Some Central Florida law enforcement agencies are using BolaWrap.
Since 2002, more than 900 people have died soon after police used a taser on them.
Dozens of those deaths happened in Florida.
Now, a company — Wrap Technologies — is pushing for a less lethal option to subdue someone.
The device is called BolaWrap.
A few law enforcement agencies around Central Florida are already using it.
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The idea is to be able to detain someone without injuring or killing them.
No federal government agency tracks how many people are killed or seriously injured after being shocked with a law enforcement Taser. Because of that, some say the number of people who have been killed by them is likely even higher.
It has been happening for years.
News 6 captured video in 2004 of an Orlando police officer Tasering 42-year-old Anthony Carl Oliver on State Road 50.
The steel probe from the Taser was stuck in his stomach, delivering 50,000 volts. Records show he was shocked 8 times in two minutes, and he died the next day.
His family was left with questions.
“I don’t think it was handled right. Maybe that’s why so many people are dying,” Nelly Sewell, Oliver’s cousin, said to News 6 after it happened.
Oliver was neither accused nor suspected of a crime. Officers said they thought he was mentally unstable.
Since 2002, there have been at least 936 people nationally who were killed after police used a Taser on them.
Ninety-one of those deaths happened in Florida, according to fatalencounters.org, an online database that is one of the few sources tracking the issue.
Enter BolaWrap.
JD Methfessel is Chief Strategy Officer for Wrap Technologies and said the Taser deaths were part of the motivation for creating it.
“Maybe a better solution is needed,” Methfessel said.
BolaWrap points a laser at the target, then fires a 7-and-a-half-foot Kevlar cord that wraps around either the person’s arms or legs.
The company has videos on its website of law enforcement officers using BolaWrap, including one where a combative man was detained after officers fired the device.
“We save lives because other use of force tools present risk of death,” Methfessel said.
BolaWrap is being used in more than 1,000 agencies across the country, Methfessel said.
News 6 checked, and eight law enforcement agencies across Central Florida are now using the product, though one agency has already stopped using it.
Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood bought the Bolawrap and even did a demonstration of it being used on him.
He said he bought 25 devices for $30,000 and gave them to various deputies to test and evaluate. But he claimed the results were not good.
“It’s not nearly as effective as a Taser is...” Chitwood said. “It was never deployed — not one time on the street.”
His deputies did not have confidence the product would perform in real-life situations, Chitwood said.
“I think the concept, is a good concept, but the technology just is not there,” he explained.
News 6 found that other agencies like the Seattle Police Department and Los Angeles Police Department stopped using the product, as well, calling it “ineffective” because there were cases where it was fired but didn’t wrap.
During News 6′s first demonstration with Methfessel, there were times when the device didn’t wrap, but he said it was operator error.
“This happens from time to time,” he said.
“To have a successful BolaWrap program training is crucial and understanding how and when to use the device is crucial,” Methfessel said.
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