This story says a woman accidentally strangled herself while trying to get out of her handcuffs.
My question is, exactly how would that work?
-FrL-
Just a WAG, but she probably strangled herself with her elbow while trying to wriggle out of being cuffed behind her back and trying to get her arms over her head and in front so she could see what she was doing.
Some people are pretty flexible, She most likely managed to get one arm over her head but not the other, placing her arm across her neck.
Imagine placing your right hand on your left shoulder and being handcuffed to your L arm pulled up against your left shoulder blade. It would take significant effort not to apply pressure to the front of your neck.
Is it common police practice to leave people unattended with their hands cuffed behind their backs?
No. I can’t find a citation on-line so I’ll defer to our law enforcement contingent, but in my (limited) experience it’s in violation of most police department procedures to leave any prisoner unattended in handcuffs, or to place or allow a person in handcuffs into any position other than standing or sitting straight up for any longer than necessary to restrain or pat down the suspect. This is done both for the safety of the prisoner and because the common variety of handcuffs are notoriously easy to pick. If a prisoner needs to be bodily restrained while unattended they are generally secured to wall or bed fittings via wrist and ankle restraints or shackles such that they cannot turn face down, and with sufficient movement so that they can roll sideways in case of vomiting, but full restraint without supervision is used only when a prisoner represents a danger to himself. I’m morally certain that these are standard procedures in most if not all police departments. I don’t remember if Sky Harbor is policed by the City of Phoenix or if it has its own police department; I suspect the former, but the airport jail is probably not fitted out for long-term prisoner restraint and she was left unattended by accident or ignorance.
As for the o.p.'s question, it’s quite easy to get contorted into a position where the handcuffs or forearm is drawn across the throat as drachillix describes, and further struggling, especially under the kind of panic that comes from anxiety attacks or (I suspect in this case) intoxication, resulting in choking out and asphyxiation. Such deaths are surprisingly common in inexperienced BSDM activities, which is why experts in that…er…hobby recommend using ‘victim’-releasable restraints and not engaging in such activities while intoxicated.
While I don’t engage in such activities, once as a young lad (probably after reading a book on Harry Houdini) managed to get myself into an inextractable position with nothing more than a bit of closeline and ended up having to saw the line apart on a rough bit of cinder block, thus ending my nascent career as a contortionist and escape artist.
Stranger
It’s fairly common to cuff them like this and then put them into the back seat of a patrol car.
Don’t know if you would call this ‘unattended’, though. The officers are there, on the scene, but usually doing something else related to the investigation, and not really ‘attending’ to that person. The prisoner may sit in the back of the car for up to 20-30 minutes sometimes.
From a New York Times article on the subject, “Sergeant Hill [a Tuscon police department spokesman] said that police procedure calls for checking on detainees at least once every 15 minutes. After Ms. Gotbaum had been in the room 5 to 10 minutes — and stopped screaming — officers who went to check on her found her unconscious, with her cuffed hands close to her neck.”
Assuming you mean BDSM, I’m not aware of any reliable studies that suggest that accidental deaths are all that common. Nonetheless, the gist of your point is correct, and as I’ve mentioned on this Board before, handcuffs are generally a Bad Idea[sup]tm[/sup] for most levels of play. Aside from the possibility of strangulation as in the unfortunate woman described in the OP, steel is somewhat less forgiving than flesh when it comes to extremes of pressure, which can result in serious injury if they fall while wearing them.
Should have tased her, bro!
:hangs head:
Not in any area in which I have known police officers. It seems that they did try to follow their own standard procedures, but based on the information in the article, I am betting someone dropped the ball. The police officer said that he felt that the woman “was a little not-there” – which, at least in this area, should have resulted in suicide watch until she was booked or sent home.
I’m having trouble figuring out how one can go from “cuffed behind the back” to “one arm in front of the neck”. I can easily see getting cuffs in front of you under the legs (like a very short jumprope), but going over the top? No way. Your shoulders just don’t bend that direction.
Yeah I’m still not seeing this.
-FrL-
And what being handcuffed to my L arm?
And what pulled against my left shoulder blade? My left arm? How can my left arm be “pulled against” my left shoulder blade?
-FrL-
Unless your name is… “Robert”. I used to work with “Robert”. Arrested for DUI, he was cuffed and sat in the back of the car for about 5 minutes. He managed to get his arms out in front enabling him to crawl/slide out of the partially open window and take off running. After a good chase, the officer finally caught him and “Robert” spent the remainder of his 20-30 minutes on the ground getting the tar beat out of him.
It was funny then, it’s still funny after all these years. “Robert” was just that kind of guy; run from the cops, slap a gorilla, kick a lion in the balls… you name it!
CedricR.
This man does not represent me.
I think the idea is that the right arm is wrapped around the front of your neck, placing your right hand over your left shoulder. Your left arm is twisted up behind your back, connecting via the handcuffs over your left shoulder blade.
Two problems: In such a position, you might be able to choke yourself out to unconsciousness, but I don’t think you’d able to truly strangle yourself. And I still don’t think you’d be able to get in that position in the first place, starting from hands-cuffed-behind-the-back.
Has anyone ever strangled themselves trying to escape from handcuffs before? Anyone know of a cite?
-FrL-
Um, a friend I once knew, a long long time ago, had an occasion or two in handcuffs. They didn’t have any trouble going from behind their back to the front, but as already been discussed, they went down around their hips, legs, feet. I have absolutely no idea what this across the neck thing is. It’s not possible.
In fact, I just tried to mimic it, and I have absolutely no idea whatsoever. But I am still limber enough to do it around my hips, legs, feet.
ETA- Good thing no one walked into the office, I’d hate to have to try to explain myself…
Yoga. Yoga can explain many things.