I used to work in a locked-in psych ward, where restraining dangerous and violent people was an everyday occurrence. We were not allowed to use chemical (sedative) or mechanical (cuff) restraints, and subsequently had to do it manually: locking them up with our hands, taking them down to the ground, and pinning them down in such a way that they were no longer a danger to themselves and others.
I’m not defending the cop who did this, but I do have to add some relevant information. When you restrain someone, they ALWAYS say that you’re hurting them. They ALWAYS say that they can’t breathe, or you’re breaking their wrist/arm/leg/rib/whatever. Claiming injury is the default, instinctual reaction to try and get you off of them once they’ve realized they can’t physically overpower you. In the psych ward there was always a nurse available to closely observe each and every restraint, to guarantee the restrainee’s safety or ask you to reposition if you were actually at risk of harming them.
Obviously there is no nurse in the street that follows cops around to double-check. I’d imagine that the cop had heard every possible reason for why he should get up and end the restraint, including “I can’t breathe” dozens or hundreds of times. It’s unfortunate and sad that in this case it turned out to be true. But in that position, in the middle of the situation, you can’t simply stop what you’re doing because the person is claiming injury. There’s a very high chance of danger to you if you get up because they claim injury. It’s not a fun thing to restrain people or listen to them scream while you do it. But I have zero doubt that their training says not to end restraints when the person being arrested claims they’re being injured, because it’s probably true once for every hundred times it isn’t.
It’s a lose-lose situation for everybody involved.
I’m not defending the cop who did this, but I do have to add some relevant information. When you restrain someone, they ALWAYS say that you’re hurting them. They ALWAYS say that they can’t breathe, or you’re breaking their wrist/arm/leg/rib/whatever. Claiming injury is the default, instinctual reaction to try and get you off of them once they’ve realized they can’t physically overpower you. In the psych ward there was always a nurse available to closely observe each and every restraint, to guarantee the restrainee’s safety or ask you to reposition if you were actually at risk of harming them.
Obviously there is no nurse in the street that follows cops around to double-check. I’d imagine that the cop had heard every possible reason for why he should get up and end the restraint, including “I can’t breathe” dozens or hundreds of times. It’s unfortunate and sad that in this case it turned out to be true. But in that position, in the middle of the situation, you can’t simply stop what you’re doing because the person is claiming injury. There’s a very high chance of danger to you if you get up because they claim injury. It’s not a fun thing to restrain people or listen to them scream while you do it. But I have zero doubt that their training says not to end restraints when the person being arrested claims they’re being injured, because it’s probably true once for every hundred times it isn’t.
It’s a lose-lose situation for everybody involved.
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