Published: January 18, 2008 09:26 am      

Less lethal weapons

Deputies to carry new alternatives to deadly force

Thursday, January 17,2008 — Concussive force and chemical persuasion are being added to officer patrols at the Stanly County Sheriff’s Office.

Four shotguns slated for the use of “less lethal” force, and clearly marked with industry standard bright orange stocks and pumps, are in-hand and ready for use.

Additional less lethal firearms are planned, with a goal of making one available for each patrol shift.

Once training is completed, the firearms will join the office’s daily repertoire, placing Kevlar-bagged No. 9 shot, tear gas, pepper spray and rubber bead rounds in front of traditional bullet and buck shot ammunition.

The No. 9 shot, contained in a small Kevlar bag with draw-string style streamers for flight stability, is often called a bean-bag, but deputy Rick Collins knows its practical use is far from its benign namesake.

“They can be lethal if aimed at the head or center chest,” he said.

“For our use the primary impact area is below the waistline other than the groin.”

“It’s like getting hit with a ball-bat going 248 feet-per-second at 75 feet,” Collins said.

At that flight speed, the bag would travel nearly the distance of a football field every second.

In addition to being a K-9 officer, Collins is the office’s trained less lethal instructor, and one of five officers currently certified to use the safer suspect compliance technology.

With a functional range of about 75 feet, the tiny octopus shaped projectile leaves the gun barrel at more than 280 feet-per-second, and delivers concussive force of 84 pounds per square inch at its maximum range.

The philosophy behind using the new ammunition is based in safe and successful compliance, particularly of armed suspects.

Filling a niche just below deadly force, the weapons are one more option officers will have to control a situation before live rounds are discharged.

Pepper spray and Tazers remain early options for officers working to secure hostile suspects, but the less lethal force will follow, leaving more lethal options as a last resort.

“This is not something we just pull out,” Collins said.

“Authorization has to be issued from higher up to use these weapons.”

While the bean-bags may be the most widely recognized rounds for less lethal use due to their historical role in riot control, other types of rounds will be at local deputies’ disposal when necessary and authorized.

Color-coded liquid rounds, blue for tear gas (CS), and red for pepper spray (OC), sometimes called ferret rounds, may also come into play if needed.

They are not designed to be fired at individuals.

One deputy proposed an example, saying if a suspect wouldn’t get out of a vehicle, the officer could fire one of the CS or OC rounds in through a rear window to force them out.

They may also be fired into a wall or other object near suspects to clear them from covered terrain or surroundings.

If a crowd begins displaying mob behavior by becoming violent, destructive or unruly, a fourth type of ammunition may be tapped.

Housed within the same standard size 12-gauge shell as other less lethal options, small hard rubber beads meant for ricochet dispersal could serve to clear an area.

Those rounds are designed to be fired into the ground about five feet in front of their intended target, causing the beads to bounce up into the lower portion of the body.

While the various forms of ammunition are available through specialty law enforcement vendors, the weapons themselves are unmodified 12-gauge shotguns.

The sheriff’s office’s less lethal firearms were completely refurbished for their less lethal duty by Duane Davis of Elite Custom Plating and Weaponry in Indian Trail.

Two of them were already owned by the sheriff’s office but were in need of repair while two others were donated by Davis, along with his labor to complete the order.

“For a job like this we pull the weapon completely apart and inspect and clean it, restoring it if necessary,” Davis said.

Davis’ business deals with firearms, including “anything from the first cap and ball up to modern weapons.”

Stanly County Sheriff Rick Burris believes the less lethal approach will create safer compliance techniques.

“This is all about safety,” Burris said.

“We don’t want anyone getting hurt. We don’t want the officers hurt, we don’t want citizens hurt and we don’t want suspects hurt.

“We just just want to do our jobs to the best of our ability, and as safely as possible.”



Jay Almond can be contacted by email at snaponline21@yahoo.com.