Have you ever executed a picture perfect control hold and takedown against an assaultive suspect, then flowed seamlessly into a prone handcuffing technique? Me neither. Have you ever seen one of your partners pull this off outside of the training environment? Me neither. Have you ever seen dashcam footage of an officer anywhere in the world accomplishing this feat? Me neither. Why? Because control holds are designed to be used either before the suspect assaults you or after you've diminished his ability to assault you. When fists are flying, your odds of intercepting and capturing the suspect's arm in order to apply a control hold are nil. That's why you've got to have strikes in your empty handed arsenal!
Why control holds fail
Many academy and in-service defensive tactics programs allot a disproportionate amount of training time to control holds such as wrist locks and shoulder locks. Typically, trainees are taught dozens of variations of these techniques that they're expected to recall and execute precisely under stress. This can be problematic because the more variations of techniques you know, the longer it can take to choose the most appropriate response under stress. To make matters worse, when the fight is on and your heart is racing, fine motor skills such as those required to apply a control hold, are the first to go.
Control holds tend to be fairly effective in training because the "bad guy" does not provide realistic resistance. Instead, he "goes with the program," enabling you to complete the technique. Unfortunately, a training partner who is overly compliant isn't doing you any favors. In fact, he could unknowingly be setting you up to fail on the street by helping to instill a false confidence in your ability to execute control holds.
Then when you try to apply a control hold against an assaultive suspect and are not successful, you can't understand why a technique that worked like a charm in training was useless on the street. As a result, you're forced to improvise. In so doing, you will likely resort to whatever technique you are most familiar with to prevent losing the fight and possibly your life.
If you were a wrestler in high school, perhaps you would shoot in for a takedown. If you played football, you might try to tackle the suspect. If you studied a martial art, you're instinct may be to strike or kick the suspect. Although any of these responses can be effective, they may be troublesome if that's not what you were taught in the academy or in advanced officer training.
If your agency's defensive tactics training program focuses on control holds at the virtual exclusion of all else, it is the defensive tactics system that failed you not the other way around. Some instructors teach that control holds are the answer because if you were to hit someone, you might injure them, which could lead to negative press and civil liability for the department. Remember that if a suspect is trying to hit you, you're justified in hitting him.
When to strike
We've all heard the saying, "If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail." I'm not advocating that strikes replace control holds in your toolbox. In fact, the most of the time strikes are not the appropriate response. Control holds applied correctly, particularly when there are two or more officers working against one suspect, can be extremely effective in safely subduing a suspect.
The problem is that when an officer tries to execute a control hold but the suspect tenses to resist, the officer is left hanging on to the suspect's arm with both hands. The suspect has a free hand with which to strike the officer, who is unable to protect his head from being struck.
If a control hold doesn't work for whatever reason, don't keep trying to make it work! Instead, strike the suspect to inflict pain and distract him momentarily. Then either transition back to a control hold when there is a greater chance of success or create distance and choose another tool for the job.
Where to strike
Where to strike a suspect is dependent on several factors including your body alignment in relation to the suspect, the level of force that is reasonable based on the circumstances, and what your goal is in striking the suspect.
Delivering a knee strike to the outer portion of a suspect's thigh might cause his leg to buckle, buying you time to effect a wrist or shoulder lock takedown and subsequent prone handcuffing. Maybe thrusting your open hand toward a charging suspect's face will cause him to blink and recoil, enabling you to create distance. Or, maybe the suspect is on top of you trying to remove your gun from your holster. In this case, clamping onto the hand that's gripping your gun while thrusting the thumb of your other hand into the suspect's eye socket might be your best bet.
How to strike
Striking is a means to an end. Strikes can be employed to protect yourself or establish control. When you strike, do so in combination until the threat is stopped, striking with your entire body as opposed to just your arm. Envision yourself striking through the target rather than at it. This will help ensure proper follow through, which is an important component of an effective strike.
Just about any part of your body can be used to strike an adversary. Ironically, the most common weapon, your fist, is probably not the best choice. That's because the bones in your hand are likely to break upon impacting a suspect's head. Obviously, this would make firing a gun, operating your radio, or even continuing to fight problematic.
Don't forget to issue several loud clear verbal commands so the suspect understands what he needs to do to quit getting hit. This tends to help create witnesses as well. In court, it's much nicer when several citizens heard you yell for the suspect to stop resisting as opposed to "GET THE F*** DOWN!"
It's your responsibility to be intimately familiar with your department's use of force policy. If they don't teach strikes, you're operating at a tremendous disadvantage. Officers need to be taught when, where, and how to strike, because sometimes control holds just aren't enough to control a violently resistive suspect.
Always have a plan B. Never give up!
