Although Tasers are an effective alternative to the use of lethal force by police officers, getting shot by one is still quite a painful and potentially harmful experience. That's where the BolaWrap 100 comes in – when fired at a "difficult" suspect, it simply ties them up.
Made by Arizona-based Wrap Technologies, the BolaWrap is a battery-powered electric razor-sized device, which single-use recyclable cartridges are loaded into the end of. Each cartridge contains a propellant in the form of a .38-caliber partial charge blank, along with an 8-ft (2.4-m) Kevlar-cord tether that has grappling hook-like metal barbs at either end.
When a suspect is fleeing from an officer, advancing on them, or otherwise exhibiting dangerous behaviour, that officer aims the BolaWrap at the person's arms or legs – they're assisted in that process by an integrated green laser.
Once they subsequently press the trigger, the cartridge ejects its tether at a speed of 513 feet per second (156 m/s). That tether then travels through the air up to a claimed distance of 25 feet (7.6 m), ultimately wrapping itself around the target's body one to three times. This trips them up or temporarily keeps them from raising their arms, allowing officers to move in without harming them.
If needed, a fresh cartridge can reportedly be loaded into the device within three to eight seconds.
First released in a trial run late last year, the BolaWrap 100 is currently only available to law enforcement agencies, and is already in use by police forces throughout the US and other countries. You can see it in use, in the following video.
Source: Wrap Technologies
