Preacherman
Member
From WAFB, Baton Rouge, LA (http://www.wafb.com/global/story.asp?s=4344867):
Non-Lethal Weapons Offered to NOPD
Jan 11, 2006, 03:08 PM
(WWL-TV) -- Following the deadly shooting by New Orleans Police Department last month of a man on St. Charles Avenue, area church groups called on police to find a safer way to take down a suspect. One local man said he may have the answer to bringing down a suspect safely.
Since the shooting incident on December 26, 2005, the New Orleans Police Department said it would explore alternate methods to subdue potentially violent suspects without the use of lethal force.
One of those new methods may be the ‘Trooper,’ a fifty pound, high-powered water cannon that uses air pressure to blast one liter of water at a target. One liter does not sound like much, until it hits you.
“It’s been described as being stung by a hive of bees and being kicked by a mule, both at the same time,” said Carl Finley.
Finley said the ‘Trooper,’ originally designed to fight fires in Austria, is the only one of its kind in the United States. His company, Firekraft USA, has recently acquired the rights to sell the device in the country.
Finley, a Jefferson Parish fireman, said he does not second guess the recent actions of the NOPD, but a company training video shows a similar situation: where a man with a knife is taken down with one shot.
He believes the ‘Trooper’ gives police the ability to safely escalate force toward a suspect and make him comply with their demands.
“And that begins with simply shooting them in the shin if you have to,” Finley said. “Give him some pain, give him some kinetic energy. And if he doesn’t want to take it there, give him another shot to the gut if that’s what it takes. But ultimately there’s enough energy here that you can fold a person in half just like a piece of paper and put them on the deck.”
The amount of water in the firing canister can be varied to shoot 12 one liter shots or 48 quarter liter shots, according to Finley. Whatever force is needed to control the suspect.
Finley said when new impact data comes back at the end of January, the ‘Trooper’ will be ready for the U.S. market. The device sells anywhere from $10,000 to $15,000, but the cost to refill the canister is virtually free.
The ultimate goal is to give police and the military another tool in the trade to put a suspect down but keep the person alive.
Finley said prisons in Indiana and Pennsylvania are interested in the ‘Trooper,’ but added the SWAT teams in Jefferson Parish and Orleans Parish want to hear more after the additional testing is complete later this month.
Non-Lethal Weapons Offered to NOPD
Jan 11, 2006, 03:08 PM
(WWL-TV) -- Following the deadly shooting by New Orleans Police Department last month of a man on St. Charles Avenue, area church groups called on police to find a safer way to take down a suspect. One local man said he may have the answer to bringing down a suspect safely.
Since the shooting incident on December 26, 2005, the New Orleans Police Department said it would explore alternate methods to subdue potentially violent suspects without the use of lethal force.
One of those new methods may be the ‘Trooper,’ a fifty pound, high-powered water cannon that uses air pressure to blast one liter of water at a target. One liter does not sound like much, until it hits you.
“It’s been described as being stung by a hive of bees and being kicked by a mule, both at the same time,” said Carl Finley.
Finley said the ‘Trooper,’ originally designed to fight fires in Austria, is the only one of its kind in the United States. His company, Firekraft USA, has recently acquired the rights to sell the device in the country.
Finley, a Jefferson Parish fireman, said he does not second guess the recent actions of the NOPD, but a company training video shows a similar situation: where a man with a knife is taken down with one shot.
He believes the ‘Trooper’ gives police the ability to safely escalate force toward a suspect and make him comply with their demands.
“And that begins with simply shooting them in the shin if you have to,” Finley said. “Give him some pain, give him some kinetic energy. And if he doesn’t want to take it there, give him another shot to the gut if that’s what it takes. But ultimately there’s enough energy here that you can fold a person in half just like a piece of paper and put them on the deck.”
The amount of water in the firing canister can be varied to shoot 12 one liter shots or 48 quarter liter shots, according to Finley. Whatever force is needed to control the suspect.
Finley said when new impact data comes back at the end of January, the ‘Trooper’ will be ready for the U.S. market. The device sells anywhere from $10,000 to $15,000, but the cost to refill the canister is virtually free.
The ultimate goal is to give police and the military another tool in the trade to put a suspect down but keep the person alive.
Finley said prisons in Indiana and Pennsylvania are interested in the ‘Trooper,’ but added the SWAT teams in Jefferson Parish and Orleans Parish want to hear more after the additional testing is complete later this month.
:banghead: 
Yeah, I want to be the guy assigned to lugging that thing around. Um, NOT!!!
