MMA trainer, AG create safety program
Awareness, avoidance, verbal de-escalation will be primary focus
Aaron Sieben, 30, was murdered by a knife-wielding man during a fight at an Albuquerque gas station in March 2017 — a senseless crime that recently resulted in a life sentence for Ameer Muhammad.
In honor of Sieben and his family, the Attorney General’s Office and mixed martial arts trainer Greg Jackson on Thursday announced the creation of a program to help the average citizen recognize and avoid potentially dangerous situations.
“We’ve had more than 50 homicides in Albuquerque this year and we believe the best way to honor Aaron Sieben is to arm other New Mexico families who are vulnerable with the knowledge and training that may save their lives,” Attorney General Hector Balderas said.
Jackson will provide free training at his gym and in neighborhoods, concentrating on situational awareness and how to use the immediate environment to escape, or as a barricade or a barrier.
“Situational awareness is important because the best way out of a problem is to
not be in the problem in the first place,” Jackson said. “So what we’re talking about is identifying a threat and having a plan for avoidance, or verbal deescalation. Anybody can do it; in fact, everybody should do it. They can use it when they go to the grocery store, or when they pump gas or when they take their kids to school. Hopefully, we can make this city and this state just a little bit safer. That’s our goal.”
The sessions will not involve self defense techniques and are being geared toward people who are not trained in the use of force. “It’s non-lethal, preventative and proactive,” Balderas said.
“There are not a lot of options for average families. People are told to get a concealed carry weapon or do nothing. We believe this is an option that doesn’t exist out there — to arm people with knowledge and information, and to try to keep people out of harm’s way. We want to put key safety information into soccer mom’s hands, grandmothers and everyday average New Mexicans,” Balderas said.
Jackson, who also trains law enforcement agencies and special forces, said he will call upon some of these resources during the sessions.
“Greg and I started talking over two years ago, when there was a debate going on about lethal force and police shootings in Albuquerque,” said Balderas “So we started talking about training law enforcement on deescalation tactics. What happened recently with the Sieben family is we realized that average citizens need this information … and could really benefit from this type of risk assessment.”
Information on how to sign up for the program will be made public prior to the first session, which is expected to be held within the next 30 days.