This is the new weapon in the fight against crime that could help police round up speeding suspects in a matter of seconds.
Introducing the Grappler – the latest solution to bringing high speed car chases to a quick and painless end.
Deploying a heavy duty nylon net from the front of pursuing police vehicle , the Grappler wraps around the suspects’ rear tyre and snags the axle.
Within seconds the car is disabled, and officers can then release the tether connecting them to the suspect vehicle, allowing them to stop a safe distance away.
The ingenious device was invented by Arizona resident Leonard Stock and, like all good Eureka moments, came to him unexpectedly.
Having watched a late night programme on high speed police chases, Stock said he awake at 3am with the idea fully formed.
He told Fox 10: “The conclusion of one of the chases was an innocent motorist getting t-boned and I went to sleep that night just so aggravated that this was happening.
“And I woke up at 3:00 in the morning just suddenly and this was the first thought I had.
“The options right now are getting in front of a suspect vehicle to deploy tire spikes or using the pit manoeuvre, or some type of smash up derby style process to stop a vehicle, where the officer many times is pinned against a suspect vehicle.”
It’s taken Stock eight years of research to get the Grappler ready to market to police forces, but early tests have impressed law enforcers.
Lon Bartel, President of the Peoria Police Officers Association, described the Grappler as “fantastic” and added: “If that thing holds up the way it appears it’s going to, it’s a huge advantage for law enforcement.”
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