Posted on 02/05/2015 10:30:59 PM PST by Olog-hai
As police in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson seek alternatives to the sort of lethal force that led to Michael Brown’s death, they’re testing a new device that attaches to a handgun barrel and is designed to turn a bullet into a projectile intended to stun but not kill.
Mayor James Knowles III said Wednesday that a few Ferguson officers will test the device, known as the Alternative, at a shooting range Thursday. But Knowles said the department is early in the evaluation stage and the city has not decided whether to purchase the device. […]
The Alternative is made by Poway, California-based Alternative Ballistics. The company’s website says the bright orange device sits in a pouch that attaches to an officer’s belt, and it can be attached to the top of a gun within a second.
Then, if the officer fires, the bullet embeds itself into a new, round projectile the size of a ping pong ball. That decreases the velocity of the bullet, and, because the bullet is embedded inside a ball, the company says it is less likely to pierce a suspect and cause a fatal injury. Alternative Ballistics CEO Christian Ellis calls it “an air bag for a bullet.” …
(Excerpt) Read more at hosted2.ap.org ...
I think society is better off with a dead michael brown.
A grand jury says Wilson did nothing wrong. Yet, to be politically correct, the mayor of Ferguson pulls a stunt like this.
Al Sharpton is going to love this, his followers will get their dead cops.
concur.
How fricking STOOPID.
As a former investigator I can tell you that NOW they will sue everybody for FAILING to use this piece of crap in ANY instance whatsoever.
I can hear the fricking Lib lawyer in court now, "Isn't it a fact, Mr. Policeman, that you had every opportunity to use the new non-lethal Stun Nug McChicken, BUT CHOSE RATHER TO MURDER THE MAN---A FATHER OF 17 FINE, FINE, FINE CHILDREN, ALL OF WHO ASPIRE TO BECOME MEDICAL STOONTS AND SAVE CHILDREN IN DETROIT--- IN COLD BLOOD AS REVENGE FOR HE BEING A BLACK MAN YOU WANTED TO HOLD DOWN!!!" .
They must want more dead cops!
“’It might be useful if the officer needs some degree of force, but not necessarily in a situation where the officer believes that he or someone else is being immediately threatened and has to respond very rapidly,’ [Criminologis Professor] Rosenfeld said.”
Ding ding ding! We have a winner!
I’m sure the creator of this “ping pong airbag” is well-intentioned, but I see so many things wrong with this in actual practice.
-Many LEO’s already carry non-lethal equipment to subdue a perp. This device is probably not much more effective than the taser or high end pepper spray that an officer is probably already carrying. There are also “plastic bullet” weapons on the market that will do pretty much the same thing as this gimmick will, without compromising the ability of the officer to use lethal force if necessary.
-It’s a single-use device. What if you miss? What if you miss against a 300 pound man nearly 20 years your junior and who hits like a Mack truck?
-What effect will this attachment have on the officer’s firearm should he need to fire it again? I’m sure they’ve tested the device, but I still have to wonder about the possibility that the device will jam the firearm if it is attached. Can you use any caliber or type of ammo (FMJ, Hollow Point, etc.) with the device, or will certain combos lead to a failure?
So yeah, I think this one needs to go into a storage room along with the bulletproof whiteboard some group was pitching to schools a few months back. Nice idea, but not really practical.
I agree.
It's called: Stop breaking the law.
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Your money back if you assault a cop and get in trouble.
This is stupid.
I always thought that the purpose of a gun was to kill someone, and that you didn’t use it unless you intended to kill someone. What’s the point here? It’s like phosphate-free detergents that don’t “pollute” the waterways, and at the same time don’t get things clean.
I suspect that the police will have a hard time recruiting anyone. If the idiot who decided on this thinks I would put that over a pistol or if they had a like rifle device that I would use it he/she is an idiot. I damn sure did not use anything like that in combat and thugs with guns are just as dangerous as the enemy in military combat.
That, too, will end badly.
Why don’t they just try ‘Bobbies’???
/s
Are they crazy?
So now the cop’s assailant knows he will survive the assault.
Thanks to Officer Wilson for removing Brown from the gene pool. Those of us who have actually had to police the ghetto know full well what we are dealing with. Sadly, I have to say that most whites still don’t have a clue.
Of course if Michael Brown had succeeded in controlling Officer Wilson’s gun and shot him with it he would not have shot him with Alternative Ballistics orange balls as proposed but with lethal bullets.
A prophylactic for guns.
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