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In a unique twist on crime-fighting, a sheriff’s department in California is taking inspiration from a renowned vigilante, famous for his high-tech gadgets, to aid in apprehending criminals.
This summer, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department plans to outfit 16 of its patrol cars with a device known as the “Grappler.” Inspired by Batman, this innovative tool is designed to stop vehicles attempting to evade law enforcement.
Leonard Stock, the creative mind behind the Grappler, shared with the LA Daily News that the concept came to him during a sudden moment of inspiration late one night.
As an avid viewer of police reality shows, Stock was often distressed by the injuries sustained by innocent people during high-speed chases, prompting him to take action.
The result was the Grappler—an apparatus that attaches to the front of a police car, resembling a net. When officers close in on a suspect, they can deploy the device to ensnare the rear tire of the fleeing vehicle, effectively bringing it to a halt.
A net then wraps around a single tire of the suspect’s vehicle, and then the patrol car can slow down, bringing the suspect’s vehicle to screeching stop with a long-tether.
Each Grappler costs $5,270, which doesn’t include installation and training. The net is not for sale to the public, Stock says.
The device found its first usage with the Phoenix Police Department in 2018, and the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department became the first law enforcement agency in California to use it last year.
Stock says some officers say it looks like something that belongs on the Batmobile, Batman’s high-tech vehicle. “I talk to police officers constantly,” Stock said. “Almost every time, someone comes up to me and tells me they thought it was just a gimmick.”
Riverside County Sheriff’s Department officers say the device is a “game-changer.”
“It’s a game-changer,” Lt. Jason Santistevan told the LA Daily News. “Being in law enforcement for about 22 years, this is probably the best technology we have right now at stopping pursuits … preventing them, as well.”
Riverside officers say the device could save lives. In one instance, a suspect entered the freeway driving the wrong direction, and cops halted him with the device.
“If you think of that scenario,” the lieutenant told the LA Daily News, “and you think about all these preemptive grapples that we’re doing now, preventing pursuits, one of the things that we can’t put a value on … what did we just prevent?
“If we didn’t have a Grappler system, that car went on the freeway, we could add a fatality.”
The San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office in Northern California has also deployed the device, along with a third law enforcement agency in California.