How do you handcuff a suspect that is already sitting in the back of your squad car? Do you have them turn around where you can handcuff them while they are seated in your car? If so, you may be taking your partners out of the fight.
Many officers choose to handcuff suspects while they are seated in the back of a squad. I did it for years, thinking that it was much safer since the suspect is somewhat contained. Over the years, I discovered that fighting a suspect in the back seat of a car is very difficult because my movement is extremely limited and virtually none of my department sponsored training addressed this scenario. The worst part is that no matter how many other officers are on-scene, no more than two of us can engage the suspect at the same time (one officer per door opening). If the suspect lays back in the seat and begins to kick, then the only effective officer is the one at the door by his head.
In order to make the best use of my back-up officers, I now order the suspect out of the car before attempting to handcuff him if I have any indication that he is going to resist. This allows all of us to engage the suspect and gives me more room to deploy my intermediate weapons if I need them.
There are always exceptions to this rule. If you work by yourself without back-up available or other special circumstances exist, then you may choose to keep the suspect seated. Some departments may even have a policy requiring officers to follow a specific procedure.
If you choose to get the suspect out of your car for handcuffing, be prepared for him to fight or attempt to flee. Also, make sure your back-up(s) know what you are doing so everyone is on the same page.
Officers’ opinions on this subject often conflict, even in my own department. My experiences have convinced me that having the susect exit the car is preferable. Feel free to share your opinion with us.
No related posts.
{ 1 trackback }
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
You have a point, but as in everything else there are advantages/disadvantages to every approach. I dont really do an “either-or” on this topic. It kind of depends on the situation…
No matter how many officers you have around, I have seen offenders take off running while attempting to cuff outside the car. Its also easier for the offender to generate more power with the room to swing and fight. If you do use the “cage him than cuff him” approach, you better have done a good pat down/search before you put someone in your car.
Tom,
You are right, a good pat down is a must! The situation does dictate which approach I would take. We have had several officers injured by suspects who push off the cage and/or floorboard with their feet and head butt officers who are trying to fight them in the backseat. To control these suspects, we had to drag them out of the car so several officers could restrain them. Getting them out of the car first seems to work better for us with suspects that show signs that they might resist.