LUDLOW, Ky. — In one Northern Kentucky city, the police chief, city administrator and owner of a martial arts gym are all one person working to prevent deadly police encounters.

That’s enough for three people to take on, but in Ludlow, it’s one man–Scott Smith–on a mission.

At night, Smith teaches people take downs, grappling techniques and any other martial arts skills they could hope to learn.

“My main focus is teaching guys how to use moves versus strength and power to control somebody,” Smith said. “It’s almost like watching your kids grow. You get to see them really start to do something.”

By day, Smith is busy overseeing the public safety of Ludlow, signing off on bills, and other administrative duties that, while maybe not as exciting as a face palm slam, are certainly vital for his city to function.

Smith says he primarily wants to teach officers how to use their hands, instead of weapons, to stop people. (Spectrum News 1/Sam Knef)

As Ludlow’s chief of police, acting city manager and owner of the Northern Kentucky Martial Arts Academy, the man is always working.

“I’m in the city six, seven days a week. Eight in the morning till 10 at night. I won’t leave here till 9:30 or 10 at night. I’m in the city,” he said. “We started this business in this city because I believe in it.”

While the office work is what Smith calls his “real job,” teaching martial arts is his passion.

He’s got 26 years of experience in Brazilian jiu jitsu under his black belt. Smith started wrestling in the fourth grade and throughout high school.

He got into martial arts while in the U.S. Army. He studies under Tom DeBlass, who is considered one of the best martial artists in the world.

A year and a half ago, Smith started thinking about how to get other police officers involved. Then a few months ago, he and his business partner eliminated any excuses for officers to not get the training.

“If your agency will sponsor you, you can train here in any discipline you want. Muay Thai, kickboxing, Krav Maga, jiu jitsu, you can just come here and do yoga and boxing if you want, for six dollars a month,” Smith said.

He said he wants agencies to put a stake in their officers.

“We mandate a lot of training. Firearms, we do all this training, but nobody ever trains with controlling people with their hands. And in my opinion, most accidents, most mistakes, most police involved lawsuits, are because guys get scared, or they do the wrong thing, and they don’t understand how to hold somebody or control them with their hands,” he said. 

“There’s one guarantee, that if you’re gonna wrestle him, you’re gonna put your hands on him. There’s no guarantee you’re going to shoot him, there’s no guarantee you’re going to tase him, you’re gonna put your hands on them.”

The only stipulation is that agencies sponsor at least 10 officers. That excludes smaller agencies, like Fort Thomas, which is giving officer Brandon Laffin the chance to bring back some valuable skills.

“We’ve drawn a lot of inspiration for our defensive tactics curriculum, directly from this class, from principles of jiu jitsu that keep us safe, keep the people we’re dealing with safe. Having the experience of being in tough situations in here, so that when it happens out on the street, it’s not the first time I’ve had to think about something,” Laffin said.

Smith said he’s about two years away from retiring from policing. Until that day comes, and long after it, he said his focus will remain on saving lives, one takedown at a time.

“If I can give to some of these departments, and they can build a program to save somebody’s life, or minimize a suspect from somebody getting killed or hurt, I’ve done my job,” he said. “If it ever for one minute saves their life from being assaulted, bullied, whatever, to me that’s a win.”