A lone officer was speaking to a mother next to a bassinette, which contained a sleeping newborn baby. The officer was gathering information about the location of her fugitive boyfriend, who according to reports had fled the state. Suddenly the officer noticed movement of the lacey fringe at the bottom of the portable bassinette. The officer cocked his head and spotted the fugitive hiding under a table behind the bassinette. Sensing he had been seen, the suspect exploded out of his hiding place, nearly knocking over the newborn’s small bed as he viciously rushed the officer.
The officer, who was a defensive tactics instructor, spun and positioned himself behind the suspect. He pulled a valuable play from his play book and instantaneously applied a neck restraint. As the officer applied pressure, he asked the suspect, “Do you want to go to jail conscious or unconscious?”
The wildly resistive suspect went immediately limp and replied meekly, “Conscious.”
After applying handcuffs to the suspect the officer was relieved to discover that the bassinette had been rocked violently, but it had remained upright and the infant remained sleeping like... a baby. Thanks to the effective technique no one sustained any injuries in what could have easily been a fatal confrontation.
1982 and the ACLU
Prior to 1982, police officers across the nation were commonly trained in a number of neck restraint holds such as “the sleeper.” These techniques were used often to overcome active resistance. When trained properly and used properly neck restraints were effective in ending resistance without injury. In fact, neck restraint holds were at times life-saving techniques. The neck restraint was targeted for extinction by the ACLU, who then (as they so often do now) reasoned that taking less lethal options away from police officers in some way protected the clients they serve.
Then, in 1982, while defending the use of L.A.’s version of the neck restraint, Chief Daryl Gates made his infamous “normal people,” statement. This created a widespread furor about the use of neck restraints and there was an immediate and unprecedented backlash felt by police trainers nationwide. It was as if a thief in the night stole an excellent technique. Chiefs and Sheriffs all over the nation drafted new policies banning the training and use of neck restraints.
Kansas City (Mo.) PD
The Kansas City, Missouri Police Department never buckled to the pressure and continued to use their three-level system of neck restraint, called the Lateral Vascular Neck Restraint®. Under the tutelage of the renowned police trainer James Lindell, the Kansas City Police Department continued the training and use of this tactic. Lindell founded the not for profit National Law Enforcement Training Center, which promotes a variety of excellent training, including Lateral Vascular Neck Restraint.
Lindell has retired, but the current president of the NLETC, Sgt. Charles (Chip) Huth, carries on his work and continues to train law enforcement officers. He confirms: “The Kansas City, Missouri Police Department has used this technique for 40 years without serious injury, death or litigation.” Sgt. Huth explained that the reason for this success is, “It is not the primary goal, when using the LVNR®, to render the suspect unconscious.”
In fact, he added, “About half submit in level one of the application where there is minimal compression and minimal restraint.”
For anyone who has ever had the hold placed on them in either in training or on the street, they understand, but for those who have never experienced the hold Sgt. Huth explains, “It is very difficult to overcome the technique and suspects can sense that.”
Supporting Research
The Canadian Police Research Center studied neck restraints and came to the conclusion that there “is not a medical reason to routinely expect grievous bodily harm or death following the correct application of the vascular neck restraint.”
On the other hand, policies that restrict the use of neck restraints of any kind put officers in a bad position, because the dynamics of a close quarter combat are such that officers in a struggle for their life often naturally find themselves with an arm around a suspect’s neck applying pressure, even when they have never been trained in any proper application of this technique.
For an officer trained in the “strict methodology of Lateral Vascular Neck Restraint,” on a department which has not prohibited its use, this technique is fight winner.
Police officers are sent daily into a world where the find themselves in perfect positions to be able to end struggles safely and effectively with neck restraints, but only a small percentage have been trained in their use.
When an officer is in a desperate close quarter struggle some trainers would say “just disengage and escalate.” This would be wonderful, but it is not always possible. Sometimes officers are so engaged in a struggle there is no viable way to disengage. During these struggles, officers find themselves often, trained or not, with their arm around the neck squeezing. With proper training of the technique this can be a effective way to regain control of a violent suspect.
Reasons to Reconsider
Neck restraint holds are being taught in traditional martial arts, in mixed martial arts, and unsanctioned street fighting clubs all over the nation. American teenagers learn how to apply the hold as they recklessly play “The Choking Game,” where they put each other out with a variety of strangle holds for the thrill of feeling light headed.
Since the ability to apply this hold is so widely known outside law enforcement it may be time for agencies that prevent trainers from addressing this technique to reconsider that stance. Officers who have never been trained in how to escape a strangle hold are ill prepared to survive such an assault.
Since the public you police is being taught the sleeper in many venues, the question that should be asked by administrators across the country is, “Should our officers be trained in the application of and the defense against neck restraints?”
Well, should they? Sound off below.
