Comments on: How to escape from zip tie handcuffs

By: CSBD

CSBD — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 13:24:00 +0000

The night clubs around here (Detroit area) are worried about Guns, Hats, and Gang Colors… not Keen brand sandals.

By: CSBD

CSBD — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 13:22:00 +0000

mdhatter03 in reply to CSBDis that where you kept the hummingbirds?

Actually, in that thread I articulated the position that I was/am in favor of executing animal smugglers.

By: Anon_Mahna

Anon_Mahna — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 09:52:00 +0000

http://www.sz-wholesale.com/shenzhen_China_products/Razor-style-letter-opener_1.htm

Hide it where it suits you. depending on the grade of plastic simply notching the cuff band + force will distort or outright propagate a break in the band

By: Anon_Mahna

Anon_Mahna — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 09:47:00 +0000

exhaust wrap for cycles and cars use stainless zip tyes.

By: tziup

tziup — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 07:48:00 +0000

Isn’t it kind of sad that folks are rounded up often enough for people to know what kind of handcuff is used? I mean seriously, how many Western democracies can you think of where you see handcuffed people in the news every day?

By: HenryPootel

HenryPootel — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 05:06:00 +0000

I have to ask what to me is the obvious question – why bother?

By: Gyro Protagonist

Gyro Protagonist — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 04:08:00 +0000

*Citation needed. Yes, the police are arresting more people than they should/doing so on sketchy grounds, but this isn’t Pinochet’s Argentina. No one’s going to be dropped into the ocean from a helicopter. Taking the DOC is better than the misdemeanor for 99% of the protesters, and an attempted escape will almost definitely get you maced/tazed.

By: MooMooMooMoo

MooMooMooMoo — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 03:39:00 +0000

So like I didn’t go through the comments to see if that had been posted but this isn’t relevant to getting grabbed in a mass arrest. Zip-tie handcuffs are two distinct loops, mimicking regular handcuffs, not one continuous loop like a single zip-tie. Your best bet is to turn your wrists so they are side by side (makes it easier to move) and make as tight a fist as possible (increases wrist volume by like 5%).

By: Artor

Artor — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 02:26:00 +0000

Yeah, but the way things are going, how long will it be before protesters start to “disappear” in custody? It’s always good to have the option to get the hell out while you can.

By: Artor

Artor — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 02:20:00 +0000

Really? Zip ties with stainless parts? I haven’t seen those before. What are they made for? I have a place in my toolbox for something like that.

By: ZikZak

ZikZak — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 01:51:00 +0000

Some people can’t afford to let themselves be captured, even if the charge is minor.
Consider the situation of someone who is an undocumented asylum seeker in the US. Being processed means being deported means being tortured or killed.
Consider the transgendered person who faces a very significant danger of being assaulted by guards or other prisoners during even a brief stay in jail.
Or the runaway youth who will be turned over to their abusive parent as soon as they’re released.

Sometimes escaping from the cops is the best choice available.

By: L_Mariachi

L_Mariachi — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 01:43:00 +0000

I started carrying “flat” tools in sandals (with black socks) after the nightclubs I like to frequent started using metal detectors

What kind of nightclub lets in people wearing sandals with black socks?! Hell, I wouldn’t let you in my house wearing that.

By: Guest

Guest — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 00:01:00 +0000

That’s exactly what I meant, the NYPD is making it clear that this will go down on your permanent record, that coming to NYC to voice your opinion will quite likely have consequences. Since the only images I have seen of protestors so far in the NYT, or the major networks is of people getting arrested, and are not of the other 99%.

who do you image you’re talking to? children?

By: Jim Saul

Jim Saul — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 23:15:00 +0000

On the other hand, I am glad to see the technique.

Out of the million or so people who see this post, there could be someone zip-tied by a predator other than a cop. That kidnapper/pirate/hijacker would be more likely to use these hardware-store ties than official Blackwater/Halliburton “9/11 memorial Never Forget” brand tactical cuffs.

By: Stephen Bullock

Stephen Bullock — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 22:57:00 +0000

I feel like this video may prompt kids who are protesting to ruin their lives. This information is only useful if you’re being tied up by a criminal. Most cops aren’t bad guys, they’re just doing their job. I know it’s fun to “rail against the man” but come on. Resisting arrest? That’s a one way ticket to a ruined future.

By: entropy

entropy — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 22:44:00 +0000

do they really only use one zip-tie? I’ve only experience the purpose made zip-tie cuffs, and then if they run out of those they will use two zip-ties, one on each wrist, and connect them, seems like it would be pretty easy to just squeeze out of one.

By: eyebum

eyebum — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 22:29:00 +0000

I suppose it is reasonable to assume that this video is a “weak zip tie vs. forearm leverage w/ fist-palm fulcrum”, but the ‘action’ happened out of frame. we know there is an assistant there.
It is clear to ME that out of frame, he slipped his arms into a custom zip-tie cuff cutter, which was obviously suspended from the ceiling, just out of view. the assistant activated the cutter, and after which he was able to bring his arms down, looking as if he did it with his own strength.
Clearly.

By: RobDobbs

RobDobbs — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 22:09:00 +0000

That’s not a ziptie handcuff – if you look at them, they have two locking points; one for each wrist.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlastiCuffs

By: Bobby Brady

Bobby Brady — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 21:42:00 +0000

Uh… no…?? An intelligent person would just take the DOC, get it dismissed and move on. Going to prison isn’t a joke. They’re being assholes rounding people up, but anyone who escalates it further is taking a hell of a gamble with their future. Do you really think they’re gonna give hugs and puppies once you’re free? Anyways, believe it or not, you’re not young forever…

By: Guest

Guest — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 21:31:00 +0000

That’s part of the NYPD messaging plan, thanks for sharing it!

By: Guest

Guest — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 21:30:00 +0000

is that where you kept the hummingbirds?

By: Guest

Guest — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 21:28:00 +0000

I assume they’re using the weaker grade of zip ties, and for that very reason.

By: mccrum

mccrum — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 21:21:00 +0000

I think it depends on what kind of job you’re going after and who it’s with. If you were to tell some people I know that you were hauled in for resisting arrest, they’d just want to know what for so they could share their own stories.

By: Bobby Brady

Bobby Brady — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 21:16:00 +0000

Lulz at the irony… to go and join a protest about unemployment/jobs* but resisting arrest won’t exactly open doors in the future.

*Not debating that’s a serious issue the country needs to address in hurry/completely

By: Dewi Morgan

Dewi Morgan — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 21:14:00 +0000

And it makes much better video when they take you down :D

By: librtee_dot_com

librtee_dot_com — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 21:05:00 +0000

I was herded up in a demonstration on the first day of the iraq war, they threw about 25 of us, zip tie cuffed, in a paddy wagon – backpacks and all. Down at the bottom of mine, I remembered that I had a skateboard kit with a razorblade in it I had been using to clean the bearings.

Long story short, the ride was much less uncomfortable than it might have been, and when we rolled into the suburban lockup the guards were not at all pleased to see a whole mess of cut up zip ties all over the floor ;)

By: Antinous / Moderator

Antinous / Moderator — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 20:52:00 +0000

Before you go to the demonstration, put the forearm on your dominant side in a cast. Place in easily-removable sling. They can’t cuff you AND you’ve got a Hellboy arm.

By: Jim Saul

Jim Saul — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 20:44:00 +0000

The cupped fist is acting as a fulcrum – the length of the forearm as a lever would definitely apply some force. Particularly for a relentless masturbator with a wrist like a fiddler crab.

I’d bet if you examined the zip tie, the tongue is now inverted, rather than the plastic being broken, so the width of the strip isn’t the key point, the size of the channel and the structure of the little metal tongue make up the weak spot, and it probably isn’t weak in the tactical version.A good reason not to try too hard at this unless you’re in Dexter’s trunk is how close to the surface nerves and blood vessels are in that area, and how easily the joint can be gapped to stretch ligaments. After all, that’s where the “carpel tunnel” of the syndrome is so easily irritated.

By: RJ

RJ — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 20:44:00 +0000

That is exactly what I was going to say. Either a small gut hook or the fish scaler blade from a cheap knife. You could disassemble a five-buck field knife, attach the scaler with the teeth facing up, just behind your belt. When the zip ties go on, you just press the strap against the scaler teeth and saw, saw, saw.

Of course, as was said earlier, it’s one thing to get nipped for protesting and quite another to break free while in custody. In the long run, it’s easier to just deal with the disorderly conduct charge (if it sticks).

By: Michael Johnson

Michael Johnson — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 20:33:00 +0000

how about a small metal hook built into your belt, with a safety knob… sort of like a built in letter opener at the top of your belt.