By Steven Symes 
We’ve covered the Grappler Bumper before, a device that’s supposed to stop police chases quickly and safely. However, there have been some problems with the Grappler, including at least one deployment which still involved a serious crash. But one police department in Arizona apparently used it on the wrong car.
Teen driver using Snapchat slams into a loaded school bus.
Thanks to local news station ABC15, it was uncovered that an officer with Tempe Police Department accidentally used a Grappler Bumper on the wrong vehicle during a chase. Before you laugh, there’s a good reason for the mix-up and we wonder if you wouldn’t have done the same thing.
After all, the suspect’s car and in the innocent motorist’s were the same make, model, and color: a white Buick Verano. The officer thought he had nabbed the suspect, who was fleeing the Maricopa Sheriff’s Office for an alleged aggravated assault, but instead just scared an innocent driver.
Also, during the deployment of the Grappler, the officer punctured the car’s gas tank. That created a situation when police learned there was a young girl in the backseat.
What we want to know is why the officer didn’t give the driver a chance to pull over? And why wasn’t the license plate info out there so he could confirm it was the right vehicle?
Sadly, we will never see the dashcam footage of the incident because police in Tempe don’t have dashcams at all. You heard that right: there are no cameras in Tempe Police Department cruisers. That’s odd in this day and age, for sure.
However, ABC15 did obtain bodycam footage of the incident. The female driver was terrified and understandably so as police ordered her out of the Buick at gunpoint. Can you imagine going through that all because you were driving the “wrong” type of car?
Here’s the real kicker: ABC15 found not a single officer was disciplined for the incident. We wouldn’t be surprised if the victim turns around and sues, even though she was paid $500 for the punctured gas tank.
Image via ABC15 Arizona/YouTube