MARANA- The Marana Police Department is hoping to raise awareness about the importance of using martial arts to prevent deadly use of force incidents.
Officer Eric Slabaugh and Officer Brad Gill are both Defensive Tactics Instructors for the department. They are also both members of the No Belt Required program, a program that launched in 2022 for active duty law enforcement and first responders.
“No Belt Required is a program put together by the Erik Hite Foundation. They recognized a need for effective low cost training for law enforcement officers in regards to controlling subjects without causing injuries or any sort of use of force situations,” said Marana Police Officer Eric Slabaugh.
“The training is pressure tested real world martial arts techniques that are important for law enforcement to be able to better serve and protect our communities,” said Marana Police Officer Brad Gill.
“I have two babies at home and when I am out on patrol, if I come across a situation where I need to use some type of force this definitely gives me the confidence to be able to handle myself in a better way,” said Patricia Kelley, Recruiting Deputy for the Pima County Sheriff’s Department and member of No Belt Required.
The program was created by former Tucson Police Officer Mike Pelton and his co founder Josh Beren. According to No Belt Required, the classes are focused on teaching skills officers need to protect themselves and others through the use of repetitive defensive tactics as a de-escalation platform.
Classes are taught by a mix of law enforcement professionals and martial arts practitioners. NBR says the program has also received full AZPOST accreditation for continued training credit.
“The program is important to me because the officers we have in the field are being asked to do more with less and the climate with which they operate under is increasingly violent. Officers have never really been prepared for how bad the world can get so I try to instill a martial aspect to keep them safe and intact for when they go home to their families. Additionally I think positive conflict training keeps you psychologically prepared and willing to accept the consequences that come with conflict and keeps us mentally intact to go home to our families happy and healthy,” said Tucson Police Detective and NBR Head Coach Brendon Brumitt.
“This has been an essential part of my law enforcement development over the last almost year and a half now. I wish I had this from day one. I have been a law enforcement for 12 years and I wish this existed 12 years ago,” said Officer Brad Gill.
Pelton said he recognized a need for the program after he used this type of training when he was attacked by a man with a knife in 2016.
“It saved my life that night,” said Pelton.
“We are passionate about this program and the good it can do,” said Beren.
The Marana Police Department was the first agency in Southern Arizona to offer up its services to the program in April 2022 and continues to host classes for No Belt Required in its brand new mat room.
Both Officer Slabaugh and Officer Gill are hoping more officers will join the program and encourage first responders around the region to sign up.
“Both Officer Gill and I as well as other officers within the Marana Police Department have had use of force incidents that have gone markedly better than I think they would have gone otherwise without this sort of training,” said Officer Slabaugh.
