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Ward Off Strangers

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By D'ANN LAWRENCE WHITE

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 30, 2008

BRANDON - The man carried a yellow backpack and wore a red baseball hat, recalled 11-year-old Andrew Hathcox of Orlando. He wasn't completely certain, but he thought the guy also wore a bright blue shirt beneath his baseball jacket.

Taking care to remember as many details as possible, Andrew dutifully described the stranger who tried to grab him to his aunt, Tammy Creel, so she could relay the information to law enforcement.

Andrew was able to escape quickly, backing away before the stranger could get within arm's reach, yelling, "You're not my dad!" and running to his aunt for safety.

Fortunately, the scenario was only a simulation. Andrew's grandmother, Carol Bernhardt, enrolled him and his twin brother, Alex, in the r.a.d.KIDS personal education safety program offered at the new Child Protection Education of America office at 3439 Brook Crossing Drive off Bloomingdale Avenue in Brandon. Their 7-year-old cousin, Lexus Yerks of Plant City, also joined the class.

The program is an offshoot of the national Rape Aggression Defense System, a Massachusetts-based program that teaches self-defense tactics to women. The nonprofit r.a.d.KIDS organization was formed in 1998 to empower children to defend themselves and reduce child victimization.

The children's cousin, 8-year-old Zachary Bernhardt of Clearwater, never had the chance to attend a self-defense class. Bernhardt wonders if he would be with them today if he had.

Zachary Bernhardt disappeared from the bed of his Clearwater apartment at 4 a.m. Sept. 11, 2000. He hasn't been seen since.

"The twins just turned 11, and they're at the age where they want to go off without adults," Carol Bernhardt said. "It would be so easy for a stranger to approach them, grab them and not let go."

She said the boys have grown up hearing stories about their missing cousin and seeing billboards with his picture.

"They're probably more aware than most kids of the dangers out there," she said. "And we're more cautious with them. We've taught them what to do and what not to do. But I know I'd feel more comfortable if they took a class like this."

The "scary stranger" in the scenario is actually retired University of South Florida police officer Bill Pollock, who co-founded Tampa Bay Kids with Wendy Vazquez Ernest in 2005. They merged with Child Protection Education and now help with the self-defense program in Bloomingdale.

"The last couple of years on the job, I was seeing so many tragic cases involving children - Carlie Brucia, Jessica Lunsford and Sarah Lunde," he said. "I realized kids need to be trained to defend themselves, to protect themselves. Kids are taught to obey adults. These bad guys aren't expecting resistance. Hopefully, by giving these kids some training, we can save a few."

The couple started their nonprofit on Ernest's dining room table and trained to become certified r.a.d.KIDS instructors.

"I knew there was something that needed to be done," Ernest said. "So I searched around and found r.a.d.KIDS."

Child Protection Education of America executive director Hilary Sessions met the couple during a r.a.d.KIDS presentation at USF in January 2007.

"This was just the type of program we needed, so our two organizations merged March 27, 2007," Sessions said.

Moving from an office in the Ware Building on Ware Boulevard to the Brook Crossing office park in June gave the staff members an opportunity to custom design the space to fit their needs.

The new facilities include an open area, or "war room," with laser printers where missing children's posters and information can be quickly assembled. There is also classroom space that can be converted to a conference room and a spacious room with rubber flooring for self-defense classes. The room is equipped with video cameras for safety and teaching purposes.

There, Pollock and Ernest offer children's and women's personal safety classes in which students use a dummy nicknamed Rocko. They also have the chance to pound on a real-life bad guy when Pollock dresses in the heavily padded "Red Man Training Gear" so students can practice their self-defense techniques.

"The problem is you learn by doing over and over again," Ernest said. "You can't just tell a child what to do in a situation. They have to practice it over and over."

During the weeklong class, children learn to take actions to protect themselves from would-be kidnappers - things that otherwise would be forbidden, such as knocking over store displays to call attention to themselves and locking their arms around a store clerk's legs and refusing to let go.

The class also teaches children about dealing with dogs they don't know, inappropriate touching, answering the door and gun safety.

"You can see them become more empowered as the week goes on," Pollock said.

"It's fun," Alex said after being chased through an obstacle course by "bad guy" Bill Pollock. "I think it's very helpful in real situations. You really learn what to do in an emergency."

His brother agreed. "It's awesome. I especially like learning the self-defense techniques," Andrew said.

"Lexus wasn't even born when Zack went missing, so she's not really aware of what happened and doesn't really understand the dangers," Creel said. "We just want her to be able to protect herself. We can't help but think if Zack had known some of these techniques, things might have been different."

Child Protection Education of America offers classes at its offices and will teach at schools, child care centers, YMCAs, churches and other facilities.

GET DEFENSIVE

Child Protection Education of America will offer a 12-hour Radically Changing Defense for Women and Teen Girls class from 6 to 9 p.m. Aug. 11, 13, 18 and 20 at its office, 3439 Brook Crossing Drive off Bloomingdale Avenue, Brandon. The cost is $25 per person, and scholarships are available.

Call Wendy Vazquez Ernest at (813) 205-2091 or e-mail wendy@ find-missing-children.org or contact Bill Pollock at (813) 416-9008 or Bill@find-missing-children.org.

Reporter D'Ann Lawrence White can be reached at (813) 657-4524 or dlwhite@tampatrib.com.

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