GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — There are 27,000 training hours conducted across the Grand Rapids Police Department each year, and now, there’s a new element being implemented over the last year— jiu-jitsu.
GRPD is boosting officer training by adding jiu-jitsu, but it’s not the combative technique you may see during a cage match on TV.
Certified instructors and higher-level jiu-jitsu practitioners lead the training, which aims to cut down on physical strikes, while restraining someone safely, bringing GRPD officers one step closer to more effective use-of-force encounters.
“This is just about control— being able to control someone on the ground which, you know, it’s something we unfortunately run into all the time,” Michael Tagliavia, an officer who helps lead training sessions, explained. “Just being comfortable up close and personal with someone is what we’re looking for.”
Training and Engagement Captain David Siver says the jiu-jitsu training is in response to high profile cases and encounters seen not only locally but also nationally.
“It’s been resisted for a lot of years, but now, melding the sport of jiu-jitsu and the practicality of some of the police applications, it’s really coming to the front and center of law enforcement training,” Siver said.
Officers say they’re already seeing the benefits of this training while in the field.
“Every time there’s a use of force on the street, we’re seeing this now, not just me, I mean, every officer in the department is using it and we’ve heard nothing but good feedback,” Tagliavia added.
Siver says nationwide, only eight-to-ten percent of interactions end with some use of force, and now, 78 percent of GRPD’s use of force encounters have some type of grappling or effective fitness combative elements.
It may not cut down on the times where tasers or firearms are necessary, but it’s the less-than-lethal but violent tactics, such as striking, have gone by the wayside.
“I think it absolutely should be mandatory for everybody. Not just being comfortable on the ground, but being comfortable, like, being up close and personal and controlling someone,” Tagliavia said. “Less people are gonna get hurt. It’s gonna be safer for everybody, so I think it absolutely should be mandatory.
While these training sessions are voluntary, GRPD does include jiu-jitsu techniques in its regular, mandatory training.
The Kent County Sheriff’s Office says it has been using jiu-jitsu tactics, as well. It started training in jiu-jitsu nine years ago and deputies still receive regular control tactics training.
