Having been an active street cop for the entire 33 years of my police career, as well as an active police trainer for 43 years, in this series I share some of the defensive tactics techniques that helped me prevail on the street. The series presents a variety of defensive tactics in a format that allows you to follow the instructions and practice the technique. Remember practice makes prepared.
“We must ban police chokeholds” is the refrain currently being sounded by many politicians nationwide. This call has been made by people without training and experience. Therefore, as someone with training and experience, looking at the situation thoughtfully, I would like to share some observations.
Blaming “police chokeholds” confuses me
As a police officer, martial artist and defensive tactics instructor, I have never learned, taught, or used what I would call a “chokehold.” I have learned and used neck restraints that can be applied quickly as a defensive tactic in response to an attack.
As a proactive police officer, who served from 1974-2006, I used a technique called the sleeper, which proved effective for me many times on the street. I had no negative experiences with that hold. I was also taught the Lateral Vascular Neck Restraint (LVNR®) System by the great James Lindell. I was even rendered unconscious by him as a volunteer in his class and suffered no ill aftereffects.
Even though I would not consider either of these techniques “chokeholds,” I would take an educated guess that they are in the sights of legislators who are targeting all “police chokeholds.” It is important to note that neither of these holds calls for an officer to place their knee on the neck of a suspect.
How did Derek Chauvin come to conclude that placing a knee on a suspect’s neck was a good idea?
One has to wonder, “Where, when and why did Derek Chauvin decide placing his knee on the neck of any suspect was a good tactic for control?”
In all my years of learning and training nationally, I have never seen a technique taught that requires the placing of a knee on the neck. If there is someone out there teaching that as a viable police technique, I am not aware of it.
Therefore, as an instructor watching Derek Chauvin appear to deliberately place his knee with all his weight on the neck of George Floyd I have to wonder if he devised this technique on his own, or if he might have mislearned, or bastardized a technique. My closest candidate for a tactic that he did not perform but may have bastardized is the widely taught technique some call the three-point prone.
The Three-Point Prone
The three-point prone is a high-risk ground cuffing technique where an officer orders the suspect to the ground and balances his weight on his left knee, which is placed on the ground pressing it against, not on, the triceps of the suspect’s right arm.
While in this position the officer maintains counterpressure against the back of the right hand to achieve compliance. The officer’s right knee maintains “touch contact only” on the shoulder blade of the suspect.
In training this technique, officers are cautioned to not put their knee on the neck or spine of the suspect. You then handcuff from this position.
The reason I did not teach the Three-Point Prone in-house
I was required to teach this technique in the state system to academy students. However, in-house I would not teach it and discouraged its use because, in my opinion, it has major weaknesses:
- The effective counter to the technique (which I never have taught to officers and will not teach here) sends an officer(s) sprawling. The more weight an officer puts on the shoulder blade, the more effective the counter will be. The knee on the shoulder blade also compromises the balance of an officer, especially smaller officers on larger suspects.
- There is a tendency for officers to shift their weight to the knee, which is on the shoulder blade when the suspect begins moving about. If a second officer is mirroring the technique on the other side and also placing their weight on the suspect’s shoulder blades/back area, this added weight can impair the breathing capability of the suspect lying on his chest.
- In teaching the three-point prone, officers are cautioned to keep their knee off the spine and neck because the proper placement of the knee on the shoulder blade is so close to those vulnerable areas. Even though instructors say, “Don’t put your knee on the neck or spine,” I have worried that some officers might only remember, “He said something about the neck and spine.”
The fact is that even if an instructor trains a skill perfectly, the trainee does not always:
- Learn the skill perfectly.
- Remember the skill perfectly.
- Retain the skill perfectly.
- Apply the skill perfectly in a dynamic circumstance on the street.
Alternatives to the three-point prone
I taught two alternatives to the three-point prone, which are described in greater detail in “Street Survival II: Tactics for Deadly Encounters.” They are:
1. Rear compliance ground cuffing: The first is a bit like the three-point prone except neither knee is on the suspect, which gives the officer more mobility. Sliding one knee against the suspect’s triceps allows the officer to still control the suspect by compressing the wrist and triceps to achieve that compliance, then calling for the other wrist to allow for speed-cuffing.
For rear compliance ground cuffing neither officer’s knees are on the suspect and one is slid against the triceps while the hand is providing counter pressure on the back of the suspect’s hand to achieve compliance. This allows for balanced control mobility and speed-cuffing from a position of advantage.
Photo/Street Survival II: Tactics for Deadly Encounters
2. Leg lock ground cuffing: The suspect is prone and the officer forms a “figure four” with the suspect’s legs. He/she slides up against the suspect’s upright leg to speed-cuff the suspect.
A skilled practitioner can, from a place of cover, talk a compliant suspect into either of these prone positions or achieve control of a suspect by dynamically arriving in either of these positions.
Conclusion
It is my opinion that to ensure officers are skilled in implementing effective, yet defensible, tactics requires adequate training time and funding, not defunding.
NEXT: Access Dan Marcou’s entire defensive tactics training series here
