handcuffs
Handcuffs are devices used by police to restrain people during arrest, and the transport of prisoners. While police may classify handcuffs as a tool rather than a weapon, they can directly cause injury and are a common element in police brutality.
Handcuffs come in many different varieties including:
Metal Handcuffs: The most common handcuffs are made from steel, with cuffs for each wrist connected by a chain, hinge or rigid bar. Each cuff consists of a rotating arm and a ratchet to close around the wrist. Police handcuffs usually have a double lock that prevents unintentional tightening of the ratchet.
Cable ties: Also known as zip ties. These common household items can tie hands together in place of traditional handcuffs. Because they are lighter and cheaper than metal handcuffs, they are used by police in situations where they anticipate mass arrests. Regular handcuffs can be applied to one wrist at a time, but cable ties require both hands to be tied at once, meaning they are only suitable for compliant arrestees.
Plastic handcuffs: Also known as flex-cuffs, flexicuffs or plasticuffs. These single-use cuffs feature a lock for each wrist, making them more difficult to remove than basic cable ties. Like cable ties, they are lighter and cheaper than metal handcuffs.
a brief history of police handcuff use
Throughout history, authorities have used metal restraints to hinder the movement of slaves, prisoners of war and those deemed to be criminals. These ranged from stocks to the ball-and-chain used by the British government to prevent convicts from escaping.
Handcuffs were used by early police to transport prisoners, but they were not well-suited to use on the street. They tended to be heavy, and did not have adjustable sizes. A police officer could not practically carry several pairs of cuffs of varying sizes, and the weight made it difficult to place the handcuffs on somebody who was resisting.
In 1862, W.V. Adams patented the ratchet design for handcuffs in the United States (1). This style of handcuff could restrain most people regardless of wrist size. Adams’ design was continually improved until 1912 when George Carney patented the swing cuff, which resembles modern handcuffs (2). Police could secure these handcuffs with one hand, and without needing a key.
Police began using plastic handcuffs in 1965 (3), but metal handcuffs have remained standard, and along with batons they are carried by most police officers.
dangers of handcuffs
Metal handcuffs can cause laceration, nerve damage or fractures if improperly applied (4). They can also cut off circulation to the hands. Plastic handcuffs and cable ties are more likely to cut off circulation (5).
Restraining people in handcuffs is a common element of police brutality, allowing beatings, Tasering, sexual assault etc. Perhaps most notably, in 2020 Derek Chauvin murdered Black man George Floyd who was handcuffed and face down on the street (6).
Police may subject victims to a “rough ride” - placing a handcuffed victim without a seatbelt in the back of a police vehicle which is then driven erratically to cause injury. This practice led to the death of Black man Freddie Gray in 2015 (7).
countermeasures
While handcuffs can incapacitate victims of arrest and police brutality, there are some countermeasures to consider:
Police handcuffs generally have a universal key that allows officers to unlock the handcuffs of any other officer. If you can obtain a key it can be used to unlock any pair of the same model.
The connecting chain of metal handcuffs can be easily cut with bolt cutters, but rigid or hinged handcuffs are harder cut this way. The actual cuff connected to the wrist can be cut with bolt cutters but this should be done with extreme care to avoid injury.
With practice you can also pick the lock of handcuffs with a pin or paperclip (8).
Plastic handcuffs can be escaped by inserting a knife, pin or other thin object called a “shim” between the lock and the straps, preventing the teeth from engaging with the lock. With the shim inserted, slowly loosen the plastic handcuffs.
There are also several methods of escaping cable ties:
Tighten the ties with your mouth. Position the lock between your hands, raise them over your head and move them down quickly, like you will swing them down past your legs, and with as much force as possible (9).
When the ties are being put on, keep your hands clenched in fists with palms down next to each other. Once the ties are on, slowly wriggle free (10).
Using a knife, pin, or other thin object lift the tab in the head of the cable tie that holds the two ends together. With the tab held open, slowly loosen the ties (11).
Use a knife, scissors or wire cutters to cut the ties. They can also be melted with a lighter.
references
(1) US35576A - Improvement in shackles or handcuffs - Google Patents
(2) US1017955A - Handcuff. - Google Patents
(3) Ties That Bind | Police Magazine
(4) Haddad, F.S., Goddard, N.J., Kanvinde, R.N. & Burke, F. 1999, ‘Complaints of pain after use of handcuffs should not be dismissed’, BMJ (Clinical research ed.), vol. 318, no. 7175, pp. 55–55
(5) Hunsicker, A. 2011, Behind the shield: anti-riot operations guide, Universal-Publishers, p. 136
(7) Freddie Gray, Rough Rides, and the Challenges of Improving Police Culture - The Atlantic
(8) How to Escape From Handcuffs : 3 Steps - Instructables
(9) 3 Epic Ways To Escape Zip Ties (youtube.com)