Look. I agree that police officers need so much more defensive tactics training, especially on the ground. I mentioned in the op that I was actually asked to be a defensive tactics instructor because of my bjj background. I taught new officers as much ground work as I could in a week. I soon became the head instructor and that was the focus of the training-ground work more than striking. My reasoning was very similar to what you said-the optics are super bad. That was also why I never used my baton for anything other than to flush public toilets and open garbage can kids, but I kept it on me in case I encountered a knife suspect and I didn’t want to shoot someone. I never punched anyone in the face while I was a cop for two reasons. One is definitely optics. Punching looks bad, almost barbaric, and it’s easier to cause cuts. The second reason is tactical. You could hurt your hand and then if you have to grab a weapon, it’s useless. Even cuffing can be difficult with a hurt paw.
However, where we disagree is the legality of the force they did use. I feel based on graham v Connor that they did use appropriate force. This suspect was believed to be armed with a handgun and his hands were near his waist an awful lot. What I would have wanted to do is an rnc. I used them a shit ton my first couple of years. Then, a supervisor saw me do it and pulled me aside and told me that I wasn’t allowed to do that. In the academy, I also got yelled at for an rnc. We were doing officer survivability training -which is as realistic as they can make it. Troopers from all over the state came to the academy to be play-actors and it was a lot of fun for them.
The first scenario, an officer got ktfo’d by this one trainer and they all laughed about it. We went next and my partner said that better not happen to us. It was a simulated dui stop. The driver was arrested without issue. There were three more in the car and the back passenger kept trying to get out of the car, yelling aggressively “what the fuck are you doing to my brother!?” I tried to keep him in the car, but he kept getting out. I pulled out inert pepperspray (just water) and hoses him down. They were supposed to react realistically, but he kept coming and was laughing while he did it. He came at me and actually shot in for a takedown and I sprawled out. I then started throwing light knee strikes to his arm and thigh, yelling “common perineal” which should have made him stop, but since I wasn’t actually striking him, he kept laughing and trying to suck my leg in. Turns out, he was a former wrestler. So I got my leg free and ended up on his back, decided to take the choke, and ended it. He went to sleep and swallowed his chewing tobacco. I released the choke and I got yanked off of him by another instructor who was screaming in my face “you’re going to prison-you just killed a man! You’re an ex-cop serving time and they will line up to fuck you in the ass and eventually, kill you!” I defended my argument, stating that all other use of force techniques had failed, and there two others in the car. I cited graham v Connor and I didn’t know the case as well then as I did later in my career when I became a use of force expert. But I unknowingly argued the right points about being outnumbered and other tactics failing. I got called into the captains office and I made my arguments to him and he agreed with me, so I didn’t get into trouble. However, for the rest of the week, anytime it was my turn, the trainers would call out “it’s him” and I would get destroyed by paintballs-as they specially set up ambushes for me to make me pay for embarrassing their dude. We also found out that he, and others, had been drinking and celebrated beating cadet’s asses at night when they drank more in the dorm rooms.
Anyway, as my story illustrates, all other techniques failed. Lesser forms of control failed. Taser failed. Punches to the face failed. Joint lock failed. Horsepower failed. Again, he was possibly armed, which would make this a fight to the death.
The officer could have legally, used a choke to end it, but the uproar would be worse imo. And if you have never tried to get someone handcuffed, it is a lot tougher than most realize. I am a decent sized guy. In the academy, I was 215, and I have always been really strong. We did a handcuffing drill where they put four officers on the guy they were trying to handcuff. They absolutely could not get me cuffed. They had to bring in six and they had to beat the shit out of me before they got me handcuffed.
