Technical-tactical behavior analysis of general duty police officers during non-compliant suspect apprehensions: A novel approach to establish minimum force requirements.
Martin P Poirier, Rachel Blacklock, Michael Cao and 3 others
PMID 38552129WHAT IT FOUND
Police officers rarely struck suspects during apprehension simulations.
They used grappling moves, especially two-hand pulls. The wrist required 54 kg of force to destabilize. Forearm, chest, and back needed less. This informs physical employment standards for law enforcement.
Key findings
01Every officer used at least one grappling technique, while only 4% used strikes during the simulations.
02The wrist required the highest force to destabilize, averaging 54 kg.
03Officer characteristics like age, sex, height, and experience were not associated with the frequency or duration of the physical control techniques used.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
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What it does not show
The study used simulations, not real-world encounters, which may not capture the unpredictability of actual police work. Physical capacity metrics like strength and power were not measured, only demographics. The actors were police instructors, which may not represent the resistance of a real suspect. Handcuffing was excluded from the simulation for safety reasons. The findings may not apply to agencies outside the Canadian National Use of Force Framework.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret these force requirements as clinical norms for patient care. This study establishes physical employment standards for police officers arresting suspects, not therapeutic handling techniques.