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| Corrections Officers Learn Self-defense |
| By norwalkreflector.com |
| Published: 05/08/2009 |
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Corrections officers teach self-defense Lorain County Sheriff’s Cpl. Jim Martin was at a distinct disadvantage. His “attacker” stood above him with a plastic knife; Martin lay on his back. The other man, Richland County Corrections Officer Christopher “Tank” Allen, held the fake weapon with two hands and plunged it toward Martin. In a matter of moments — and after what appeared to be quite a physical struggle — Martin had his “assailant” on the mat. Allen, a sizable man by any measure, was pinned. The knife was out of his hand. After the demonstration, Allen said he and Martin were “going about 50 percent” and they essentially know what the other person is going to do. “He’s not going to hurt me. I know that much. (However) he can stress my body so that I drop the knife,” he said. At the Lorain County Jail, Martin has seen everything from a spoon to a pencil being crafted into an edged weapon. He’s only been involved in hand-to-hand combat with an inmate once in 13 years. Martin saw the prisoner holding a pencil aggressively, so the corrections officer went on the offensive. He said he couldn’t allow the prisoner to come at him so he performed an “outside wrist turn” — which Martin showed Monday’s students — and had the prisoner on the ground and handcuffed in about five seconds. “It wasn’t a situation where I could just leave,” he said. Allen has been teaching other corrections officers for 10 of the last 14 years. The transport and court security officer has led classes on defense tactics using pepper spray and Taser instruction. When teaching self-defense, Allen said the biggest challenge is reaching the officers who might have martial arts training as well as those who aren’t as athletic. The most fulfilling aspect is getting the students to do their jobs with 100 percent efficiency and getting home safely. “Everybody wants to go home. Nobody wants to go (home) from the hospital,” Allen said. Martin, who has taught self-defense for seven years, wants to teach his students they have the right to defend themselves. “You have to do something,” he said. “People who run away get hurt.” The instructors led a self-defense class Monday as part of the Law Heroes United Training held at the Huron County Jail. The first session was April 6 and the last one is April 30. Essentially a state-mandated training school covering 142 hours for corrections officers, the tuition-free academy has 18 students this year from Erie, Lorain, Crawford, Ottawa, Richland, Sandusky, Seneca, Wayne and Wyandot counties as well as the Multi-County Correctional Center in Marion. Huron County officers weren’t involved this year because of layoffs.Read more. If link has expired, check the website of the article's original news source. |
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