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SURVIVING PRISONER HANDLING DUTIES

By Gerald W. Garner

You’ve safely approached the call in your very best stealth mode, made a cautious entry to the premises, confronted the perpetrator and talked him into cuffs. It’s time to quietly celebrate a job well done, right?

Not quite: Until you have safely secured, searched, transported, booked and  placed behind bars the object of your attentions, your safety and survival remain at risk. As any veteran officer knows, your prisoner could kill you. That holds true whether you have arrested him (or her) for mass murder or a dog at large warrant. It happens virtually every year in the United States: An officer who has survived an initial encounter with an offender is murdered at some point in the prisoner handling process. It occurs with sickening regularity, and it happened to each of the officers in the following real-life scenarios:

• Two patrol officers arrested a 26-year-old man for driving while intoxicated. He was patted down, handcuffed and driven to a law enforcement facility for a breath test. The officers locked up their handguns, took the male to the testing room and removed his handcuffs. During the testing process, the subject produced a .32 caliber handgun from his clothing and killed both officers with head shots.

• A sheriff’s deputy arrested a fugitive at a bar, placed the man, unhandcuffed,  in the patrol car’s backseat, and got in behind the wheel. The subject pulled a .22 caliber, single shot derringer and shot the officer fatally in the right temple.

 •     A rookie patrolman, age 26, was shot twice in the back of the head while transporting two robbery suspects in the backseat of his patrol cruiser. In searching the two prisoners, the officer had missed a .380 caliber handgun concealed on one of the men. The officer died of his wounds.

• Two patrolmen were seated in their patrol car questioning a male who was in the backseat with his hands cuffed in front of his body. The man reached a .38 caliber handgun concealed in his boot and shot both officers in the back of the head. He then escaped from the car. One officer died.

• A sheriff’s department sergeant was killed by a prisoner inside the county jail. The inmate, who was about to be transported to prison to begin serving a life sentence for murder, produced a .32 caliber handgun while gathering his belongings. The sergeant and another officer were trying to wrest the gun away from the prisoner when the weapon discharged. A fatal round struck the sergeant in the chest.

Indeed, every prisoner you handle, regardless of age, gender or crime involved, can prove dangerous to you – mortally so. But, you do not have to become one of the peace officers hurt, maimed or murdered by these criminals every year. By utilizing your good common sense and applying some very basic safety guidelines for prisoner handling, you can help ensure that you come home safely at the end of your shift. Those basic, but absolutely vital, prisoner handling rules include the following:

Heed All of the “Basic” Officer Safety Advice

You know, it’s the same old (but so very true) stuff you have been hearing ever since you entered the profession. Gather as much information as you can about the call or assignment before you make contact. Do not rush unnecessarily. Get as much help on-scene as necessary, and use it properly. Stay alert for the danger signs. Always wear your body armor when you are on duty. Maintain a reactionary gap between yourself and the suspect – don’t get too close, too soon. Always keep a sharp eye on his hands. Do not make dangerous assumptions. Use cover to your advantage. Expect the unexpected and have some contingency plans in mind in case your subject does not do as you planned (he virtually never will.) Realize the limitation of both yourself and your equipment, and never engage in “cowboy” tactics that could get you (or your partner) killed. Be willing to practice tactical withdrawal if the odds are stacked heavily against you. Stay in good shape both mentally and physically. Keep a winning mind-set and remember to survive emotionally, as well as physically. 

You also have undoubtedly heard the roster of fatal errors that can get you killed. Taking a poor position is one of them. Being apathetic, or just plain careless, is another. Failing to maintain proficiency with all the equipment of your business is a third. In addition, you do not want to be guilty of relaxing too soon, before the threat has passed. And, you don’t want to be sleepy or asleep on the job. It’s all basic stuff, but it’s also the stuff that just might keep you from ending up with some holes in your body that Mother Nature didn’t put there.

Watch Your Approach and Positioning

It’s no secret that more peace officers perish during the arrest process than engaging in any other activity that peacekeepers do. Unless you’ve got fifteen foot long arms, you must get in close to complete the arrest process. It is at this time, while you’re in close, that the detainee has the best chance to assault you or go for your weapon if he’s of a mind to do so. Realizing the existence of this window of vulnerability, arrest control instructors instill in their students several tactics and techniques for taking the advantage back from the criminal.

Stay out of an attacker’s reach for as long as possible. When you do have to get in close, have your subject at a disadvantage. On a high risk or felony arrest, that may mean having him kneel or prone, ankles crossed, facing away from you. In some other arrest situations, it may require that the arrestee be facing away from you, fingers interlaced atop his head, legs spread wide apart. In each case, you approach from behind and out of the subject’s view.

Give simple, clear verbal instructions to your subject that he is under arrest and exactly what you want him to do. Be prepared to repeat them, if required. Do not get impatient. A drunk or a subject whose first language is not English may take awhile to comprehend what you want. 

Whenever possible, make an arrest only with a cover officer present. In the best “contact and cover” tradition, it’s his (or her) job to watch your every move and react with the appropriate amount of force should you have trouble. With a known dangerous subject, running the risk of letting the crook get away is preferable to rushing to contact while you are alone. There likely will be another time to get him when you DO have help – assuming, that is, you have not done something foolhardy and taken yourself out of the game, perhaps permanently. Wait for your help and use it wisely.

Follow Proper Handcuffing Practices

There is a cardinal rule of handcuffing that you should follow. It goes something like this: If you have lawfully arrested your prisoner, you can lawfully handcuff him. Unless there is an EXTREMELY good reason not to, medical or otherwise, all prisoners who come into your custody should be handcuffed. That includes persons detained for public intoxication or mental health holds. In both instances, these people are being handcuffed for their own safety as well as that of others, including yours. Handcuffed means properly handcuffed, and properly handcuffed means hands cuffed behind the subject’s back with the handcuffs double locked and snug, but not tight enough to stop circulation. If possible, you also should secure the handcuffs in your subject’s rear by slipping them beneath his belt. Then, double-check to be sure you have done it right.

Your handcuffs should be the quality, brand-name ones and not something you picked up cheap at the secondhand shop. Both the chain-link and the newer, hinged ones are fine. Carry two pairs, as bad guys often don’t come solo. In addition, you will want to supplement your prisoner restraint equipment with some of the flexible plastic or nylon ties that also can be used for restraining legs or ankles of an arrestee intent on kicking the daylights out of something or someone – like you, for instance.

Remember that the best handcuffs are only temporary restraints. More than a few streetwise crooks, given enough time, can defeat them. Small boned women or juveniles may be able to pull their wrists right through the openings if the cuffs are not properly applied and double-checked for snugness. But, regardless of who your handcuffed subject happens to be, be sure to visually check the status of your cuffs periodically, particularly during a lengthy transport. You do not want to share the experience of the officer who had her cuffs tossed to her by a fleeing gangbanger  who bolted from her backseat at the end of a transport. And, you certainly don’t want to match stitches with the patrolman who was struck in the face with the open arm of a cuff dangling from the wrist of an inebriated escape artist.

You must practice your handcuffing techniques under the supervision of a good arrest control instructor on a periodic basis. Doing so also will help you discover and fix any sloppy cuffing habits you may have picked up over time. The exact details of how to handcuff properly will vary a bit from one instructor to the next and from one law enforcement agency to another. Nevertheless, you count on some basic cuffing tactics and techniques to be virtually universal among safety smart officers. For example:

• Approach your subject from the rear for cuffing. Keep his hands within your sight at all times.

• Keep a tight grip on your handcuffs throughout the cuffing process. A loose or dangling cuff has some nasty little teeth and can make an excellent weapon to be directed against you.

• Try to keep your arrestee off balance and, thus, at a physical disadvantage throughout the cuffing procedure. Be careful not to lose your own balance.

• Never try to “slap” the cuffs against your subject’s wrists as a TV cop might do. You’ll have more success by pressing the cuff arm against your subject’s wrists, one wrist at a time. If  you have maintained your cuffs properly, the arm should swing freely and engage on the other side, assuming you’ve kept obstructions like coat sleeves out of the way.

• Once you have double locked the handcuffs on your arrestee according to the cuff manufacturer’s instructions, check to see that they have engaged and latched properly and are neither too loose nor too snug. If they tighten down further when you press against a cuff arm with your finger, they obviously have not double locked. 

• Walk a prisoner by holding onto his arm from the side, not by gripping the handcuff chain with one or more fingers. A suddenly violent prisoner can slice your fingers badly by manipulating his cuffs so as to catch you between the two bracelets.

• Never handcuff yourself to a prisoner. For that matter, never cuff your prisoner to a stationary object and then go away leaving him totally unobserved. The reality is that he’s your prisoner and you are responsible for his safety while he is in your custody.

• Do not walk between two prisoners, handcuffed or otherwise. Do not walk in front of one or more prisoners, either. Walk alongside a single, handcuffed prisoner that you are guiding by the arm. Keep your weapon side turned away from him. Walk to the rear of a pair of prisoners.

• Carry a spare handcuff key hidden on your uniform or person. It can save some moments of embarrassment and inconvenience if you lose your primary key. More important, it just might help save your life if you are taken hostage and secured with your own handcuffs.

• Never carry a firearm into an area of a law enforcement facility where prisoners are being processed or secured. At the same time, be absolutely certain that any prisoner you introduce into that “sanitized” area is in possession of nothing with which he could harm you or a fellow officer.

Search Carefully

Prisoner searches represent one of the few activities in law enforcement where it is acceptable to get into a routine. Indeed, you should get into the habit of searching systematically so that you do it in a similar fashion each time. That generally means starting with your prisoner’s hair or headgear and proceeding downward to his footwear, socks and feet. There is no designated number of times you should search. Rather, the idea is to search and search again until you are convinced that your prisoner has nothing with which he could hurt someone, himself included. At the very least, however, he or she should be searched at the point of arrest, again before being transported, and at least once more upon reaching the booking area or lockup. Generally speaking, each search will be more detailed than the one that preceded it. Remember: Handcuff first, search second.

Always search a prisoner being turned over to you by another officer. If your peer has as much safety sense as he should, he will not be insulted by your double-checking his work. It’s the survival smart thing to do.

Poor searches remain one of the leading causes of injury and death for law enforcement officers. As a result, your initial posthandcuffing search following arrest should be primarily for weapons or other objects that could cause injury to someone. Obvious evidence or contraband also can be removed at this time. By the time you arrive at a jail or other booking facility, you also will be looking for evidence of a crime, drugs or other contraband that you do not want introduced into a “secure” environment. Items such as lighters, matches, pocketknives, pens, necklaces, shoelaces, belts and ties are typically removed before the jail door slams shut. These are not returned until the subject is released from custody.

Never stop looking for the next potential threat when it comes to prisoner searches. The small knife you missed just could be the one your prisoner shoves into your neck a bit later on. Shoes and waistbands must be probed for items like knives, razor blades, syringes and handcuff keys. Hairdos should have a comb or your gloved fingers run through them to detect any well-hidden surprises. As you carry out your search, keep an eye out for needle tracks that may indicate you now have a prisoner with a drug monkey on his back within the walls of your lockup. That could mean a whole new set of problems if he begins feeling the effects of his chemical fix or goes into withdrawal.

It never hurts to ask a prisoner before you search him if he has any items like blades or needles hidden on him that could hurt you if accidentally discovered. Make it clear that you expect a truthful answer for both your safety and his. But, do not bank on an honest answer. Search methodically and carefully, regardless of the response you get.

To help in preventing an attack by the prisoner you are searching, try to have a cover officer close by when you are carrying out your searches. If your prisoner has already proven by his history, deeds or words that he is dangerous, always have a cover officer present during the searching and booking process. Take him at his word if he’s already threatened you and keep plenty of help on hand until he is locked away or otherwise out of your presence. If you demonstrate that you have prepared for the worst, you decrease the chances of the worst actually happening.

Follow your jurisdiction’s statutes and your employer’s rules and regulations for carrying out strip or “skin” searches. As you would expect, this is an area of considerable liability for you and your agency. Have a solid reason for what you want to do. Any search of a bodily orifice must be carried out at a medical facility by medical personnel. Before you request any such search, you’ll need to seek supervisory review. You must be able to state clearly why you have reason to believe a weapon or contraband is concealed there. A few more search reminders include the following:

• Wear gloves during a prisoner search.  The puncture-resistant ones are your best bet.

• Develop a pattern or system to your prisoner searches and stick to it as much as possible.

• Don’t pass up some of the crooks’ favorite hiding places – the groin area, small of the back and beneath the belt.

• Just because you have found one weapon or hidden item does not mean that there are not more. Keep looking for the next threat.

• Unless you are confronted by an on the street emergency when you must go after a suspected hidden weapon immediately, beneath clothing searches normally should be carried out in a private facility by an officer of the same sex as the prisoner.    

Practice Good Weapon Retention

Taking someone into custody and then working with them for minutes or hours means getting into close proximity with them for a good part of that time. It is during this time that more than a few officers have lost their weapons to offenders and perished as a result of their momentary lapse. Some basic weapon control practices can keep you from adding to the roster of “killed with their own gun” victims. Be aware of who is around you at all times. That advice goes double for prisoners – yours or someone else’s – who may be in the vicinity. That’s particularly good advice when you are in an area such as a booking room or lockup where multiple arrestees or inmates are present.

Keep all of your weapons – baton and chemical spray included – well outside the reach of a potential grabber. Whether you are conversing with a soon to be prisoner or escorting a handcuffed one, keep your gun side turned away from him at all times. Be sure your weapon is snapped firmly into its holster. Keep your arm or elbow locked down atop your weapon and holster as much as possible. Have a plan for reacting instantly if someone makes a grab for your firearm. Remember, if you are in a struggle for your gun, you are literally fighting for your life. You want to make your attacker think of  just about anything other than trying to get your gun. That’s why kicks to the shins or other pain inducing moves work so well at such a time of crisis.

Like handcuffing and searching, you can learn some very helpul things about weapon retention by reading and watching videotape presentations, but to learn weapon retention moves well enough to save your life, you will need to practice with a partner on the mats with inert weapons, under the eye of a competent instructor. Here you can take turns being the gun grabbing bad guy.

Transport Your Prisoner Safely

You have already searched your prisoner at least once. Now, search him once more, even more thoroughly this time, before you place him into your vehicle for transport to the police station, jail or other facility. You also will want to be sure that the vehicle you are about to put him into has been searched for weapons or other contraband since the last “guest” was aboard. If you operate a patrol car, a pretrip inspection of the backseat prisoner’s area should be a part of your daily beginning duty routine. Your search should be primarily a visual one. In order to preclude needle sticks and similar unpleasant and potentially dangerous injuries, you should not put your unprotected hands or finger into places you cannot readily see. Puncture-resistant gloves also can help guard you during the patrol vehicle search process. At the end of your trip, search the backseat area again, just in case your prisoner has managed to ditch something you missed in your searches of his clothing and person.

Once you have safely seat belted your prisoner in and locked the door, monitor him for changes in behavior while you are en route to your destination. If unusual movements on his part convince you that he’s up to something that needs checking out, call a backup to your location before you enter his area of control to investigate. He just might have managed to slip his cuffs and is about to attack as soon as that car door is opened. Even if he is still cuffed, he may plan to knee you in the face, bite or head butt you. That’s why you do not want to lean over him as you check the handcuffs he claimed were “too tight.”

Expect a trap anytime a prisoner wants something that would bring you as the transport officer into close contact with him. Try to have help on hand anytime you must check out a potential problem. That includes prisoners who are apparently ill, passed out, hallucinating or suddenly violent. Whatever their situation, real or feigned, an acting out prisoner poses a serious threat to you, the transporting officer. Call as much help as you need, including paramedics, if the situation indicates. If you must resecure your prisoner, try to have adequate help on hand and do it out of the car rather than try to work in the narrow confines of your backseat. Climbing back there is a great way to get hurt, lose your gun or both.

Be aware that your prisoner could be experiencing legitimate medical problems, particularly if you suspect he has been doing drugs or know that he has exerted himself violently during, or just before, your custody attempt. Get medical help on the way if you think that he might be injured or ill, but do not lower your level of caution in the meantime. Police officers have been harmed by ill or injured people, too.

If you must restrain a violently resisting prisoner beyond handcuffing him, watch out for the dangers of positional asphyxia. A knee placed in his back while he is prone could keep your prisoner from breathing and kill him, so could trussing him up, hands cuffed to his secured ankles, while he is left facedown on the car seat or other surface. That could result in positional asphyxia, too, so do not do it. A number of restraint rigs are now on the market that allow a violent prisoner to be immobilized while in a sitting position. Your agency should invest in one of these for each officer or patrol car. You also may need to have a second officer accompany you by sitting in the backseat with a troublesome prisoner to keep him upright and under close surveillance for escape attempts as well as medical emergencies. Note, however, that weapon retention now becomes a major concern for this backseat officer. Some agencies require that an officer riding in such close proximity to a violent or potentially violent prisoner surrender his firearm to the officer up front.

Finally, do not let down your guard with any prisoner, obviously violent or not, once you reach your destination. Officers have been hurt and killed within the confines of their own police station or lockup facility. An even more detailed search should be done here before your party is released from his restraints. Particularly since you should have locked up your gun before going into this supposedly “sanitized” area, the surprise appearance of a weapon in your prisoner’s hands could ruin more than your whole day. Search in detail and avoid that kind of terminal error.

Summary

As you already know, your prisoner could kill you. You can expect to handle a great number of these people over a career spent in law enforcement. Just how you handle them will help determine whether or not you survive to receive that retirement plaque from a grateful department. To reach retirement in good health, you must steer clear of the fatal prisoner handling errors that have claimed so many of your peers. You must pay careful heed to your approach and positioning as you begin the custody process. You must handcuff properly and search thoroughly and systematically. You must move your prisoner from place to place with a high degree of alertness and caution. You must stay sharp for the next threat to appear. And you must avoid lowering your guard at any point in the prisoner handling process.

All of this is asking a lot, but the personal rewards are worth it. Reduced to its simplest terms, it all gets down to one day retiring healthy and happy – or not.n

  About the Author: Gerald W. Garner, a frequent contributor to POLICE AND SECURITY NEWS, is patrol division commander for the Lakewood, Colorado, Police Department. A 31 year veteran of law enforcement, Garner holds a Master’s Degree in Administration of Justice. He writes and lectures widely on the topic of officer safety. Two of his seven books (High-Risk Patrol and Surviving the Street) for Charles C. Thomas Publishers deal with officer survival issues.