The latest gadget aimed at reducing the number of high-speed police pursuits was demonstrated to area law enforcement on Thursday in a parking lot at the Toledo Police Academy in Perrysburg Township.
About 20 officers from police and sheriff’s departments in northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan got a firsthand look at the high-tech GPS tracking system during a training program sponsored by the Lucas County Sheriff’s Office.
The demonstration included a simulated chase in the academy parking lot during which the featured device, which is about the size of a small aluminum can, was propelled from the front grill of a car to the back of a “fleeing” police car.
Equipped with GPS tracking the device, it sticks to the back of the car being pursued. Officers can then back off their pursuit and converge on the suspect by tracking the GPS signal.
Lucas County Sheriff John Tharp said the monitoring that is available by the GPS tracking allows officers from other departments to also get involved in the apprehension and investigation.
“We can tag it. We can back off, and we can monitor where the suspects are at,” he said.
Capt. Brett Ortolano of the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said his department is involved in several pursuits monthly. He said the GPS device would be an effective tool for his officers to reduce the risk of high-speed chases.
“It is definitely interesting technology,” he said. “It puts a new twist on bringing pursuits to a peaceful resolution. Certainly there is a compelling argument to be made for any technology that allows us to reduce speed and thereby the potential threat to the community, the officers involved, and even the suspects.”
Officers from Toledo, Archbold, the University of Toledo, and Perrysburg Township attended the demonstration.
Each double-barreled, compressed-air cannon runs about $5,000, and every GPS 4½-inch GPS projectile costs about $250, said Bryan Stone, a company spokesman who demonstrated the product to the officers.
Mr. Stone said the gadgets are the pursuit reduction technology of the device, and they are designed to protect officers while reducing the risk to the community.
“Our goal is to help officers be ahead of an event and help reset the event from being a high-speed situation to more of a strategic approach to apprehend suspects,” he said.
It can also assist police in other crimes such as kidnapping, human trafficking, and cart thefts, the spokesman said.
Contact Mark Reiter at: markreiter@theblade.com or 419-724-6199.
Original Source Credit: toledoblade.com