Have you ever been walking down the street and had a gut feeling that things weren’t right? Did you grasp your keys and anticipate that you may have to use them as a defence system? It’s a terrible feeling to have, especially when you have no self-defence training or any tools to protect yourself. A company based out of Salt Lake City, Utah has created a non-lethal device in hopes that people will pick it up to defend themselves.

Bring Dad along in your bag

Not very many people carry a gun or knife on them for protection; they either don’t have the confidence to use it when needed or aren’t interested in carrying a lethal weapon to protect themselves.

The device was created by police officer Sergeant Randy Teig while he was working in a gang unit. He credits the device for saving his life. One night Sgt. Teig and his partner pulled over a vehicle; the subject inside tried to shoot them while they stood outside. Sgt. Teig fired the device at the suspect, it sprayed pepper spray in the face of the suspect, incapacitating him. The officers then arrested the suspect without any more injuries or a fatal outcome. Since then Sgt. Teig has been on a mission to create the perfect device to arm people and protect themselves from danger.

The product has made advances since that first night it was used. The latest version on the market is the D.A.D. 2 Defense Alert Device. The discreet device that can easily be held in your hand comes with a double a battery, a test spray canister, and a canister of military strength sabre red pepper spray. It has a 150 Lumens CREE LED built into the bottom of it that can flash a panic strobe, high, low, constant strobe, and SOS. What really makes the D.A.D stand out is the ability to send out an alert of your location to anyone on your emergency contact list or those with the D.A.D. app within a one-mile radius via your phones Bluetooth.

It’s designed to reduce the use of motor skills which can be hindered when your adrenaline is pumping. The device itself is easy to handle, it’s small enough to get a good grip around and has a rubber strap to help ensure you don’t drop it. There are two buttons on the top; the one closest to you activates the light, and the one furthest away can send an alert and/or dispense the pepper spray.

Active shooter training

A senior home in Utah recently had active shooter training; the D.A.D was brought to the event where instructor Gloria Marcott showed residents how to use the device.

“There’s nothing like this. It has a G.P.S. on it, and that’s the game changer. The G.P.S. means you’re not alone in this. What it’s going to do is send a signal to anyone who’s within a mile of you to let them know, in your worst event of your life, I’m in danger, and here’s my coordinates on a map,” Marcott told Fox 13 Salt Lake City.

Marcott has also provided training to teachers on how to protect themselves with the device. “If I’m in a classroom and I get an alert, and there is an active threat, I know where that threat is. Now I have an opportunity to get myself and the kids out of the school and not run to the gunfire,” Marcott told Good 4 Utah.

Device credited with protecting teens overseas

According to News 4 Utah, teens, Kortney Blatter and Kaylee Drennan say the device helped them escape danger while in Naples, Italy.

“My friend Kaylee and I decided to go to Naples over the weekend because we had some free time,” said Blatter. “So we were travelling there, and we were getting back from an excursion that day. Our train ended up being late. When we got to Naples, it was pitch dark.”

Blatter had an uneasy feeling, so she pulled out her D.A.D and strapped it around her hand just in case while they walked down a narrow, dark road.

“Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a man come running at us full speed. He grabbed her around the neck with one hand and with the other hand he grabbed her arm. They were struggling, Kaylee screamed so loud,” said Blatter.

Blatter credits the device with saving their lives, by pressing a couple of buttons they alerted family and friends to their location and sprayed red pepper spray.

To learn more about the Defense Alert Device, click here.