Category: Other Factors

“I CAN’T BREATHE” – how cops accidentally kill, and how to stop it

FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY – CONTENT MAY DISTURB AND OFFEND, VIEWER DISCRETION IS STRONGLY ADVISED.

See bottom of this post for download links to the complete video and printable diagrams.

I give permission for the video and attached documents to be downloaded, played, modified and printed anywhere for free – only for the purpose of education.

TOPICS

00:00 – Intro
03:50 – Excited delirium
05:19 – Why are police involved in the first place if we’re talking about medical issues?
06:12 – Death in custody and sudden unexplained death
07:26 – Monitor your own state of mind when dealing with the patient
08:48 – De-escalation
09:54 – “Super Human Strength”
11:01 – Ability to absorb punishment
11:50 – Pain compliance
12:18 – Pain compliance loop
13:21 – Tasers
13:55 – Positional asphyxiation
14:25 – Do not lay prone for too long
14:55 – “I can’t breathe”
18:07 – Banning pressure – my opinion
19:06 – Examples set by martial artists
19:32 – A personal anecdote
20:12 – Restraint-resistance loop
20:51 – Sudden calm
21:22 – Do not make calmness a condition of your use of force
21:44 – Piling on
22:33 – What we lack in training
22:58 – Minimum force in minimum time
23:34 – Access to risks
24:06 – Caution with handcuffs
24:50 – Biting
25:11 – Position in cell/transport – monitor constantly
25:36 – You are always being recorded
26:31 – You are at the mercy of the world
27:24 – Final thoughts

Download video here

Preventing Death In CustodyDownload

Some excellent feedback from a paramedic in the Reddit thread for this video.

How to prevent death in custody – positional asphyxiation, excited delirium, best practice methods and more [28 minutes]
byu/PaperworkPTSD inProtectAndServe

Text wall incoming: I would like to add some comments here. I am a paramedic in the urban U.S., so I do not know the training or the things that are taught to LEO, but I would offer some alternative perspective. This was a well thought out video, but I would also add some tools/methods that I have used/seen used to help expedite the process.

  1. This was a very thoughtful video, and succinctly emphasizes your position when dealing with psych/overdose/mental health patients in delirium. Which is, in between a rock and a hard place. These people need medical evaluation and intervention, which often Law enforcement is ill equipped to provide. It then becomes a matter of how quickly can you get the ambulance to you to assist. Normally, EMS will not go into active scenes because our defense profile is much less robust than yours. But getting on the radio quickly will ensure that once you have compliance, or even 60-75% compliance, the ambulance is already on the way. Even on your way to the call, if your call notes describe someone who will need an evaluation, just start us. If we get pissy when we get there and its not super serious, thats on us and I hope you dont have that kind of working relationship with your EMS agency, because thats a junk attitude for us to have. Better an easy evaluation and refusal than a cardiac arrest.
  2. There were many clips in this video that show prone positioning, and the continued struggle. OP did a good job of alerting to the cycle of “movement/restraint” that so many of us get into, and how that leads to bad outcomes. If you have to prone someone, then do that, but if the ambulance is coming, there are also safer ways to restrain once we get onscene. The primary intervention is sedation. We all want that person to stop thrashing, so we have to get our drugs onboard. However, once we get there, you now have force multipliers. Do not shy away from using us as help to restrain while the medication takes effect. Limb joint restraint, waist and shoulder control can all be had while prone if need be, and take pressure off the chest. And to be clear, even pressure on the lower back where the abdomen would be can cause asphyxiation, by not allowing proper expansion of the diaphragm.
  3. Please continue to be observant. Many times, once EMS arrives on scene, the police tend to lower their security posture because “EMS is onscene” and it is a medical patient. But I have been stabbed by a patient with APD standing next to her because they were talking to themselves while I was doing my thing. Anyone who needed EMS and is hyperactive is by definition unstable. Please be ready to jump back into the fight. We may also have to use you as our own force multipliers.
  4. The pathophysiology of these patients is unpredictable. The reason why these people suddenly arrest with seemingly no pressure is because of whats happening inside the body. Extremely simplified basically, the drugs/psychosis/etc are causing an unregulated adrenaline dump, giving them their super strength, or their resistance to control techniques and the like. Once their body uses up all of their adrenaline, they’re going to arrest. Our sedation medications add onto that effect, especially if we have to give a double dose because of their extreme adrenaline dump. Which means that predicting when they stop fighting is a nonstarter. Once you go hands on, at any point in time, they may run out of energy and go into arrest, ems or no ems assistance. Look for the signs, and act appropriately.
  5. Thank you OP for not saying that Ketamine from paramedics kills these people.

Sorry for the long wall, I’ve been a paramedic for 11 years-ish now and teach both LEO/EMS team patient control, and basic resuscitation to the police I work with. You guys got the short end of the stick in dealing with these patients, and I dont want any of these cases to happen to you guys.

DOWNLOAD GRAPHICS

Compounding risk factors of death in custodyDownload
Pain Compliance LoopDownload

Pressure-resistance loopDownload
Death in custody – Combined chartDownload

An incomplete list of references:

Lethal Restraint – An extensive investigation by Associated Press, documenting police use of force:
https://apnews.com/projects/investigation-police-use-of-force

14 August 2022
Salt Lake City, USA
35YO male deceased
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tc1nFY0iUo8

19 June 2021
Teplice, Czech Republic
46YO male deceased
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Stanislav_Tom%C3%A1%C5%A1

10 November 2022
Springfield, USA
44YO male deceased
https://wtop.com/virginia/2022/12/fairfax-co-police-release-bodycam-footage-after-man-dies-in-custody/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-UShHjqXHI

10 August 2016
Dallas, USA
32YO male deceased

31 March 2020
Los Angeles County, USA
38YO male deceased
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/09/us/california-settlement-edward-bronstein-death-police.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybWJe6G5guc

13 April 2022
Tucson, USA
34YO male deceased – 9 days after incident
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ty2L435PDis

30 June 2024
Milwaukee, USA
43YO male deceased
https://edition.cnn.com/2024/08/02/us/dvontaye-mitchell-milwaukee-autopsy-report/index.html

15 August 2020
Sonoma County, USA
Male deceased
http://nixle.us/C547W

18 March 2012
Sydney, Australia
21YO male deceased
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Beto_Laudisio

29 August 2024
Man tried to rob a BJJ Black Belt in Auckland, NZ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBa5-FMWeWg

2015
26YO male deceased
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/video/2018/jul/16/i-cant-breathe-footage-shows-david-dungays-death-in-custody-video

2018 paper – Sudden deaths from positional asphyxia
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6023692/figure/F2/

8 October 2021
Altoona, USA
43YO male deceased
https://apnews.com/projects/investigation-police-use-of-force/event/demetrio-jackson-cc53e451-a7d4-58e6-80ec-c1aa7ed8bb35/

Milwaukee, USA
28YO male
https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/crime/2021/05/11/subject-viral-arrest-video-2018-sues-milwaukee-police-officers/5025378001/

Other sources:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dvontaye-mitchell-death-milwaukee-hotel-hyatt-aimbridge-hospitality-security-guards

https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/19/us/mario-gonzalez-death-california-officers-charged/index.html

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/frank-tyson-toledo-police-body-cam-video-handcuffed-facedown-bar-floor

https://abcnews.go.com/US/7-california-highway-patrol-officers-charged-involuntary-manslaughter/story?id=98217611

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/3-former-mississippi-police-officers-indicted-death-man-custody-rcna86161

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/paramedic-gets-5-years-in-prison-for-elijah-mcclains-death-in-rare-case-against-medical-responders

https://www.cpr.org/2023/12/22/elijah-mcclain-trial-of-paramedics-jury-verdict

https://abcnews.go.com/US/7-california-highway-patrol-officers-charged-involuntary-manslaughter/story?id=98217611

https://myfox8.com/news/north-carolina/winston-salem/charges-against-former-nurse-connected-to-john-neville-case-dismissed-at-familys-request-district-attorney-says

Scissors were used during infamous fatal stabbing in Fortitude Valley

A jury has been told Seyram Kwami Djentuh stabbed Lauie Tagaloa in the neck with scissors he bought minutes earlier for $3.90.

The two groups had been “eyeing each other off” and were keen for a fight, before Tagaloa punched a man in the other group and stomped at his head.

The confrontation continued before Djentuh stabbed Tagaloa once in the neck with scissors. Tagaloa died within moments.

Link to Brisbane Times article

This raises three issues:

The futility of the death

The situation was entirely preventable. These are young men seeking to prove themselves to their peers by showing bravery and demonstrating their prowess and composure in a fight. They were seeking confrontation, with one man arming themselves when they knew a physical confrontation was about to kick off.

We can minimise this kind of outcome by providing opportunity, role models, purpose and discipline to young men, and an outlet to prove themselves and achieve self-worth. Suppressing competitive behaviour in boys and denying them these opportunities is how you amplify toxic masculinity. Their energy has to be directed into productive and benign pursuits. If they aren’t provided a positive group of peers and role models, they will find their own who may be antisocial in nature.

Scissors are lethal weapons

Secondly, this demonstrates just how lethal any type of blade can be. The next time you hear about police shooting someone after they attempted to stab someone with scissors, go back and watch this video, and remember what just a pair of scissors can do.

Bans on specific types of blades are fruitless

Where I live, we have banned the following types of knives:

  • Flickknife
  • Ballistic knife
  • Sheath knife
  • Urban Skinner
  • Trench knife
  • Butterfly knife or “balisong”
  • Star knife
  • Zombie Knife

Any object made of strong material with a point can be used to stab, and any hard material with an edge can be used to cut.

Banning any type of blade only results in the use of blades which are not prohibited, especially kitchen knives. Kitchen knives are typically made of steel, have a long sharp blade and a point, with a full or partial tang, and ergonomic handle.

These attributes make kitchen knives more effective as weapons than many of the banned knives, which are mostly designed for their appearance.

Knife designs can increase reliability and practicality, but they are all lethal, including cheap scissors purchased from a late-night corner store.

Laws which prohibit the carrying of blades and other weapons in a public place have more merit and real effect on outcomes, depending on the area and cultural context.

Brawl and movement tactics

This clip (courtesy of World Star Hip Hop, of course), illustrates several concepts I’ve covered in detail in a previous article and video, which you can find at the bottom of this post.

In the video we’re looking at today, a topless black male in blue jeans performs exceptionally well in terms of managing multiple opponents.

After knocking down his first opponent, he sees another male stepping forward and crossing the line of bystanders. He identifies this as someone who intends to intervene in the fight.

Typically, the plan of the bystander is to attack from the side while their target is focused on someone else.

Our main character immediately target switches. Target switching is a key component of fighting multiple opponents. He hasn’t completely taken the first man out of the fight, but he now has to prioritise the man who is moving forward because that is now the most serious threat.

As he approaches the second man he takes a wide angle, keeping the rest of the crowd in his peripheral vision. This avoids having the crowd behind him, completely out of sight.

At this moment, a third man approaches, but he’s on the side of our main character, and they form a line standing roughly shoulder to shoulder.

Main character sees his first opponent coming back to attempt a flank while he’s focused on the second man.

Main character correctly switches back to him, prioritising the opponent who is approaching from a dangerous angle.

This is exactly what I talked about in my multiple opponents video. An excellent demonstration of target switching.

The second man then crosses the line, which is often a big mistake because it exposes the flank, but main character was not in a position to take advantage of it.

It then becomes two individual fights which is a very common occurrence in a brawl.

While you’re dealing with your own problem however, you should try to remain aware of what the others are doing, because one of them is going to transfer over to your side when their problem is dealt with.

Which is what main character does. When he gets the chance, he transfers to the hoodie and blindsides him in exactly the same way they were attempting earlier but didn’t have the skill to pull it off.

And here you have the contrast between one man who could remain situationally aware enough to target switch, and another man who could not.

The other failure is wearing a hoodie in a fight, which can be for control in grappling.

This is why I advocate for spending at least some time grappling and sparring in a gi. People do wear jackets and other clothes that can be gripped in a fight.

Another video I’ve made which is relevant to this is about issues around bystanders, you can also find that below.

How to fight multiple opponents
Bystanders: the critical aspect of self defense and policing we don’t talk enough about

Male violence and gendered violence

There is a popular belief in Australia that domestic violence, and violence generally, is getting worse. However:

If homicide is the yardstick by which the level of violence in society is measured, then the belief that violence is increasing in Australia cannot be substantiated.

https://www.aic.gov.au/publications/tandi/tandi359

Most discussion has centred around women as victims of homicide, however, men account for about 70% of homicide victims. Over the last 30 years, all homicide has been falling.

Women are certainly over-represented in intimate partner homicide, but these numbers are falling along with the overall count:

The likely cause of the drop is due to the following factors:

  1. Improved socio-economic conditions, including employment opportunities, better education, economic stability
  2. Public health initiatives to address mental health issues and substance abuse – we know that people with mental health drug abuse issues are over represented as homicide offenders
  3. Demographic changes, because we have an aging population who is less likely to commit crime
  4. Improved law enforcement and judicial response, with more effective strategies, crime solving, community policing and prevention measures assisted by technological advancements

Further pursuing these issues will ensure that homicide continues to fall; conversely, a decline in our standard of living, and public health services, could result in more violence in the long term.

Also missing from the conversation is the fact that men are victims of male violence at a higher rate. If we want to prevent the murder of women, we have to protect men also.

All these points and more are discussed in the above video.

Police officer stabbed to death moments after arriving on scene – Las Cruces PD

Body Cam Video
CCTV Video

A stark and horrifying example of two things:

  1. The danger posed by knives, even when we are armed with a gun – you CAN bring a knife to a gun fight and win if you’re close enough.
  2. Not all situations involving mental health issues can be de-escalated verbally. Police have often been criticised in the media for shooting within seconds of arriving at the scene – this incident demonstrates the kind of situation which can lead to that happening.

Patrol Officer Jonah Hernandez was stabbed to death while responding to a trespassing call at the 300 block of South Valley Drive in Las Cruces.

A witness to the stabbing shot the suspect while another witness called 911 for help.

Officer Hernandez was transported to MountainView Regional Medical Center where he died from a knife wound to his neck.

The subject had a lengthy criminal record and mental illness.

Officer Hernandez had served with the Las Cruces Police Department for two years. He was survived by his wife and two sons.

Officer Down Memorial Page

Defense against blunt and edged weapons – a basic guide
Knives vs guns, why police shoot, and why they don’t “just shoot the legs”

Man taken to ground in street fight, brutal armbar follows

According to the source of the video on Reddit, this fight started after the drunken older man had been arguing with a group for about 10 minutes and was given many chances to leave.

The man wearing the ADCC hoodie (Abu Dhabi Combat Club, a prestigious submission grappling tournament) kicked off his footwear shortly before the video starts. Then:

Strikes -> clinch -> takedown -> mount -> armbar -> head stomps from armbar -> mount -> elbows.

Bystanders offered to call an ambulance for the older man following the fight, however he refused and kept saying that a bunch of “homeless guys” had attacked him.

As I’ve explained in a previous post, the standing vs ground debate is a red herring. Sometimes going to the ground is the optimal strategy, sometimes it’s not. In all cases, grappling skills are necessary whether you want to stay standing or not.

Saying “never go to the ground in a street fight” is idiotic, and at best a misguided oversimplification.

In this instance, the man who performed the armbar was not jumped by a group, was not stabbed, there was no glass and AIDS needles and lava on the ground.

It also starkly illustrates the effectiveness of join locks. This is not a submission, he did not wait for his victim to tap. He just destroyed that arm.

None of this is to say that his behaviour was justified, that’s up for you to decide. Where I live, it would be considered excessive and serious charges would follow. Make sure you understand local laws before using force.

The standing vs ground debate in martial arts