© 2024 New Atlas
Good Thinking

Tether-shooting BolaWrap offers police a new non-lethal method of subduing suspects

By Ben Coxworth
December 05, 2019
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Flipboard
  • LinkedIn
View 2 Images
The BolaWrap 100 can shoot a body-wrapping Kevlar tether up to 25 feet (7.6 m)
Wrap Technologies
The BolaWrap 100, and one of its cartridges
Wrap Technologies
The BolaWrap 100 can shoot a body-wrapping Kevlar tether up to 25 feet (7.6 m)
Wrap Technologies

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.

The BolaWrap 100, and one of its cartridges
Wrap Technologies

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

Tags

Good ThinkingPoliceCrimeNon-lethalNew Atlas Audio
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Flipboard
  • LinkedIn
Ben Coxworth
Based out of Edmonton, Canada, Ben Coxworth has been writing for New Atlas since 2009 and is presently Managing Editor for North America. An experienced freelance writer, he previously obtained an English BA from the University of Saskatchewan, then spent over 20 years working in various markets as a television reporter, producer and news videographer. Ben is particularly interested in scientific innovation, human-powered transportation, and the marine environment.
10 comments
FB36
I 4 1 do not think this tech can be effective in all situations (like when an attacker has a knife or baseball bat etc)! IMHO, temp pain & paralysis caused by Tasers are really valuable features to discourage bad/unruly people from keep attacking police! They are NOT bugs to be fixed! (& for Tasers being potentially harmful, that is something for bad/unruly people to consider, before they try to attack police! (But something tells me, they are not kind of people really concerned by their health!))
Spud Murphy
FB36, this is mainly aimed for people with mental health issues where police would really rather not put them through more trauma. It is a great idea, if it can subdue even a small number of people it is used on without injury then it should be deployed as a first level defense at all times instead of tasers. My main concern is a mis-aimed shot could result in someone with a kevlar cord wrapped around their neck, so training will have to be very specific for this device.
guzmanchinky
This is great. It's 2019, I'm really surprised we don't have anything better than using explosives to put holes in people. Set phasers to stun...
buzzclick
Argentinian gauchos used bolas to snag animals. This Bolawrap doesn't need any swing room and is a first-level restraint with far less a potential to cause trauma compared to tazers. So now that we've become conditioned to accepting tazers as a policing tool, this seems less offensive and more effective...as long as the person isn't holding a gun, but this may not stop trigger-happy cops from using too much power at their disposal. We hear so much about cops, when deemed necessary, going too far and killing a perpetrator instead of shooting them in the legs.
Colt12
Now days they do need something to help keep their guns in their holsters.
JFP
Great idea. I wonder why a basic net with weights can't work just as well and be cheaper? Perhaps the bolawrap surprises suspects.
Thalek
At least one person has commented that they don't believe the tech can be effective in all situations.

This is true, of course, because no technology, no technique can ever be effective in ALL situations.

Saying it can't be effective in all situations isn't a condemnation of a method, it's merely a rather obvious observation.
Wolf0579
Police are not happy with the loss of their extra-judicial killing options.
MarcBotts
Absolutely brilliant.
JeffK
Until you've been alone in the dark with only a side arm and flashlight between you and a potentially lethal threat, your criticism of those who have carries zero credibility (yes, I have and no, I was not forced to pull the trigger). Cops are people with the same strengths and weaknesses as the rest of the human race; the difference is that they have taken an oath that requires they go in harms way when necessary. The vast majority simply want to finish their shift intact, without having a split second decision made under intense stress dissected by a sensationalist and often hostile media. This is another tool in the kit that should aid in making that possible.
Most Viewed