NYPD Should Use High-Tech Lassos, Eric Adams Says

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK -- A pop sounded, a tether shot across the Brooklyn Borough Hall courtroom and in seconds a goggle-wearing Eric Adams was lassoed.

"The primary duty of all members of the law enforcement community is to preserve and protect human life," the Brooklyn Borough president explained. "We can’t hesitate to closely study and test improved policing tools that can do just that.”

Thursday's demonstration was part of Adam's call on the New York Police Department to implement usage of the BolaWrap, a hand-held restraining device meant to humanely subdue mentally ill suspects.

The hand-held device discharges an eight-foot tether that can entangle a person up to 25 feet away with minimal pain, according to David Norris, president of Wrap Technologies, Inc, which manufactures the BolaWrap.

It is being tested by police departments in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Missouri, New York, and Utah as an alternative option for dealing with emotionally disturbed people.

The NYPD received a BolaWrap presentation on Wednesday and will review the technology, according to the Brooklyn Borough President's office.

Adams called on the NYPD to start a pilot program for technology he believes coul prevent the deaths of people such as Saheed Vassel, a bipolar man police officers shot dead because they mistakenly believed he was armed.

“I can’t overstate enough the imperative of safety for at-risk suspects and police officers alike in crisis intervention,” said Adams. “Addressing the challenge of EDPs is a matter of improved officer training, of increased therapeutic mental health care, and of enhanced technological approaches that are safe, accurate, and humane."

Correction: A spelling error in the original edition suggested the Borough President wore queries on a popular internet search engine. He was wearing goggles. Not googles.

Photo courtesy of the Brooklyn Borough President's office