Tasers only create a window of opportunity. They are not reliable and will not do the job for you.
Category: Police
“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
Some excellent feedback from a paramedic in the Reddit thread for this video.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Israeli police officer describes Oct 7 attack – interview and body cam footage
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:
- Improved socio-economic conditions, including employment opportunities, better education, economic stability
- 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
- Demographic changes, because we have an aging population who is less likely to commit crime
- 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.
Man shot by police while holding woman hostage with machete
Man run over by police vehicle after shooting at them during pursuit
ST. LOUIS COUNTY — Police on Tuesday released surveillance footage of a police pursuit in February that ended when the suspect ran away, fired at officers and was hit by a police car.
The department’s investigation into the officers’ use of force is ongoing.
Police said on Feb. 21 they saw 42-year-old Taiwansley Jackson driving recklessly on Jennings Station Road and Halls Ferry. Officers tried to pull him over but he sped away, weaving in and out of traffic.
In the video, Jackson hits light poles near McLaren Avenue and Goodfellow Boulevard in Jennings before jumping out of the vehicle, holding a pistol, while the car is still moving.
As he is running away in a parking lot from several marked and unmarked police cars, he begins shooting at officers. A police car then hits Jackson from behind, and he goes flying in the air before landing on the concrete and being run over by another police vehicle.
The St. Louis County Police Department released video recordings of a Feb. 21, 2023, incident. Officers said the man had “non-life threatening” injuries; he was later charged with first-degree assault, among other charges. No officers were hurt. Video courtesy of the police department
Jackson was the only one hurt in the incident. His injuries were non-life threatening and officers did not fire their guns, the police department said.
Police can be heard on dispatch audio, also released Tuesday, asking officers to check on residents who live in the direction of where Jackson fired the gun.
Jackson is charged with first-degree assault, armed criminal action resisting arrest by fleeing and unlawful possession of a firearm. Jackson was in jail Tuesday on a $500,000 cash-only bond, police said.
The video was released as part of the department’s transparency efforts, where they aim to release relevant footage within 45 days of when an officer uses force.
The full incident report video can be seen here.
The limits of pain compliance
Pain compliance is quite literally the use of pain as a method to achieve compliance, and discourage resistance and aggressive behaviour. It’s an integral part of any police use of force continuum policies. However, its effectiveness varies greatly depending on the individual’s pain tolerance, mental state, and the intensity of the situation.
Individuals under the influence of drugs, experiencing a mental health crisis, or in a state of excited delirium might not respond as expected to pain compliance techniques. Adrenaline and other physiological factors can significantly diminish pain perception, leading to less effectiveness in gaining compliance and potentially escalating the situation to more extreme uses of force.
Pain compliance is not a substitute for physical control. It should not be seen as a primary strategy but rather a part of a broader set of tactics aimed at safely controlling and detaining individuals.
It’s crucial for law enforcement to have a clear objective when employing pain compliance and to be prepared to shift tactics if it’s not effective.
Continuous application of pain without gaining control can be perceived as excessive and lead to public scrutiny and distrust. In extreme cases, it can lead to serious injury and death, particularly when the subject is of poor health.
Training, skills, fitness and teamwork are the only answer.
The public’s perception of pain compliance is increasingly critical. With widespread access to information and a growing emphasis on police accountability, the use of force is under more scrutiny than ever. Law enforcement agencies need to ensure their personnel are well-trained in a variety of techniques, understand the implications of their actions, and are capable of making judicious decisions in the heat of the moment.
In conclusion, while pain compliance can be a part of law enforcement’s toolkit, it should be used judiciously and in conjunction with other tactics aimed at safely and efficiently resolving confrontations. Continuous training, public engagement, and a commitment to ethical practices are vital in maintaining public trust and ensuring the safety of both officers and those they serve.
NYPD off-duty officer shot with own gun during road rage incident
Off-duty officer attempts to arrest man who smashed his car window, however is attacked by a second man who tries to take the officer’s gun from the holster. In the struggle, the officer is shot in the leg and a man is shot in the hand.
Citizens arrest in Canada
Shop keepers in Canada arrest two thieves. They mob the men and use force to restrain them, one even hitting them with some kind of metal pole.
The Norway Incident: Cop charged with assault after failing to control on the ground
Click image above or here to watch video
Bystanders and the court of public opinion
The failure of wristlocks and armbar takedowns
News coverage of the incident from Norway:
On October 30, Kevin Simensen, a 26-year-old man, was subjected to violence by the police. Initially, no one believed his account, but new surveillance footage has emerged that supports his claims.
The footage shows a police officer in his 30s repeatedly striking Simensen outside a gas station in Kongsberg. This video has gained significant attention recently. TV2 has also obtained another video that shows what happened immediately after the first surveillance footage. Simensen believes this second video was taken after he was pepper-sprayed and before his friend Kristian was hit with a baton.
Due to the surveillance footage, the case has taken a turn. The officer has been charged with violence and gross negligence in the line of duty. The police chief, Ole Sæverud, stated that the charged officer has not been in active duty since the video came to light.
Both Simensen and his friend Kristian Teigen appreciate the media attention the case is getting. They believe it’s crucial for people to realize that such incidents do happen in Norway. Teigen also mentioned that the police deleted some of the footage they had initially captured.
Simensen, who has been dealing with PTSD since the incident, is slowly reintegrating into society. He had previously served with NATO in the Mediterranean for six months.
The officer’s lawyer, Gry Schrøder Berger, stated that the video doesn’t show the entire sequence of events and that her client is currently struggling emotionally.
The case is now pending court evaluation.
https://www.tv2.no/nyheter/innenriks/ny-video-av-politivolden-foler-meg-makteslos/15697249/
The Buskerud District Court ruled that the officer’s use of force against Kevin Simensen was lawful. The officer had been accused of gross bodily harm after forcibly restraining Simensen, who was pepper-sprayed and hit multiple times with both a baton and a fist.
The ruling was not unanimous; one of the judges dissented, arguing that the officer’s actions were not in line with the police law’s guidelines on the use of force. The court’s majority opinion emphasized that Simensen did not cease resisting arrest and that the officer had little time to consider alternative actions.
The Special Unit for Police Affairs, which had been prosecuting the case, stated that they would review the court’s reasoning before deciding on whether to appeal. Kevin Simensen and his legal team expressed disappointment with the verdict, stating that it could further erode public trust in the legal system.
Ole Sæverud, the Police Chief in Kongsberg, has not yet commented on whether the acquitted officer will return to duty. He mentioned that the officer is currently suspended and that they would need to thoroughly review the verdict before making any decisions.
https://www.tv2.no/nyheter/innenriks/politimann-frikjent-i-kongsberg-saken/15877423/