LUSK – The Niobrara County Fairgrounds was the home to a class about understanding, avoidance and protection during violent, or potentially violent, encounters. 

Larry Murphy, a retired law enforcement officer and Tim Hightshoe, who works as a deputy sheriff, both of Colorado, led the class dedicated to teaching violence dynamics to citizens in an effort to help them understand what they can do to aide themselves in different situations. 

“This is all about education. This is violence dynamics. This is understanding how violence develops, and it’s more of an academic study,” Hightshoe said. “This is dealing with the mental and emotional fight.”

During the class, attendees watched security camera footage as well as footage taken by witnesses of different scenarios, including gang-related violence, muggings and other altercations. Following each video, they discussed each attack and learned about the different physical signs that violent encounters were imminent. 

“You have the physical fight, and that’s usually 3-5 seconds. The mental preparation and the emotional preparation – that’s what we’re doing here today. And the third fight is the criminal and civil fight,” Hightshoe said. “What we’re doing here today is working on the foundation of that mental and emotional preparation – understanding what’s going on.”

Hightshoe said a challenge that people face when using self-defense as a justification in a court hearing is making a jury understand why they had to use the amount of force they did. Hightshoe said this is where the defendant’s understanding it themselves first is important.

Murphy and Hightshoe also teach gun safety and concealed handgun classes.