Informed by research produced at the time, the National Law Enforcement Technology Center's newsletter references guidelines for reducing deaths by "positional asphyxia" in police custody by recognizing risk factors, such as drug and alcohol use, obesity, pre-existing heart conditions, and exhaustion from the natural reflex to struggle against being suffocated by the compression of the back and lungs. These guidelines advise against putting arrested individuals on their stomachs (or "prone position") and sitting on them when restraining them, which compromises the airway. The report also instructs the arresting officers to write a detailed report of restraint techniques in any physical confrontations, including how long the person was face down, if they received any medical attention, and what position they were held in when transported after arrest.

Nevertheless, police continue to use methods of restraint that cause asphyxiation.