Derick Coultas

Hi. My name is Derick Coultas, co-founder of Urban Tactics. I thought it would appropriate to share my story with you so you can understand why we started Urban Tactics.

Back in 1999, I attended Macomb Community College for the police reserve academy. In 2000, I started as a reserve with the Centerline Police Department. Fast-forward to 2007, when I was shot in Detroit on the job.

It was a two-on-one situation. The first guy approached me with his gun out. The second guy went behind me. I told them that I didn’t have any money. The look in his eyes and the body language told me that he was going to shoot me.

I instinctively started to use the tactics that I learned with the police department.

As he started to raise the gun, I tried to strip it from his hand. At this time the other guy was punching me from behind. As I was fighting for the gun I took my left hand off of the first guy, to grab the second guy and use him as a shield.

That’s when the gun fired. The bullet went in through my stomach, then out, then back in my leg — lodging just millimeters from my femoral artery.

Thank God the gun jammed.

The second guy told me to let him go, I did and they ran off. I tried to get up to my feet but fell right back down to the ground. I had to crawl to a nearby gas station for help. The store owner called 911 several times due to a busy signal. Finally, an ambulance arrived.

While in the ambulance my femoral artery burst. Not good.

Even after several surgeries, I developed Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) in my right leg. I spent the next few years in recovery, researching for a more efficient way to defend myself and others. That is when I found Krav Maga.

Krav Maga is the official hand-to-hand combat system of the Israeli Defense Forces, and is widely regarded as the best self-defense system because of its efficient, no-nonsense, tactics that emphasize instinctive movements, practical techniques, and realistic training scenarios.

During my recovery period, Lapeer Sheriff, Ron Kalanquin, came to my house to interview me because I applied for a reserve position at the department. I proudly work as a reserve officer for the Lapeer County Sheriff Department & Centerline Public Safety to this day.

I wanted to help others who have been victimized, so my wife, Michelle, and I started Urban Tactics. We currently work with disabled people, law enforcement, corrections, & victims of violence.

We opened up our first training center in March 2017 and we’re excited to teach others how to effectively protect and defend themselves.

I hope we can help you out!

Sincerely,

Derick Coultas