'Stun glove' gives an arm of the law superhero powers
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The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department later this year will debut a prototype arm shield with a non-lethal taser, LED flashlight and laser-guided video camera, and which could add GPS, smart phone and biometrics.
Only in Los Angeles would movie business veterans join together to develop a futuristic stun glove/armshield to fight crime.
The first demo unit of ArmStar’s BodyGuard 9XI-HD01, a prototype combining a non-lethal taser, LED flashlight and laser-guided video camera, is slated to be released to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department later this year for testing and evaluation, reported Popular Science.
It debuted in May at the U.S. Justice Department’s Mock Prison Riot, an annual training and technology-assessment event held at a decommissioned penitentiary in West Virginia.
The customizable glove, designed to deter and diffuse violent situations, also has enough room for officers to add Global Positioning System equipment, time and date stamping, a smart phone, biometrics or other technology as needed.
Officers would use the laser pointer on suspects to let them know their actions are being video recorded so they might be more likely to cooperate. The stunner is loud and issues a visible arc of electricity, another deterrent that could be used against the suspect as a final option.
David Brown, a cameraman, editor and producer, got the idea for the device in 2004 after hearing about a recent and nearby mountain lion attack that killed one cyclist and maimed another, according to ArmStar.He believed an individual under attack would more instinctively use a wearable device versus a knife or another handheld weapon, which could be dropped. From there, he realized that the glove was a good fit for the police, corrections departments and the military. Actor Kevin Costner funded development of the glove.
ArmStar will be pitching the device to Texas law enforcement officials in the next few months, reported Domingo Ramirez Jr. in the Star-Telegram.
Texas police officials, however, are unclear about how it would be used.
"It certainly is futuristic," said Kerrville Police Chief John M. Young Jr., president of the Texas Police Chiefs Association in the article. "I'm curious about how it's deployed. If not meant to be worn all the time, where do you store it, and how do you access it in a timely manner to use it?" he asked.