Mr. Larry Lein
c/o Law Enforcement & Security Trainers Inc.
9757 N. Indiana
Kansas City, MO  64156 

April 12, 2005 

Mr. Larry Lein:

            As a matter of re-introduction, my name is Mark S. Potratz, and I am the Director of the Law Enforcement and Fire Academies at Mineral Area College.  I was fortunate enough to meet you, speak with you and be instructed by you at a Clamp and Grasp instructor school I attended in October of 2004 in Columbia, Missouri.  It is that topic that I am writing to you about today.

            In my capacity as Director of the Law Enforcement Academy here, as well as my role as a faculty Criminal Justice instructor, I closely monitor training programs in use or under development.  In this way I became familiar with the Clamp and Grasp program developed by you and your son, Chris Lein.  After careful research into the program’s origins, application and viability I enrolled in your instructor’s course to experience the course components first hand.  As a result of that experience and the subsequent adoption of Clamp and Grasp as the primary defensive tactics program of this Academy, I have the following unsolicited endorsement to give you.

            I began my law enforcement career in 1979, and in the intervening years I have seen and been exposed to a number of defensive tactics programs for use by law enforcement personnel.  Often, these various programs assume an inordinate level of skill, physical readiness or technical knowledge that in reality the average police officer may not possess.  Naturally, any unrealistic supposition detracts from the value a training program might otherwise offer.  Additionally, these inaccurate assumptions present problems trainers must address that pertain to disparities in ease of instructional delivery and validation of student competencies at the course conclusion.

            I am happy to report to you that I have found no difficulties whatsoever in the instructional delivery of the Clamp and Grasp course provided to our basic training recruits or officers training under our continuing education programs.  As a law enforcement academy Director and Criminal Justice instructor, I have found that the ease of instruction, skill retention and safety factors pertaining to Clamp and Grasp make it an ideal defensive tactics program for any law enforcement training entity or agency.   The design of the Clamp and Grasp program is the most effective and efficient defensive tactics training course I know of.  I highly recommend it to any law enforcement trainer, Chief, Sheriff, or designated agency training officer for inclusion in their defensive tactics training program.  When it comes to defensive tactics programs, the ability of the course to be absorbed and applied effectively by the students in a wide variety of situations is the ultimate test of a program’s worth.  Clamp and Grasp passes this test with flying colors.

            As a Director of training at a law enforcement academy, I wholeheartedly recommend this program to anyone interested in training police officers a defensive tactics program that is simple, effective and applicable to a wide range of situations.  Of the many defensive tactics systems that I have experienced over the span of my 25 year law enforcement career, the Clamp and Grasp system is by far the best.

            My thanks go out to you and Chris for bringing us in law enforcement a useful, practical and retainable method of defensive tactics.  I have no doubt that this method and its principles have resulted in reduced injuries to both police officers and the public we serve, when those dangerous occasions occur where police officers must defend themselves or control resistive subjects in the course of their duties.

 Sincerely,

Mark S. Potratz
Director- Mineral Area College Law Enforcement Academy
P.O. Box 1000
5270 Flat River Road
Park Hills, MO 63601
Tel. 573-518-2308
E-mail: MPOTRATZ@MineralArea.edu

E-Mail to fellow Academy Class Mates

August 2006
Hey Everyone,
I just wanted to let you know I was able to apply some of that great academy
DT last night.  Yes, I know what you're all thinking, could he actually be referring
to the CLAMP...You would be correct.  I broke out the legendary move on a combative subject that made a "suicidal" statement.  Here at your county jail, when someone makes such a statement, and no matter how much they tell you they were kidding later, we have to put the individual into a suicide smock for their safety (it looks like a green dress, with Velcro straps).  It was during this altercation we had the individual pinned down on his bunk and he wasn't giving up his arms to remove his shirt.  I was able to get his right arm up and slide mine down his back until my hands came to rest in the death grip know as the CLAMP.  With a little upward pressure I had our little inmate "Please Comply"...ing.  The whole incident was pretty short, and the report pretty long, but the experience will last a lifetime.  Anyway, I hope you all are doing well and you Olathe guys let Groves know of the success his training brought me.  There is a video, but you can't really see the precision of the move, otherwise I would offer it to future academy classes.

Deputy Jarrod Whitcomb
Johnson County KS Sheriff's Office