Although a relatively rare occurrence, officers have been overpowered and cuffed by suspects either trying to escape or planning to do the officer harm. Police1 member Sergeant Randy King, a military police patrol supervisor with the U.S. Army writes, “I have always instructed my soldiers to keep an extra cuff key on their dog tag chain. Dog tags are an often overlooked feature of our environment and they usually go unnoticed.”
Sgt. King suggests that street officers, including off-duty personnel, wear a cuff key on a necklace that doesn’t appear to be of much value (so as to avoid theft). If you were to find yourself cuffed, your captor may overlook the key and leave you an opportunity to access it and escape.