MIDDLETON, Wis. — A new tool designed to reduce the need for use-of-force from law enforcement officers is slowly gaining popularity among police departments in Wisconsin.
It’s called the Bolawrap.
A company representative said 14 law enforcement agencies in Wisconsin have purchased the device. Four agencies have bought enough Bolawraps to outfit all patrol officers with one.
At the Middleton Police Department, which owns one Bolawrap, the on-duty supervisors have been carrying it on the job for roughly one month.
Lt. Tyler Loether demonstrated how the Bolawrap works.
The yellow device fires off a cartridge containing a Kevlar cord with hooks on either end that can attach to someone’s clothing.
While the firing makes a loud noise, the device is designed to be painless to the subject it’s fired at.
Loether said officers use a light from the device to aim at a person’s legs or torso. The cord then wraps around that part of the body, to prevent the subject from moving or running.
Loether said the device isn’t meant to be used against someone who’s running - because they could fall and get injured.
He said the ideal use for the Bolawrap is to restrain someone in crisis, with no use of force, long enough that officers can safely move in and help.
“Somebody that’s maybe escalating, showing they may become violent or resistive, this is something we can use really ahead of any use-of-force in that situation,” Loether said. “That’s the goal of it.”
“We have not actually deployed this in the field yet,” Loether added. “It’s one of those things where hopefully we never have to.”
Middleton Police Chief Troy Hellenbrand said calls for people struggling with mental illness have become more common in recent years.
“When I started in law enforcement 28 years ago, when I’d get a call for mental health, it was pretty rare,” Hellenbrand said. “Now, we’re seeing, almost daily, a call for mental health. That’s just in our community alone.”
Hellenbrand said such calls can often lead to use-of-force by officers when a person a crisis is armed and/or becoming combative. That’s what he wants to avoid.
“If you look at a lot of those cases around the country, a lot of those officer-involved-shooting incidents do stem from alcohol or drug abuse, or mental health crises,” the chief said. “So I wanted a tool for our staff to be able to deal with those situations and hopefully prevent a tragic incident.”
Hellebrand said the Bolawrap is a way to restrain someone in that situation without injuring that person. But it can also prevent injuries to officers, by restraining the subject so police can safely approach.
“The buzz word in law enforcement the last couple years is ‘de-escalation,’” Hellenbrand said. “That’s what we’re using here. This is an opportunity to de-escalate the situation.”
Loether said the “optimal” range for using the Bolawrap is with a person 10 to 20 feet away from an officer.
He said there’s a training course officers must complete before they can use the Bolawrap. They also have to go through recertification training every two years.
At the MPD, 10 officers are currently certified to use the device.