Don't mess with the Las Vegas police

Next time, it's "No problem, officer!"

http://www.break.com/index/taken_down_by_vegas_police.html

Nice use of distancing and timing.

For those with no sound, here is basically what was said:

"Cop: Step to the car, take your hands out of your pockets
(no response)
Cop: Take your hands out of your pockets and step up to my car
(no or inaudible response)
Cop: That's the second time I've asked you, you're making me nervous, take your hands out of your pockets, and step up to my car.
(Inaudible)
Cop: Take your hands out of your pockets and--


POW!!

Once on ground:

Cop: Don't resist, now put your hands behind your back, or you're going to get the tazer."

Looked good to me! Punk got what he deserved.

Nice but a little exessive. Going for the throat ,to me, is a little risky. Not that it is not effective but what if he collapsed his windpipe? He could have been a little more selective of his target. But anyway, NICE SHOT!

Disagree with the "excessiveness." Seemed right on the money. Opened hand push to unbalance and take down, no smash to the the throat. I wouldn't want to go for the face...biting-infection-all that jazz.

I thought it was a nice job of efficiently taking someone down without undue physicalness.

Too hard to even consider what might be going through the cop's mind.

Great find Matt!

We can talk about how effective it was/ could it be done better etc... but at the end of the day, it got the job done i.e. neturalized a suspect without any serious harm to anyone. That's what it is all about at the end of the day.

I am curious to hear from any LEO's here:

Are there any specific techniques taught to officers responding as a group to a single subject? Both in front of the subject, one in front, one behind, etc. With two officers, would it not make sense to flank or otherwise surround the subject?

Did they ever determine if the guy could hear or understand English?

I doubt this is a case of linguistics. Being approached by two cops who march up and say stuff in that tone of voice ought to inspire more than a blank look on the face of an innocent tourist. Can you imagine if you were in some foreign country and two cops approached you like that? I think I'd put my hands up or make 'I think there's been some mistake' type faces, wouldn't you?

What was the guy being charged with? I don't think the cop ever told him what his reasons for detaining the guy were. Is that correct practice? Sure, witnesses said that the guy was involved in a fight, but don't officers have to inform the crim of what they are being detained for before doing so? I'm not so great on my US law so I don't know whether this is common.

I know here in Texas that you don't have to be informed of the reasons for being detained until you ask or you are formally arrested (just becaust the cuffs are on doesn't mean you are under arrest). Most of the time when a cop tell you to get your hands out of your pockets you do it. You don't question and you don't ignore. I know my husband was pulled over a number of years ago for driving under the influence. The cop approched his window and asked him to step out of the vehicle. He laughed at them. He was asked again to step out and he didn't. My husband was pulled out of the car by his shirt by the Corpus Christi police. From that time on every time a cop askes him to step out of the car it's "yes, sir/ma'am". Looks like Nevada cops don't mess around just like Texas cops.

Casey

I think the cop did the right thing.Maybe next time the little rectal ringworm will have some respect for the law,or atleast listen.

Rectal ringworm I like that! I'm going to have to use that sometime.

Casey

Since the guy didn't say anything I had to take the blackbelt healers course 'super condensed version' (cost an extra $99)mindreading online and go back and watch again.

After receiving my diploma through e-mail it became very clear what the idiot was thinking.

Just when he gets the blank look I could read,"Man,I wish I was a monkey so I could fling dooky on them legally." GURK!!!!

To all you bleeding hearts..."quit yer crying"

In every other country, people either fear or respect the police. In this country, anyone from kids to parolees to @$$holes seem to think that they have the RIGHT to debate, not comply, resist & attack our LEO's.

This mindset is what gets LEO's, the perps & the public / innocent bystanders injured or killed. The subject escalates the situation by acting like a spoiled brat. It doesn't need to be that way...just comply.

A LEO doesn't know if the subject is working-up enough courage to kill him so that's why I loved everything about the take-down. Here's why:

1. The guy obviously understood because he responded (we just didn't hear the audio).

2. The LEO gave a clear command & repeated himself.

3. Since most Americans have the "baseball mentality" (3 strikes - warnings), the LEO didn't wait to complete the 3rd command. He acted mid sentance thus taking the subject by surprise. Good timing.

4. The LEO connected w/ the base of the subjects throat w/ a curved hand. Much less chance of "collapsing the trachea" (which is composed of tough cartilage, not flimsey tissue). The strike is uncomfortable or maybe even painful but not serious - the guy was able to speak from a prone position ("I'm tryin'").

5. The strike was also not that hard. The reason the subject went down so easily was because the LEO's lead foot was behind the subject's foot. The subject simply tripped backward (w/ a little help). Even if the subject wasn't struck on the throat, he would have gone down. The throat hold is more of a deterrent than a pain compliance technique. Good technique.

Good job!

owari

If a cop walked up and told me to take my hands out of my pockets and assume the position, I do it. He doesn't know what is in that pocket and I'm not getting shot because he thinks I may have a weapon. If you fight it then they will use force to take you, and sooner or later there is always more of them then me.

That is called the gack. The police ARE allowed to use that, and in this case, it was necessary. He clearly asked numerous times, and the guy did not comply. I just hope in the hearing, he won't pull out the race card.

I would have like to see the tazer!

Nice use of surprise and initiative following a very approipriate verbal direction phase. Very acceptable risk and reasonable tactic based on the circumstaces.

...and no, as an officer you don't have to explain what the deal is to the suspect before you make sure he is not a threat to you. The fact that he is reported to have assaulted someone (fight) was reason enough to detain him and treat him with appropriate caution. Whether or not he spoke English is irrelevant as it was a secondary concern to officer safety. Figure out if he speaks English after he is under control.