LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Louisville Metro Police Officer Mason Barnes was on his routine patrol early Sunday morning on Bardstown Road when a bouncer waved him down.

Just before 2 a.m., according to his arrest citation, Noah Carullo had "become belligerent" and was being removed from Chill Bar by security. Police said Carullo then pulled a handgun from his waistband and pointed it at the bouncer. Outside the bar on Bardstown Road, just south of Grinstead Drive, Barnes came over and saw Carullo arguing with security personnel at the bar. Barnes tried to detain Carullo, according to his arrest citation, but Carullo began to run away. 

Body camera video released Tuesday by police shows that initial encounter. It shows Barnes approach Carullo, who's wearing a black T-shirt walking north on Bardstown Road. However, Barnes' body camera falls off shortly thereafter. A bystander picks it up, though, and sets it on the ground facing the street. Once it comes into focus, Barnes can be seen wrestling with Carullo.

Noah Carullo

Noah Carullo (Photo courtesy of the Louisville Metro Department of Corrections)

After a brief struggle — during which Carullo was on top of Barnes — Barnes subdued him with his legs, trapping him around the neck until backup arrived to put him in handcuffs. Barnes used his training from Gracie Survival Tactics, a form of jiu-jitsu curated for officers.

WDRB's Monica Harkins visited a class at the training academy to show the process police use for those moments.

"... the person on top is usually the person in the best position," said Officer Adam Sears, who leads the training for LMPD. "Officer Barnes, through his training and decision-making, kind of reversed that. Even being on the bottom, he was in more control than the aggressor."

Sear said the Gracie Survival Tactics class allows for more options for officers.

"It helps a small officer to defend themselves and control or arrest someone who's much larger," Sears said at the training facility Tuesday. "And it can help a large officer arrest somebody who's much smaller without looking like everything they're doing is unreasonable."

According to his arrest citation, Carullo was found with a Glock 19X 9mm handgun in his front waistband. He admitted to police that he'd pulled it out of the holster inside the bar. 

Carullo was charged with wanton endangerment and possession of a loaded gun in a room where alcoholic beverages are sold. A second man, Dustin Warren, also faces with the same gun possession charge from that night.

Officers are required to log at least 40 hours of various training each year. Gracie Survival Training is one of those options.

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