Ohio Attorney General gets hands-on with Muskingum County police defense training

Zanesville, OH- Ohio Attorney General Andy Wilson got an up-close look at how area law enforcement officers prepare for some of the most unpredictable moments they can face on the job.

The training is part of an ecological dynamics approach, which focuses on understanding how people behave and respond under pressure. Officers spend roughly 60 minutes in live activity during each session, working through scenarios on the mats and learning how to stay composed whether they are on top or fighting from the bottom.

“It’s important for officers to have a good combat base, so that it’s actually safer for the officers, but it’s actually safer for the people that they’re interacting with also, an officer that is more confident in their skills is less likely to use a tool, a gun, a taser, pepper spray, that they would be if they were operating off a fear based metrics,” said Zanesville Police Department Patrol Officer and leader of the defense class, Mike King.

The program grew in part from a real incident involving a Zanesville patrol officer. During a pursuit with a motorcyclist in a rural part of the county, the suspect crashed. The officer did not know the man was armed. The officer stood his ground and eventually went hands-on with the suspect, successfully subduing him and holding him until backup arrived. Wilson says the value of that preparation is clear when officers face situations that can quickly turn dangerous.

“Every time I look at a body-worn camera from an incident that has gone wrong with law enforcement it typically goes back to a lack of training, and we know that by getting on the mats, encouraging, incentivizing, mandating our folks to get on the mat to do this type of training,” said Wilson.

Wilson plans to continue visiting police departments across Ohio to take part in their training and see these tactics in action firsthand.