Concealed and lethal: Much more than personal defense

POST FALLS - What stands out during Ed Santos' enhanced concealed weapons permit course is all the serious talk and instruction about shooting people.

What it's really like, not Hollywood style - when people get blown away and go flying through windows.

"Clint (Eastwood) lied to us," Santos, owner of Center Target Sports in Post Falls, said during a lecture as part of an 8-hour course on Tuesday, one day before Idaho's new concealed carry weapons law went into effect. Twenty people filled the seats of the classroom.

Santos, who likes to prove what he says, then pressed "play" on a black-and-white surveillance video clip.

Two possible gang members come up behind a rival and shoot him multiple times from behind. Some of the bullets blast into his head.

Although his blood is pouring onto the floor, there doesn't appear to be any quit in him and he pulls out his own gun.

The two attackers have to fight him and fire off several more rounds before they successfully pry the weapon from his hands.

Santos' message? People don't just die instantly and quietly. It gets ugly before it's all over.

"When do we stop shooting?" he asks. "'When the threat is over."

There are approximately 10 seconds or so of struggle and return fire that could follow a decision to pull the trigger. Even if the assailant is hit in a critical spot.

"The human body is tremendously resilient," Santos said.

The more bullet holes, the more trauma.

His class includes diagrams of "wound channels." It also lays out descriptions of wide bands of tissue destroyed - "bloodshot" - from high velocity rifle shots. He touches on fragmenting rounds and bone fragments ripping through flesh like Chinese stars.

Such details are sobering and graphic and definitely hold the students' attention, but Santos understands the No. 1 question people have when they enter his classroom.

"Under what conditions can you shoot another human being?" he said. It's not easy to answer.

He tries, presenting students with multiple scenarios. He brings in a cop to provide more.

Tom Keys, an officer from Spokane County, lays out a scenario he experienced in real life while off duty after stopping at a convenience store.

Keys teaches the students about the legal aspects of lethal self defense. He goes through the related Idaho code, word for word.

Keys said a person with a concealed weapons permit must live with "higher standards of conduct" at all times.

Channeling superhero Spider-Man for a moment, Keys said having the power to take life or badly injure someone in seconds comes with great responsibility.

"Your life now revolves around that gun," Keys said.

But Santos also reminds them of the odds of having to use the training.

"You have a better chance of winning the Idaho lottery than pulling your gun to defend yourself," Santos said.

It's a burden to carry a gun, Santos said, but he added that it's a burden that needs to be embraced. Good people need to stand up to bad people out there.

He practices everything he teaches, packing two pistols during the class, including one in a front pocket of his jeans. He also whips out a knife in a flash from a pants pocket.

Santos fought in the Gulf War while in the Army, and was one of the first troops to hit the battlefield. He has been a reserve sheriff's deputy for years, and is a law enforcement instructor. He also is regularly called as an expert in criminal trials nationwide. He also has written books on the topic.

He knows what elements must be present before someone can use deadly force.

First, immediate and otherwise unavoidable danger of death or grave bodily harm to the innocent must be there, according to Santos.

The threat must have the power to kill or cripple and the opportunity to use that power. Finally, the threatening person must be acting in a manner that would make a reasonable person believe he has the intent to kill or cripple.

Even if those elements appear to exist, there's no guarantee someone will be found innocent in court if they act in self defense.

"Juries scare me to death," Santos said.

He recommends getting off to a good start at the scene of any defensive shooting.

"You are the victim," he said. Verbalize it clearly and repeatedly, even if there is a mob of people around who might disagree with your actions.

Police aren't the friend of a self-defense shooter, nor are they the enemy, he said.

He recommends pointing out evidence, witnesses, and asking to sign a "complaint," knowing full well it will be days if not weeks before the report is completely prepared by police.

Be cooperative, but don't give away information before speaking with an attorney.

"The hardest thing to do is keep your mouth shut," he said.

Tuesday's class consisted of men and women, young and older.

Peggy Brock Santos, Ed's wife and the co-owner of Center Target Sports, said the classes typically have six to eight women. There are often couples in the classes.

The No. 1 reason they sign up is self defense, she said, but they soon find there is so much more to it when Santos begins his presentation.

Tiffany Wallace, of Coeur d'Alene, signed up for Tuesday's class. A smaller person, she wants to ensure she can protect herself at all times. She took the class with her husband, Keith.

"It's a crazy world out there," said Tiffany, 42. "You always hear of people getting attacked and robbed and carjacked."

Ed Santos sells guns, lots of them, but don't look for any gun glorification in his classes.

It's a tool for a job, like a hammer to pound nails.

"It's a tool of defense," he said.

While it's a small portion of the day-long class, when students are on the range he demands they know how to shoot.

He reminds students that a moment of carelessness can change people's lives.

Everyone fires off 100 rounds, and he requires everyone to hit the target, too.

He sets the targets at different distances. He makes students hold the gun with both hands, then the right hand only, then the left hand only. They shoot when the target range is dark. They must shoot, reload, and shoot some more.

He reminds students that shooting in a range is easy. Being able to hit a target in a tense moment of self-defense will be much harder. So practice shooting and drawing the weapon is critical.

"Under stress we will default to our level of training," Santos said. "When it gets stressful, that's when we see our habits break down."

The law on concealed weapons

•  Idaho's rewrite of the state's weapon laws went into effect July 1. Among other things, the rewrite allows Idahoans to carry concealed weapons outside city limits without a permit. Read the bill here: http://www.legislature.idaho.gov/legislation/2015/H0301.htm