TAMPA, Fla. — The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office just announced it's expanding one of its more innovative programs for using non-lethal force.
The BolaWrap can instantly immobilize a person by wrapping them with a Kevlar cord of up to 25 feet in length - stopping them in their tracks.
BolaWrap uses a laser to aim and fires like a pistol, wrapping the cord around the target's arms, legs or torso.
“I like the fact that we are not using force against the citizens, if we don’t have to,” said HCSO Master Deputy David Hoffman.
HCSO initially ordered 150 BolaWraps in 2021. They've now expanded to 330 with another 75 waiting to be assigned.
The Sheriff’s office says it's another tool allowing them to opt for less lethal force, especially for de-escalating situations involving mental health issues.
“Actually, all of the units that we currently have out there are with our behavioral resource unit, our street crimes and then select patrol units,” said HCSO Spokesperson Caitlin Wilson. “So, we are really giving these to deputies that work often with mental health crisis situations and non-compliance situations.”
HCSO says deputies have successfully deployed the BolaWrap 51 times since the pilot program started, including an incident in December when a deputy immobilized a suspect who they say tried to take off as they served a warrant.
“Obviously, no deputy wakes up in the morning wanting to use force. Unfortunately, the situation arises where the individual chooses to actively resist at force has to be used,” said Hoffman. “And if we can avoid that, by simply having an intermediary, where we stop their escalation by de-escalating them through this device, that is a win all day for law enforcement. “
BolaWraps are not available to civilians - only law enforcement agencies and the military.
Each BolaWrap device costs about $1000.
The Hillsborough Sheriff’s Office says eventually it would like to expand the program so that even more deputies can have access to BolaWrap devices.