I'm all in favor of giving the police a flashlight that can be used to both club perps, and can give off a brief, but "dazzling" bright light different from its main light.
The idea is to have a second switch connected to a strong capacitor in the flashlight, so when the officer meets up with a perp at night, he can momentarily blind him with a flash to the face. Having the perp suddenly losing their night vision can give an officer a big advantage, especially if the perp is armed.
"The idea is to have a second switch connected to a strong capacitor in the flashlight, so when the officer meets up with a perp at night, he can momentarily blind him with a flash to the face"
For the civilians, a small, super bright, tactical flashlight, and a good knife can accomplish a lot in an unplanned nighttime encounter.