Haven and Oswego Jiu Jitsu have teamed up with Oswego Police Department for additional training

by Jose Hernandez | August 26, 2025 7:29 am

OSWEGO – Inspired by the Marietta Police Department in Georgia, which has had mandatory Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu training for all officers since 2020, the Oswego Police Department has begun a pilot program in training police in BJJ. The Marietta department has seen a significant decrease in taser usage, officer injuries, and civilians’ injuries. Inspired by Marietta’s success, Oswego police and Ben Tallini hope to contribute to a potential federal mandate.

Sargent Steve Carroll oversees the training of officers at the Oswego Police Department. Carroll and Tallini believe that excessive force cases in the country could primarily be caused by insufficient training.

Ben Tallini and Joe Gorsuch are the respective heads of the schools teaching police safer methods of apprehending suspects. “We’re training police to be on top, get suspects prone on their bellies and easier to control,” said Tallini.

Tallini has been teaching Syracuse Police in Jiu-Jitsu since Haven opened, and crafted the curriculum that is being taught to officers in Upstate NY. He also personally teaches the Oswego Police on Wednesdays. There is a significant emphasis on control over force, to minimize harm to everyone involved.

Haven Jiu-Jitsu has been operating out of Baldwinsville for 4 years as of December 1^st. Gorsuch of Oswego Jiu Jitsu trained with Haven for 3 years. He opened the gym with the support of Tallini and Haven. The gyms are both sending fighters to the 2025 World Master IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship. It is running this weekend from the 28th to the 30th. Tallini says that Haven and Oswego Jiu-Jitsu are the best teams in central New York and look to prove it this weekend in Vegas.

Haven is ranked 9th on the Grappling Industries rankings, despite the list existing for over 15 years and the gym for 4. IBJJF (International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation) has been the long-time home for competitive Jiu-Jitsu, and it is considered a great honor and a mark of skill for a school to compete at their tournaments.

A major criticism of police today is that they are undertrained, and many occasions of police brutality can be attributed to incompetence, rather than malicious intent. “There are good police, the issue is that they are underfunded,” said Tallini, “I’ve been instructing long enough to know when someone is undertrained.”

With the rise of body cams and smartphones, instances of police using excessive force have become more visible to the average American. While the Oswego Police isn’t known to have many excessive force cases, Sargent Carroll hopes the additional training will make police more adaptable and ready while on patrol or responding to calls.

“Once you learn those techniques, you can stop something from escalating up,” said Carroll, “if you have the right grab or control on a suspect, it’s not going to advance past that, and you can get handcuffs on them.”

The current program began in July and is considered a pilot program. Carroll hopes that after a year trial, the program will become a permanent part of the Oswego Police Department training, as Marietta, GA did.

Carroll credits Police Chief Phillip Cady for being on board and approving the training. He laid a ton of praise on the officers themselves for taking to the program well.

The 15 officers engaged in the program are training in their off time. “Some guys are getting off their shifts at 12 am and having to stay up a few hours to go to their training,” said Carroll. They go to classes twice a week.

The City of Marietta published a study of their ongoing results of police training. On top of fewer incidents, police are reporting they are more confident in the field. Anxiety in tense situations is unavoidable, but with proper training, police can go into harrowing situations with the confidence that everyone will come out on the other side.

Tallini, Gorsuch, and Oswego Police hope develop their own study with the Naval Academy . After 6 continuous years of the study, the plan is to present it to Congress. A federal mandate would mean that all police in the United States would be trained in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Link for Marietta County’s Study: https://www.mariettaga.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=3116.

You can view the 2025 World’s Master tournament with a subscription to FloGrappling at FloGrappling.com.

Source URL: https://oswegocountytoday.com/news/oswego/haven-and-oswego-jiu-jitsu-have-teamed-up-with-oswego-police-department-for-additional-training/

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