What if there was a device that could stop a person without causing pain? Now there is. It’s called the BolaWrap, and has been out in the field for about eight months now. With this technology, an eight-foot Kevlar cord wraps around the individual’s body and a hook attaches into the clothing.
"For the first time in over 30 years, law enforcement is given the tool that can help safely, humanely, restrain somebody without counting on pain compliance by using a Taser or a baton, gas, which injures the person and might also result in an injury to the officer," said Don De Lucca, BolaWrap Technology chief strategy officer.
According to local officers, pain compliance devices can escalate certain types of problems, especially in potentially-dangerous situations involving mentally ill individuals.
"This kind of device belongs in the hands of the rank and file who are going to be at that call immediately where somebody who may have a knife or wants to go back into the house or can't understand our commands. We can wrap them up, secure them, with the least amount of force as possible," said Steven Abbott, Lockport police chief.
"The officers on the front line deal with this every day. We're given moments, seconds, to resolve a problem where someone is in crisis. So we might not know exactly what is going on, but we know they're in crisis. So now we have a tool that we can secure them and help get them to the professionals who can help resolve the matter for us," added De Lucca.
One tool obviously doesn’t fit all. This device doesn’t work well if an individual is already in pursuit or if the person is charging forward with a weapon.
"Are we ever going to be mental health experts? No we're not. Are we ever going to be full-blown social workers? No we're not. But we still need to do our part and make the public understand we're going to do everything we can," said Abbott.
The Lockport Police Department will hold training for the two officers who will be participating in the pilot program.