# How would the police handcuff a one-armed man? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 5, 2003, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-police-handcuff-a-one-armed-man/217151 "2003-12-05T14:04:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-police-handcuff-a-one-armed-man/217151/21 "2003-12-05T20:56:21Z")
Police don’t handcuff suspects to keep them from running away, they handcuff them to keep them from doing any mischief with their hands, such as striking someone or grabbing an officer’s gun. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-police-handcuff-a-one-armed-man/217151/22 "2003-12-05T20:59:00Z")
**whuckfistle** , what’s with the backwards apostrophes? ---
**Author:** ![ekow2kn3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecc23a/32.png) [@ekow2kn3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekow2kn3)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-police-handcuff-a-one-armed-man/217151/23 "2003-12-05T21:06:54Z")
handcuffing them in the back makes it harder to run ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-police-handcuff-a-one-armed-man/217151/24 "2003-12-05T21:18:21Z")
[OT] > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ekow2kn3 \* > \*\*oh and no, my username is my name Ekow, Ghanian for a male born on thursday and 2kn3 translates to 2000 and 3 - my highschool graduation year \*\* That is just fascinating. Ghanans have specific names that say which gender the person is and which day of the week that person was born on? Amazing. What would the name for a male born on Wednesday be? [/OT] ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-police-handcuff-a-one-armed-man/217151/25 "2003-12-05T21:31:55Z")
**Walloon** , `smy trademark. (Like the name alone isn`t enough.) I suppose if I ever changed usernames the apostrophe thing would stay. WOW, 7.5 hours and no answer in sight. ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-police-handcuff-a-one-armed-man/217151/26 "2003-12-05T21:34:50Z")
duct tape ---
**Author:** ![ekow2kn3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecc23a/32.png) [@ekow2kn3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekow2kn3)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-police-handcuff-a-one-armed-man/217151/27 "2003-12-05T21:41:39Z")
male monday - Kodjo tuesday - Kwabina wednesday - Kweku thursday - Ekow or Yaw friday - Kofi saturday - Kwamina or Kwame sunday - Kwesi female monday - Adjoa tuesday - Araba wednesday - Ekua thursday - Aba or Baba friday - Efua saturday - Ama sunday - Esi ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-police-handcuff-a-one-armed-man/217151/28 "2003-12-05T21:48:28Z")
**ekow** : Thank you. That’s very interesting. **whuckfistle** : I think you’ve been answered as well as you can be. Things like this require situation-specific information and really can’t be reduced to trivial rules. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-police-handcuff-a-one-armed-man/217151/29 "2003-12-05T22:31:37Z")
The police always go by the motto “Armless, but not harmless!”, and cuff unidexterans to a stationary object until they need to be moved. ---
**Author:** ![ENugent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4af34b/32.png) [@ENugent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ENugent)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-police-handcuff-a-one-armed-man/217151/30 "2003-12-05T22:36:57Z")
How long is the chain connecting the wrists? Maybe they could loop it around his leg and connect both bracelets to the same arm. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-police-handcuff-a-one-armed-man/217151/31 "2003-12-05T22:40:32Z")
Wouldn’t they just use leg irons and tie one arm around his waist like they do with two armed people in leg irons? ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-police-handcuff-a-one-armed-man/217151/32 "2003-12-05T22:42:50Z")
Somebody already asked this a while back. I’m sure of it. I’m gettin’ old. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-police-handcuff-a-one-armed-man/217151/33 "2003-12-05T22:43:57Z")
How would they restrain someone with no arms? ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-police-handcuff-a-one-armed-man/217151/34 "2003-12-05T22:46:30Z")
[Aha!](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=175167&highlight=handcuff) I feel much younger now. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Headcoat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6bbea6/32.png) [@Headcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Headcoat)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-police-handcuff-a-one-armed-man/217151/35 "2003-12-05T22:56:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by matt\_mcl \* > \*\*How would they restrain someone with no arms? \*\* He’s naturally handcuffed then. An armless guy would have the same threat level and range of motions as a handcuffed guy anyway. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-police-handcuff-a-one-armed-man/217151/36 "2003-12-05T23:04:39Z")
I think a armless person would be much more accustomed to it and therefore more dangerous than a handcuffed one. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Cid\_Viscoso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/41988e/32.png) [@El\_Cid\_Viscoso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Cid_Viscoso)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-police-handcuff-a-one-armed-man/217151/37 "2003-12-05T23:33:47Z")
From **mangeorge** ’s link: at least one cop said he’d cuff to the perp’s belt. I just called my buddy who’s an L.A. patrolman. He concurred, and has done it before. Bonus round. If the perp’s nekkid or not wearing a belt, my friend’s says procedure dictates that he be:[list=1][_]Ankle-cuffed and manacled (sometimes requires a special police unit since not all cruisers are equipped).[_]Cuffed to tie-off points inside the squad car, presuming he’s neither violent nor under the influence.Cuffed to the wall of a transport, commonly called a “paddy wagon.”[/list=1] ---
**Author:** ![3trew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/13edae/32.png) [@3trew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3trew)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-police-handcuff-a-one-armed-man/217151/38 "2003-12-06T07:49:12Z")
If he’s not wearing a belt, and he’s not wearing pants, I’m pretty sure I could effectively restrain him. This method would work with regular Smith and Wesson or equivalent handcuffs, and would probably be more efficient than just cuffing the wrists together. It would require a great deal of explanation, some latex gloves, a departmental hearing, a civil suit, and some serious hazing in the locker room, but buddy wouldn’t be swinging that arm around. Not more than once, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Cid\_Viscoso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/41988e/32.png) [@El\_Cid\_Viscoso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Cid_Viscoso)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 8:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-police-handcuff-a-one-armed-man/217151/39 "2003-12-06T08:08:02Z")
Please elaborate! I’m sure my L.A. cop-friend could use the insight. BTW: if you’re talking about securing his one arm to his privates, S&W cuffs close fully – short of elephantiasis – with a generally testicularly-escapable aperture. Of course, you could be meaning you’d manacle his entire machinery, twig ‘n’ berry? In a GQ thread? ---
**Author:** ![3trew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/13edae/32.png) [@3trew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3trew)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2003, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-police-handcuff-a-one-armed-man/217151/40 "2003-12-06T08:30:26Z")
I meant enclosing the whole works, and I’m curious as to how you know that the S&W M100 would allow for escape, but as this is GQ I suspect we ought to just drop the entire subject before we get in trouble, if it’s not too late. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-police-handcuff-a-one-armed-man/217151.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-would-the-police-handcuff-a-one-armed-man/217151.md?page=3)