Another variation of the eXact iMpact available from Safariland is the Direct Impact. It has a crushable Styrofoam nose that carries a payload of OC, CS, or marking dye.
Wall says tactical law enforcement teams are using these munitions in a wide variety of operations, including “suicide-by-cop” scenarios and riot control. But the most popular tactical deployment is on the perimeter to end confrontations with people who have edged weapons. “Using less-lethal, you can engage that individual at a distance where the weapon he has is not a lethal threat to you and prevent him from getting so close that he could be a lethal threat to you,” Wall says.
He adds that he’s even seen these impact munitions used against people who are armed with handguns. “Depending on the scenario, if the officers are behind ballistic protection, they have lethal cover, and they are at a proper distance, and the subject isn’t actively pointing the gun at them, then it can be an option to try to incapacitate the subject and avoid a deadly force incident.”
Electric Bullet
A lot of people envision the ideal less-lethal weapon as some kind of electric gun-either one that shoots bolts of manmade lightning or multiple charged electric bullets. That’s still science fiction. But 20 years from now we may have them, and TASER’s eXtended Range Electronic Projectile (XREP) may be the granddaddy of those future weapons.
The XREP is a 12-gauge impact munition with a range of about 100 feet. And as impact weapons go, it doesn’t have much punch. But it does pack a shocking surprise.
Upon exiting the barrel, the electronic circuit in the device becomes active and fins pop out of the side putting the XREP into a tight spin. The spin orients the XREP so that its four front probes impact with the target. Then on impact the XREP seemingly falls apart, dangling a set of wires that carry the TASER charge. When the probes on these wires make contact, when the subject touches one of these wires, or when the subject grabs the XREP to pull it off, the TASER circuit is complete, and the subject gets zapped.
The XREP was announced in 2007, but it’s taken a few years to get it on the street. Now it’s become part of the arsenals of some of the nation’s top tactical law enforcement units. And in recent months, XREPs have been employed by SWAT units to end scenarios involving barricaded emotionally disturbed subjects and suicidal subjects.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
- A.L.S. Technologies
- Combined Tactical Systems
- FNH USA
- Guardian Protective Devices
- Lightfield Less Lethal
- MK Ballistics
- PepperBall Technologies
- Piexon/IBS Sigma
- TASER
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