Articles
The Control/Defensive Tactics Program: Simple Tactics for a Complex Profession
Officer John M. Delgado (Retired)
One of the primary responsibilities of a law enforcement officer is to protect and serve the community. Officers sometimes have to use physical force to control criminal behavior that is threatening others or themselves. Use of force is one of the highest liability issues in the law enforcement profession today and for the conceivable future.
Understand that no one expects a law enforcement officer to be injured or killed in the line of duty. The legal system and the community at large will carefully review an officer?s actions to determine if there was justification in the use of force applied, and if the force used was reasonable for the resistance. Law enforcement officers have had the misfortune of punitive damages assessed against them and even served jail time as the result of using untried, unproven and/or unauthorized tactics. Use of force tactics must successfully address the reasonableness standard to be defensible in a court of law. The NLETC Control/Defensive Tactics system has a proven record for more than 33 years in the areas that encompass the legal, medical and tactical considerations of reasonable use of force. Many defensive tactics programs, including some POST-approved defensive tactics techniques, do not.
As a longtime practitioner of defensive tactics and defender of many law enforcement officers in court, I have often seen many of these so-called ?simple to apply? techniques offered as safe and effective methods of police control and defense. Many of them are neither simple nor effective. In fact, with some of these systems, an officer is more likely to be injured in attempting to apply the technique than to be able to use the technique successfully.
When evaluating a tactic for inclusion in your agency?s use of force program and departmental procedures, these are some of the factors to consider:
- Where does the tactic fit on your agency?s use of force response
matrix?
- Has it ever been tried on a person who resisted its application?
- Can you document its use on a report?
- Do officers have the ability to perform the tactic initially, or does it
appear difficult for some officers to apply?
- If it does not work, do you have alternative tactics that you can use?
- Can the technique be done with either hand on either side?
- Does the instructed technique have a written description of its purpose,
principles and function?
- Have provisions been made for annual re-training of the technique?
- Does the tactic meet your agency?s medical safety criteria and legal
requirements?
Not all techniques work 100% of the time. I find that most law enforcement officers use only a few techniques that they feel confident in using. They use them because the techniques are not difficult to apply, they can remember them because they are gross motor type techniques, and they work. Over the years as a trainer, I know of officers who have been killed and injured trying techniques that were not properly researched, field-tested and department approved.
It is rewarding to teach a defensive tactics program that has street-proven techniques for subject control and the flexibility to add other ?department approved techniques? that do not conflict with it. No matter what your department?s use of force response to subject control, the Control/Defensive Tactics program fits right in. The program can be a menu-driven type of training depending on current agency needs, or a full control/defensive tactics program for basic academy or in-service training. The program is set up in sections that can be taught independently of one another or as a complete system. There is also a section on ?Trainer Development,? which applies adult learning principals ? a must for the new instructor and a valuable refresher course for the veteran instructor.
At the Miami-Dade Police Department, we have used the NLETC Control/Defensive Tactics System techniques in many of our programs for more than 25 years. We have received very positive feedback from our officers on the road that the techniques have worked for them. The Lateral Vascular Neck Restraint (LVNR?) system is especially effective against subjects who are impervious to pain or physically stronger than the officer(s) attempting to control them, especially when the subject is aggressive or assaultive.
In conclusion, I feel very confident about the program?s control and defensive tactics capabilities, as well as the medical, legal and tactical aspects. With the current trend toward increased litigation against law enforcement officers, you should also consider its benefits for your agency and officers. Remember, as Benjamin Franklin once remarked, "Well done is better than well said."''
Officer John M. Delgado (Retired after 33 years)
Former Senior Instructor, Physical Skills Unit
Miami-Dade Police Department''
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