Search Result: Less-Lethal Force

Michael Teig, CEO of TigerLight, readily admits that the company's new T100 compact TigerLight was designed as a civilian self-defense tool, primarily for women. But he also believes the fist-sized LED flashlight and OC dispenser will be popular with on-duty law enforcement officers.

From sock rounds to foam baton projectiles, from OC to washable paint payloads, there's an impact projectile for a variety of situations.

The tactical teams portrayed in the movies and on television typically use an assortment of automatic weapons and high-powered rifles to shoot down terrorists and hostage takers. But those of us in the business know that the vast majority of our missions do not involve the use of deadly force.

In the past six years, I've attended 12 TREXPO conferences. Each time the exposition floor at the conference has had a unique character. There was some kind of trend that you could see in the products showcased up and down the aisles. TREXPO East 2007 is no exception. This year the trend was tactical vehicles.

TREXPO is both a trade show and an educational conference for law enforcement officers. And this year’s TREXPO West held recently in Long Beach, Calif., offered excellent training opportunities for both SWAT and patrol officers.

Diversionary devices have had many names, not all of them popular. But that's mostly due to the public's misperception of what they are and how they are used.

There was a time not too long ago when the only non-lethal weapon available to American law enforcement officers was a baton. Here is our guide to less-lethal patrol weapons now on the market.

The police in my area made national news when a local dog owner and repeat offender of the leash law tricked them into issuing a citation for a $50 fine to his dog. The dog owner made a mockery of the situation by requesting a hearing on behalf of the dog, and reporters found that very amusing.

When it comes to capturing, subduing, and arresting bad guys, law enforcement currently has four types of less-lethal and less-than-lethal tools: physical restraint such as handcuffs and Ripp Hobble restraints, chemical weapons such as oleoresin capsicum (OC) spray, electrical shock devices such as Tasers, and impact tools such as batons and Asps.

Editor’s Note: On Nov. 30, 2003, three officers of the Cincinnati Police Department were called to the parking lot of one of the city’s many White Castle restaurants. There they found an immense 41-year-old man named Nathaniel Jones who was scaring the restaurant’s employees with his bizarre behavior.

When the Cincinnati Police Department decided to equip all of its patrol officers with X26 Tasers, department brass had to establish policy for use of the conductive weapons. After studying the research assembled by Specialist John Rose, Chief Thomas Streicher Jr. decided that the Cincinnati PD would place Tasers right after verbal commands in the department’s force continuum.

While some safety measures may seem insignificant now, they might actually save your life someday. Start by looking at your duty belt. Did you configure the items on it because they work best that way for you, or because everyone else does it that way?

OC has come a long way since it first arrived on the law enforcement market about a decade ago. Today, there are a wide variety of formulas, sizes, and systems that are common to the law enforcement market. And manufacturers keep working to develop improved versions.

Taser International's new X26 is a much smaller Taser that’s even more effective than its larger predecessor, the M26.

You have no choice. You draw your service weapon and fire three rounds into the dog. Two find their mark in its chest cavity, while the third rips through one of its front legs. It takes a few more paces, collapses, and dies.