Suspects are greasing up...

This is a bit unusual...but it makes sense.

Safety warning: Beware of slippery suspects

Safety warning: Beware of slippery suspects

Chuck Remsberg, PoliceOne Senior Correspondent

Is hand lotion the newest threat to officer safety?

In California, sheriff’s deputies stopped a vehicle with occupants that included an ex-con gangbanger who’d recently escaped from an unsuccessful buy/bust operation. Ordered out, he “remained calm and appeared to be very cooperative, allowing himself to be placed into a cursory search position” for a pat-down, according to a report of the incident.

But “as soon as his hands were gathered behind his head, he slipped out of the deputy’s grasp and fled on foot.” He reached to his waistband several times as he ran, but never produced a weapon or fired a shot.

Good thing! The searching deputy discovered that he was “unable to grasp his pistol because his hands were made extremely slippery from something on the suspect.”

Others from the car explained: As soon as the deputies pulled behind them, the ex-con began “applying an extremely large ‘coating’ of hand lotion on his hands, wrists, and arms — readying himself for a physical confrontation.”

A safety alert from the LAPD warns that “it is reasonable to assume” that applying copious amounts of lotion, cream, or other lubricant is “a new tactic being taught” among prison inmates to escape from being searched or physically detained.

“It is important to remember this tactic when coming in contact with any street gang member, especially those belonging to Hispanic gangs,” the alert advises.

...“Gangbangers and other criminals expect to get stopped. Their whole lives revolve around how to defeat the police. Unfortunately, they often engage in when/then thinking more than cops do.”

...From a practical standpoint, he adds, “Always reach for contact first with your reaction hand so your gun hand stays safe.”

Another trainer, Officer Gary Monreal of the New Berlin (Wisc.) PD, suggests that “the use of certain ‘tactile’ gloves may help” deal with the slippery-hands problem, providing the glove can “withstand a substance and still have gripping ability.”

Likewise, having backup present, if available, may discourage suspect resistance.

“If, at any time during the contact, an officer perceives that a substance has been applied to the suspect, the officer needs to escalate force or disengage from the subject,” Monreal says. One option might be to have the suspect kneel during the pat-down, in an effort to better control him.

“The key is for the officer to identify the risk associated with a subject’s ‘greasing’ up,” Monreal says. “Why else would a subject do that, other than to resist an officer’s attempts at control? Having knowledge of this offender tactic may help an officer articulate why he or she took ‘extra measures’ during a pat-down.”