DeKALB | Matthew Thibodeaux got arrested last night. Well, sort of. The NIU police department presented students with the opportunity to be “arrested” in Grant Hall last night. The demonstration included a complete walkthrough of the arresting procedure.

“I wanted to see how it felt, so that I knew never to get arrested,” said the freshman psychology major.

Officers Dana Allen and Matthew Johnson presided over the demonstration and made quite an impression on their willing participants.

First came the cuffs.

“The main purpose of handcuffs is to serve as a control device,” Johnson said. The officers began by demonstrating how the cuffing procedure works.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that wearing these devices is not a comfortable experience.

“The handcuffs lock when they’re put on so that the individual doesn’t lose feeling in their hands,” Johnson said. “However, they don’t feel particularly good when you wrench back on it.”

Once they have the detainee in custody, officers have can utilize certain pressure points on the arm of the handcuffed individual. This is necessary if the arrested person is behaving in an unruly fashion.

“Once we place the handcuffs on someone, they’re our responsibility,” Johnson said. “If they fall down and get hurt while they’re cuffed, they can sue us. That’s why we have to restrain them.”

However, police officials know never to restrain someone more than is required.

“You use the level of force that is most necessary,” Allen said.

After going through the step-by-step process of cuffing and pat-downs, students were given the opportunity to find out just how it feels to be given the full treatment.

After the experience, Thibodeaux’s desire not to get arrested has certainly been reinforced.

“It felt horrible,” he said about the feeling of being arrested.

Officer Johnson got the willing freshman to lay on his stomach and be cuffed, with Johnson placing his knee on Thibodeaux’s back. The reason this maneuver is performed is so if the detainee tries to jump up, they will break their arm.

The officers displayed the contents of their utility belts and explained the university’s zero tolerance policy on drug usage, possession and sale.

Following the demonstration inside, students proceeded to the front of the building where they were given a tour of a patrol car.

The department viewed the evening as a chance to grow closer to students.

“We had the hall staff ask us to come out here and demonstrate to the students what our procedures are,” Johnson said. “I see these guys every single day out here and this helped us to develop closer relationships with many of them.”

Justin Weaver is the University Police beat reporter for the Northern Star.