- Troop A - Omaha - (402) 331-3333
- Troop B - Norfolk - (402) 370-3456
- Troop C - Grand Island - (308) 385-6000
- Troop D - North Platte - (308) 535-8047
- Troop E - Scottsbluff - (308) 632-1211
- Troop H - Lincoln - (402) 471-4680
LINCOLN - In light of recent events, the Nebraska State Patrol is reminding Nebraska schools, businesses, and other groups that they offer civilian training for active shooter situations.
The Civilian Response to Active Killer Events (CRAKE) program was developed in order to provide information on awareness and steps civilians can take to increase their safety in active shooter situations. Sgt. Dan Klimek with Troop A in Omaha says with this program they want to help everyone make themselves and their surroundings a difficult target.
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"It's a sad state of affairs that we have to talk about it, but we do. Make yourself as hard of a target as you possibly can," said Sgt. Klimek. "These people want a soft target. They want it easy. They don't want someplace that's going to be a lot of work or a challenge. So what we're trying to do is help people make their environment one that is just a little more difficult for somebody to do harm to people."
NSP Instructors are stationed all across Nebraska to be able to provide the training to any school, business, or group that requests it. The CRAKE courses are offered free of charge. Sgt. Klimek says everything they discuss in the program are things they want people to think about and be aware of, but 100% safety can never be guaranteed, and every active shooter situation can be different.
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"I can't tell you how to spend your life. I can't tell you if the right decision is to engage the person or not, or play dead. Those are all things that you have to make up your mind ahead of time or during the situation about what you are going to do," stated Sgt. Klimek. "And like with any training, it's not 100%. We never say we're going to make everyone 100% safe. I can't give you that guarantee. It's just some ideas and some things to think about."
CRAKE focuses on three steps when it comes to Active Killer Events: Avoid, Deny, and Defend. Sgt. Klimek states the first step is looking at what you can do to be prepared and try to stop such an event from ever happening.
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"It's situational awareness. What can you do? Is it a controlled access entry? Do you have any type of program for if you have someone who you know is a threat?" said Sgt. Klimek. "Do you know more than one way to get out of your building? Is there someplace safe that you know bullets can pass through or harder for them to get to? Practicing what do we do when something like this happens. Try to prepare for it, but avoid it if at all possible."
The second step is to deny an active killer access. Sgt. Klimek explains that often times an active killer is more likely to move on to the next room rather than fight their way into one that is blocked off.
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"Something as simple as a doorstop may make them go on to the next room," said Sgt. Klimek. "The whole idea is to make it so that it's difficult as possible for them to get in to where you are, and give law enforcement time to get there and minimize casualties. The last part of it is defend. Worst case scenario, you've got not place to go. They're right there. Making the decision to go on the offensive and attacking them, we give some ideas on that and what to do."
Sgt. Klimek says law enforcement officers at all levels are trained for these situations, and they continue to train for them. And in the case of someone with a conceal and carry and the training to protect themselves, once law enforcement arrives it's imperative for any weapon to be put down.
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"With law enforcement, we train a lot about active shooters. And it's a situation where, you're going in expecting to see somebody with a knife or a gun killing people," explained Sgt. Klimek. "If we come into that situation and all I see is a civilian with a handgun pointed at somebody else, that's all I see and all I know. So once law enforcement is on scene, make yourself known, put the weapon down, and make it not a threat. We want people to defend themselves if they are capable, trained, and have the mindset for it. We just don't want to engage the wrong person."
Sgt. Klimek states the training is designed for people to know how to react in the worst situations. They want to equip people with the mindset to help them realize what's happening, be decisive, and act.
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"People want to deny that it's happening. You'll hear them say they thought it was fireworks," said Sgt. Klimek. "When was the last time, in your office, you had fireworks in the middle of December on a Tuesday. It's not fireworks, but people want to say that's what I thought it was. So there's a lot of denial when these things first start happening. So a little preparation, a little training, a little thinking about it might give you the edge that you'll survive."
Any school, business, or organization interested in requesting a CRAKE presentation from the Nebraska State Patrol can reach out to their local troop area office.
