When a Police Officer Tried to Choke a Navy SEAL
Brandon Webb, pictured above in the middle, is a former U.S. Navy SEAL Sniper. He finished his time in the Navy as the Naval Special Warfare Sniper Course Manager. He is a New York Times bestselling author.
In an article for SOFREP, Brandon recounts the time that a police officer put him in a chokehold.
A POLICE OFFICER TRIES TO CHOKE A NAVY SEAL, DOESN’T GO SO WELL…
(There is a lot leading up to the story, but Webb had not been drinking and claims he merely asked why the police were grabbing his girlfriend by the arm. That’s when it all started.)
We heard screaming and saw flashes of light coming from Sheriff deputies who were grabbing my girlfriend by the arm and hauling her off. I ran over to ask the deputy what the problem was, and the first thing out of his mouth to defuse the situation was, “This doesn’t fucking concern you pal.”
Think about that for a moment.
I started to explain that we were together and I wanted to know why they were so aggressive with her. As I started to ask, “where are you taking her,” I got jumped from behind by another deputy who tried to put me in a chokehold!
How is this defusing the situation?
I wish I could tell you I pulled some crazy SEAL ninja move, but I hadn’t had any real fight training yet, and it was actually my instinct as a search and rescue swimmer that kicked in.
I applied underarm pressure to his elbow pressure point, spun out of the hold (a move used to recover from drowning victims grasping at you from behind), and gave him, “The Rock” elbow to the face. He went down with a blood fountain for a nose spurting everywhere. That’s when things got bad for me.
I turned around and saw about 10+ deputies coming for me. I complied but that didn’t matter. They dogpiled me and started the good ole fashioned cop beat down we’ve seen so many times on social media.
I remember them trying to club me with their batons. Instead, in the turmoil, they kept hitting each other amid cries from their fellow deputies to stop wildly swinging the clubs. They did beat the shit out of me eventually but most of them got it just as good, some justice served I thought to myself.
So to recap: I, sober as a Mormon, a citizen in good standing, Navy SEAL, a homeowner in San Diego, and city taxpayer was, at first contact, insulted by a deputy for asking a simple question. Then jumped from behind and put into a half-ass chokehold.
It gets worse.
After they cuffed me, I was repeatedly taunted, insulted, and was told that my career in the Navy was over. Lucky for me I kept my mouth shut.
I was shocked at the level of unprofessionalism exhibited by them all. Not once did anyone encourage another officer to calm down: they just egged each other on. This is bad cultural signaling. Imagine a rookie on the job who’s just had bad behavior modeled for him.
Then I noticed that the officers’ supervisor started to get worried because my friends had seen the whole incident and were starting to ask questions. Next thing you know, they quickly put me in the car and we headed downtown for prints, a mug shot, and a pair of blue SDPD jumpers. My girlfriend was just cited and fined.
I’ll tell you this, putting on that blue prison jumper is humbling and strips you of all your identity. You’re just another shit bag inmate at that point.
The only bright side to my couple days in lock-up is that no inmates fuck with someone who beat up a cop! However, the guards were not so kind, and I got plenty of reminders that I’d get a prolonged experience if they had any more trouble out of me. Not to mention my first brown bag meals had bites taken out of the sandwiches. If there are any hippies reading this, there are NO vegan options in jail FYI.
The incident ended up costing me an E-5 in the Navy and tens of thousands in legal fees. It took me four years to clear my record, and some anger management counseling to finally let it go.
I’m sure there are many takeaways from this – on all sides.
Category: Police, Real Soldiers
This sounds totally made up.
Yeah right, a SEAL not drinking acting all calm BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA…I call total BS
Alex, I’ll take Things That Never Happened for $40.
I’ll take bullshit stories for a 100 bucks
He lost me at “Sober as a Mormon”.
Is it because no SEAL is ever 100% sober?
Or because you know as many Mormons as I do and some of them can drink you under the table as well?
Actually… both!
Do you know why you always take 2 Mormons with you when you go fishing?
If you only take 1, he’ll drink all your beer.
Make it a daily double.
Yeah, here’s the takeaway. SOFREP and this guy are full of shit.
SOFREP is owned by Brandon Webb. They are one and the same.
Wait, San Diego PD beating up service members? That NEVER happens.
I’ve gotten banged up by an LEO or two, I was a good boy and did what they done told me to a T!
I consider it the “price of doin’ bidness” if you ask me.
Taking them away from town/state/municipality-sponsored naptime an’ the such.
One time down in Benning was quite different tho, had a PFC (female MP too) coyly say to me, after her NCO done told ‘er, “Sergeant, I’m sorry about this, but it’s policy that I have to cuff you before I put you in the cruiser”.
I told her, “PFC, I understand. You have a job to do and I respectfully request you do it.”
Man, those cuffs were pretty tight.
Did she put you in the fuzzy cuffs?
Kinky!
Never ask a cop what the safe word is when she’s putting you in cuffs.
You should have asked her to slap you around a little bit while she calls you a Bad Boy.
It’s all fun and games until she offers to show you her “Billy Club.”
It’s all fun and games until someone is barking like a fox…. and screaming “WHIP ME, BEAT ME, MAKE ME WRITE BAD CHECKS”
It never ceases to amaze me just how sick and twisted each and every single one of you are…
It’s all I ever dreamt of!
I’m with you….
I come here because , reading the stuff posted here makes me seem like a really nice person and not at all perverted !!!!
“TINS!” “There I was with nothing between me and the beach but….”
Sounds like a bunch of maverick cops. Got his goose whupped. Buncha nasty bruises, better get some ice, man. Walked right on into that danger zone. Cops done lost that lovin’ feelin’.
They “[Felt] the need. The need for [unnecessary tough guy behavior]”, followed by a awkward high five?
Steering the null, a technique for at least reducing, if not eliminating, unwanted noise.
Steering the null seems to produce endless squawking.
You coulda gone Signal…in a way you did.
Heh. The physics of underwater sound transmission and RF over air are very similar, frequency band dependent. You RF guys have the luxury of a much cleaner environment to work in, though. Bunches faster, too. *grin*
Then there’s the RF from my sonobuoys, too, and, never mind. A rabbit hole not worth going down here.
Lars cousin?
You all know my opinion of cops, but I will not pile up on them as these effing socialist keep trying to destroy our country as they realized the covid19 was not going to work.
Hey, I like telling stories, too, but I try to make them sound like something that might actually happen.
On the other hand, some cities have cops that are just so full of themselves that they might as well be sitting on thrones throwing lightning bolts at the maddening crowds.
He’s an NYT best-selling author? Gee whiz, is that his notion or something NYT said?
He’s no Clive Cussler.
I think he was watching old Keystone Cops movies.
I heard, long ago, that there are THREE sides to every story: your side, their side and what actually happened. This is but one side. In my day, bloodying a cop was a one-way ticket out of the service.
Watch the movie “Rashomon”. Just as you said, three sides to the story.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashomon
Humm, someone likes Kurosawa.
I prefer Ran and Kagemusha over the earlier stuff.
His Hidden Fortress was clearly a template for Star Wars.
(Historical sword fight flicks are called “ Jidaigeki “. Lucas borrowed just about everything)
Watching Yojimbo back to back with Fistful of Dollars is entertaining.
Throne of Blood is pretty damn good… “Macbeth” in feudal Japan.
That gets applied here often, Harry D. What she said, what he said, and what actually occurred. Ladies first ’cause that’s how I was raised.
He also forgot to begin his sea story with “Now this ain’t no shit…” as some have pointed out with the acronym “TINS.”
As for local Po-Po hating on Squids, while I never actually saw the signs in Norfolk stating “Dogs and sailors stay off the grass” the attitude was clearly there.
I tried to explain this to an E6 I had working for me once. His immediate response was, “wait you’re calling me a liar?”
I spent 20 minutes trying to explain to him perceptions, perspective, etc. Even threw in some old TV sitcoms that did bits about how this works. No light bulb.
I learned this about the time I made E5 and it stuck with me.
The only adjustment I make to it is, there are “at least” three sides to every story. As many people as I’ve dealt with, there are often four, five, six, seven, etc., versions and some where in there is reality.
Can’t speak for the entire sea-story, but his breaking a rear choke hold technique is legit. We were extensively trained in breaking both front and rear chokes. All us tadpoles in the pool listening to an instructor making a point, and another instructor would rope one up in a rear choke just for fun. Either break it, or take a trip to the bottom and get hammered with extra PT afterwards. Front chokes were considered worse, as the swimmer had failed to maintain situational control, but at least you could see it coming. Getting out of a rear choke became automatic- you never knew when one was on the way.
I’m not sure about this guy’s story. So I have to say, pictures or it didn’t happen. That or a legit police report or Naval Disciplinary report. If I’m wrong, then it won’t be the first nor the last time.
BW has kinda been a douche over the years with SOFREP writers and his Crate Club. My experience only. But when you want to insert yourself in a police matter and get stomped, hmmmm. OK. Bold move.
I call BULLSHIT…TEN San Diego Police Officers? Name one please and the date….check the arrest report…
I’ll wait…🤥
I told you all I left law enforcement because of how screwed up the culture was. My department later went on to assist in having a “suspect” anally scoped because he “shifted” in his seat. An act so egregious it made national news.
Instead of realizing that there are bad officers, and departments, and a problem with police culture…
Instead you just want to call bullshit on it all and refuse to believe any of it.
Meanwhile, officers, acting as armed agents of the government, continue to abuse their authority, abuse citizens, and damage lives….
Meanwhile, most of you all like to slap each other on the back for being “small government” conservatives.
Small government? There is nothing more “big” government then armed agents of the state extrajudicially beating, killing, robbing, and committing fraud against citizens. All of which is happening.
Police officer is one of the careers that attract the highest concentration of sociopaths. We need police reform. We need to limit the scope and powers of law enforcement. We need to end qualified immunity. We need accountability.
And we need to require officers carry malpractice insurance.
I won’t presume to speak for all who commented here, but I’m calling bullshit on *this* particular incident. I have no broad brush.
You’re not nearly as profound or as wise as you believe.
Just to be clear, I am not saying all officers are bad, I am not saying most officers are bad.
But there are far too many bad officers and far too little accountability.
And there are some departments that straight up need to be abolished and replaced. Rebuilt from the ground up with new officers, new standards, new training, and a new culture.
It’ well known that he is quite full of shit…
I knew it wasn’t true because he didn’t start the story with….
“”No shit, there I was” !!!!!
No story is true unless it starts with that !!!
SSGT Schoenauer told me so and he would never lie to a PFC !!!!!
Pictures or didn’t happen.