Drop the Pen! What Every Writer Should Know About Real Police Work: The Bladed Stance: Why Do Cops Stand Like That?
By David Lane Williams
One of my students recently observed two police officers interviewing an intoxicated man who’d caused a disturbance in a downtown bar. The student is pre-law, taking criminology electives to better understand a profession she’ll often engage with after she passes the bar. The incident she witnessed took place in a party district near her campus, an area dominated by college kids on any weekend night.
She had questions about how the two walking beat officers engaged with the belligerent man. One of her questions concerned how the officers were standing. In her words: “There was something odd about their posture, but I couldn’t put my finger on why.”
What she described is something that writers of police procedurals or mysteries involving police officers should understand. Knowing how and when this “odd” posture comes into play could give your work an insider detail that other writers might not know to include in their stories.
Watch a cop the next time you see him talking to someone he doesn’t yet know if he can trust. I predict you’re going to see him standing in what is called a “bladed stance.” Think of a boxer staring at his opponent across the ring. His hands are up, one leg is in front, the other back to lend stability in case he takes a punch.
The bladed stance in police work is the same thing, except the officer’s hands aren’t raised in fists. The stance is taught in police academies around the world because it works well for what it is supposed to do. It gives tripod-like support from behind in case the officer is punched or shoved, while allowing the cop to move out of the way faster should the suspect(s) suddenly try to tackle him.
Let’s pretend you’re playing a game in which your opponent gets a point every time she throws a rubber ball and hits you in the chest. Were you to stand with your feet planted firmly facing your opponent, your ability to move out of the way is slower when the ball is thrown than if you were to stand slightly sideways. The bladed stance allows you to move quickly while only moving one leg back the moment the ball is thrown. Now, imagine replacing the rubber ball with a fist or an attempt to grab you. Being able to move nimbly and with minimal coordination between your feet makes you faster and better able to dodge or absorb the impact.
A bladed stance also offers the distinct advantage of placing most of the officer’s weapons farther from the suspect. There are people in this world who seriously practice grabbing a cop’s gun out of the holster. Outlaw motorcycle gang members have been known to hold practice drills for their members to perfect this dangerous attack. Subsequently, cadets in police academies practice blocking such an attack so that they are never caught off guard or stripped of their weapons during a physical confrontation.
Take a moment to observe a police officer engaging with a citizen the next time you have the opportunity. Chances are, he’ll have his gun, baton, and pepper spray on one hip, with his radio, flashlight, and taser device on the other. In a bladed stance, the deadliest weapon is on the opposite side of the cop’s body from a suspect or detainee.
This makes it more difficult for someone intent on taking a cop’s weapon and using it against him to reach a gun holstered on the opposite side of the officer’s body. The bladed stance adds a layer of protection, making this type of attack less likely to succeed.
There is an additional detail I’d like you to observe next time you’re around officers. Watch their hands. Well-trained and experienced officers will most often stand with their hands in front of their torso while engaging in conversation with someone they’re trying to size up as a potential threat. Some steeple their fingers, others clasp one palm against another. This stance with their hands out in front offers a couple of advantages.
First, their hands are in the perfect position to respond to a surprise attack. I used to have a police chief who would bellow all kinds of less-than-kind things if he spotted a cop standing with his hands in his pockets. The chief’s communication skills could have been better, but his reasoning was sound. Only a brazen idiot stands with his hands in his pockets when facing someone who might mean them grave harm. Being ready for anything means standing in the guarded position I’ve described but doing so in a way that doesn’t telegraph your plan.
Second, a police officer who keeps her hands visible is proactively using body language to convey peaceful intent. This is especially important when dealing with someone experiencing anxiety or who does not automatically trust the police. We talk a lot about training officers to be good communicators in stressful situations. While that certainly means using our words to de-escalate tense moments, this also means conveying benign intent with our entire bodies.
Policing is both a science and an art. The bladed stance is data-proven to be reliable when violence erupts. Great communication skills learned and utilized during some of the most stressful moments between human beings is an art form. Being able to seamlessly blend such science and art is foundational to great police work, and applying such skill to your protagonist makes for outstanding prose that your readers will appreciate and remember.
Carry on.
