SANTA CRUZ — The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office is testing a new restraint tool for safely taking suspects into custody.
The BolaWrap is a hand-held remote restraint device that releases an 8-foot synthetic fiber tether and wraps around a person’s legs to prevent them from escaping. It works from 10-25 feet away and ejects the tether at 640 feet per second, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
The Sheriff’s Office is the first agency in the county and region to use this device in the field, according to Sheriff Jim Hart. He said he made a commitment to examining all new technology, particularly around less-lethal devices, and this is one of those devices. The goal is to resolve cases without causing harm if the person has a non-lethal weapon, he said.
“Even if we have one case where we prevented lethal force from having to be used, it’s worth the investment,” Hart said.
The Sheriff’s Office patrol staff received training Wednesday. To use the device, the operator loads a cartridge with the tether inside, finds the target with the device’s laser and then releases it with a partial charge blank. The training focused on shooting at a target’s legs, but can also be wrapped around the forearms.
The BolaWrap has the potential to be effective when the deputies have some time, for instance if a person is acting out and swinging a sword, baseball bat or weapon other than a gun, Hart said. It isn’t a pain-free device — if a person isn’t wearing sleeves or pants, it could get into his/her skin. But it is a better alternative than using a lethal weapon, he said.
Hart said this device will help resolve some of the “odd” cases of the past year, numerous mental health crises, about 10 a day or 300 per month.
“If we can distract somebody with this wrap, they get their legs wrapped up, they start focusing on the cord, rather than what my personnel are doing, and we can get two or three or five seconds for us to close that distance and take that person safely into custody, then I think this is an ideal weapon system for that type of an incident,” Hart said.
A BolaWrap costs about $1,000 per device, with additional expenses for cartridges, according to Hart. The cartridge has a one-time use, but the wrap is comparable to the five-year lifespan of a taser, he said.
“Everyone on patrol should be able to use this,” said Sgt. Brian Cleveland, spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office. The Sheriff’s Office has 160 deputies, 25 sergeants and eight lieutenants.
If the Sheriff’s Office decides to use the BolaWrap after about a six-month trial period, it will become one of the office’s less lethal force options. These options are OC or pepper spray, batons, tasers and beanbag rounds, or baton rounds made up of a small fabric pillow filled with lead pellets and fired from a shotgun.
The Sheriff’s Office has 20 BolaWraps that deputies will be armed with daily, according to Hart. If the agency finds them effective, it will supply every deputy sheriff with a BolaWrap. Patrolling deputies will start using the device later this week, according to Cleveland.