I had a roommate back in the early 80s that was a cop. They carried PR-24 batons. Heavy plastic with a handle on for more control.
On night he and several other officers had to subdue a guy that was high on PCP. During the fight the guy actually bent the PR-24 to where it was permanently warped.
I had a guy tell me about a night stick incident that he witnessed at the local police station in the late 1960’s. The local thug who thought he was the chief gangster muscle of the community came to the police station and pretty much told the officer on duty when he saw officer so-and-so he was going to get his butt kicked. About that time officer so-and-so walked in the station and the thug started out about what was going to happen to him and this officer was not a small guy, neither was the thug.
The officer pulls out his nightstick and thug continues his verbal insults and steps toward the officer. Said officer comes down on thugs neck and shoulder area with the nightstick and it breaks and the guy watching it swears the part of that nightstick that broke hit the ceiling with great force of the police station that was built in 1900 and the ceiling was a good 14-15 ft ceiling.
The officer continued to pummel the thug in what the witness said was a good old fashioned country dog whipping. It ended with the officer grabbing the staggering thug up from the floor by the hair of the head and then in a running toss flung him through two outward opening doors, to the stoop, over 5-6 steps, the sidewalk into the middle of the street with the warning, next time we meet you’ll be in the hospital or the morgue and left him laying there.
Those perps on PCP are the worst because they never go down. That’s what happened in the Rodney King case, he was on PCP and they tased him twice and he kept charging them, he even pulled down his pants and told cops to kiss his ass, he wouldn’t go down no matter what which is why the cops kicked his ass. But of course the media only showed that part and they incited a huge riot