Carotid Restraint Hold Used on Aggressive Suspect

Los Angeles: On the evening of Oct. 24, 2008, two Los Angeles Police Department officers responded to a domestic violence incident and encountered a very combative suspect who had to be restrained using a technique known as the “carotid restraint control hold,” which involves pressure to the carotid artery.

Shortly before 9 p.m., LAPD officers arrived at the 900 block of Albany Street and met with a person who had reported a fierce domestic dispute at a nearby residence. When officers approached the suspect, identified as 25-year-old Antonio Salinas, he resisted arrest and initiated a physical conflict. As the officers grappled with the suspect, he twice attempted to get control of one of the officer’s batons. Both times, as the officer tried to gain control of the baton, the suspect bit the officer on the forearm. On the second attempt, Salinas wouldn’t release his bite, so the partner officer, Oscar Duenas (10 years, three months with the Department) applied a modified carotid restraint control hold to the suspect, causing him to release his bite but not causing him to lose consciousness.

Although the suspect continued resisting arrest, two additional officers arrived at the scene and were able to handcuff him without further incident and complete the arrest. The suspect was then transported by paramedics to a local hospital where he was treated for facial lacerations and trauma. The suspect was booked for an outstanding 2005 murder warrant, and investigators with LAPD’s Force Investigation Division (FID) are expected to file more assault-related charges regarding the current incident at a later date.

Los Angeles Fire Department personnel treated Officer Duenas at the scene for minor cuts and scratches, and an LAPD sergeant transported the officer bitten by the suspect to an area hospital for treatment of cuts, scratches and bite marks.

FID personnel are investigating the incident and the officer’s use of the modified carotid hold.