Police in Seattle, Washington recently shared bodycam footage of officers effectively using Terminators on the tires of a suspect’s vehicle. The suspect, who was passed out in an SUV, was woken up by officers and tried fleeing, but the devices made sure he didn’t get far.
Seattle man breaks into garage, guzzles gas.
Made by Stop Stick, which we know a lot of people have seen that device in action, the Terminator is a little different. While it’s also a tire deflation product, it’s not used on moving vehicles, like during a pursuit. Instead, they’re designed for use on stationary cars or as a perimeter defense mechanism.
Stop Stick says it originally designed the Terminator for the US Customs Service but soon realized general law enforcement could use the tool. Inside the device are steel, Teflon-coated quills which will deflate even self-sealing tires rapidly.
With Terminators in place, if a person tries driving away, they won’t get far. But the tires don’t blow out, instead releasing air at a controlled rate, bringing a fleeing vehicle to a stop safely.
In this situation, Seattle officers walked up to the vehicle with the passed out person inside and quietly put Terminators in front of all four tires. Then a squad car came up from behind with lights and sirens going. Sure enough, the startled, allegedly intoxicated driver hit the accelerator and took off, all four tires taking damage.
Almost immediately, the tires are done and the SUV is skating around on the street. With no traction, the suspect can’t even really get moving, so the chase stays at incredibly low speeds. You can hear one officer call out 4 mph at one point.
Instead of the situation turning in to a high-speed chase, officers were able to keep the suspects from fleeing, all thanks to the Terminator.
Check out the footage for yourself.
Image via Seattle Police Department/YouTube
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