With recent fatal police shootings across the nation, Beaumont Police Officers are learning methods to arrest individuals without the use of a weapon, all with the help of a Brazilian SWAT trainer.
“A lot of people are talking about police violence around the world, we came here to help,” says Marcos Do Val.
Do Val is making strides to help eliminate the use of excessive force by officers in the United States.
“It's time for police officers to not use their weapons and start putting handcuffs on suspects.” Do Val explains.
According to the Washington post, just this year, over 715 people have been killed by police nationwide.
Do Val's goal is to teach officers how to make a successful arrest without having to pull a trigger.
By learning these technics, police officers like Jerry Lowe say this will make handling arrests a lot safer.
“It's not using any type of impact weapon where you'd have to strike someone or hit someone,” says Officer Lowe.
Do Val says BPD officers have been learning very quickly, and the group is always showing interest in learning new things.
Check out what @beaumont_police is learning to avoid using excessive force.
My story tonight on @12NewsNow at 10 PM pic.twitter.com/mHYeLFwQS1
— JuanRodríguez 12News (@_JuanRodriguez_) September 28, 2016He explains that learning these new techniques can not only preserve the life of a suspect, but also keep police officers safe.
“I believe the training being received will better prepare an officer to be able to go out and control someone that may be resistant, without having to use a great amount of force by doing so,” says Officer Lowe.
The Beaumont Police Department tells us they have a mutual relationship with the Brazilian instructors and that BPD shares training methods when possible.