WASHINGTON, DC - AS he continues to fly the flag of St. Kitts and Nevis internationally, Dr. George Somersall - a son of the soil - is willing to return home and work with the Ministry of National Security to ensure law enforcement officers are properly trained to fight crime without the use of firearms.
His willingness comes against the backdrop of the Police Force working to retrain its personnel and shifting the culture of the organization following a number of bad headlines and negative attitudes coming into question in recent years.
Back in December, last, a trainee officer was lambasted for the way he handled a mentally challenged man who was breaking bottles in the Newtown area.
In videos of the incident, the man was seen breaking a number of glass bottles. The police were alerted and, on arrival at the scene in a packed vehicle, one of them slammed the man to the ground.
Somersall, who lives in New York, in a sat down interview with SKNVibes News for a feature report on his success over the years, weighed in on the Police Force and incidents that had called their professionalism into question.
When dealing with combative individuals, the 9th dan professional explained that there are specific areas of the body where pressure could be applied to ensure that an individual, who is unresponsive to an officer’s request, would be submissive and stop resisting arrest.
“Especially up here right now, we have a lot of officers training in this area right now, and it has been successful,” he said while demonstrating some of the exercises and pressure-point areas on this reporter.
Most of those techniques are normally seen in movies and television shows, but Dr. Somersall’s offer raises the question: Is it time for law enforcement officials in the Federation to seriously consider including Karate and/or other forms of self defence training within the agency?
“I am trying to incorporate it at home now and work with the officers,” he explained.
The Taekwondo professional has been sharing his expertise in the United States and other locations around the world. He also frequently visits his homeland to share his experience and time.
Over the years, he has also produced a number of self-training videos showcasing his work.
Newly-appointed Commissioner of Police, James Sutton recently acknowledged that the public has lost confidence in the Police Force, especially within the communities, and he would seek to implement Customer Service training within the agency so that its members would know how to interact with the public in order to build out their community policing and regain their trust.
“I am just hoping and willing to work with them very soon. As soon as they call me, I am ready and willing to go,” an excited Sommersall noted.
This is part of his drive to not only assist the Police Force but also youth development within the Federation, as he lamented that there is too much “gun violence occurring at home”.
In making his appeal to young people, Sommersall called for them to be more conscious of where they want to go, work hard to achieve it, and ensure they are not influenced by those who want to be a distraction.
Using himself as an example, the Taekwondo professional challenged them to follow in his footsteps by taking up a hobby and work towards achieving their goals in that area, emphasing that it could take them anywhere they desire to go with that sport discipline or recreation activity.
