05/31/2020
A great summation by Head Instructor Avi Moyal, IFMF Israel.
God is in the small details
The Minneapolis arrest, in which a detained protestor was killed by a cop that pressed his knee onto his neck while the suspect was cuffed, has happened before in the exact same circumstances.
Quite a few countries, including Israel, have already outlawed the technique of pressuring the neck of a detained (on the ground) suspect.
From my 25 years of experience as an instructor of Law enforcement, teaching agencies worldwide, there is no better way to control or arrest a suspect then taking them down to the ground – lying on their stomach.
Once they are in supine position, their escape ability is limited, yet still exists by attempting to roll and prevent cuffing.
This is why most law enforcement personnel use takedowns in various methods, and once the suspect is on the ground, they apply their weight to keep him from getting up while cuffing and searching him, then leading him to the vehicle for custody.
So, what went wrong?
When a Law enforcer is trained to use his weapon more and his body less, it is not uncommon that he uses his body in a wrong way. If the cop only moved his knee few inches up to the suspects skull, this tragedy could have been avoided. Once a suspect is on his stomach and the law enforcer presses his knee onto the suspect neck, he presses the cervical artery.
This pressure reduces the blood flow to the brain, which reduces the oxygen supply and signals the brain a state of distress that "translated" in the brain as suffocation. The victim feels like he is suffocating while is air flow is unaffected, but he does not know it. For the victim, the feeling of suffocation activates the natural reaction, and the reflex of the detainee is to try and relieve the pressure by release himself in any cost.
This attempt is interpreted by the law enforcer as resisting arrest and as a result he is pressing even harder, which leads to further decrease of blood flow to the brain and less oxygen, then more resistance and so on…
This dangerous scenario has a lethal outcome, as we have seen.
So, what is the solution?
Teaching LE personnel, the correct process of arrest based on experience and science.
Primarily, to begin the arrest with as much manpower as possible, it could prevent the need to takedown in the first place.
explain your actions before and during the arrest, tell the detainee what you are doing to reduce anxiety and prevent the unnecessary resistance to arrest.
If necessary, take the suspect down using non-lethal weapons such as pepper spray, electric shocker, and if unavailable, use Krav Maga techniques which have been proven effective.
Once the detainee is on the ground, put your leg (shin) on his skull to prevent him from rolling, therefore there is no need to apply more pressure.
Some law enforcement units use pressure with the leg (shin) on the body, rather than the head, or as they do in some units in Israel – keep your leg on the ground - each method has its pro's & con's.
There is no doubt that in the Minneapolis case the man was controlled & cuffed with little ability to resist, therefore the knee on the neck was a mistake.
Conclusion: All law enforcement systems analysis and risk management show the increasing need for Krav Maga skills far more than shooting skills! And yet, the resources investment is exactly the opposite.
Investing more in Krav Maga training will change the LE perception and improve it infinitely.
About the writer: Avi Moyal is the chairman and head instructor of IKMF the biggest Krav Maga organization in the world, with 44 years or experience, 25 years of them in training LE units worldwide, including the local Israeli units.
