One of the more annoying and certainly dangerous situations encountered by law enforcement officers is that of transporting unruly prisoners bent on escape or assault by spitting, biting, kicking, hitting, or even inflicting injury upon themselves. Often, this behavior begins only after the suspect is handcuffed and placed in the patrol car for transport, and the “take ’em off and fight like a real man” syndrome sets in.
While there are no foolproof solutions for these violent displays, application of a few simple, tried-and-true techniques can go a long way toward controlling such prisoners. The goal of these techniques is to minimize a prisoner’s self-induced injuries, as well as damage to the patrol car and danger to the transporting officers.
It is true that there are very few things under the sun that are really new, and the following techniques are no exception. Nor are these procedures sophisticated or complex. Rather, they are expedient cures for an age-old problem in law enforcement, presented as a reminder that sometimes the oldest and most simple solutions can be the most effective.
Control of Hands
lt is standard practice today to handcuff prisoners with their wrists secured behind their backs. All too often, however, prisoners will succeed in slipping their shackled hands under their legs to a position in front, giving them more opportunity to assault or affect an escape. Even if a prisoner is initially seat-belted into the car, it is a relatively simple matter to release the belts in most cars and initiate these efforts. A number of expedient solutions for this are available to the field officer.
The first, and often most readily accessible method, is to make use of a prisoner’s belt or belt loops by simply securing one ratchet through the belt or loop along with the prisoner’s wrist. Alternatively, one entire cuff can be slipped through the belt or loop so that the chain or hinge of the cuffs is secured behind the back. Another technique, somewhat more easily applied, is to make use of a carabiner or flexi-cuff as a means of securing the handcuffs to the prisoner’s belt or belt loops behind his or her back.
If no belt or loops are present, or if it appears necessary to secure the prisoner to the seat of the car in order to prevent not only the slipping of the hands to the front, but also general movement on the seat, two other simple techniques can be applied. The first, taught by the California Highway Patrol, is to utilize the lap safety belt by fully extending it and looping it once around the handcuff chain or hinge before fastening it to its button-release catch. This technique requires no added equipment, but it does carry some attendant risks should an accident or other situation develop where there might be need to quickly extract the prisoner from the car. By looping the belt around the handcuffs, you in effect tie a knot which can be somewhat awkward and slow to both apply and remove.
Another alternative is to keep a five- to seven-foot length of thick rope on hand with which to secure the applied handcuffs by simply looping it once around the chain or hinge and then allowing the two loose ends to be bound between the fit of the closed door and frame. Use of the safety belt should accompany this technique, as policy and state law may dictate. This technique, while requiring some forethought in the form of carrying extra gear, is relatively easy to both apply and undo. It also offers increased flexibility in controlling the amount of tension or play on the handcuffs. Further, emergency extrication of the prisoner is not impeded, since this securing technique can be immediately released with the opening of the door.
It is important to anticipate the amount of rope that will be taken up when the door is closed. Ideally, enough slack should be left so that the prisoner’s wrists are not torqued by the shortening of the line as the door is shut. It is also desirable to leave a portion of the line hanging free outside, between the closed door and frame. This latter point offers the officer means by which to further control the prisoner when the door is initially reopened. Note that in order for the restraining rope to be securely held in place by the closed door, it must be of fairly heavy gauge or thickness and of rough texture.
Control of Feet and Legs
Transporting prisoners who kick is another frequently encountered nuisance and hazard. Application of leg irons, while offering some measure of relief, is not a particularly handy or easily applied security measure, and in itself does not necessarily restrict kicking leg movement within the car. One of the best means of controlling kicking in transport is the presence of a cage mounted well back in the car, which in itself offers only cramped leg room. Alternatively, however, a length of rope, as described earlier for the hands can easily be applied around the legs of a seated prisoner, looped once, and then secured between the closed door and frame. The vital step in the application of this technique is to loop one end of the line under the seated prisoner’s thighs or knees and then shift the line in its looped configuration down over the upper calves, shins or ankles, and to secure it by way of the closed door.
Control of the Mouth
The last transport problem to be addressed is that of prisoners who bite or spit. A number of measures have been used over the years, from application of cloth gags and tape to homemade hoodwinks. One inexpensive, convenient and safe remedy comes in the form of the everyday medium-size paper shopping bag. This item, when loosely fitted and secured over the head by means of a short piece of tape binding the edges of the bag under the chin, provides a cheap, disposable, sanitary and safe barrier to spit and other offensive fluids, and further impedes efforts at biting. Additionally, its composition is such that little argument could be offered that the prisoner’s safety was compromised, since breathing is not significantly impaired by the porous and open-ended bag, and there is no real chance of strangulation, since the bag and tape are both weak enough that they would tear before any significant constriction could occur. Also, should vomitting occur, the fluid will not be trapped inside the bag around the head, thus avoiding the hazard of asphyxiation. Alternatively, it is a quick and easy process for the officer to rip the bag off if the decision is made to allow the prisoner to exit the car to vomit onto the ground, or if CPR needs to be administered via safety mask.
As with any defensive techniques, application of those presented here should be restricted to situations where their use can be justified as falling within departmental guide lines as “reasonable force” and always in conjunction with other accepted defensive techniques and maneuvers.
Paul Berkowitz is a supervisory ranger with the National Park Service and is a certified instructor in firearms and defensive tactics.