If You're Talking, You're Breathing

This post is only offered as a discussion topic only and does not represent legal advice. Officers must refer to the laws in their own State as well as their agency's policies, which can be more restrictive on officers that the law requires.

Scenario: A patrol officer involved in a foot pursuit is able to catch up to the suspect and take him to the ground. The officer gets him into a dominant position on top of a suspect and he says "I can't breathe". Officers sometimes hear these words uttered by suspects during an arrest or fight and the officer responds saying,

"If you're talking then you're breathing." 

Answer: The belief that if someone is talking, they are breathing is false. A person can be in respiratory distress and still be talking. The liability an officer takes on by dismissing a person's statements that they're having difficulty breathing is unacceptable for any officer, agency or community. Remember that there may be contributing factors beyond your actions that cause a subject to have difficulty breathing including the subject's weight, their level of intoxication and medical conditions you aren't aware of. This, coupled with the officer’s weight can greatly affect breathing and potentially lead to death by positional asphyxia. 

If someone says they can't breathe, believe them, and an officer can adjust what they are doing. The risk of ignoring these statements it too high to ignore.