Firearms safety is a serious matter. We strive to get it right because the one time we get it wrong, could be the last. This week we talk about “ND Gate” over the Travis Haley Negligent Discharge video. To be as fair as possible, we have included the statements released by both Panteao and Travis Haley.

You can see the full video uploaded by Panteao here:

Statement from Panteao Productions:

February 7, 2016

This will be the first and last time we comment publicly on this incident. Given the firestorm surrounding the video which was recently released without our authorization, we felt it necessary to publicly state our position regarding the matter:

The relationship between Panteao Productions and Travis Haley ended over a year ago because of a disagreement over whether or not training should have an expiration date. Much to the disappointment of those who primarily use the internet to create and feed off of other people’s drama, and despite our past differences in opinion, we have nothing but respect for Travis’ accomplishments, and wish him the best in his future endeavors.

The video in question was not posted by Panteao for public consumption, and more importantly, was never intended to be seen externally. It was unlisted on our YouTube Channel, and was designated for in-house training purposes. It was intended to be a humorous reminder shared with crew members and collaborating instructors of what we don’t want to have happen during filming. It had been forgotten about until the link was shared publicly by one of the instructors we had been working with up until this point. At this time we are still unsure why they (the other instructor) felt the need to share the link publicly, regardless, once we became aware of the developing situation we deleted the video from our YouTube channel and had it removed wherever we came across it. There was nothing derogatory/defamatory intended by the video, or its description.

Anyone that has spent any serious amount of time doing this at the professional level knows that NO ONE IS ABOVE MAKING A MISTAKE. We have multiple layers of safety in place to prevent them, but at the end of the day there is absolutely nothing we are able to do that can entirely remove the human element from the equation. We decided to utilize the video as a tool to show our crew members that no matter someone’s level of past experience, background, or accomplishment that the possibility for an accident always exists. It served as a reminder to us; always wear eyes and ears on set, confirm the condition of any firearms the talent may be using to demonstrate techniques with, and to watch our position in relation to the muzzle whether or not a segment was intended to be live fired. Unfortunately individuals from the Haley Strategic camp have started spreading inaccurate statements about how the video was published intentionally to hurt Travis and that it was not a Negligent Discharge in the first place.

It is disheartening that Travis has failed to acknowledge what took place. We don’t care to speculate why someone with his abilities and background feels the need to deny their own fallibility, common to all of us, so vehemently. He handled the situation as best as anyone could at the time and pressed on during filming, as one would expect from a professional. Internally, we saw the opportunity the video represented for us, and utilized it to illustrate things that WE could do better on set.

The big question now is “was this really a negligent discharge?” or something staged or edited to look like one. The scene in question was not intended to be live fired, thus none of the crew had their hearing protection on, neither did Travis. It was strictly a demo of different Russian techniques. There were MULTIPLE individuals standing in close proximity to Travis, any of whom who would have reminded him to put his ears on if live fire was intended. In the crystal clear light of hindsight, one of the errors that occurred was having a hot gun for this particular scene. As the ones ultimately responsible for the safety of the production, that particular error falls on us, and it was one of the many lessons we took away from the incident. When the rifle discharged into the side berm, ears were ringing and as is common in these situations, everyone took a moment to look at each other and inspect for new holes. Travis summed it up best in the video “That didn’t work.”

So let’s talk about what works:
1. All Guns Are Always Loaded.
2. Never Let The Muzzle Cover Anything You Are Not Willing To Destroy.
3. Keep Your Finger Off The Trigger (And Out Of The Trigger Guard) Until Your Sights Are On
Target.
4. Be Sure Of Your Target.

Most importantly, do not allow yourself to become complacent. Familiarity breeds contempt, and contempt breeds complacency. In this business, complacency kills. We are saddened that this has become such a public incident, but since the cat is out of the bag, let’s all utilize it for the learning tool it is. We are all human, we all make mistakes, and there is nothing wrong in acknowledging that.

If you have any doubts as to what happened, watch the whole uncut sequence. At the end of the clip we’ve also included two additional references to the incident that Travis made later that same day during shooting. As we have maintained throughout this entire incident, we have nothing but respect for Travis and his past accomplishments, and we wish him the best. However, we are not able to condone someone attempting to rewrite their personal history to save themselves a little embarrassment, especially when in doing so our own reputation and professionalism is called into question. Let’s all spend our energy on more productive endeavors, and move on from this incident having learned an important lesson.

Fernando Coelho
President/CEO
Panteao Productions, LLC

Statement from Travis Haley:

Press Release Feb 11, 2016:

On approximately Thursday February 4th 2016, Panteao Productions released a video through poor accountability and security with its servers by one of their instructors according to the owner of Panteao Productions. How and why this happened is still unclear, however assumptions can certainly be made. 

This particular video was of me teaching a block of instruction on controversial Russian trigger finger/safety techniques, and why I personally don’t recommend them. During the filming, my AK was discharged inadvertently performing the demonstration. The range was set up for this demo, the weapon was intentionally off safe due to the block of instruction, and the barrel was oriented towards the target in the event the weapon fired as it did in this case.

Of course I take these matters seriously and if you know me or have been through any of our courses, you know our number one priority is safety. We pride ourselves on learning from our failure as it is our greatest opportunity and share those experiences with the people we serve.

There was also a communication issue with the inconsistent posts made on social media between the HSP team back in Scottsdale AZ and me being in Central America at the time the video was released. Now that I have seen the entire video (never seen by me before as it was in Panteao’s library), I have been able to review it and now share my thoughts. After reading a lot of comments, I think Pat Rogers said it best:

“One type causes injury/ death or comes close enough to warrant immediate measures to remove the person and his weapon. The other type is a down range ND, when the shot is discharged unintentionally, but into the target/ berm etc. These represent the majority of ND’s and this is where learning can occur. These are teaching/ learning points, and if handled correctly, will not likely happen again.” -Pat Rogers

I have had many failure points in my life (much greater than this)… I have ND’d. I have missed the mark countless times in my life even when it mattered most. I have zigged when I should have zagged. I’ve been impulsive and involved myself into fights without thinking of who’d it effect. My brothers have asked me for direction in combat and I was unable to answer. Hell, I have even taken life when it could have possibly been avoided… I have failed over and over in my life, yet I have been blessed with being accountable and educated by my shortcomings. This, in turn, allows my failures to continually become my greatest opportunities.

Travis Haley
Founder/CEO
Haley Strategic Partners