SAN JOSE (KPIX/CNN) – San Jose police may soon be deploying some batman-style technology to stop suspects in their tracks.
The BolaWrap is a cross between a remote control and an electric razor.
It shoots two metal pellets with hooks on the end, connected by a Kevlar string.
Load the cartridge, point the laser and push the trigger.
The pellets are shot out using a 9mm half charge blank, going 380-feet-per second, about one quarter the speed of a 9mm bullet.
The pellets swing around on the 8-foot-string, until the hooks catch onto the clothing.
The idea is to restrain the suspect, or at the very least slow them down.
The weapon has been used for centuries by Inuit hunters and later by the Gauchos of South America to entangle the legs of prey.
Since then, Bolas have been glamorized by Hollywood, popping up in movies and on TV for generations.
San Jose police have joined 45 other departments around the country that are testing the Bolawrap.
"So far, seems that everybody’s happy, and the reason I know that, is they are actually having us investigate and look into what these can do for us," said Officer Jill Ferrante of the San Jose Police Department.
The sound is startling.
If a suspect tried to remove the hooks, it would likely distract them long enough and buy an officer a precious few seconds to take a suspect down.
The hooks also have the potential to puncture jean and break the skin.
"People have asked, ‘Well what’s good about it?’ Well you know, if your other option is getting Tased or shot, I would take the Bolawrap," said Ferrante.
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