Less than Lethal WeaponsbyClayton MossLess than lethal weapons were developed to provide law enforcement, corrections, and military personnel with an alternative to lethal force. The term less lethal weapons refers to weapons such as bean bag shotshells, rubber bullets, and electronic stun devices to name a few. They are designed to temporarily incapacitate, confuse, delay, or restrain a suspect in a variety of situations. They have been used primarily in on-the-street confrontations and suicide interventions, but have also been applied in riots, prison disturbances, and hostage rescues. History The concept of less lethal weaponry is not new. Law enforcement has long operated with what is called a "continuum of force." It provides guidance to officers for selecting the type of weaponry to use in a variety of situations. The continuum normally begins with asking a subject to respond to voice commands. If the subject does not respond, the continuum may advise that the next level of force be used, in many cases, pepper spray (Pearson, 2003). If the subject is wielding a firearm, lethal force may then be used. Law enforcement has long recognized that a wide and dangerous gap exists in the range of tools available to them. The only tools traditionally available, baton or gun, may be either too weak or too strong a response to some situations. This fact became clear after the Supreme Court ruled in Tennessee v. Garner that the use of deadly force to apprehend apparently unarmed, nonviolent fleeing felons was an unreasonable seizure under the Fourth Amendment (Pearson, 2003). Edwin Meese, who was Attorney General at the time, called a conference to address the need for alternatives to deadly force. As a result of this conference, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) established a less-than-lethal technologies program. Through this program, NIJ seeks technologies that provide new or significantly improved less lethal options to law enforcement and corrections professionals to enable them to reduce the number of deaths and injuries to suspects (Hart, 2002). Types of Weapons There are six general categories of less lethal weapons that currently exist or are in development: impact projectile, electrical shock, chemical, physical restraint, light, and acoustic. Impact Devices There are a large number of manufacturers producing a wide variety of impact munitions. These impact projectiles are designed to deliver non-penetrating contact energy from a safer distance than a police baton (James, 2002). One such type of weapon, which has been in use for about 30 years, is the beanbag (Wilmette, 2002). Beanbags refer to square, rectangular, or circular fabric bags that contain lead shot. The round is intended to flatten on impact, hitting face on, and spread its energy over a large area. When manufactured, the beanbags are rolled into a 12 gauge shot shell. After leaving the muzzle, the bags unroll and rotate into the flat orientation to strike the target broadside. The lead shot acts like a fluid medium that distributes its kinetic energy over the surface contact area. The bag collapses and delivers a solid blow. The impact is comparable to being struck with a baseball traveling at 95 miles per hour or being punched by a professional boxer (Wilmette, 2000). If the bag hits before it is completely unfurled or on an edge-on orientation, the full force of the impact is distributed over a smaller area, usually causing more damage. Square beanbags have been in use for many years and have been extensively tested for safety under the prescribed use conditions (Wilmette, 2002). The head, throat and face are not considered acceptable targets because the bags will almost certainly cause serious injury, if not death. The bags must deliver a blow sufficient to produce pain and induce compliance from uncooperative and aggressive suspects, so the torso was once considered the most appropriate target for the bags (Wilmette, 2002). However, because of the potential for causing damage to the chest by blunt trauma, the recommended point of aim is the center of the body or the belly button hold. Unfortunately, because of their shape, these beanbag rounds are widely inaccurate and have been known to veer off course and strike individuals elsewhere on the body causing serious injuries. Improving on the square beanbags, researchers developed sock rounds. These rounds are designed to have no edges or corners that could lead to penetration and tend to have a tail to aid stabilization in flight. These sock rounds as well as the beanbag rounds are typically launched from a pump-action shotgun or a single round tear gas gun. The type of clothing worn by the suspect will affect the effectiveness of the rounds, as well as the point of aim and distance traveled. Another type of impact device widely used in riot situations and prison disturbances is the rubber ball round. A single ball round consists of a single ball, generally rubber or plastic, fired from a shotgun or tear gas gun. The ball deforms on impact and spreads its energy over a larger area. There are also multi-ball rounds which can contain from 2 to over 200 pellets (Donnelly, 2001). These pellets are contained in either shotgun shells or rubber grenades. They can be used to target a number of people together and are not as discriminate as other rounds. These rubber ball rounds can be fired directly or skip-fired off a hard surface in front of a target to reduce the speed of the projectile. However, this form of firing can be adversely affected by snow, mud, or soft grassy terrain. Electrical Shock Electrical shock devices include any weapon that uses the effects of electricity to incapacitate the target. There are a variety of different devices available to law enforcement but their principle of operation is the same. They are battery powered and use a low current, high voltage impulse shock to provide incapacitation. The electrical stimulus is supposed to temporarily interfere with the normal electrical signals generated by the human nervous system (Donnelly, 2001). One widely used stun device is the advanced taser M26 developed by Taser International. It uses an 18 to 26 watt electrical signal that overrides the central nervous system to directly control the skeletal muscles (Nielsen, 2001). The M26 is shaped like a standard duty pistol, which makes it easy to use. The taser is a conducted energy weapon that fires a cartridge with two small probes, or darts, that are connected to the weapon by high-voltage, insulated wire. When the probes contact the target, they transmit very short duration, high energy, electrical pulses along the wires to overwhelm the sensory nervous system, stunning the target. One interesting aspect of the M26 is that it is microprocessor controlled. There is an onboard memory that records the dates and times of the most recent 585 times the unit's been fired (Nielsen, 2001). The M26 has a Windows 95/98 compatible dataport that allows the data to be downloaded to a computer using a special adapter cable (Nielsen, 2001). This feature enables a law enforcement agency to monitor usage patterns and could help protect officers from abuse of force allegations. The advanced taser uses air cartridges containing compressed nitrogen as a propellant to expel the two barbed probes. According to Taser International, the optimum range for the taser is 12 to 18 feet (Nielsen, 2001). The probes of the taser don't have to penetrate the skin or cause injury to work. The electrical signals of the taser can penetrate over two inches of clothing, including leather jackets (Nielsen, 2001). Another benefit of the taser is that officers on an arrest team can physically restrain a subject while the probes are "hot" without any fear of the charge being transferred. The agency with the largest number of M26 tasers is the Phoenix police department with about 1400 tasers (Law, 2003). The department showed that use of the advanced taser significantly reduced the number of injuries during confrontations upon completion of a use of force study. In 475 incidents from January through September 2002, police used the taser 128 times. In those incidents injuries to suspects dropped from 33% to nine percent, and officer injuries reduced from nine percent to two percent. Chemical Another category of less lethal weapons consists of chemical incapacitants, which includes traditional tear gas and pepper spray. These types of weapons are usually thefirst to be used in the force continuum. The most widely used type of chemical spray used in the U.S. is Oleoresin Capsicum, or OC spray. This type of less lethal weapon will typically irritate a subject's eyes and disorient him long enough for police to take control over him. According to ALS Technologies, their OC spray is designed to cause disorientation through a tearing and burning sensation in the eyes, violent coughing, and an extreme burning sensation to exposed skin surfaces. Also, when deployed properly, their OC spray has been found to be effective 93 out of 100 times (Alvirez, 2001). Another company, called Jaycor, also produces an OC product named the pepperball. The pepperball is the same as a regular paintball except that it is filled with OC powder instead of paint. These projectiles are safe from point blank range and are effective between 10 to 30 yards (Wilmette, 2001). Upon impact, the round delivers a bruise that, while painful, does not significantly injure. Jaycor compares their product to a swarm of bees. One bee sting is painful but being stung by multiple bees is debilitating. The impact of one pepperball stings, but the impact of multiple pepperballs is attitude changing. Combine the multiple and near instantaneous impacts with a cloud of OC dust and the system is both useful and simple (Wilmette, 2001). The effectiveness of the pepperball was evidenced by its use during the World Trade Organization riots in Seattle in 1999 (Sanow, 2001). Physical Restraint Physical restraint devices are considered a type of less lethal device because they can be used to diffuse a situation before lethal force is necessary. Physical restraint devices include things like nets and wire entanglement systems. Nets are primarily supplied as 37mm cartridges and are designed to be fired from a standard weapon or a one shot launcher (Donnelly, 2001). There are a number of variations on the standard net available to law enforcement. These include a sticky net coated with glue to further impede motion, an irritant net where the net fibers are coated with an irritant chemical such as OC, and an electrical net where a high voltage electrical discharge is passed through the net. Nets vary in size, but all use a series of weights attached to the outside edge for stability during flight. The importance of nets to law enforcement is that nets physically restrain or impede the movement of an aggressor while keeping the officer at a safe distance. Light devices Light devices, sometimes classified as diversion or distraction devices, can be used against violent subjects to cause them to turn away, confuse or frighten, distract and disorient them. Generally, these devices do not incapacitate a person, they merely disorient them, which gives law enforcement officers an advantage. One type of light device called the Laser Dazzler, looks like a heavy-duty flashlight and functions like one as well. The difference is that it shines a green laser, flashing at rapid random intervals to disorient and distract a suspect. It can work in daylight or darkness, with a beam that can cover hundreds of yards. The device does not cause bodily harm and is intended to be eye-safe at all distances (Laurel, 1999). The Laser Dazzler has primarily been used in prison situations, but could also be used to deter groups of people in a riot situation. Acoustical devices Acoustical weapons are currently the most experimental and are still under development by the Department of Defense, however they could have important implications for law enforcement. Less lethal acoustical weapons include high intensity sound producers which cause imbalance and other physiological effects. They have been examined for halting the advance of an aggressive or violent crowd in a riot scenario. Devices under development include whistles and hand-held sirens to large vehicle mounted speakers. Discomfort begins when noise levels reach 120 dB, pain at 145 dB, eardrum rupture at 185 dB, lung damage at 200 dB, and lethality at 220 dB (Donnelly, 2001). As a comparison, a busy office typically has a sound level of 65 dB, heavy traffic 90 dB, and a jet aircraft taking off 125 dB (Donnelly, 2001). Dangers of Less Lethal Weapons The problem with calling any weapon less lethal implies that the weapon is not quite deadly. However, there have been a number of deaths and serious injuries associated with the aforementioned weapons. Since the 1970s, around 12 deaths have been attributed to impact weapons like the beanbag round (Wilmette, 2001). If used improperly, these rounds can penetrate subjects and cause serious injury and death. In one California case, a woman was threatening police with a knife when they shot her in the arm and torso with beanbag rounds, before she fell to the ground and died. The cause of death was cited as a laceration of the heart, due to severe focal blunt force trauma (Shin, 2002). Another danger of less lethal weapons is confusing the less lethal ones with the lethal ones. One case has been documented in which an impact round shotgun was found to contain a one ounce slug. This was discovered after it was fired, and the slug severed the target's leg above the right knee (James, 2002). To overcome confusion, some departments use bright orange stocks on their less lethal shotguns to distinguish them from the others. References Alvirez, D. (2001). ALS Technologies. Retrieved April 23, 2003, from http://www.ozarkmtns.com/less-lethal.html. Donnelly, T. (2001). Less Lethal Technologies. Retrieved April 19, 2003, from http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/pcrg/psdb/publications/lesslethal.pdf Hart, S. V. (2002). Less-Than-Lethal Weapons. Retrieved April 4, 2003, from http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/speeches.htm James, S. (2002). Less Lethal. Law and Order, 8, 87-93. Laurel, C. L. (1999). New technologies protect officers and inmates. Corrections Today, 8, 134-136. Law and Order. (2003). Phoenix patrols with Tasers. 1, 6. Nielsen, E. (2001). Taser International takes the Taser to a higher level. Law and Order, 5, 57-62. Pearson, C. (2003). Less-Lethal Weapons. Retrieved April 5, 2003, from http://www.nleta.com/articles/lesslethal weapons.html Sanow, E. (2001). Special Report: New use of force products. Law and Order, 2, 40-42. Shin, C. (2002). Less-lethal weapons could be more lethal. Forty Niner, 8. Wilmette. (2000). Portable, less lethal alternatives. Law and Order, 9, 32-35. Wilmette. (2001). The Jaycor pepperball system. Law and Order, 11, 92-95. Wilmette. (2002). Beanbags as an effective alternative. Law and Order, 8, 100-101.
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