#mustangSAFE
NIXON-SMILEY CISD SAFETY NEWSLETTER
DIRECTORS CORNER
Welcome to 2019! As we begin a new year my hope is that your engines are recharged and as a community, we are ready to tackle any and all obstacles that come our way. Please enjoy this edition of the #mustangSAFE newsletter and please remember to follow us on Twitter @mustangsafe and as always visit our website at https://www.nixonsmiley.net/ and click the link Stand up Speak out to report any safety concerns you may have. I want to leave you with this saying as it has stuck with me since I heard it.
NSCISD and Local First Responder Workshop
7 WAYS TO KNOW IF SOMEONE IS CONCEALING A GUN ILLEGALLY
1. Security Check
Gun violators, in particular, will typically touch and/or adjust the weapons concealed on their bodies numerous times during the day. This may be gentle and difficult to observe bump with the elbow, wrist or hand. On rare occasions, it could be a distinct grasping of the weapon as they adjust it. Violators often make this gesture when getting out of a chair or a car or when walking up a flight of stairs or high curb.
2. Unnatural Gait
Gun violators may walk with an awkward gait. They may fail to bend their knees because they have rifles or shotguns in their pants. They may also walk uncomfortably because they have guns, knives or other weapons hidden in their boots or shoes causing discomfort. Again, the total circumstance will indicate the likelihood of a weapon being present.
For example, an individual with a disability may also not bend the leg or walk with an unnatural gait, but he or she will not appear to be nervous. You will also not see the rigid line of a rifle running down the outer pants leg as the person walks or the periodic bulge from the butt of the gun above the waistband as it moves back and forth.
3. Jacket Sag
When you place a handgun in a jacket pocket, the coat typically hangs lower on the side where the weapon is located. In addition, you will often see the fabric pulled tight from the weight of the gun, and the weapon may swing as a violator walks. Often, the outline of the weapon may be observed in the pocket area. In some cases, the violator will attempt to hold or pin the weapon if it begins to swing or beat against their body.
In cases where the violator becomes extremely nervous when approached by an officer, he or she may actually grasp the weapon to keep it from swinging or put a hand in the pocket. While this is often seen when people have items other than a weapon in their pocket, it is also an indicator that is very typical of the gun violator, particularly when observed with other behaviors described here.
4. Hunchback Stride
When trying to conceal a shotgun, rifle or submachine gun under a coat while walking, the butt of the weapon will often cause a noticeable bulge behind the armpit. Additionally, the jacket does not move naturally because it is supported by the outline of the weapon. Also, when someone wears a shoulder holster or straps on a sawed-off rifle, shotgun or submachine gun under his or her arm, a bulge in the front of or behind the armpit will often be visible.
5. Bulges and the Outline of a Weapon
An alert officer can often spot the telltale bulge of the weapon or, in some instances, the distinct outline of a handgun, knife or brass knuckles in a violator’s pocket. This may also sometimes be observed in a woman’s purse, book bag or other hand carried item. In some instances, violators wrap a long gun in a blanket or long jacket.
6. Visible Weapon
Clearly the most reliable of all the indicators is when the weapon can actually be seen. It is astounding how many times an armed intruder has entered a facility with a rifle or shotgun protruding from under his or her jacket without being observed by staff. In some cases, the butt of a handgun is visible because it is sticking out from a back or front pocket. A more common instance is the clip-on pocketknife that can be observed clipped to a front pocket or in the waistband.
7. Palming
Most often observed with the edged weapon violator but occasionally seen with gun violators, palming behaviors often indicate imminent risk to the observer. The knife violator may run the blade of the weapon up along the arm or behind the leg to conceal it from the frontal view. Just before a target is attacked, a violator will also typically have his or her eyes fixed on the intended victim.
Did You Know? Passing a School Bus
Drug Trend Alert: Marijuana Wax, Oil & Concentrates
Marijuana concentrates have a THC level of 60%-80% and are growing in population. Production of this drug has led to explosions, injury, and death.
There is a new drug trend that is currently sweeping the country and is overwhelming college campus law enforcement, safety officials and administrators. The term for it is “dabbing,” but at a street level, it is referred to as marijuana wax, marijuana oil or marijuana concentrates.
As many would expect when they hear the word marijuana, what comes to mind is a green leafy substance that is smoked through a glass marijuana pipe or a bong. The first thing that you need to do is get that image, knowledge of standard paraphernalia and terms out of your mind. This “new” marijuana is completely different than anything we have dealt with in the past.
What Are Marijuana Concentrates?
Marijuana concentrates are the extracted resins from green leafy marijuana, which can raise the THC content from the standard street level 15% THC to 60-80% THC. Also, concentrates are not green or leafy. They look like wax, butter, oil or amber colored glass shards, called “shatter.” Concentrates are commonly extracted using butane (when run through the dry herbal marijuana buds, it extracts the THC). The watery/waxy THC is then heated to bubble off the butane. The use of butane is not the only method to create concentrates, but it is the most popular.
Once packaged, this product can simply look like a small portion of wax. Concentrates can also be laced with other drugs or put into various food products. Obviously, this changes the delivery method and makes identification more discrete. Using butane, a common fuel, for extraction, has its problems. The use of butane has caused multiple explosions all over the country, including one in a university housing complex near the University of Montana, in October of 2014. These explosions have killed and severely burned people nationwide. The explosions are also causing serious structural damage to their property and neighboring properties.
Dabbing Has Many Street Names
This drug goes by the monikers “dabs,” “butter,” “budder,” “amber,” “honey,” “oil” or “BHO,” which stands for “Butane Honey Oil” or “Butane Hash Oil.” You will also see clothing or fliers with the term “710.” This term is similar to the street level term of 420, which is the universal time and date to get high. In this case, 710 is the word “OIL” turned upside down, making a popular drug reference.
The “dabbing” movement is extremely popular, evolving quickly, and there are many different types of paraphernalia, terms, logos and concentrate types coming into our communities. As this trend’s popularity continues to skyrocket with individuals of all ages, we need to continue to educate ourselves on the dangers and use of “dabbing.”
Stoneman Douglas Safety Commission Releases 407-Page Report (What Went WRONG)
The report entails many failures the school and local law enforcement failed to implement. Here is one piece from the article that hit the hardest:
The report blamed school policy and training failures for many of the mistakes made by employees, claiming administrators lacked know-how in conducting drills, did not have an active assailant response policy or a written policy on how to initiate a lockdown, and gave no formal training to campus monitors, according to The Sun Sentinel.
In June, two coaches who served as campus security monitors were fired for failing to alert students or other staff about the gunman.
One of the monitors saw the gunman, who he described as “crazy boy,” enter the school. However, he did not issue a “code red,” which would have signaled a threat inside the building and kept students behind locked doors, because he had been trained not to set off a law enforcement response unless he saw a gun or heard gunshots. The other monitor hid in a closet when he heard gunfire.
At NSCISD we train our staff and drill consistently on how to handle crisis situations through drill scenarios, safety table talks, consistent reminders, and anybody can initiate an emergency response such as ALICE in the event of an active shooter. We empower all staff and students that if they See Something, Say Something, Do Something. With consistent drill and practice, our goal is for our staff to be prepared and overcome what many experts call the "freeze" moment, where your body is in so much shock you can not do anything. We try to prepare our staff and their minds to overcome this "freeze" moment with drill and consistent talk about safety. When that situation happens, staff can think I have practiced this and I know what to do. " I got this"
The only wrong thing to do; is to do NOTHING.
#mustangSAFE
Website: https://www.nixonsmiley.net/about-mustangsafe
Phone: 830-582-4357
Twitter: @mustangsafe