Agree 100%.
I’ve learned a tremendous amount from Damian’s Guardian Defensive Tactics program, but perhaps the MOST important lesson I took away is his discussion (note: philosophy, not technique) regarding Use of Force. As he states in the video, officers are taught to start off slow and work our way up the continuum, but this only applies to verbal de-escelation tactics. When the time comes to go “hands on”, you need to come in strong (“like a lion”) and get control of the situation immediately. Then you can de-escalate as the suspect begins to comply.
As Det. Kane so keenly points out, “If the Officer used more force, he would not have had to kill the suspect.” This incident could have potentially been avoided had the officer used a stunning technique such as a Hand Yoke to the back of the suspect’s neck while he was in the “turtle” position. As a defensive tactics instructor myself, I can honestly say that going to the ground or wrestling with a suspect is 99.9% of the time a bad idea.
