Teaching Defensive Tactics
st
in the 21 Century
How the Marietta, Ga. Police Department
made Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Mandatory
Authored By:
Major Jake King and Sergeant Clayton Culpepper
Police officers’ conduct today is under greater scrutiny than ever. This is especial-
ly true when officers must respond to a suspect’s aggressive behavior when
making an arrest. Generally, the public does not understand the complexities
associated with these rapidly evolving situations. The problem is compounded
when the narrative accompanying these video recordings is less than objective.
Punches and baton strikes may be legal and justified by a use of force policy, but
the public often view these actions as excessive. Because of this, it is imperative
police leaders regularly evaluate their officers’ use of force policy and training.
The Marietta Police Department has been working on how to better respond
to aggressive individuals for more than 10 years. As part of this initiative, new
recruits are required to complete de-escalation training and Crisis Intervention
Training (CIT). They also began teaching officers Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) control
techniques. Jiu Jitsu, which can be translated as the ‘gentle art’, has gained popu-
larity across the United States in the last 30 years as well as acceptance by law
enforcement agencies as an effective, non-deadly, use of force technique. BJJ
is a grappling technique based on simple movements and body positioning that
enables an officer to effectively control and restrain a suspect in a variety of
positions. Since BJJ does not require extensive training to perform complex
movements, it can be easily taught to anyone, regardless of the officer’s size,
strength or fitness level. Essentially, officers are trained in the gentle art
of controlling persons who are resisting with the added benefit of reduced risk of
injury to the officers or the suspect.
After BJJ was introduced to the Marietta police department, instructors proposed
to make the training mandatory for new recruits. As with most agencies, the de-
partment’s defensive tactics instructors have multiple responsibilities that prevent
them from taking on additional assignments. In order to implement the proposed
mandatory training, instructors recognized the proposal had to be reasonable,
sustainable, and affordable. If any of the three factors were missing, the proposal
would fail.
Offering more classes or having additional open mat sessions was not an
acceptable alternative. By going outside the agency for instruction, officers could
train with BJJ experts at varying hours, providing greater flexibility in the training
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