WYANDOTTE, Mich. (WXYZ) — Wyandotte police officers are now equipped with a new tool designed to bring dangerous police chases to a safe stop. The device, called the Grappler, makes Wyandotte the second police agency in Michigan to add this technology to their arsenal.
The Grappler works by deploying a net that wraps around a fleeing vehicle's rear tire, causing it to lock up on the suspension components and bring the car to a controlled stop. Officers from several agencies trained with the device Wednesday in Wyandotte.
"When the net's deployed, a police officer will drive that net into a rotating rear tire, and the tire brings the net up and over and gets locked up on the suspension components," said Leonard Stock, the device's inventor.
Stock, a roofer by trade, came up with the idea in 2010 after watching a police chase on television.
"I just woke up suddenly in the middle of the night and this idea hit me," Stock said.
Though it wasn't easy turning his middle-of-the-night inspiration into reality, Stock's persistence paid off. Today, the Grappler is used by more than 100 police departments across the country.
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"I always thought that if I kept going, at some point it would get used and somebody's life could possibly get saved or free from injury, just an innocent motorist or pedestrian," Stock said.
The life-saving potential was demonstrated several weeks ago in Livonia, where police used a Grappler to stop a drunk driver from speeding away. Livonia was the first department in Michigan to deploy the technology.
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Wyandotte Police Officer Shane O'Meara, who participated in Wednesday's training, welcomed the new tool.
"Police chases aren't going to stop, people are going to keep running from us, and this is a way to make them safer and stop them before they start getting to those dangerous speeds," O'Meara said.
Each Grappler unit costs about $5,000. Chief Archie Hamilton believes it's a worthwhile investment for his department.
"It gives them the tool they need to keep them safe and go home to their families, it gives them the tool they need to keep the public safe, and it also gives them the tool they need to catch the bad guy," Hamilton said.
The Wyandotte Police Department will begin using the Grapplers in the field Thursday.
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