Souderton police add Bola Wraps
The Souderton Borough Police Department has added two Bola Wrap 150 remote restraint devices whicthath will assist officers with taking people into custody with minimum risk to them or an officer, the department said in a release.
The Bola Wrap is a handheld device that can be carried on an officer’s duty belt. When an officer comes across a situation where a person needs to be de-escalated or someone taken into custody, “we can now use the device as a means to restrain them without hurting them, and use the least amount of force that we possibly can,” the release said.
The device contains a cassette which holds a Kevlar cord with a weighted hook at either end.
“When deployed, the cord and hooks are sent in the direction of the subject, allowing the cord to wrap around their arms or legs, and the hooks stick to their clothing, temporarily distracting and restraining them so that we can safely secure them,” the release said.
“For example, there are times when we come across people who are having a mental health crisis and need our help. They haven’t done anything wrong or committed a crime, but they do need to be taken for treatment. Sometimes these people don’t respond to our requests and can even become combative. The device will let us restrain them temporarily without hurting them so that we can get them into a police car or an ambulance and get them to where they need to be,” Chief Brian Newhall said.
“Of course, we hope that we never have to use them, but if given the choice of using the Bola Wrap or some other type of force, the Bola Wrap is a great option to have,” the release said.