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How Police Must Deal With Armed and Dangerous Criminals

Dr. N. C. Asthana, IPS (Retd)

People, including even the highly educated amongst them, harbour a hopelessly
wrong misconception about how police must deal with armed and dangerous
criminals. Their notions in this regard are quite often formed and shaped by the
unrealistic nonsense they have been watching in ridiculous films of Bollywood-
Tollywood-Kollywood in which the hero cops are generally shown as martial
artists infinitely better than Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, Jackie Chan, Jet Li,
Donnie Yen, Scott Adkins and Michael Jay White all rolled into one. Influenced
at a subconscious level by such onscreen stupidities, people actually start
believing that our real life cops too must also be able to control the bad guys
with some mysterious techniques without resorting to the ‘crude and brutal’
beating by police lathis. And, if they are not able to do so, they must be both
incompetent and insensitive to human rights concerns.

The Kalburagi, Karnataka Incident

Earlier this month, there was an incident in Kalburagi, Karnataka, the video of
which became viral. As reported by the Hindustan Times, one Mohammed
Fazal Jafar, 28, a fruit vendor, was roaming around in a market in the night at
about 9 p.m. with a knife in his hand. Police said they received a call that a man
was threatening to attack locals and shopkeepers and that he was carrying a
knife and a sword. In the video, it can be seen that a crowd had gathered around
him in a circle but was keeping a very safe distance, with no one daring to go
anywhere near him. The video shows cops approaching the man and asking him
to put down the knife. However, as he threatened to attack and moved
menacingly, an officer fired thrice from his handgun. The first shot fired by the
PSI Waheed Kotwal was in the air as a warning, and the next two were fired at
him with the second shot hitting him in the left leg. Then the fallen man was
beaten up with lathis before being taken to hospital. The officer took great care
to shoot him in the leg only and I had commended the police for that on twitter.

In this incident also, as in many other incidents involving police use of force,
his family members claim that he has a wife and a child to support and that he is
mentally challenged, mentally ill, mentally unstable or whatever. They say that
he was under treatment but had escaped from the hospital! They also say that
the police could have arrested him without shooting him. This is obviously a
post facto cooked up story to garner undue sympathy, and as weak as could be
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expected from people coming from that background. If the man was really
mentally ill and violent and had escaped from the hospital, there was every
reason in the world that his family should have kept him chained at home. By
God, they could not let loose a mentally ill and armed man on the streets who
could have murdered several people and then claim mercy for him! This is
ridiculous.

In my considered opinion, the PSI deserves to be officially commended first

for having the nerve to shoot at a man in full public view, and second for
taking care to shoot him in the leg so that the wound was not likely to be fatal.

The Delhi Incident of a Man Wielding Kirpan Attacking Police

In 2019, there was a much-publicized incident in Mukherjee Nagar, Delhi

where a Sikh auto driver was beaten up by the police. You can google about the
incident and you would find that most of the websites focus only on one aspect,
namely, police brutality. Even the Delhi High Court called it an “evidence of
police brutality” and how a uniformed force ought not to act—several cops were
punished departmentally. Most of the websites, in their obvious attempt to not
miss an opportunity to malign the police for cheap popularity, deliberately
chose to not point out the fact that it was the driver who had attacked the
police first with his Kirpan. This maligning of the police was partly responsible
for the violent protests that ensued in which at least 12 people, including an
ACP, were injured.

A Times of India report (June 17, 2019) did mention that the Sikh driver had
crashed into police van and had an argument. The driver in turn attacked the
police personnel with Kirpan he had with him, following which he was finally
overpowered and beaten up. Police claimed eight of their personnel were
injured in the incident. The Tribune (June 20, 2019) had reported that video
clips of a brawl between driver Sarabjeet Singh and policemen had gone viral
on the social media. In one such clip, Sarabjeet was seen chasing policemen
with a sword, while in another; policemen were seen thrashing him and his son
with lathis. Most media outlets chose to show only that video or that much
video in which he was being beaten up.

What Could The Police Do In Such Situations?

Let me ask a simple question. What I am, as a cop, supposed to do if I am

attacked by a man wielding a sword, Kirpan, knife, axe or any other sharp-
edged weapon, or a firearm?
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It is important to mention that in the Delhi incident, the sword/Kirpan wielding

man could be overpowered only after one unarmed cop (wearing a white half-
shirt and not in uniform) mustered courage and pinned his arms from the rear.
This particular aspect can be seen clearly in the video uploaded on the site of
Aajtak (June 18, 2019). Such an opportunity may not present itself all the time.
In fact, before he was grabbed, the terrified cops can actually be seen running
away in the face of the Kirpan wielding man. Suppose the police did not have
such a courageous man at that moment. Suppose the location and the situation
did not permit approaching him from the rear. Suppose his rear had been
covered by another armed assailant.

Interestingly, even in the petition filed before the HC through an advocate

Seema Singhal, it is stated, “Assuming without admitting that Sarabjeet Singh
had taken out his Kirpan to attack the policemen, they should have used
reasonable force to make him drop the Kirpan rather than hitting him and his
minor son mercilessly.” Although not admitting the fact of having drawn the
Kirpan blows automatically in the face of the videos available, she should be
asked the mechanics of applying the so-called ‘reasonable force’ she is
advocating that would have made the assailant ‘drop the Kirpan rather than
hitting him’. Well, Ma’am, please do teach me the secret technique of using
‘reasonable force to make someone drop his sword’—in spite of my over three
decades of experience in combat, I am willing to learn and apply. This is plain
and simple, unadulterated nonsense by those who do not have the faintest idea
of dealing with an armed and dangerous man. Unfortunately, public discourse
has been hijacked and public perception distorted by such ignoramuses. For
their edification, I must inform them that all the so-called knife-disarming
techniques marketed by fraud martial artists have been proved to be utterly
farcical in the extremely scientific and elaborate combat program of the US
Marines—give me a knife and I promise I will kill the man trying those stupid
techniques.

The bleeding hearts must also note that drawing a deadly weapon on the police
is a serious offence. In any case, as the Delhi police informed, Sarabjeet has a
history of assault and disruption of public order. He had been booked in three
cases of disrupting public order since 2006, the latest one in April 2019 when he
allegedly thrashed a sewadar of Bangla Sahib Gurdwara and was arrested.

People Must Be Made To Understand the Difficulties of Police Work

The beating started after Sarabjeet was overpowered. However, let me ask all
those ladies and gentlemen who had pounced on the police to criticise it, how
in the world the cops were supposed to overpower him in the first place?
Please let me know of any secret, failsafe martial arts technique that you claim
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to know for dealing with an armed man, demonstrate it under realistic

conditions and then I will myself argue for its mandatory inclusion in police
training. It is easy for journalists and activists sitting in AC rooms to give
advice on anything and everything.

Do not forget that the average cop has had passed his physical proficiency test
only at the time of his recruitment and basic training. Since then, such is the
pressure of duty that he does not get time even for basic exercises, which other
citizens do. His food habits are unhealthy and erratic as he does not have the
luxury of eating home-cooked food every time. He has seen martial arts only in
films and has no idea of a punch or a kick. He has never ‘tasted’ a single punch
on his jaw and would probably be knocked out cold if he were to be socked. In
fact, as I had argued earlier, he is not even supposed to indulge in trading
punches with a man or grapple with him because he would be at a distinct
disadvantage there. The opponent may be heavier and could have more
experience of actual fighting than the poor cop.

If You Think Cops Must Use Martial Arts, It Is Nonsense

Fighting in real life is vastly different from reel fights. In the US Marines,
where they developed their own fighting system called the Marine Corps
Martial Arts Program, they make it very clear to the soldiers that, even after
great proficiency in the program, they must not expect to come out of a fight
with an armed opponent unscathed. Some damage, some injuries are inevitable
—the object of the training is essentially to increase their chances of survival,
which is all that can be reasonably expected.

In real life, there are no bloodless fights! It is only in cheap Bollywood-

Tollywood-Kollywood entertainers that unarmed onscreen heroes manage to
beat to pulp or even kill two dozen goons armed with deadly weapons like
machetes/Veech Aruval without getting their shirts ruffled! We cannot risk our
cops getting into fights. We have limited strength of cops for myriad statutory
duties and we cannot afford attrition in our ranks because of injuries or deaths.
It takes long to first recruit and then train men, and great public resources are
spent on that—they cannot be wasted just like that. Above all, cops too have
families comprising wives, children and parents to support.

Professional Solutions to the Problem of Facing Armed Criminals

First, the Correct Choice of Firearm

If you watch the Karnataka video carefully, you would find that even from a
distance of a couple of yards, which is technically known as point-blank range,
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the cop was obliged to shoot twice to score a hit on Jafar’s leg. Now, given the
fact that not every cop is a natural shooter, nor do they generally get adequate
firing practice because of their preoccupation with a thousand mandatory tasks
in a police station, they can be pardoned for missing the target in the first shot.

The solution in the Indian context is that instead of a handgun (that is, pistol or
revolver) they should have fired from the Government approved (and already
issued in large numbers to the CRPF and BSF etc.) 12 bore pump action
shotgun manufactured by the Ordnance Factory Board. While pistols, revolvers
and rifles fire single bullets, which demand accurate aiming, the shotgun fires
small lead pellets. These pellets spread out in a circle and thus one’s aim need
not be very accurate. Since the energy of the propellant is divided amongst
those hundreds of pellets, their penetration in human flesh is far less than that of
a single bullet and hence their lethality is greatly reduced. Moreover, one can
select the size of the pellets at will by choosing from a large selection to suit
different requirements.

In the USA, cops routinely carry the pistol on their body but keep the shotgun in
the police vehicle. It can be taken out on an instant’s notice, should the situation
warrant so. In one of my earlier articles “To kill or get killed: a police officer’s
dilemma”, written in the wake of the martyrdom of Delhi police ASI Shambhu
Dayal who was repeatedly stabbed by a criminal he had arrested, I had
suggested that for routine duties the cops must be made to carry the OFB .22
revolver for self-protection. The 12 bore pump action shotgun suggested here
will complement the .22 revolver—one on body, the other in vehicle, as they
do in the USA.

Why the Polycarbonate Pipe Police Lathi Is Useless?

To all those people who criticise the police for beating up a downed (Kalburagi,
Karnataka) or arms-pinned (Mukherjee Nagar, Delhi) man with lathis, I must
pity their ignorance. Pray, what is the reason to believe that an armed criminal
has only that weapon on his person, which could be seen from outside? Why,
there is every chance that he could have some more weapons concealed. In the
killing of Delhi police ASI Shambhu Dayal, the assailant struck him repeatedly
with a knife that he had concealed.

Who can guarantee that a man who is lawless enough to carry a sharp-edged
weapon on his person would not be carrying a firearm also in his pocket? Do
such people have any idea of how abundant illicit firearms are in the country?
Although, having been the highest-ranking IPS officer myself, I have my own
sources of information; however, for the satisfaction of some skeptics, I would
prefer to quote sources other than mine.
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The Times of India had carried out a study for an editorial in July 2020. They
reckoned that there are about 61 million illicit firearms in India—nearly 86% of
all the guns in the country are illegal, the stringent Arms Act notwithstanding.
Tarique Anwar carried out an investigation for First Post in which he found that
single shot 12 bore country-made handguns are available for as cheap as Rs.
1,500. Tara Kartha estimates the minimum price in the same bracket at about
Rs. 2,500. Illicit firearms are manufactured in hundreds of underground
factories in Munger (Bihar); Malda, Howrah (WB); parts of Jharkhand;
Dharmpuri, Theni (TN); Mirzapur-Bardah (UP-Bihar); Daulatpur and Baisar
(Bihar); and Bamhaur (Azamgarh, UP) etc. places.

In combat, there is a vital concept called keeping a safe distance or a stand-off

distance. You see, even after Jafar fell down, having been shot in his leg, you
must not forget that his hands were still unharmed. He could have still
slashed with his knives or worst, could throw them. Perhaps readers ought to
know more about “throwing knives” or “throwing of any knife”, both of which
are very dangerous—in fact, more than stabbing with knives because the
assailant can attack you from a safe distance and with greater force.

Therefore, unsavoury though it may seem, it is absolutely vital that even after
a criminal has been shot in the leg or elsewhere, cops must not rush to him to
grab him. It is a big No, No! He could have a concealed firearm or any other
weapon on his person and he could still attack you. You must approach him
with two considerations in mind. First, you must keep as much distance from
him as possible. Second, his hands must be disabled. Can anyone tell a single
reason why I, as a cop, should run the risk of getting slashed, stabbed or shot
by a criminal who is down? Go through the records of police throughout the
world and you would find hundreds of such instances when cops were thus
caught unawares with serious consequences.

For both these considerations, the standard issue one metre long polycarbonate
pipe police lathi is a miserable failure. This stupid implement was inducted
without any professional research because at some point of time, some ignorant
officer in position was overcome by an unnatural aversion to the old bamboo
lathi. In a fit of liberalism, it was argued that the bamboo lathi could break
bones and that was thought to be ‘brutal’—never mind that it was used literally
for hundreds, if not thousands of years! Hence a plastic pipe was introduced
which, being flexible, would itself absorb most of the impact energy and the
hurt it would cause would only be superficial. Never in history of mankind has
a greater stupidity been imposed upon the policemen. Since violent people all
over the country customarily use heavy bamboo lathis, wooden poles, oars,
spears, axes, swords, battle axes (parashu/farsa) and similar other heavy
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wooden/metal implements, the polycarbonate pipe becomes a laughing stock

before them.

That is why the police must use a six feet or so long strong bamboo lathi to
give a vital stand-off or safe distance from the criminal. Moreover, a single
strike from this on the arm will render the arm ineffective whereas even
scores of strikes from the polycarbonate pipe would not deter a charged up
man from attacking further. If you see the Karnataka video carefully, you
would notice that one cop is indeed using a long, branch of tree sort of thing in
his hands and he strikes the man first. My contention is why use such unreliable,
poor improvisations when you could use a proper bamboo lathi which police in
India anyway used for centuries. Our average cop can easily wield the bamboo
lathi because wielding it comes naturally to all humans—it does not require any
special training.

If you do not disable the criminal’s arms, you would still be leaving him with
the capacity and capability to attack further with his hands and injure or kill
you. This is a professional necessity and misplaced notions of calling them
brutality must be dismissed. Tomorrow, I do not want a cop to be killed by a
man who was down but could still use his hands!