A glaring example of officialese, the strange use of words often favored by corporations and government agencies, appeared in the Monitor last week. In apprehending a Concord High student who had been drinking alcohol in class, the reporting police officer said that he and another officer “escorted her to the ground.” At a time of year when many students are escorting dates to the prom, the use of this verb should immediately strike people as ludicrous.
Dictionaries and thesauruses offer many synonyms for escort: They include accompany, guide, lead, squire, steer, usher (and ushers in churches do escort wedding guests to their seats), and even guard or protect. That last use popped up on The Rifleman on MeTV a couple of weeks ago, when Lucas McCain and other citizens of North Fork rode out to escort the senator into town as suspicion of an assassination attempt grew.
They certainly do not include force, pull, push, wrestle, or manhandle, although drag does appear in a sentence like “My brother at Yale dragged me all over New Haven in search of the perfect pizza.” Can there be any doubt, however, that these meanings would be more accurate in describing the activity involved?
Manhandle seems too pejorative. I like wrestle best. But if the police department wishes to avoid any suggestion that force might be required to subdue a person resisting arrest, there is a stunningly neutral common word that will suffice. I hope that law enforcement style manuals might be revised to recommend, “We decided to put her on the ground.”
