CULLMAN – Officer Cindy Rohrscheib led a program for children at the Cullman Civic Center last week designed to teach kids about basic safety and how to defend themselves against attackers. RAD, which stands for Resisting Aggression Defensively, not only instructs children what to do in hostile situations but also allows them to practice in a safe environment.
“I just really try to drive home about their personal space. It is their space, they are worth protecting, and no matter who you know, like a stranger, non-stranger or family, you have to protect your space and you do have a right to do that. That’s the thing I mainly try to drive home,” said Rohrscheib.
Rohrscheib instructed the children on a variety of safety topics and on how to identify a police officer.
She discussed the dangers of opening the door for a stranger, leaving with a stranger, and how to establish a safe distance from a stranger’s unwanted advances.
Rohrscheib taught the children about gun safety with a fake, non-functional, training handgun designed specifically for defense courses.
Officer Rohrscheib demonstrated how approaching a stranger who is in a car can be dangerous, especially if the stranger pulls a gun. She showed the children how to run quickly towards the back of the vehicle to a hidden place with cover to limit the person’s ability to aim effectively at them.
Officer Rohrscheib taught the children areas to aim for when fighting to get away from an attacker.
Children lined up to practice their skills on a training dummy, “Bad Boy Bob”, and also learned how to efficiently break away from someone who has grabbed their wrist or arm.
Sophia, 12, is a volunteer assistant for the RAD Kids program and completed the program last year.
“I really liked it. [We] learned how to do things ourselves instead of waiting for somebody to help us,” said Sophia. This year, Sophia was too old to join the program but still wanted to be involved, so she decided to volunteer.
Participants Emma and Ilana came to the program together. Both girls enjoyed their time working with the officer and agreed that they had learned a lot. Emma’s favorite part was kicking the training dummy.
RAD Kids' hands-on training sets it apart from other programs. The skills learned in these classes could save someone’s life.
