P-1 Members sound off on “surprise” cuffing techniques

Corporal Steve Chauncy of the Seal Beach (CA) PD wrote:
In a law enforcement career I tell my trainees “You will be psychologically damaged in this job, you will probably receive some type of lasting physical injury and you might be disabled or killed. Give a suspect a break and the “probably’s” and “mights” can turn into “will happen”.

Sgt. John Rooke of Avon & Somerset Constabulary in the UK posed this quesion:
Bottom line is, would you want a member of your family treated like that? If you would you are not being honest, I would suggest. Basically, you have taken this person by surprise and he is bound to react, so what you have then done is unfair and I think constitutes a criminal assault. I find it unbelievable that any right minded person thinks doing this is within the understanding or the spirit of reasonable force.

Deputy Gary Eddings, Jr. from Sharon, Tenn. commented:
I have arrested 100+ DUI offenders and have tried the surprise attack and just telling the offender what is going to happen. Both work good it all depends on the situation, I use the surprise more if I got another officer with me. I tell the offender to close his eyes and tilt his head back and rise his arms up, then I grab one arm and my backup officer grabs the other one. I can also see sometimes that the offender is going to become a problem by just his face expressions and body language and by the dash camera the Monday morning quarterbacker watching the tape can’t see that and that’s where you get all the complaints.

Sgt. Gary Caldwell writes from Sandy, UT:
I’ve been a police officer for 27 years, starting my career in Little Rock, Arkansas. I moved to Utah in 1981 and worked for American Fork Police for 20 years. I retired in 2001 and now work in training for the Utah Highway Patrol. I’m not real big, but can be tough if I need to, as most officers can be. I have not seen the video in this case, and don’t agree with abuse of any kind. However, I do agree with and have always practiced quick handcuffing techniques. My first Sgt. at Little Rock, Arkansas told me; If there is going to be a fight, the way to start it is with a set of handcuffs on the suspect. I have always arrested as soon as PC is established by telling the subject they are under arrest as I reach for an arm and snap the handcuffs on. I’ve never played games, but always cuff as quickly as possible. I’ve seen and taught handcuffing techniques at the academy, but I have never used them. Quick cuffing has always worked for me and kept me out of trouble.

Jamie Price wrote:
I am a Police Officer in Windham, Oh. It is a small community. It is one square mile. We Have low income housing and all the problems go along with it. I have been here for ten years and believe in the surprise arrest. When I see some one walking in our projects, I run them for a warrant. When the warrant is confirmed or i already know, I jump out and grab them. The last time it happened the person was very surprised and resisted after the cuffs were on. I just get out of the car and grab a wrist and put the cuffs on. When they ask why, I tell them they are under arrest. I have also done this for DUI. I do the normal three standard tests. I then then say that there is one more test. I have the perp face away from me and grab and cuff.

I started this technique about five years ago. Windham is a high crime area and we have a lot of resistings. I would be the only officer on duty with no backup or it was far away. I have noticed that this method takes the fight right out of them. I call it “surprise your done”

Charles Gore, a Patrol Officer in Easton, MD commented:
I have been a police officer in Maryland for over two years. I also work with the departments video mobile recording system. From my experience on the street I have used both types, the talking approach and the surprise approach, of arrest techniques. Which one will work depends on the situation. Every cop knows that. I have both techniques backfire on me, you just never know. Also the officer that is dealing with the suspect will know when the suspect tenses up and is preparing to resist. You don’t always see that on a video. Also police work 30 years ago was difference that it is now. Nowadays different type of policing is required which means new techniques. This is a always changing job.

Steve H., an officer from Illinios writes:
I have used a similar technique which you refer to as surprise cuffing. I tell the person it is a another sobriety test and when they get into the desired position the cover officer quickly cuffs the offender while his/her focus is still on me as the primary officer. I dont do it on all DUIs but on those where I feel there is a potential for violence. I have never had a problem with it. Anything we can do as officers to make sure we go home safe is a good thing, as long as it is not illegal. One thing to add is that if you are going to use a surprise cuffing technique be sure that your cover officer knows beforehand so there are no surprises.
Take care all.

Don’t be so quick to judge this officer, said Charlie Racine, a town Sergeant in Quantico, VA:
Over the last 11 years I’ve made countless DUI arrests. How many have resisted? Not a lot as the two departments I worked for usually had other 8-10 officers respond to back-up the arresting officer. Individuals that will fight or resist a single officer tend to settle right down when there’s more than one around. However, I won’t try and second guess the officer that made this arrest. Sure the video camera on the dash may not have caught the arrestee balling up his fist or trying to pull his arm away. And sure If I were the perp, and I got knocked to the ground, I’d sure as hell scream brutality. If nothing else, then to shift the action away from me an onto someone else. Please note that we had a nice sweet young (18-year-old) fight three big burley cops. All cause I said the magic words “you are under arrest.” Seems he’d stopped taking his ritalin and was feeling no pain.

Det. Sgt. Tom Jarvie weighs in from Green River PD in Wyomong:
This debate seems to be another incident of many people trying to fit the very complex and changing situations of arrest into two distinct black and white categories. There are a wide variety of dynamics in any arrest situation and no one technique is going to fit all of those circumstances. I have very seldom used a “surprise” tactic when making arrest. Like most of those commenting on your article, I have found that open honest communication often is the best approach.

That being said, I remember one DUI arrest where the suspect was tense from the beginning. He would do what was asked, but I could visibly see his arm muscles tensing and relaxing. It was very obvious to me (though it would not have been easy to detect on video) that he was preparing to actively resist arrest if it came to that. In this case, I told him to turn away from me and place one hand on his head, I informed him he was under arrest at the same time I was securing his other arm for cuffing. He immediately attempted to pull away and I had to use a control hold to maintain custody and successfully place him in cuffs. I am confident that this would have turned into a much bigger battle with a greater likelihood of injury to one or both of us had I informed him of my decision to arrest while he was facing me and while I was not in a superior tactical position.

Bottom line for me is, there are numerous tools in the tool box. Some of these tools are only good once in a blue moon, but there is no sense in throwing it out of the box and not having it available when you need it.

David Mason joined us from Del Norte county, CA:
Trying to surprise someone into handcuffs is good way to start a fight. A good officer controls the situation using command presence and clear simple commands. A person can verbally disagree as long as they do what they are told. Only physical resistance justifies the use of physical force.

I have dealt with subjects that said they would comply, but put up on heck of a fight. I have also dealt with subjects that verbally argued with everything I said, but did everything that I asked them to do. I prefer the latter.

Sometimes suspects must be immediately detained to prevent escape or the destruction of evidence. Most of the time, we can explain what we want them to do, and why we want them to do it, before force is necessary.

Sgt. Mike Williams of Minnesota wrote:
I am not a big fan of surprise arrests. This can escalate just as it did Goddard case. Remember your use of force training, verbalize what you want the suspect to do. In Minnesota, the statute allowing the use of force in making an arrest, states that you may use all necessary and lawful force when you have informed the defendant he is under arrest. There is a legal requirement to tell them they are under arrest. Remember, a person has the right to defend themselves against an attack. Verbalizing the intent to arrest negates their claim they were justly defending themselves against an unprovoked assault.

Sgt. Harold Stabe wrote from Memphis, Tenn.:
Always presume every subject is a potential resistor. According to the story the suspect made statements to the fact he had been through the situation before and that, to me, would be an indicator of possible resistance.

Most people resist once the officer touches the subject which necessitates speed in applying the cuffs. If a subject STARTS TO RESIST, the officer will FEEL the resistance first. This will necessitate using distraction and balance displacement techniques so the officer can safely cuff the subject. I do not know the size, age etc of the officer or the subject but that officer has a right to go home safe at the end of his shift.

As a former DUI technician with hundreds of arrests, dividing a suspected DUI suspect’s attention is important. Just something to think about, perhaps the officer could have tried a different “Field sobriety test” and talked the suspect into leaning forward at the waist, placing arms out to the side, (a type of standing cuff position) and then cuffed him. As a defensive tactics trainer, this is something we teach our officers to do, namely make the situation as safe as possible FOR THE OFFICER. Based on what I have read, the officer, in my opinion, did NOTHING WRONG.

Here’s Joe O’Toole of Louisville, KY:
The former officers that are saying they have made hundres of DUI stops or arrests are doing a diservice to Law Enforcement and the community. Just because they were lucky enough to never have suffered a violent attack that could have been prevented doesn’t mean all officer’s will be so lucky. It is unlawful to resist an arrest whether the arrest is justified or not. Why should an officer endanger themselves by communicating thier every intention to someone they intend ot take into custody? Doing so will only give the subject time to decide whether or not they will go peacefully and if not they will have the time to plan thier resistance/attack and execute the plan. Do we question why a military leader uses surprise in a battle plan? This is an excellent tactic, I to have made hundreds of DUI stops and arrests. I have tried both ways and using surprise has kept me and the arrestee safe on numerous occasions. Besides, the majority of these subjects are not “surprised” they are being arrested! Good job Deputy!!! Stay Safe!

Sanford, Fla. Deputy Michael Cannaday wrote:
While it is not the tactic used every time, the suprise arrest has it’s place and can be used quite effectivley when you have been give indications the person may resist. I would use it afte all of my Field Sobriety Tasks and then I would tell the individual there was one more task. I would have them close their eyes. lean forward and extend their arms to the rear and begin to count. I then only had to step in and quickly place the cuffs on them. This technique works when you quickly place the cuffs on them. I agree that it is not the norm, but if you feel it might be needed it is quite effective. As far as all of the former LEO comments, remember, they are former LEO and usually for a reason. I do not thing a private investigator has any business commenting on police work, especially when he is a former cop, as all of the PIs I know that were LEO before are gone for good reason. As far as the attorney, yeah he used to be a COP, then went Fed and is now a lawyer. He probably made about 20 arrests a year as he obviously had other plans for his career, so his opinion is not needed either. Let’s hear from the real LEOs out there, not talking heads trying to make a buck.