Omaha Police Union Article

The Training Article that follows is the first in a series of monthly articles that stem from a partnership between the Union and the Training Academy. The Training Academy was presented with the opportunity to submit monthly training-related articles to the Shield. In short, "we" immediately accepted. As the Training Academy Commander for the Omaha Police Department – and personally – I am excited by this partnership. I view it as a win-win for all involved and would like to thank the Union for this opportunity, as well as the never wavering support for training members of OPD. When I say "we" immediately accepted, I am referring not only to the Training Academy, but also to the chain of command leading all the way up to the Chief. With that said, it is our intent to provide quality training-related information to members of OPD. The articles will cover a variety of material and will start off with a bio of the Training Academy staff authoring the submission. The first article is written by Officer Jon Edwards. Jon is the newest member of the Training Academy and is the department’s Defensive Tactics Coordinator. He has been a police officer for 13 years, nearly 7 years of those with OPD. He has over 20 years of combined experience in Unarmed Combatives – Wrestling, Taijutusu, and Law Enforcement Defensive Tactics – as a participant and as an instructor.

Lt. Todd Schmaderer

Thank you to the Union for the opportunity and to Lt. Schmaderer for the introduction. All my biography really indicates is that I have probably been punched in the face more than the average cop out there…and yes, it hurts every time, so try to cover block whenever possible. On a serious note, I hope to help everybody benefit from all of my training and experience.

With all of that out of the way, this article is meant to provide some reminders about some basic Defensive Tactics strategies that all of us may overlook from time to time. This article will cover reactionary gap, handcuffing without control, loud verbal commands, and Chief’s reports.

Reactionary Gap

Simply put, the PPCT concept is that if an officer is closer than six feet to a suspect, a spontaneous assault by the suspect will be difficult to stop. This is common sense; however, I have seen officers disregard this on a fairly regular basis. Most of the time "no harm, no foul" but I also have seen officers pay for this oversight in blood, sweat, and tears. I prefer the path of least resistance on this one. Officers should make every attempt to keep subjects out of their space, as well as out of the subject’s striking range. There is no need for rudeness, simply explain to even the friendliest citizen that you need them to stay back slightly so you can maintain your environmental awareness. It boils down to an officer giving himself sufficient space and/or time to respond to a potential threat. The more space you have, the more time you have to recognize and respond to danger. Decreasing the amount of time it takes an officer to recognize and respond to a threat is another issue altogether but it is something to train for nonetheless. In summary, space and time are your friends – get to know them and use them to your advantage.

Handcuffing without Control

There is no known technique to handcuff an individual who is out of control. Control may be established in many different ways including the following: multiple officers, joint locks, simply overpowering an individual, officer presence, verbal direction, and many others. An officer should always strive to develop some type of control before attempting to handcuff an individual. Often times an officer has to elevate their level of force because the physical battle is drawn out due to the lack of decisive physical control of their suspect. Once a suspect has decided to resist they are constantly feeling you out and deciding if they stand a chance to escape, assault you, or whatever. If you establish and maintain decisive physical control, you are mentally winning that battle as well, thereby softening the suspect’s resolve to fight or resist you. Remember what I said about the various forms of control? Mental control is the best of them. Furthermore, officers can simply perform better with two free hands to establish control as opposed to one hand with cuffs and one hand for everything else. Minimizing the length of the period of resistance will always minimize injury potential for suspects and officers. Therefore, officers should always attempt to establish and maintain physical control (by using techniques within policy) before putting on the wrist irons!

Loud, Repetitive Verbal Commands

We have learned about this for a long time and sometimes we still forget to use them. We have learned about the effects of stress on our bodies during critical incidents. (Auditory exclusion, perceptual narrowing, etc…) All of those things apply to suspects as well. You need to use loud, repetitive commands to let the suspect know what you want them to do when you want them to do it. Secondly, you are making witnesses out of everybody in the area. Citizens may understand why you had to deliver a knee strike to the common peroneal if they hear officers giving lawful orders that are not being followed by the suspect. Using loud, repetitive verbal commands benefits both suspects and officers.

Chief’s Reports

This has been a topic of discussion for as long as I can remember. Everybody needs to document his or her use of force incidents as clearly as possible. You need to paint a detailed, yet brief picture of the incident. I will not propose to reinvent the wheel but details make all of the difference. You simply need to document everything the suspect did, followed by what you did in response to the suspect’s actions. You should also put what level of force you used in parenthesis following the description of whatever technique we used.

EXAMPLE: After telling Jones to place his hands behind his back (Verbal Direction) Jones took a fighting stance and clenched his fists (Psychological Intimidation) and stated, "No way cop, kiss my butt!" (Verbal Noncompliance) Next, Jones advanced inside R/O’s reactionary gap and attempted to punch R/O in the face. (Active Aggression) R/O responded by using his baton to strike Jones 6-8 times in the common peroneal. (Intermediate Weapons) Jones complied and was handcuffed without further incident. Jones did not request or require medical treatment.

That is just an example of clearly stating what happened in an incident in a chronological format. Also, officers need to know the Use of Force Continuum and what categories different techniques fit into on the chart. Take your time and be accurate and thorough and get help if you need it…a fresh perspective can often times make all the difference.

In summary, I hope this has been helpful information to review and if anybody has questions, feel free to ask. Thanks…and should you find yourself in a fight for your life someday with a suspect who wants to harm you, remember the chant that I have been teaching the new Recruits, "We Win!, They Lose!, We’re Cops!, They’re Not!".

Brothers and Sisters, walk with pride!

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