(PHOTO BY JESSE DAVIS / THE VILLAGE REPORTER)
A FRIENDLY FACE STRIKE … Sylvania Police Division Officer John Pinkstaff demonstrates an open-palm strike to the face of co-instructor Wauseon Police Department Detective John Roof during a women’s self-defense course at the Delta Police Department Monday evening. The class was organized by Keeping Our Girls Safe, a 501c3 non-profit organization.
By: Jesse Davis
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
jesse@thevillagereporter.com
During a presentation at times both brutally honest and (intentionally) laugh inducing, a pair of police officers gave their all Monday evening at the Delta Police Department to train a small group of local women to avoid trouble and defend themselves.
Wauseon Police Department Detective and defensive tactics instructor John Roof, along with Sylvania Police Division Officer John Pinkstaff, led the course, which was organized by non-profit organization called Keeping Our Girls Safe.
Roof and Pinkstaff, who also train jiu jitsu together at USA Martial Arts, had a natural give and take as they walked the class first through the legal side of self-defense before moving into physical examples, which they demonstrated then had attendees practice.
According to Roof, it is important to remember there are three times the average person has to think about protecting themselves – during the incident itself, during a criminal investigation if they hurt or kill the bad guy, and during any potential civil suits.
Roof went on to explain Ohio’s criteria for self-defense, which consists of the twofold litmus test that you cannot be considered at fault for creating the situation or escalating the situation in which you defended yourself, and that you must have had a reasonable and honest belief in the danger that you were going to be hurt or killed.
That test is further complicated by the fact that reasonableness is a “fluid concept” depending on the politics of your area Roof said, pointing out that a self-defense case tried in Fulton County, Ohio, might seem quite straightforward, while a case with the same details that takes place in Los Angeles might have a different outcome in court.
The instructors also broke down the two main different types of “bad guys.” The first kind just wants your stuff and can be found all around, anywhere.
The second wants you “because they want to do bad things to you.” That kind is much rarer, but much more dangerous, they said.
The number one rule they pushed was, whether you choose to hand over your belongings or not, never to go anywhere with a bad guy.
If they take you to what would be called a secondary crime scene, they are the second kind of bad guy and are looking for privacy and time to commit a violent act.
Of course, using situational awareness – keeping your eyes up (and off of your phone) and paying attention to your surroundings – was the primary tool they suggested. “The swiftest sword is the one that’s never drawn,” Roof said.
If it does come down to a fight, often the deciding factor is having something worth fighting for. Whether that is your children, yourself, or worrying about who will take care of your pets if something happens to you, it doesn’t matter, Roof said. It only matters that you have something to drive you.
Roof and Pinkstaff then went into actual physical self-defense. Demonstrating everything from putting your hands up in front of you, telling the person to just go away and making a scene to draw attention, to how to escape when someone has you by the wrist, the hair, or the throat, the duo were an effective teaching team who used self-deprecating humor and took some abuse themselves to keep the class’s attention while providing excellent, real-world examples.
The pair did not shy away from the sometimes terrifying truth of potentially life-and-death situations, also explaining when tactics like eye gouging and biting could be used.
Throughout, they continued to point out the legal bounds of self-defense, saying your response to a bad guy must be reasonable, and that you must only use as much force as it takes to get away. The line between self-defense and assault can be thin, they said.
After the class was over, attendees were given defense keychains along with information on other laws and resources in Ohio.
Keeping Our Girls Safe is a non-profit organization founded by Bob and Nikki Kolanski (who were present Monday evening) and Sheila Vaculik following the abduction and murder of Vaculik’s daughter, Sierah Joughin, by James Dean Worley near Metamora in July 2016. Worley is scheduled to be executed on May 20 of this year.
In addition to KOGS, the murder also spurred the creation of Sierah’s Law, which created a searchable database of violent offenders available to the public.
In order to obtain records from the database, residents must reach out to the sheriff’s office in the county on which they want information.
For more information on Keeping Our Girls Safe, visit KOGSafe.com or send an email to kogsafe@gmail.com.