'Truly a paradigm shift': Seguin is deploying the latest in police tech to detain suspects. We put it to the test.
"Their eyes will immediately look down to see, 'What just hit me?'" he said."And that gives these officers the chance to close the distance very quickly while they are distracted by the noise. They are looking down to see what just impacted legs."Terry Nichols, director of business development for Wrap Technologies, the company behind BolaWrap.
Nichols says the BolaWrap, which is the size of a phone, is currently being used by 1,100 agencies across the U.S., as well as 63 countries. Among those agencies: police departments in Detroit and Seattle. I was suited up in jeans, sweatpants, glasses, even earplugs. For the demonstration, Nichols and Seguin police had me stand in place in a parking lot. The two gave me commands as they would if they were trying to get someone in custody.
KENS 5 obtained body camera video from a recent incident where a Seguin police officer used the device to take down a suspect they say was wanted on a warrant. According to police, the unidentified man fled on foot from officers to an apartment.In the video provided by SPD, the man can be seen emerging from an entryway at the complex. An officer can be heard ordering him to stop and put his hands behind his back.