The Take-Down Above the Eyebrow

Any force beyond verbal commands triggers a written use-of-force report before the end of shift, and a head injury from a takedown triggers an injury report, a supervisory review, and medical documentation. The team report is not optional.

The account must contain facts, not conclusions:

• The lawful order given, D-227's exact words, and his noncompliance.
• The de-escalation attempted and the opportunity he had to comply.
• The force used: wristlock, takedown, and the approximate 40-second duration.
• The point of contact with the table, the location and size of the laceration, and the nurse's assessment.
• Names of every officer involved and every witness, including inmates.
• The supervisor who ordered the extraction and the time.

Avoid words like 'combative' or 'resisted' standing alone. 'Resisted' is a legal conclusion a reviewer will test. 'Pulled his arm free from the wristlock and turned toward Officer Jones' is an observation a reviewer can evaluate. The report will be read by a use-of-force review board, possibly a grievance examiner, and possibly a jury.

You cannot comply, and you say so plainly rather than silently ignoring the instruction. An incomplete report that labels a takedown with a head injury as 'resisted' with no team report is a misleading official record. That exposes you to discipline, decertification, and potential criminal liability, and it destroys the credibility of the force in any later grievance or lawsuit.

Respond professionally: 'I'll have the full report done before shift end, including the injury and the nurse's assessment.' If the supervisor repeats the instruction, complete the report anyway and notify the next level in the chain of command - lieutenant, unit manager, or internal affairs per policy. Document the instruction itself: the time, the exact words, who was present.

Short staffing is not a legal justification and does not change the reporting threshold. The report is also your protection: a complete, factual account of a briefly resisted takedown is far easier to defend than a vague entry that looks like a cover-up.

Medical first, then documentation, then review.

• Medical evaluation by the nurse, with attention to concussion signs - the laceration is above the eyebrow and the head struck a bolted steel leg. Ask about headache, confusion, nausea, and vision. Outside evaluation if the nurse cannot clear him.
• Photographs of the injury at the time and again at 24 hours, with the date and time recorded.
• Offer of care documented, including a refusal if he refuses.
• Restraint check and removal once he is compliant; check wrists for damage from the wristlock.
• Monitoring in the cell at the frequency required for a head injury, with the observations logged.
• Preserve video from the dayroom camera before it overwrites.
• Notifications: OIC, shift supervisor, and the use-of-force review process.

Then ask the operational question: should a two-officer takedown have been attempted on a 240-pound inmate at all, or should an extraction team have been assembled and the dayroom cleared first? That review is part of the report, not separate from it.