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Often, the presence of a law enforcement offi cer may be
enough to deter criminal activity. For example, a police vehicle
parked by the side of the road may compel drivers to follow
traffi c laws. An offi cer on patrol in a shopping district may make
people think twice about shoplifting or causing trouble. Thus,
an offi cer’s physical presence represents the lowest level on the
use of force continuum.
The next step on this scale involves the offi cer using non-
physical force, such as verbal commands, to compel a person’s
behavior. There are a range of approaches the offi cer can take.
An encounter could begin with the offi cer asking, in a calm and
nonthreatening way, to see a person’s identifi cation. If a situa-
tion becomes more serious, the offi cer might issue commands
in a fi rm voice, demanding that a suspect end a particular be-
havior (“Stop!”) or do something that the offi cer wants (“Put
your hands on your head” or “Get down onto the ground on
your stomach”).
If a person does not comply with these verbal commands, the
next step on the continuum allows the offi cer to use physical force
to gain control. This level begins with empty hand control, mean-
ing the police offi cer uses bare hands, but no weapons, to sub-
due the subject. There are two levels to empty hand control. Soft
techniques include wrist holds and armlocks, as well as strikes to
specifi c joints or nerve areas, which enable the offi cer to hold or
restrain the person. The use of handcuffs is also considered a soft
empty hand technique.
If soft techniques do not work—or if the offi cer believes, in
the heat of the moment, that they will not work—a more physical
and aggressive hard empty hand technique (punches or kicks) is
permitted to subdue the person. At this level, some municipalities
allow police to use special holds called neck restraints, which can
render a person unconscious by compressing the carotid artery,
cutting off blood fl ow to the brain. However, use of neck restraints
is controversial because of the risk that, if performed improperly,
death can result.
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