Mind the “5” and go home in one piece

May 3, 2022, to May 17 2022… 14 days… 7 violent encounters… 6 states

PLEASE READ THIS ENTIRE ARTICLE… IT MAY SAVE YOUR LIFE!

GUEST EDITORIAL

Albany, GA – May 17, 2022 – The recovery agent was letting her get the car seat from her car when Brandon Harrelson arrived. That’s when she handed Harrelson the gun. Gunfire soon ensued.

Arlington, TX – May 16, 2022 – Details are at this point thin, but police report than an agent was shot and suffered serious injuries during a recovery near noon.

Sherman, TX – May 13, 2022 – Different day, different state and a different weapon. A lone Repo Man arrived at the home Brian Maynard to repossess his car. According to the agent, he was in the process of repossessing a vehicle registered to a Brain Maynard when he came rushing from the house armed with a long board with nails which the agent managed to push him away in defense. Persistent, Maynard ran back into the house and emerged armed with a machete.

Sioux Falls, SD – May 12, 2022 – A pair of repossession agents went to the residence of Thirty-three-year-old Philip Sven Glader to repossess his truck. Emerging with a hatchet in hand, he was having nothing to do with it. Glader, brandishing the weapon, then allegedly confronted, and threatened them with it. To drive home his determination, Glader reportedly took it out on the tow truck by slashing a hole in one of the tires with it.

Fort Wayne, IN – May 10, 2022 – It was about 2am on Tuesday morning when a pair of repossession agents arrived at the Fort Wayne Estates Trailer Park Backing their tow truck up to the Pontiac Torrent, they were greeted by a surprise; 29-year-old Jeffrey Harris, sleeping in the SUV’s driver’s seat as he prepared for his morning court date on a slew of burglary, assault and weapons charges. On que, he did the predictable, he fled and rammed one of the unfortunate recovery agents in the midsection with the SUV before striking a 2006 Chevrolet Silverado as he drove deeper into the trailer park. Having driven the perimeter of the trailer park, Harris proceeded to hit the same agent with the SUV again. This time in the hip.

Crossville, TN – May 6, 2022 – 54-year-old William Walton, employee of Cookeville Towing and Recovery found out the hard way why you don’t reach inside an occupied vehicle during a repossession attempt. Having located the vehicle, they found it occupied by the sleeping registered owner, Thomas Alan Uchytil, age 57. The men then reportedly woke Mr. Uchytil urging him to exit the vehicle, which he refused to do and locked it from inside. Attempting to block Mr. Uchytil from leaving, Mr. Linde stepped in front of the vehicle while Mr. Walton, unwisely, reached through the window in an attempt to unlock it or snatch the keys. Predictably, Mr. Uchytil fired up the vehicle and fled. Hitting a parked semi in his flight, Mr. Uchytil maintained Mr. Walton’s arm in the window and dragged him from the Speedway and toward the I-40 overpass. It was here that Mr. Walton managed to free his arm and was thrown from the speeding truck. Walton suffered multiple abrasions and a dislocated shoulder.

Kennett Square, PA – May 3, 2022 – It was just about midnight when the agent pulled his truck up to the agency gate. He was simply minding his own business when a pair of cars pulled up. Someone yelled “Where’s my car?” That’s when shots were fired. The adjuster was shot in the head and stomach and is in critical condition. After being hit, he attempted to flee and wrecked his truck.

In the asset recovery industry, there is no “SAFE HARBOR” when we are on the streets. Violence can occur anytime, anyplace and from any direction or person. As professional recovery agents we must constantly remain in an alert condition, never allowing our guard to be lowered. To remain alert, it is imperative we understand the “5 conditions of mental alertness”.

Condition White: You are totally unaware of your surroundings and totally unprepared for even the prospect of danger.
Condition Yellow: You are relaxed but alert. You are not expecting trouble, but you are aware of your environment, so you would recognize a problem if it arose.
Condition Orange: You are aware that there seems to be a problem and your body is reacting (e.g.: Someone has picked you out and you know it.)
Condition Red: The problem has occurred, and you are facing one or more opponents you reasonably believe might do you harm. You should be taking cover and actively performing the appropriate defensive tactics. If already under attack, you are willing to neutralize the threat.
Condition Black: You are in a blind state of panic where you are unable to react to the situation because you have developed neither the inner tools nor the outer skills with which to react. (e.g.: It happens, you had no raised awareness it was coming, are unprepared, unaware, untrained, and under their control and influence.)

You are most vulnerable in Condition White. Maybe you just arrived at work; are on a phone call with your family or a friend; or eating lunch while listening to the radio. Maybe even just looking at your assignments to decide where to go next. Complacency and familiarity of surroundings will also bring up false sense of security. Get out of this condition NOW.

Assess your surroundings and personal condition and move into Condition Yellow. This is where most of our daily life should be at. This is where the “EAGLE ALERT EXERCISE”* exercise should be revealing as to your Condition Yellow state. Stay alert and make provisions to minimize your exposure to potential problems. Such as keeping your doors locked; don’t leave your radio playing so loud the music becomes a distraction; don’t leave your vehicle running when you are not in it; don’t leave your computer or iPod in plain view in your parked vehicle.

You can enter into Condition Orange by going into a risky area of town. Your antenna should be up and functioning in these areas. Your sixth sense is in overdrive. But if trouble comes looking for you, then Condition Orange came upon you. Hopefully you were prepared in Condition Yellow and saw the potential and postured yourself for the threat.

None of your posturing has helped. You are now in Condition Red. An incident of some type is imminent or already underway (it happens quickly!). You must be physically ready (hands unencumbered). Your mind set ready to protect yourself. You must be willing to do whatever it takes to win. NOT JUST SURVIVE, BUT TO WIN!

This is why you train! This is where the repetition of drills plays its part as you move as you were conditioned.

If they haven’t gotten physical, only to the shouting stage and body posturing to intimidate you, you should try to flee (never turn your back to them) or use verbal judo to defuse their state of mind. Talk with your hands to keep the hands up in a guard position. But be ready for the physical attack.

Don’t be surprised.

Condition Black! How did this happen??? This should not happen! But it does. Even combat troops and law enforcement personnel get into this stage when they do not train and plan, didn’t do enough intelligence gathering or ignore the data and signs and get ambushed.

This is pure chaos and panic. You are wasting precious time and opportunities to escape or to minimize your exposure and maximize your survival. In this situation it’s pure and simple survival! Yell and scream for help; do whatever it takes to remain collected and defend the best you can. Your training fails you when your mind is in a panic state. It’s not there to focus your counter offensive. The faster you can get your mind under control, the quicker you can get back to Condition Red.

I recommend you train at least quarterly with the Eagle Group SACAT Training Module (Situational Awareness and Confrontational Avoidance Techniques) which is provided to the industry free of charge by Eagle Group XX/USA. Just email me at Rbrown2150@aol.com for the module.

Remember… WATCH YOUR 6 and KEEP YOUR HEAD ON A SWIVEL AND GO HOME AT SHIFTS END!

*The “EAGLE ALERT EXERCISE”…As an exercise, we suggest you try this the next time you’re out and about. At a random moment, pause and consider, without looking;

Do you know where your nearest exit routes are?
Do you know who is around you, their approximate positions, and what they are doing?
Are you aware of any recent changes in the situation that, mentally, should prompt you to consider the “if-thens”?

Now look around and confirm; were you right? Repeat this exercise whenever you get a chance and in time your cognitive ability and recognition of situations will improve tremendously.

Ron L. Brown MCE, IFCCE, MPRS, CCCO, CARS, CFA

CSI GROUP / EAGLE GROUP XX / NAFI / API0217
Anything, Anytime, Anyplace… Professionally