Editor’s Note: The full study is available here – Safety of Vascular Neck Restraint Applied by Law Enforcement Officers In 2021 federal politicians concluded that both chokeholds and carotid restraints – also known as vascular neck restraints (VNR) — were inherently dangerous and had “too often led to tragedy.” With this pronouncement, federal law enforcement...Read More
Curb-Sitting “Do me a favor and have a seat on the curb until we figure this out.” Undoubtedly, many of you have either given or heard some version of this direction. The belief being that suspects sitting on the curb will have reduced mobility and thereby pose less of a threat than suspects left standing....Read More
If you have read the San Francisco Police Crisis Intervention Team 2020 Police Commission Report, you would be forgiven for thinking there was a misprint. Of the nearly 50,000 annual crisis-related calls for service, the San Francisco Police used force only 51 times. That’s a use of force rate of 00.1%. Even with 2800 people...Read More
A new study headed by an Advanced Force Science Specialist finds that an officer who confronts a subject in the throes of excited delirium stands nearly a 90% chance of ending up on the ground in a struggle with potentially serious consequences. The more symptoms of excited delirium a subject exhibits, the greater his likelihood...Read More
As a street cop and as a trainer, Duane Wolfe has seen and used the tactic many times: officers positioning an unrestrained subject on a curb with his legs configured to delay him in launching a physical attack. Some have the suspect extend his legs straight out. Others order his ankles crossed. Still others prefer...Read More
Ron Borsch, who monitors active killing incidents worldwide, has released his latest statistical summary, indicating that the frequency of these bloody events is continuing to escalate and that the interruption of a suspect’s murderous rampage is most likely to be initiated by a single citizen or LEO. Borsch, manager of the Southeast Area Law Enforcement...Read More
A new electronic publication that captures the essence of “best tactics” for handling a wide range of high-risk encounters in just 30 pages has been issued by the IACP’s National Law Enforcement Policy Center. It’s a handy resource for crafting refresher reviews for academy, in-service, and roll call training. The practices and procedures recommended in...Read More
For the first time, a scientific research team has used modern technology to confirm just how a vascular neck restraint works to produce unconsciousness. The findings emphatically refute assertions that this valuable control technique is inherently dangerous and potentially lethal. “With the majority of subjects [in the study] rendered unconscious and, importantly, [with] no serious...Read More