Well, It's Happened Again - Handcuffing

Last December the timely and proper application of handcuffs and the subsequent control or loss of control of an in-custody prisoner was an issue here in Kootenai County, Idaho. See my February 16, 2005, post.

Now, it's happened again, though the circumstances are somewhat different. In Seattle, police officers confronted a suspect, a suspect who apparently feigned compliance, and began to handcuff him. With one cuff applied, the suspect broke away and successfully removed the Seattle police officer's gun from his holster. The officer was able to overcome the prisoner, regain control of his service handgun, then shoot and kill the prisoner. The Seattle Post Intelligencer reported the story, headlined Suicidal man shot to death after struggling over officer's gun on Saturday, April 30, 2005.

State peace officer standards and training (POST) agencies as well as local, county, and state law enforcement agencies must insist that custodial restraint and arrest techniques training be emphasized and delivered no less frequently and probably more frequently than firearms training. It is simply not enough to give security and law enforcement officers restraint training during their entry-level training and then irregularly, if ever, throughout their careers.