Nonlethal Weapons Unveiled, 1829
When London’s new bobbies began patrolling the streets in September 1829, they were armed with a baton (”truncheon”) that still today is a standard-issue weapon; it was made of hardwood, two to four centimeters in diameter, and thirty to sixty-five centimeters in length. Swords, although not a standard issue to the bobbies in the nineteenth century, were also kept in most police armories for possible use during riots or large demonstrations (Peak 1990).
Social turmoil in America between 1840 and 1870 brought increased use of force by the police. The New York City police and other departments were armed with thirty-three-inch clubs, which officers were not reluctant to use (Peak 1990).
Police and Less-Lethal Force, 1860-1959
International policing from 1860 to 1959 witnessed only one major addition to the small array of nonlethal police tools: chemical weapons. ”CN” gas was synthesized in 1869 and was the first ”tear gas,” producing a burning sensation in the throat, eyes, and nose. (CN became available for use in aerosol cans in 1965, with Chemical Mace the most well-known variety.) By 1912, there was increased use of chemical weapons for riot situations and subduing criminals (Peak 1990).
”CS” gas was first synthesized in 1928 as a white powder, which stored well. It was adopted by many police forces because it had a greater effect than CN, causing a very strong burning sensation in the eyes that often caused them to close involuntarily. Severe pain in the nose, throat, and chest and vomiting and nausea are also associated with its use (Crockett 1968).
After the turn of the century, the baton remained a staple tool among American police. As late as 1900, when the Chicago Police Department numbered 3,225 officers, the only tools given the new patrolman were ”a brief speech from a high-ranking officer, a hickory stick, whistle, and a key to the call box” (Haller 1976).
A Technological Explosion: The 1960s
The 1960s witnessed major technological advances in nonlethal weaponry. This was the age of rioting, both on domestic and foreign soil. Aerosol chemical agents, developed to provide alternatives to police batons and firearms, became the most widely used nonlethal weapons to emerge for police use. Mace was developed (Coon 1968), and thousands of law enforcement agencies later adopted Mace in some form.
A chemical wand was also developed, touted as ”burning for five full minutes … giving off a steady stream of CS” (Peak 1990). ”CR” gas appeared in 1962; six times more potent than CS and twenty times more potent than CN, it caused extreme eye pressure and occasional hysteria. CS gas cartridges, fired by shotguns at a range of 125 meters, were used in the United States and Great Britain as early as 1968.
In 1967, alternatives to lethal lead bullets were first attempted in Hong Kong. Wooden rounds, fired from a signal pistol with a range of twenty to thirty meters, were designed to be ricocheted off the ground, striking the victim in the legs. The wooden rounds proved to be fatal, however, and direct fire broke legs at forty-six meters. Rubber bullets were developed and issued to British troops and police officers in 1967, only a few months after the wooden rounds appeared. Intended to deliver at twenty-five meters a force equivalent to a hard punch, the rubber bullets caused severe bruising and shock. Also intended to be ricocheted off the ground, the rubber bullet was designed so that riot police could outrange stone throwers (Manwaring-White 1983).
British riot police also employed water cannons, designed to fire large jets of water at demonstrators on the streets of Derry in 1968, and later in Northern Ireland. Resembling armored fire engines, water cannons were also used in Germany, France, Belgium, and the United States. Nontoxic blue dye was added to the water for marking the offenders; for a time, the firing of a CR solution was contemplated (Manwaring-White 1983).
In 1968, another unique riot-oriented weapon was unveiled in America: the Sound Curdler, consisting of amplified speakers that produced loud, shrieking noises at irregular intervals. Attached to vehicles or helicopters, the device was first used at campus disturbances.
Beanbag Guns, Strobe Lights, and ”New Age” Batons: The 1970s
Another unique nonlethal weapon was literally unfurled in 1970: a gun that shot beanbags rather than bullets. The apparatus resembled a large billy club with spiral grooves in the barrel; it fired a pellet-loaded bag that unfurled into a spinning pancake, capable of knocking down a two-hundred-pound person at a range of three hundred feet. Although it had potentially lethal capabilities, it quickly became popular in several countries, including South Africa, Saudi Arabia, and Malaysia (Peak 1990).
Several other inventions were added to the nonlethal arsenal of the police in the 1970s. The Photic Driver produced a strobe effect, its light causing giddiness, fainting, and nausea. A British firm developed a strobe gun, which operated at five ”flickers” per second. Some of these devices also had a high-pitched screamer device attached. Another apparatus known as the Squawk Box had two high-energy ultrasound generators operating at slightly different frequencies, which produced sounds that also caused nausea and giddiness (Peak 1990).
Another invention of the early 1970s was injector dart guns, adapted from veterinarians’ tranquilizer guns, which, when fired, injected the drug they carried. Other developments included an electrified water jet and a baton that carried a six-thousand-volt shock; shotgun shells filled with plastic pellets; plastic bubbles that immobilized rioters; a chemical that created slippery street surfaces for combating rioters; and an instant ”cocoon,” which was an adhesive substance that, when sprayed over crowds, made people stick together (Manwaring-White 1983).
A substantive change occurred with the police baton in 1972. A new baton had a handle about six inches from its grip end, which allowed (according to its manufacturers) its versatility to be virtually unlimited (Folley 1972). This ”side-handle” baton did indeed become popular and remains popular among police officers today.
Two new tools were developed in 1974: the plastic bullet and the Taser. Research in England resulted in a seemingly ”softer” plastic bullet. Made from hard white PVC, four inches in length, one and a quarter inches in diameter, the bullets resembled a blunt candle and could be fired from a variety of riot weapons. Their speed of 160 miles per hour and range of thirty to seventy meters made them attractive to riot police. However, the plastic bullet could be fatal as well, and a number of people died after being struck in the head with these bullets (Manwaring-White 1983).
The Taser resembled a flashlight and shot two tiny darts into its victim. Attached to the darts were fine wires through which a transformer delivered a fifty-thousand-volt electrical shock, which would knock a person down at a distance of fifteen feet. Police officers in every state except Alaska had used the device by 1985, but its use has not been widespread because of limitations of range and limited effectiveness on persons under the influence of drugs. Heavy clothing can also render it ineffective (Sweetman 1987).
The stun gun, also introduced in the mid-1970s, was slightly larger than an electric razor and delivered a fifty-thousand-volt shock when its two electrodes were pressed directly against the body. Like the Taser, its amperage was so small that it did not provide a lethal electrical jolt. Its target, rendered rubbery legged and falling to the ground, was unable to control physical movement for several minutes (Serrill 1985).
The Continuing Quest: The 1980s
During the 1980s, flashlights were marketed that had stun capacity or contained chemical agents (Cox et al. 1985). Also marketed were an expandable baton (from six to sixteen inches ”with a flick of the wrist”) and a six-inch steel whip, which when opened to its thirteen-inch length projected three steel coils and was transformed into something resembling the medieval cat-o’-nine-tails (Peak 1990).
Summary
Over the course of 175 years, attempts have been made to arm the police with effective alternatives to lethal force. Research and development continues, however, for effective alternatives to lethal force.
