker, fell asleep in front of the television in his Dearborn Heights home on the night of November 1, 2013. He lived alone in the house he had purchased in 1994. The intervening twenty years had seen many changes to the Detroit suburb -- including a rising crime rate. In the middle of the night (around 3:45 am), loud banging startled Wafer out of his sleep. The noise came first from the side door, then from the front door. It was a “boom, boom, boom pounding” his lawyer Cheryl Carpenter told jurors at trial. “The floor was shaking.” Don and Shawn talk about the differences in this case from the past two cases that also happened in a residence, and the outcome of the trial.  

Tonight Gary and Mike talked with Earnest Langdon live from Wilshire Gun.  Earnest will be teaching over the weekend at the OKC Gun Club.   Langdon Tactical, Inc. specializes in firearms training, consulting, custom trigger jobs and gun work. Ernest Langdon has been providing advanced tactical pistol and rifle training to military, law enforcement and civilians for almost 30 years. Langdon Tactical, Inc. combines more than 40 years of military, industry and competition experience to bring the latest in tactical shooting techniques and equipment knowledge. Earnest talked about his history in the Marine Corp, competition shooting, and gunsmithing, and also introduced the new Beretta 92 Elite LTT, which can be pre ordered on langdontactical.com  

In this episode, Don and Shawn talk about the Bryon David Smith case, in Minnesota.  Another shooting that took place in a residence, this one left two burglars dead, and one homeowner in prison.  Listen to the facts of the case and see why this pressed the Castle Doctrine beyond it's limits.  

Dr. Alexis Artwohl, Behavioral Science Expert, and panel advisor for CCW Safe, starts an exciting new series on The Survival Triangle.  The Survival Triangle that Dr. Artwohl talks about involves your physical survival, your emotional- psychological survival, and your legal survival.     Cognitive Issues Cognitive issues can happen in any event and become critical to all three areas. Most of us think we have good memories, but research shows that our ability for to account for accurate details is quite impaired. Our memory for detail is bad because we are almost never challenged on it. Our view is almost always a sketchy representation.  The criminal justice system becomes very focused on your recollection if there is an incident. It is important for you to understand your testimony may be unreliable and with gaps. You may not remember parts of the events, such as your own behavior.  For example, officers have made phone calls to family and do not remember doing this in the aftermath. This is evidence of the subconscious mind making actions. This illustrates the complexity of our mind, where our subconsciousness is directing a side routine that we have no memory of.  The criminal justice system can be naive about how the brain operates with human memory.  Our memory for detail is highly inaccurate, and people can have false memories that turn out to be very different or totally incorrect. Selective attention means that we think we are paying attention, but research shows that we only pay attention to a very small part of our environment at any time.  If our being is focused on event A, the less we will notice around event A. This is called inattentional blindness. You can look at a face and have a ten minute conversation with a certain person and not know what shirt color that person was wearing, because you tuned it out. This is a common phenomenon that does not just happen in critical events, but it happens to people all the time. Even the events we do pay attention to, we may not be to recollect. This also happens with selective hearing, where the human becomes less reactive to sound by paying more attention to visual works.  Officers in shootings often don’t hear gunfire or screams. Victims of car wrecks recall silence on the moment of impact. Other sounds may sound amplified for unknown reasons; this causes confusion and can really impact the human memory. This will cause the memory to not match witnesses, tapes, and other evidence. It is very important to stick with what you know, and to not fill in the gaps to please any person or interviewer. Try not to make up things under pressure to fill in the gaps of your memory. You do not need to feel any social pressure to state things you do not know are true. Dr. Alexis Artwohl illustrates that your truth may or may not match reality.  Chronic Post Traumatic Stress Disorder  Most people who are faced with defending themselves in a lethal, or critical self-defense incident are resilient and will get past the incident quickly, but about 10% of people will face chronic post-traumatic stress disorder.  If you are involved in a lethal self-defense incident, everyone is upset, which is normal.  You need to realize that through dealing with the incident, you will also deal with attorneys, investigators, and others involved in the process, and it can be chaotic.  All this will contribute to the acute stress disorder that will go on for awhile.  Most people get through that in a few weeks or months, and while many people understand that they won’t be the same following a critical stress, or lethal self-defense incident, most will also learn that they will not be worse off emotionally-psychologically following the incident than they were before.However, about 10% of people will develop chronic post-traumatic stress disorder, and if a month has gone by and you are still feeling a lot of disruption due to the event, at that point you should really think about seeing a therapist to move beyond the event.Sometimes you may be fine, but some of your family members may develop a post-traumatic stress disorder.  One thing that happens following a critical stress, or lethal self-defense incident, is that we find out that the world is not as safe as we thought it was.  For some, it can be a brutal reminder that it can happen to anyone, including you or someone you love.  It can change our world view forever.  Once you are involved in something like this or are close to someone who is involved in something like this, you will likely experience post-traumatic growth, which can give you insight to life that you didn’t have before.  Something to the effect that you wouldn’t want to go through it again, but you learned some valuable lessons from it and are better off.  Or, you will experience post-traumatic stress.  Chronic post-traumatic stress is a great intensification of something that happened where you constantly think about it, and are affected by it to the point that you can’t think about anything else, and have a hard time getting past it. Having a better understanding of the survival triangle, what you may face, and an understanding of the different ways that people are affected can greatly help you if you are ever involved in a lethal self-defense incident.  Understanding Legal Risk In the legal aftermath of an event, you must understand that you will be at legal risk, and if you ever have to use your firearm, be prepared in the fact that you may go to jail, it just comes with the territory.  The legal aftermath will be complex and intense no matter how justified you were in the event, which is even more reason not to attempt to navigate this by yourself. If you have been forced to defend yourself, you don’t have to face the risks alone. Have legal help aligned up ahead of time to help you make decisions. When the first responders show up, they won’t know who the victim and offenders are, and which category you are in. The officers cannot count on a 911 phone call, so the officers will be cautious for their safety and the safety of responders and bystanders. Let them know you are not a threat, and make sure you have training on how to interact with them.  You will be in a stage of heightened emotional reactions, so be careful how you act. You are own stage now, and you will be observed for reports in preparation for the criminal justice system. It is beneficial to rehearse the focus needed to interact with officers and behave in a reasonably calm manner that will not cause concern to anyone. The ability to control your emotional intensity is a vital survival skill in everyday life. In this situation, discipline is important and will decide your future. Stay calm and focus at the task at hand. Officers will want to know what happened, so you need to decide what to tell the first responders. If you decide to interact with the criminal justice system, never give a full, formal, detailed tape interview right after the event. Keep the information to the first responders brief, and talk with your attorney before giving full details.  Get a few sleep cycles, and try to calm yourself down after the incident.  Research shows you will give a better and more accurate interview if you are rested, that is why most police departments don’t even have officers give a full interview for 24-48 hours following a shooting. To wait a few days after is a more ideal time than immediately after the event. This is where you and the attorney will act as a team to decide your actions, and your future.  Second Guessing In the immediate aftermath of a critical self defense incident, or any critical incident, it's very normal for people to think about what happened, and play that over in your mind, however, sometimes people get stuck there.  Second guessing is really irrational, and when people do get stuck in intense second guessing, it's usually about things that they couldn't change, or had no control over.  At some point, you have to move on, and accept the facts of what occurred, or you will start experiencing guilt, loss of confidence, or other feelings that can cause greater problems.   Second guessing is very important to remember during any interviews if you are involved in a self defense shooting or lethal self defense incident. You will need to be aware of second guessing, and try to keep your testimony to the relevant facts of the case. Understand the emotional impact of second guessing, and remember that during an interview, that is not the place or time to express what you could have done, or maybe should have done differently.    Psychotherapy with a trauma incident specialist can be a good idea, at least one session, where you can have a safe and confidential place to work your way through any second guessing or other emotional issues that you may experience.  It is always good to have an attorney involved if you are being interviewed for a lethal self defense incident.  Confidentiality Confidentiality following a lethal self defense case should be of upmost importance for your emotional and legal survival. You will want to talk to someone about your experience, and that is perfectly normal. You just need to make sure that your discussion is confidential and protected. The number one person who you can have a conversation with that is protected will be an attorney. It is always good to have an attorney if you are involved in a lethal self defense incident so you can dump all of those feelings of anger, fear, consternation and worry, with full confidentiality. You may also talk to a trauma specialist, or other licensed mental health professional, or possibly an ordained minister. I would strongly discourage you from talking to anyone else, friends, family members, and most importantly anyone on social media. There have been some very unfortunate incidents where information has ended up on social media, either by the person involved, or by other who they have talked to, and it never comes out well. Confidentiality will need to be of the upmost priority not only directly following an incident, but for some time after everything settles as well. Due to statues of limitations and civil proceedings, for your own protection, this timeframe may be a long time.

In this episode, Don West and Shawn Vincent talk about the Kaarma Case, and walk through the 4 elements of location, escalation, reasonable fear, and post incident actions, and how they affected the outcome of the case and trial.