Protecting LEOs and Public Officials At Church

This weekend, violent anti-government protesters interrupted a church service in Minneapolis. They threatened and intimidated members of the congregation. They were looking for a local law enforcement official believed to be cooperating with federal law enforcement. Illegal immigrants and their US supporters are actively targeting US law enforcement and government officials using a host of violent tactics. Organizers in Northeast Oklahoma are attempting to foment similar unrest among the illegal alien community and their left wing political allies. The US is experiencing a civil insurrection at minimum in many states if not an outright civil war. Troops are likely to be deployed in multiple US cities.

Churches are accustomed to expecting law enforcement officers who attend to protect them. That paradigm is now reversed. Churches need to take precautions to protect law enforcement officers and their families who attend. These cautions also apply to government officials who are perceived to be unfriendly to the mob. There are no good answers to this problem only suggestions at best.

I would first ask the officer what he wanted to do to protect himself and his family and then follow his lead. Accommodations offered might include:

• Reserving special seating in a less observable, more easily protectable part of the auditorium near multiple exits if possible. DO NOT PUT UP SIGNS SAYING RESERVED FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT AND THEIR FAMILIES. Just reserve the seats.
•  Keeping law enforcement families together during the service so that if trouble does develop the officer doesn’t have to run all over building trying to find his children.
• Developing a plan to evacuate the officer or public official and his family through a side or rear entrance and if those are blocked, evacuating them to a safer space deep within the building. A vehicle should be parked near these planned exit points to allow the officer and his family to get away from the riot scene.
• Assuring the officer that he can do everyone more good by getting off the scene with his family, calling for back up and coming back with sufficient force to clear the mob.

 Church security team preparations for the congregation might include:

 

• Making provisions to prevent rioters from driving cars through doors to gain entry. In the short term this might include parking MEMBERS cars near the entrances in such a way as to block a ramming attack.
• Making provisions to securely lock all entrances from the inside especially the main entrances using measures that cannot easily be defeated with bare hands or light tools. Rioters will break glass, shatter wood and do anything else they can to gain entry.
• Developing a plan to shelter the congregation in place while police or troops clear the rioters. This may take hours.
• Developing a plan to evacuate the congregation into surrounding neighborhoods and business districts if a side or rear exit is unobstructed. If your church has only one parking lot it is unlikely the congregation will be able to access their vehicles. Remember it all starts and often all happens in the parking lot. If your church campus has multiple parking lots develop a plan for security team members, staff and key congregation leaders to disperse their vehicles in the multiple parking areas and then use the free vehicles to “car pool” evacuate congregation members.

A key point to remember is that, as we teach in our verbal de-escalation classes, normal VDE and negotiation techniques do not work with mobs or deeply committed activists/terrorists. They don’t care if you are a nice person and mean them no harm. They don’t care that you may even agree with part of their grievances. Violence is the tool they have chosen to advance their cause and you are nothing but at best collateral damage and more likely a useful tool in completing their mission. Your terror and submission is their political power.

On a personal note, I served in the military in the 1960’s. I was in uniform in Los Angeles/Long Beach in 1968 and in San Francisco during the so- called “Summer of Love.” While it was technically illegal for enlisted personnel to possess civilian clothing our commands usually looked the other way because they knew that the easiest way for a sailor or marine to get the crap beaten out of them or worse was to get caught alone in uniform on the streets. I came away from that experience with a deep loathing for the hippy movement, the anti war movement and the false peace, love and rock and roll they promised.
 

Later I served in, among other places, Latin America and had the chance to observe political violence both at a distance and at street level. In Puerto Rico, the local communists promised to kill one sailor or marine from every US Navy ship that docked there and often made good on that promise. My small unit was actually caught once in a massive communist led street riot in a large Latin American city. I came away from that experience with a deep respect for mobs and a deep loathing for left wing agitators that use them to achieve political change. If you ever want to look into the face of uncaring, unreasoning evil find a mob.

It is sad that American churches have to think about such things but refusing to recognize the threat will not make anyone safer.


Bill Kumpe, Director
The Oklahoma Church Security Association