Delaware County officers learning new skills in policing

A private training session in Brazillian ju-jitsu was held for Delaware County police officers.

Alex Quintella trained special forces in Brazil. He now owns Quintella MMA in Folsom.

"It's important to train. If you don't train, how are you going to work?," Quintella said.

Prospect Park Police Chief David Madonna has been training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu for two years.

Last year, he approached Quintella about instructing area officers.

"What jiu-jitsu does, actually is, it puts us in a situation when we're on the ground to take someone into custody as cleanly as possible without injury to either us or them," Madonna explained.

Conditioning and situational awareness are among the benefits.

Also, Quintella said these skills help officers remain in control and decrease excessive use of force that has dominated headlines nationwide.

"Without a doubt in my mind, if some of these officers had known or trained even a little bit in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, they might not be in the situations they are in now," Madonna said.

Quintella added, "If you know how to work with your hands, if you know how to control people, work with good immobilization, why you going to work with your guns? You don't need."

District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer, who attended the training, is leading a recently announced Delaware County task force on criminal justice reform.

Stollsteimer believes this is what 21st century policing looks like.

"Law enforcement involves enforcement, and sometimes there are- have to be- physical confrontations- police officers don't relish those opportunities. They don't like those confrontations, but they are doing the best they can to minimize them and keep people safe," Stollsteimer said.

This studio is planning to offer a free class once month to area officers.