• Los Angeles police officers will test a new gun-like device designed to restrain people beginning January, police department leaders informed the city's board of police commissioners last week, according to the LA Times.
• The Bola Wrap, which fires a cord to wrap around a person and restrict their movement, has been marketed by Las Vegas-based Wrap Technologies as a way to allow officers to act without using force,
• Critics have pushed back at this notion, concerned that it will be deployed mostly in minority communities.
• Here's how the device works.

Police around the country have begun using a new tool that comes straight out of comic book lore: a device that shoots out a cord, binding a person's arms or legs together.

The BolaWrap 100, which some media organizations have compared to a tool from Batman's utility belt, was developed by Las Vegas-based Wrap Technologies. It allows the police to fire a Kevlar cord, and wraps tightly around a person.

Wrap Technologies has touted the benefits of the device as a way to subdue suspects without using force. But last week, when Los Angeles Police Department leaders told the city's board of police commissioners that it intended to test the device for a trial period in January, the LA Times reported that critics pushed back at this notion.

One member of Black Lives Matter, Adam Smith, told commissioners the department would probably deploy the tool mostly in minority communities, according to the LA Times.

Wrap Technologies has said over 100 police agencies across the country currently use the Bola Wrap.

Compiled by Olalekan Adeleye

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