Disabling Without Killing

In Fremont, Ohio, a middle-aged husband recently went berserk and tried to beat his wife to death. When the police arrived, he threatened to shoot anyone who interfered. In that common situation, many a U.S. policeman might have whipped out his own gun and shot first, even if the suspect regrettably died in the process. Instead, one Fremont policeman squeezed off a stream of tear-gas-like liquid that hit the crazed husband in the face and instantly brought him to his knees, stunned, docile--and alive.

Made by Pittsburgh's General Ordnance Equipment Corp., the incapacitating spray that tamed the Fremont wifebeater is fired from a small tube and irritates the eyes, nose and skin. More important, the fumes can cause dizziness and almost instant apathy. The sprayed suspect usually just sits down until he is led away. The effects last no more than half an hour. For police, the device is the first, if not the final, answer to a nationwide need--a weapon that disables as effectively as a gun and yet does no permanent injury.

Moral Question. A century ago, any felony could be punished by death. Today that is no longer true. And yet, says New York Police Commissioner Howard R. Leary, "the policeman can shoot to kill if he reasonably believes that the person at whom he shot was committing a felony or escaping from a felony. The rule raises a substantial moral question: Is it proper to take the life of a fleeing felon who, if caught, tried and convicted, could not be executed?" Answering his own question, Leary has just promulgated a new department rule that requires his 28,000 policemen to shun guns unless a felony suspect "has himself escalated matters by using or threatening deadly or other serious force." Adds Leary: "We must do more to explore and develop non-deadly weapons. The gun is not the way to prevent most crime."

Predictably, Leary's view is not shared by many front-line cops. Says Los Angeles Chief Tom Reddin: "Until such time as every criminal signs in blood that he will not use lethal weapons against my officers, I will not substitute for their firearms. I don't want the psychological advantage in a combat situation to be on the other side." Even so, Reddin agrees that "where the officer's life is not in danger, a weapon that could be accurate, and would incapacitate, would be a valuable aid."

Wall of Foam. For most U.S. police, the only such weapon now available is the old-fashioned billy club--and the trouble is that many policemen are surprisingly unskilled in its use.

When used as a club, the billy too often shatters on a suspect's skull, forcing a policeman to resort to his gun. The billy is better used to poke and jab at the kidneys and other vulnerable areas; law-enforcement experts are now urging more and better training in billy arts. Indeed, the billy itself can be improved.

Plainclothesmen may soon be armed with a new model that telescopes to fit into the pocket, extends to full, firm length at a flick. General Ordnance even offers a plastic billy that does double duty: the company's new incapacitating spray can be shot out of the handle.

Other nonlethal weapons are on the way--for example, a net, spring-loaded into a tube, that can be shot over a fleeing man at close range. Also being developed are high-powered water pistols that fire chemical vomit-inducers and a liquid pepper irritant. Unfortunately, such gadgets lack the incapacitating speed of a bullet and cannot be fired over any distance, particularly in a wind. There is talk of a tranquilizer dart, but no safe tranquilizer acts on humans instantly.

To spur development of a workable dart and any other useful nonlethal weapon, New York's Representative James Scheuer and Massachusetts' Senator Edward Kennedy have introduced a federal anti-crime bill in Congress that would, among other things, foster and finance research in the field. "Within ten years," predicts Arnold Sagalyn, director of the Treasury Department's office of law-enforcement coordination, "we ought to have something equal to, if not superior to, the handgun."

Though harmless weapons for man-to-man use are still scarce, those for controlling crowds show what imagination can do. Now available is a dye spray that can ineradicably mark fleeing rioters or looters for 30 days. The color is visible only through special lenses and enables police to make arrests weeks later. Even handier for breaking up crowds is a spray containing a powerful stench. Perhaps the best crowd chaser is a machine that generates 10,000 cu. ft. of detergent-based foam in less than eight minutes. The foam can form a ten-foot wall to head off a mob or fill a street, covering everyone. Light enough to permit breathing, the foam is heavy enough to imprison each rioter and send him skidding to his knees. The only problem is cleaning up the street afterward.

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