Out of the problems I addressed in my previous post, I feel that the most pressing, and the one with the most potential for improvement, is police officer training. After the Eric Garner and Michael Brown cases, a large protests sparked in an effort to reform police tactics. Slogans like “black lives matter” and “I can’t breathe” were like choruses among the protesters, as the poor handling of the cases led to the careless deaths of Garner and Brown. Some attribute this to racism and police brutality, I however, attribute the unfortunate deaths to a lack of training, and a “heat of the moment” decision that had negative consequences. I highly doubt that Officer Daniel Pantaleo or Officer Darren Wilson intended to kill their suspects, but instead, were undertrained in restraint techniques and had an over-reliance on firearms, respectively. In order to decrease casualties, I believe a police officers should have extensive training in Martial Arts, know the difference between lethal and non-lethal takedowns, and use all the tools at their disposal, like police batons, rather then depend on firearms for every situation.
The Garner case is a fundamental one for explaining the lack of police training. Officer Pantaleo used an illegal chokehold to subdue Garner, and as soon as Garner was on the ground, plenty of officers were on top of him. The use of the chokehold shows that officer Pantaleo lacks martial arts training. For his height, in comparison to Garners, there were several other non-lethal takedowns that the officer oculd have implemented. Wrist locks, shoulder lock control, arm locks, etc. Why did Pantaleo go for Garner’s neck? I obviously cannot speak on his behalf, but I assume it is because that is his go to submission technique; that officer Pantaleo lacks any technical knowledge of non-lethal takedowns, or, that he hasn’t trained nearly enough in such takedowns. This simple concept needs to change. If anyone should be masters of martial arts, it is police officers. We not only expect them to subdue criminals and protect the general public, but be skilled enough to subdue a suspect without causing sufficient harm.
How do we go about giving officers the skill sets that they need however? How can officers be expected to have a mastery in combat? Simple: training, and constant training. I do not mean to criticize Commissioner Bratton’s policies however, police officers will need much more than a one time training session. According to a New York Times article, Bratton explains that “every officer would go through a three-day retraining course, on how to talk to an “uncooperative person” in a way that does not escalate into a physical conflict; how to subdue a suspect if the encounter does escalate or if a suspect resists arrest; and how to be sensitive to cultural differences,” (Goodman 2). The Commissioner and the police force are going about this all wrong. They should not view this as a “re-training” but as a new training altogether. Police officers need a wider range of tools to use at their disposal, and a 3 day course will not give officers the ability to practice, perfect, and use these tools effectively. If you show an officer how to subdue a suspect non-violently only once, there will be no way to commit that to memory. He must have constant training sessions.
Is it with this that I suggest monthly training sessions in the Police Department where officers must learn and practice proper submissions techniques, hand to hand combat scenarios, and weapon scenarios. They should also be graded on their ability as an incentive to continue improving. Allocating funds may be the most difficult agenda, however, instead of squeezing out funds to increase the size of the police force, they could use that money to instigate training programs, possibly at the Police Academy. In fact, Police Academies could host martial arts and training seminars and instruction classes every weekend, where officers would be required to attend at least once a month. These techniques could be taught by licensed martial arts practitioners, and could go under screening until the city finds the techniques suitable Not only does this benefit the community, but the safety of officers as well. Dan Inosanto, a legendary martial artists during the Bruce Lee era (and one of Lee’s closest friends) demonstrated in an instructional video (which I linked below) that a gun is not ideal for every situation, despite the fact it is the officers first instinct to draw it.
In order to improve community relations and keep our streets safer, I believe that police officers need to become expertly trained in their craft, and not only “re-train” but greatly expand their entire martial arts knowledge.
Video:http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_KJ1R2PCMM
other sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/05/opinion/eric-garner-daniel-pantaleo-and-lethal-police-tactics.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/09/nyregion/bratton-outlines-overhaul-in-training-for-new-york-city-police-officers.html?_r=0
I really like your solution to the police training issues that were highlighted by cases such as the Eric Garner case in New York. While I do believe that lack of proper training is a primary issue in policing, I would argue as well that racial profiling is another underlying issue present when discussing police brutality. I would suggest that in addition to training police officers about alternatives to weapon use, your solution should also include psychological evaluations that examine racism and prejudice in police officers.
In terms of learning martial arts, I believe the idea is an interesting alternative though I would add that it should be handled delicately. Though martial arts offer police officers improved methods of hand-to-hand combat, there is still potential that officers can use what they have learned incorrectly. Martial arts can often be as lethal as using a weapon in the line of duty, and if police officers rely too much on certain dangerous techniques or do not learn the techniques properly, they can still inflict serious harm onto perpetrators. Therefore if proposing a solution like martial arts training, you must be sure that the police officers are truly being trained thoroughly and precisely.