Michael Hackett

Good observation Matthew. Frequently officers will use a leg sweep technique or a single arm takedown (think variation of ikkyo) to move an offender to the ground. What happens too often is that they don't move with the suspect and find they are trying to hold the offender's weight against gravity. The result is the individual will end up face down with his arms underneath himself. That's where it starts to get interesting and dangerous to all. With the hands and arms uncontrolled, the suspect remains a threat and the officer(s) have to get the arms freed and then secured. In most cases that when you see officers pulling on the arms and giving distraction blows. Once the arms are freed and handcuffs applied, the best practice is to roll the individual over to his back, sit him up, and while supporting his upper body, allow him to get his own feet under himself and stand up to be moved under his own power.

By contrast, in aikido practice Nage generally remains in control of at least one limb all the way to the ground, and with that limb can control Uke's movement once down. Check out any of the Robert Koga videos on YouTube. He has adapted classic aikido technique into something much simpler for law enforcement to use successfully.