I mostly agree with that. I've got no problems if cops want to anchor someone in place, given that whatever method they use can take account for someone incapable of advanced yoga, and having the cops on scene with enough common sense to recognize that someone may be having trouble, and having alternate methods available.
This. I've been handcuffed plenty of times, not all by ex girlfriends, and even twice for real. My aikido instructors also teach the police academy's handcuffing and control techniques class, and often bring cadets into the aikido class for extra practice. I'm a good compromise between "small" and "gorilla," as well as between "newbie" and "street fighter," so I tend to be a preferred "normal size guy with a bit more than everyday skills."
Every movement command is either standing (walking backward) or knee walking. No crawling, no slithering like a snake. Stationary positions for actual restraint don't tend to be that pretzely, either; standing is pretty much fingers laced on head for the pat down, then (cooperative) arms straight out at the sides, palms back, with the officer controlling each hand in for cuffing or (less cooperative) controlling them directly off the head to the cuffing position. (Controlling off the head has more potential for injury to the suspect, since the officer has to make the hand turn properly to get from there to the small of the back, while making sure it can't move on its own.) Prone is basically the same; unless you've got a lot of yoga, kung fu or similar experience, having the legs spread uncomfortably-but-not-quite-painfully apart while prone is slower to get up from than having them crossed.
Interestingly, the two "for real" times were both "turn around and put your hands behind your back," with no serious control technique applied. The finger control we use is basically yubi gatame with just enough pressure in a "can't go that way" direction to keep it ready to hurt, without actually hurting at all. Since it's held with the entire hand against 1-2 fingers, it can overcome a huge disparity in strength, and can go from "firm grip" to "excruciating pain that stops when you cooperate" to "that's not going to heal without surgery" pretty much instantly. Essentially, an ideal compromise between not making the cooperative guy any more uncomfortable, and still being able to restrain and control him at any time.
Another problem I have with their "training," though, is that they had him crawl right over the woman's purse. It's a state with a lot of concealed carry, and I don't recall hearing them even ask her if she had a gun in the purse. They even had another officer available to at least kick it out of the path, though considering where she was cuffed, they should have already had him stationary and been cuffing him at the point where he got to it instead of ordering him to crawl more.