LAPD Testing Non-Lethal Restraint Device In Hopes To Reduce Need For Gun Use

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — The Los Angeles Police Department is testing a new non-lethal restraint device in hopes it will reduce the need for officers to use their guns.

The BolaWrap 100, made by Wrap Technologies, is a hand-held, remote restraint device developed to restrain subjects, especially those in mental crisis, without hurting them and while still maintaining a safe distance between subject and officer.

LAPD Chief Michael Moore says he's so confident in the safety of the BolaWrap 100, he let himself be the guinea pig in a Monday afternoon demonstration of the new device.

Moore hopes the device will reduce the need for officers to use their guns.

"To use this as an alternative to having to result to the use of a taser, use of a bean bag, or something that is a higher level of force," Moore said at the demonstration.

For the next 4 months, the LAPD will be testing 200 of the devices at all of its 21 stations. The SWAT team will also receive the new device.

The BolaWrap fires eight feet of  Kevlar rope from a range of 10 to 25 feet.

Hooks on the ends attach to clothes and cause the rope to wrap around the legs or torso, making it difficult for the target to run away.

"We see instances where individuals, typically having some type of mental health crisis, are armed with a knife or a stick, and are unsafe to approach," said Moore.

However, the device has some limitations. For now, it will only be used on stationary suspects.

"What that gives us is time," said Moore. "What happens is, while they are doing those activities, that gives our team on the scene the ability to seize that moment and move forward, take control of their arms and legs."

Wrap Technologies says more than a hundred agencies are already using the product, but the LAPD will be the biggest test of its effectiveness.

"It's a lot of credibility having an agency like this participate in testing our product," said Wrap Technologies CEO Michael Rothans.

The company has already made improvements to the device since the LAPD began its testing, including changing the laser on the device, helping officers zero in on where to aim it.