More Phoenix police officers to get non-lethal force equipment

Published: Monday, December 19, 2022 - 5:05am
Updated: Monday, December 19, 2022 - 10:01am

More Phoenix police officers will be getting non-lethal weapons after the City Council approved $700,000 to expand a pilot program.

The program equipped select patrol officers with alternative tools to use during high stress situations to reduce deadly force encounters. Citing the pilot’s success and community support, the department plans to provide non-lethal weapons to 800 officers over the next two years.

The tools include Pepperball launchers, which create a cloud of chemical irritant that disorients people, along with a 40 mm launcher, which can project a sponge tipped grenade temporarily disabling someone. One manufacturer describes the 40 mm launcher’s force as equivalent to getting hit by a baseball going about 40 miles per hour. Both tools can be used farther away than tasers and pepper spray.

According to a Dec. 14 city report, the department’s patrol division has 49 of the 40mm launchers and will have 80 Pepperball launchers by mid-December.

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