I didn’t say don’t take him back to be processed.

I just don’t see the need for him to be cuffed once the police know it’s a skipping rope and he’s no threat.

As for “no big deal”, it’s also about optics and respect. A lot of law enforcement techniques are about imposing lack of personhood on someone and by limiting those impositions it shows that the individual isn’t a threat and is being treated as something other than a criminal.