Reflex Protect Training
Under the watchful eye of Polson Superintendent Rex Weltz, Katrina Trotter, left, and Tammy Kelley, both high school teachers, pull the trigger on Reflex Protect during a training exercise at PHS on Sept. 12. (Joe Sova/Lake County Leader)
Pictured is a package containing Reflex Protect self defense spray, and NCS Fast. The latter is a spray that helps a person sprayed with recovery from the incident.
Ben Gladwin of the University of Montana Police Department speaks during a Reflex Protect information session at Polson High School.
Polson Superintendent Rex Weltz, left, talks with Polson Middle School and High School faculty during a self-defense training Wednesday, Sept. 12. (Ashley Fox/Lake County Leader)
Teachers at Polson schools will be armed against threats to students in the future, but not with lethal force.
Polson Superinten-dent Rex Weltz facilitated the training, with the final session on Sept. 12 at Polson High School.
During recent faculty trainings, representatives from the Missoula-based company Reflex Protect were on hand, teaching middle school and high school teachers how to use the line of defense.
Ben Gladwin, captain of the University of Montana Police Department, explained that the solution is made to hit a specific target, namely a threat to another.
REFLEX PROTECT works by sticking to skin or eyes with little splatter. Within about 15 minutes, the burning sensation dissipates on its own.
To neutralize the chemical, NCS Fast can be applied to contaminated areas.
Polson schools are the first in the United States to utilize the product.
Testing the product for elementary teachers, Lake County Sheriff Lt. Levi Read volunteered to be a target for the product.
During a first demonstration, Read, who Weltz described as “tough,” walked into a gymnasium, making a loud commotion, acting as a threat.
Immediately after being sprayed in the eyes with Reflex Protect, Read was on his knees, quieted while focusing on his breathing.
“When it hit me, I was like, ‘This is nasty stuff,’” Read said.
Read, who has been tased and pepper sprayed in the past for training purposes, said that the affect of Reflex Protect was immediate.
“With the tasing, when the electricity was shut off there were no adverse affects,” he recalled. “I could get right up.”
Regular pepper spray had a delay, and Read said he remembers “being a lot more successful fighting through” the pepper spray.
Read said he couldn’t in good conscience promote a product that he wasn’t sure about, which is why he was okay with having Relfex Protect and NCS tested on him.
He even told the company representatives to have a basketball ready so that he could try to dribble it after he was sprayed.
The product also inhibited Read’s airway for a few minutes, he said.
“As I was talking, (the demonstrator) got a little in my mouth and throat.”
At that point, Read said that the experiment “got exciting” as he “had to concentrate on getting air” into his body.
“It’s pretty awesome stuff,” he concluded, noting that since it is non-lethal, people can miss their target and not worry about harming someone nearby.
“With a bullet, you’re responsible for it from the time it is fired until it stops. With (Reflex Protect), you can miss and not have to worry.”
JOE ANDERSON, CEO of Reflex Protect, was on hand for the Sept. 12 training, and he explained how the product was invented.
He started the company about a year ago in Missoula.
“We brought it to the launch pad at the University of Montana,” Anderson said, and that was in June 2017.
He partnered with Steve Mongold of Eureka, Mont., who provided pistol head pepper spray.
“It’s a non-lethal defense solution for schools,” Anderson said.
After discussion with Weltz, the Polson superintendent endorsed Reflex Protect and it was agreed to implement the safety product in the school district.
“He is a visionary guy,” Anderson said of Weltz. “Polson was the first to get on board.”
Each teacher attending had hands-on training outside PHS, so they know how to use the spray.
Anderson pointed out that Reflex Protect has more “pinpoint accuracy” than traditional pepper spray, and has a 20-foot range. And iocane, a jell, is the key ingredient.
Reflex Protect affects mucuous membranes and the respiratory system when sprayed in the face.
There is a remedy, and that’s the use of NCS Fast. It is sprayed on the face, which is then matted with a clean cloth. The recovery time is in the 15-minute range.
During the training at PHS, Weltz told teachers, “You have to think on your feet. We have a tool to protect you ... This stuff is the real deal. This is a legitimate tool.”