PHOENIX — The makers of a law enforcement tool called the Grappler said they’ve seen a steady increase in uses since it became available to help stop police chases.
The Grappler is a net that deploys from the front of a patrol car and wraps around the rear tire of a fleeing vehicle.
That causes the rear wheels to freeze, stopping the vehicle in its tracks. A tether then extends from the patrol car like a lasso, keeping the fleeing vehicle attached.
“It's certainly gratifying to watch our product that we work so hard to produce being used out in the field,” inventor Leonard Stock said.
Stock said the Grappler has now been used 100 times with departments across the country, including here in Arizona.
The Phoenix Police Department used the Grappler to catch two suspected kidnappers on Valley streets.
And the Arizona Department of Public Safety also uses the Grappler. Most recently, troopers caught a woman on the Loop 202 who was allegedly driving drunk.
“It’s a really great tool to stop a pursuit,” DPS Sgt. Sean Casey said.
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It’s another tool for police to stop a fleeing suspect, one that they say can have less risk of collateral damage.
Traditionally, officer would use a PIT maneuver to spin out a suspect's car and pin it in.
But the PIT maneuver can be unpredictable and difficult to execute. The suspect car can flip, or the PIT may fail entirely. It can also send the suspect car out of control and crash into other objects.
But Stock said the Grappler has less risk of that, since the patrol car and suspect cars are tied together.
“Obviously with a PIT, a vehicle is going to spin around, and the Grappler doesn't necessarily do that,” Stock said.
Stock is still selling the Grappler to agencies across the country, hoping to see more car chases stopped in their tracks.
