Martial Arts | Self Defense | Use of Force | Combat | Research and Training
On Tuesday 27th May 2025, 24YO Kumanjayi White was arrested after allegedly stealing food and assaulting a security guard who’d confronted him inside a supermarket in Alice Springs. He died in custody a short time later. What really happened, and who is at fault?
Related:
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.
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.
At a supermarket in the Netherlands, a 34-year-old man was removed from the store by security for attempting to steal a bottle of alcohol. He returned and attacked guard with a broken bottle neck, resulting in injuries to both. The man was arrested and hospitalised overnight, so he obviously came out of the ordeal in far worse shape then the guard.
He faces charges of attempted manslaughter or serious assault and will appear in court on February 14 2024.
The actions of the guard were considered self-defense.
Dutch article covering the incident here.
Although not a knife, a piece of glass can cause serious or potentially fatal injuries. There’s certainly the risk of losing an eye, the way this man was attempting to slash at the guard.
The response of the guard demonstrates how effective distance management, footwork and striking can be against edged weapons. These are not the typical wrist-grabby techniques we often see taught by “self defense” instructors, but fundamental methods from empirically developed styles such as Muay Thai and wrestling.
This could easily have resulted in the guard suffering far more serious injuries had there been an inch or two of difference, and I have shared these scenarios on the site before.
My point here is NOT that learning a martial art will guarantee success, however:
MOGADISHU, Feb 22 (Reuters) – Ten people were killed in an attack in Somalia’s capital claimed by the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab group, which said it was targeting military officials and militia fighters involved in an offensive against it.
The Tuesday attack began with a car bomb blast followed by a gun fight that went on for hours at a house in Mogadishu where several lawmakers were believed to be staying, a witness told Reuters.
Somalia’s information ministry said late on Tuesday that 10 civilians were killed, but did not say who was targeted. Security forces killed the four militant gunmen involved in the assault, it said.
Al Shabaab has stepped up attacks in a show of resurgence since President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s government launched an offensive against the group in August.
A suicide bomber first detonated a car outside the house and then al Shabaab militants stormed in while firing guns, said witness Farah Aden.
The fighting between the al Shabaab fighters and security forces lasted for about eight hours, according to al Shabaab, the information ministry and witnesses.
“Other militants went in and killed 10 civilians inside the house. The security forces shot dead the four militants who stormed the building,” the information ministry said in a statement late on Tuesday.
Four soldiers and three civilians were wounded before the fighting ended, it added.
Al Shabaab said in a statement it had killed 70 people in the attack, which targeted the house because it offered accommodation to military officials and wounded militia members from the central Hiraan region recovering from fighting against the group there.
The government and al Shabaab, which has in the past launched attacks on hotels, military bases and government establishments, often give differing casualty figures.
Government forces and allied clan militias known as macawisley, pushed al Shabaab out of Hiraan last year.
The first guard to be attacked seems to have a problem drawing his weapon as they have a gunfight around two vehicles. The second guard does not get effective shots on target.
This security guard has a man in a strangle hold from the rear as he escorts him from the premises. The man loses consciousness and the guard drops the man on his face.
Man enters shop brandishing knife, security knocks him out with a single punch.