Baltimore police officers spent part of this month learning a jiu-jitsu-based lateral restraint that is meant to cut down on chokeholds and face-down holds. The training comes as the department updates its use-of-force guidance and expands de-escalation instruction.
As reported by WBAL, the department is adopting the SafeWrap system, with internationally known Brazilian jiu-jitsu instructors Rener and Ryron Gracie leading Baltimore’s first course. CBS News Baltimore aired video of officers practicing a technique the station described as avoiding both chokeholds and strikes.
What Is SafeWrap?
SafeWrap is a lateral-restraint technique that shifts a person onto their side so officers can control limbs and apply handcuffs without putting pressure on the chest or neck. The system was created by Gracie University for safely managing behavioral-health patients in clinical environments, according to the SafeWrap System, and supporters say it reduces the need for strikes or prone holds. The Los Angeles Police Department has hosted SafeWrap train-the-trainer sessions and publicly promoted the curriculum, according to the LAPD.
Why Officials Are Backing It
Trainers and some department leaders say lateral restraint provides a more controlled option that lowers the risk of airway compression and positional asphyxia. That argument lands in the middle of ongoing national scrutiny of prone and compressive holds that have been tied to restraint-related deaths. An investigation by AP News with FRONTLINE documented at least 94 deaths after sedatives were given in custody and identified more than 1,000 restraint-related fatalities in its database.
Policy Changes In Baltimore
Baltimore’s draft Use of Force policy, which is open for public comment through May 15, 2026, explicitly tells officers not to keep restrained people face-down and limits chokeholds to situations where lethal force is justified. Policy 1115 states, "If restrained, persons are not to be positioned facedown as it may cause positional asphyxia," according to the Baltimore Police Department.
City officials are presenting the SafeWrap training as one piece of wider reforms tracked under the federal consent decree, and the U.S. Justice Department has previously pointed to progress on BPD policy and training changes. Community groups and oversight boards say they intend to watch the rollout and a planned public demonstration to see whether the new approach actually cuts down on high-risk encounters and use-of-force complaints.
