Stan State UPD Purchases Non-Lethal Soft-Tip Launchers

 

The University Police Department at Stanislaus State is providing a new option to its patrol officers to reduce the chances of a fatal confrontation with individuals experiencing a crisis. UPD has purchased Defense Technology 40mm single-shot launchers, which provide officers a new option between the Taser and the use of a firearm.

The launchers fire a sponge-tipped ball that is meant to impact with less than lethal force. The goal in utilizing the launchers is to create time and space, which allow for the establishment of communication between the individual and the officer.  Unlike the Taser, which requires an officer to be within 25 feet, the 40mm is effective from as close as 5 feet to as far as 131 feet.  The additional distance gives officers more options before deploying deadly force.

The launchers will be secured and locked inside police patrol vehicles as patrol rifles currently are. Officers will carry the launchers with them only if they are dispatched to a call with extenuating circumstances.

Stan State is the fourth CSU to purchase the 40mm launchers. CSU Northridge has had the launchers for several years and both Dominguez Hills and Bakersfield implemented them this spring. The CSU Critical Response Unit (CRU) completed a transition to the 40mm launchers in February.