LAPD could add new high-tech BolaWrap to Metro officers' arsenal

The Los Angeles Police Department is looking to expand its deployment of a lasso-like device, dubbed BolaWrap, to officers patrolling Metro buses and trains. 

LAPD has been testing it since 2019 hoping the potential addition to their arsenal will give officers another non-lethal way to restrain people. 

The BolaWrap is a handheld device that fires out an 8-foot Kevlar rope with hooks on the end which will attach to clothes and cause the cable to wrap around the legs or torso so a suspect can't run away. The chief marketing officer of Wrap, the company that produces the gadget, says it would provide officers with an alternative to their guns or tasers. 

"It's not something that actually causes pain," said Nima Parikh. "It wraps the individual where they are and in doing so it gives the officers the chance to move in together."

Following the announcement of violent crime climbing 24% since last year, officers who patrol Metro's busses and trains could have this new high-tech tool on their duty belts after the Police Commission approved a year-long pilot program.

Timothy Williams, a retired LAPD detective who now works as a use-of-force expert, said if used correctly, the BolaWrap could save lives. However, he still had some reservations about the device. 

"I have problems with the hooks that are there, to me that is a little inhumane," said Williams. "The wrap itself is about 8 feet of Kevlar rope and you are going to be hitting other people with that. In my opinion, I don't see the effectiveness on a bus or a train. It's going to have collateral damage."

However, Wrap said safety was at the forefront of its design. Despite this, others have voiced their concerns including Black Lives Matter activists.

"LAPD treating people like cattle should not be an acceptable alternative," the organization said in a statement. "The Bola Wrap police device is yet again another attempt to infuse more money into our failed policing experiment. There is no way to make policing more safe or more humane."

The company said there have been reports of scratches from the tethers but nothing that required hospitalization. 

With mental health at the center of many people's minds, some wonder if people are missing the bigger picture. 

"Invest in mental health situations," said Williams. "You can't arrest your way out of it. You can't get BoloWrap a way out of it but you got to give individuals the help that they need — they direly need."

Metro must still approve the plan. If they do, officers must go through four hours of training before implementing the BolaWrap.