How Grappler Aims to End Police Chases Safely (W/Video)
Are you easily mesmerized by reruns of World's Scariest Police Chases or compelled to click on YouTube pursuit videos? One such all-night binge session, ending with a video of a serious T-bone crash with a civilian, left Leonard Stock unable to sleep. Restless, he germinated the idea for a tool to help law enforcement officers end such chases more safely.
His idea was a vehicular lasso to grab a perp's vehicle by the tire. A roofing contractor by trade, Stock was naturally handy and a proficient welder, so he began prototyping the concept on his own vehicle. He quickly confirmed his theory that a moving vehicle's spinning tire would indeed pull a loop of tow-strap material around itself if said strap could be forced into firm contact with it.
That prototype led to many iterations, all of them self-financed by Stock and his lucrative house-flipping business in the booming Phoenix metro area. His final Grappler design uses 2-inch nylon webbing with a 20,000-pound test strength; in many instances it's doubled for a 40,000-pound capacity.
The webbing forms a "ladder" net of sorts. The sides of the ladder are about 5 feet long and consist of doubled-up webbing with metal rings that connect to six 52-inch-wide "rungs." The front-most rung includes some pads to improve tire engagement in the rain.
The tether connecting the webbing to the police vehicle varies in length to suit the particular agency's needs and is accordion-stitched in such a way as to break away gradually as the vehicle is brought to a halt. The typical extended length of 30 to 40 feet starts out at 15 or fewer stitched feet. (The net must be replaced after each capture.) How does the lasso reach the bad guy's car? At the press of a button in the police vehicle, two vertical bars hinge downward. Gas struts then fold open a second length of steel L-channel in each bar, pulling the net ladder out of its stowage cubby and into position. (Note that the Grappler, which weighs 180 pounds—similar to the strongest bull bars—works well as a push bar, though heavy bumps can compromise the deployment of the net.)
The police vehicle then drives up behind the suspect in a police chase, needing only 7 inches of ground clearance at the back of the vehicle, after which the contraption can ride down the bodywork to a lower clearance at the wheelhouse. A 5-mph closing speed is enough to engage the Grappler on a tire, then the net typically tangles and ties itself to the rear axle, stopping the wheel and often rendering the vehicle undrivable. You just roped that baddie, sheriff.
Pretty darn cool in my opinion. Way to many stupid kids and old men think they are safe at high speed and apparently don't understand the danger they present to others on the road. Yeah, I've been guilty before but, I grew up or should I say matured. Will say that I have no problem with others driving within reasonable safe speeds but, as I said, there are some out there that simply lack good judgement.
I'm a bit confused. Your thread title and closing remark don't seem to jive with the intent of the device. The device is intended to end "police chases" safely. Someone who is excessively speeding but pulls over if a cop gets behind them need not be advised at all. Likewise, someone who runs from a cop but was not speeding when the cop went to stop them, need be advised. So I'm wondering where you drew the conclusion that this is in someway was aimed to target those speeding excessively and not those who are running from the cops?
[This message has been edited by Khw (edited 10-06-2019).]
This tool, came into the news a few years ago. the liability using one. eck. most vehicles are not solid axle. and ripping a wheel off, and making the car uncontrollable isn't the brightest move. Even worse on the all wheel drive vehicles that seem to be the fad. OBIII will have a way to allow the cops to shut down the vehicle. Truth be known, they can do it now. Any new vehicle that connects to wifi for entertainment ,Also downloads firmware updates/changes. Mopar/gm/ford/toyo/Honda/kia/mazda/kundi/nissian/etc all can be shut down asap , NOW. just need to be able to get into the network to do it. g.m. has onstar with folks at a call center 24/7/365 so, it be easy to get them to shut it down once ,it becomes law that they would have to if asked by a police dept officer. or more likely the "service" handing over a log in for the dept. to do it themselves as need. all they need is the keys from all the oems to log into the network of the vehicle updates/etc and it be remote shut off. They can do this today. they just need to work out the legal kinks to make it happen.
In another 10 years, every car will probably be able to be shut down remotely. I have no doubt real-time tracking is already in play.
This is my thought as well. Cars with OnStar can already be shut off remotely, and that has occurred before. It's just not a "tool" that the police necessarily have that they can activate at will. I suspect though that something of the sort will be available, if not mandated at some point in the near future.
All it takes is for one child to be injured or a person to be killed in a chase, and the right person to sue and make a stink, and Congress will pass a law authorizing a mandate for remote shut-down of vehicles.
People can already be tracked so long as they have a cell phone on them though, which everyone does. Even when it's shut off or in airplane mode... the phones almost always still keep track of where they are by pinging the cell towers, and all you need is three to get triangulation data.
I'm a bit confused. Your thread title and closing remark don't seem to jive with the intent of the device. The device is intended to end "police chases" safely. Someone who is excessively speeding but pulls over if a cop gets behind them need not be advised at all. Likewise, someone who runs from a cop but was not speeding when the cop went to stop them, need be advised. So I'm wondering where you drew the conclusion that this is in someway was aimed to target those speeding excessively and not those who are running from the cops?
The thread title is intended to get "Excessive Speeders" to notice so that the device would not have to be used. I'm all for using such a device to stop those who would "run" from the law. There are folks on this forum who apparently believe they are "Experts in high speed" driving and apparently don't see themselves as a danger to others on the road. Hope that explains it for you.
In reference to vehicles with devices/technology such as OnStar, I know several folks that have vehicles that are of older vintage without such technology who drive excessively fast and their vehicles could/would be subject to use of such a device. Personally, I don't care how fast someone is driving if they are alone on an open/empty road or, on a track but, if they endanger others while doing so, then shut them down one way or another. How doesn't necessarily matter to me.
Rams
[This message has been edited by blackrams (edited 10-06-2019).]
I'm a bit confused. Your thread title and closing remark don't seem to jive with the intent of the device. The device is intended to end "police chases" safely. Someone who is excessively speeding but pulls over if a cop gets behind them need not be advised at all. Likewise, someone who runs from a cop but was not speeding when the cop went to stop them, need be advised. So I'm wondering where you drew the conclusion that this is in someway was aimed to target those speeding excessively and not those who are running from the cops?
Not fer nothing, but almost everywhere in the USA 15 over is driving to endanger . And although most will pull over, many others will not. just say'n. For this to work you'd have to be linded up with the vehicle you want to stop perfectly, and no one running is driving in a straight line ,they are moving around even in one lane. What happens when you miss, and that crap goes under the cruiser and it loses control? No need for this crap. cruisers have dash cams. they have the make/model/plate/tag # and can follow it until a known traffic camera snaps a photo of the driver. then go get him/her later.
Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]: This is my thought as well. Cars with OnStar can already be shut off remotely, and that has occurred before. It's just not a "tool" that the police necessarily have that they can activate at will. I suspect though that something of the sort will be available, if not mandated at some point in the near future.
All it takes is for one child to be injured or a person to be killed in a chase, and the right person to sue and make a stink, and Congress will pass a law authorizing a mandate for remote shut-down of vehicles.
People can already be tracked so long as they have a cell phone on them though, which everyone does. Even when it's shut off or in airplane mode... the phones almost always still keep track of where they are by pinging the cell towers, and all you need is three to get triangulation data.
We are tracked by cell phone, but also every vehicle with nav, is tracked. Those easy pass toll transponders are reporting more than just when you are near a tool booth. Many areas, have receivers That record that , your vehicle passed it, and when. for traffic studies (wink wink) . Soon, you'll not be worrying about cops pulling you over for speeding, They'll mail it to you. Time over distance, They'll know at the speed limit how soon you should be being crossing the receiver down the road , or in another town/city, get there sooner than you should, bing. ticket. The cost savings to towns/city's/states once this system is up and running will be huge, less cops in cruisers doing traffic policing. and all the cost that go with that. This system is in use in 500 city/towns as traffic data study. tons more on toll roads. And that is how it is being sold, Folks in my state went ape s__t when they found out. and was told that they have no intentions of using it for traffic tickets This decade ( decade ends in under 3 months). I have opened every toll transponder and added a micro switch between the unit and it's battery. and unless we will be going past a tool booth, it is powered down.
[This message has been edited by E.Furgal (edited 10-07-2019).]
Personally, I don't care how fast someone is driving if they are alone on an open/empty road or, on a track but, if they endanger others while doing so, then shut them down one way or another. How doesn't necessarily matter to me.
As I understand it the way google maps knows when traffic is slow and shows red in an area of a road is the speed of the individual cell phone signals people have in those vehicles.
As I understand it the way google maps knows when traffic is slow and shows red in an area of a road is the speed of the individual cell phone signals people have in those vehicles.
Most vehicles used as daily drivers have nav. this is how they get the traffic reports/etc. Very few vehicles used as daily's don't have nav. and the amount of them is tiny .
I'd still love to see it used on a few folks I know. Some actually admit they are endangering others on the road. Then again, there are some very stupid people that think they are God's gift to speed.
...and there are many cars out there that a cop car cant catch...simply not fast enough. How would they shoot out their net at a car going 210 mph when their car can only do 140 ? Ohio Highway Patrol has airplanes. They use Cessna 172s that top out at say 130mph. . A lot of the newer performance cars are faster by nearly 100mph, even if they are on the scene immediately. Sure theres the saying about 'cant beat a radio', but yes you can if you can disappear before anyone can find you or get a license number. Get off the road at the next intersection or ramp and disappear into traffic. If your lucky, theres always somewhere to stash yourself like a car wash , shopping center parking lot, or parking garage...or even in your own home garage (unless your speeding thru the desert).
I saw a YouTube police video of cops trying to catch a stolen Dodge Hellcat in Houston. The cops tried catching him on interstate in relays by radioing ahead to other departments all the way to Dallas. They couldnt catch him. They radioed helicopters along the way to follow and they couldnt keep up. The only way they finally caught him was he ran out of gas and bailed into an open field. Helicopter found the stalled car on the berm, then searched the field around it to direct cops to him. If hed been smarter and got close to a city, they never would have found him.
Originally posted by rogergarrison: If hed been smarter and got close to a city, they never would have found him.
If he'd been smarter, he never would have pulled such a stupid stunt. In that video, just how many close calls did he have? How many people did he endanger? Doesn't matter if he didn't hit or kill anyone, he could have easily done so. It's hard to tell when you look in the rear view mirror (prior to changing lanes) just how fast the cars behind you are traveling. You think you have plenty of time and room and all of a sudden, some dumbass speed freak blows by as you're pulling into the lane. I have started trying to get license tag numbers and call them in when I do get them. I hope they get put in jail and their licenses jerked along with their vehicles being impounded and sold at auction.
I was passed just the other day while I was doing the speed limit by some dumbasses, I was in the right hand lane, one passed me on the left and the other in the emergency lane to my right. The dude on the right cut me off in order to get back on the hard asphalt, I almost took off his left rear fender. Obviously, they were racing or maybe just playing, I don't know and honestly don't care. I don't appreciate dumbasses on the road. If they want to play and drive like idiots, do it on the track.
Rams
[This message has been edited by blackrams (edited 10-23-2019).]
If he'd been smarter, he never would have pulled such a stupid stunt. In that video, just how many close calls did he have? How many people did he endanger? Doesn't matter if he didn't hit or kill anyone, he could have easily done so. It's hard to tell when you look in the rear view mirror (prior to changing lanes) just how fast the cars behind you are traveling. You think you have plenty of time and room and all of a sudden, some dumbass speed freak blows by as you're pulling into the lane. I have started trying to get license tag numbers and call them in when I do get them. I hope they get put in jail and their licenses jerked along with their vehicles being impounded and sold at auction.
I was passed just the other day while I was doing the speed limit by some dumbasses, I was in the right hand lane, one passed me on the left and the other in the emergency lane to my right. The dude on the right cut me off in order to get back on the hard asphalt, I almost took off his left rear fender. Obviously, they were racing or maybe just playing, I don't know and honestly don't care. I don't appreciate dumbasses on the road. If they want to play and drive like idiots, do it on the track.
Rams
To be fair, where you live the people can't seem to merge onto the highway without stopping. They are either going too slow, or too fast down the highway, and almost all of them are on the phone.
[This message has been edited by Fats (edited 10-25-2019).]
Tp be fair, where you live the people can't seem to merge onto the highway without stopping. They are either going too slow, or too fast down the highway, and almost all of them are on the phone.
Tp be fair, where you live the people can't seem to merge onto the highway without stopping. They are either going too slow, or too fast down the highway, and almost all of them are on the phone.
Having travel most of the US (probably just as you have) I see the same issues in just about every large city. It's either young studs trying to prove how fast that are or, old farts trying to prove they still have it. Folks that don't use their turn signals, people on their cell phones, etc..... Driving defensively pays it's own way. But, you have to watch yer six, there are some real dumbasses out there.
Don't get me wrong, I was (at one time) a foolish speed demon driver who thought I was invincible. The difference between myself and those old farts I mentioned above is, I grew up. I finally realized that I could not anticipate what the other driver was gonna do.
Rams
[This message has been edited by blackrams (edited 10-23-2019).]
We move about the highways and byways (just what is a byway anyway?) safely based on only one premise. That each of us and the guys on either side of us, just scant feet away are always going to do exactly the proper thing every single minute they and we are on the road.....
Considering the high velocities being driven on the freeways around Houston and the huge number of vehicles involved, I'm really surprised the daily carnage isn't much much worse than it is.
...and there are many cars out there that a cop car cant catch...simply not fast enough. How would they shoot out their net at a car going 210 mph when their car can only do 140 ? Ohio Highway Patrol has airplanes. They use Cessna 172s that top out at say 130mph. . A lot of the newer performance cars are faster by nearly 100mph, even if they are on the scene immediately. Sure theres the saying about 'cant beat a radio', but yes you can if you can disappear before anyone can find you or get a license number. Get off the road at the next intersection or ramp and disappear into traffic. If your lucky, theres always somewhere to stash yourself like a car wash , shopping center parking lot, or parking garage...or even in your own home garage (unless your speeding thru the desert).
I saw a YouTube police video of cops trying to catch a stolen Dodge Hellcat in Houston. The cops tried catching him on interstate in relays by radioing ahead to other departments all the way to Dallas. They couldnt catch him. They radioed helicopters along the way to follow and they couldnt keep up. The only way they finally caught him was he ran out of gas and bailed into an open field. Helicopter found the stalled car on the berm, then searched the field around it to direct cops to him. If hed been smarter and got close to a city, they never would have found him.
Canada "fixed" 🤑 that last year. Cops can now show up 3 hours after you were seen or reported driving for a "drunk driving check" and you are presumed guilty until you prove you weren't driving....so if they have a black Mercedes speeding, every black Mercedes registered in the are is getting a home visit. Which one has a warm hood and nervous owner ?
BTW...you Don't have to be actually driving, just reported by say, a vengeful ex or pissed co-worker or something, and if you have had a couple beers tell it to the judge. Even if you prove your innocent and win in court you are still screwed since your car has already been impounded, licence suspended for a week, insurance notified and likely job lost.
Soo.... don't own the same type and color car as the speeder.
Oh, and here impaired driving isn't just dope or alcohol... medication, emotional upset, caffeine overload ect all are the same.
[This message has been edited by MidEngineManiac (edited 10-24-2019).]
Our are too, EXCEPT for Quebec. They run on Napoleonic law and every time we get a Frenchie PM they try ramming that crap up the entire countries azz. They still haven't signed the Constitution simply because they refuse to recognize common law rights.
The courts will rule it unconstitutional eventually, but in the 4-5-6 years it takes to work through the system plenty of people will have their lives destroyed. And they will be unavailable to sue for repercussions. The government attitude is oh, well. Tough crap. Sucks to be you.
[This message has been edited by MidEngineManiac (edited 10-24-2019).]
OnStar and others have been shutting down cars for years. Tesla shuts down cars for any reason they want. You DIY or third party a repair for a Tesla expect problem charging etc.
Is only a matter of time US Laws will make OnStar et al to shut down any car under police orders not just stolen ones.
------------------ Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should. (Jurassic Park)
Most vehicles used as daily drivers have nav. this is how they get the traffic reports/etc. Very few vehicles used as daily's don't have nav. and the amount of them is tiny .
I'd love to know which crevice of your ass you pulled this ridiculous "fact" from.
...and there are many cars out there that a cop car cant catch...simply not fast enough. How would they shoot out their net at a car going 210 mph when their car can only do 140 ? Ohio Highway Patrol has airplanes. They use Cessna 172s that top out at say 130mph. . A lot of the newer performance cars are faster by nearly 100mph, even if they are on the scene immediately. Sure theres the saying about 'cant beat a radio', but yes you can if you can disappear before anyone can find you or get a license number. Get off the road at the next intersection or ramp and disappear into traffic. If your lucky, theres always somewhere to stash yourself like a car wash , shopping center parking lot, or parking garage...or even in your own home garage (unless your speeding thru the desert).
I saw a YouTube police video of cops trying to catch a stolen Dodge Hellcat in Houston. The cops tried catching him on interstate in relays by radioing ahead to other departments all the way to Dallas. They couldnt catch him. They radioed helicopters along the way to follow and they couldnt keep up. The only way they finally caught him was he ran out of gas and bailed into an open field. Helicopter found the stalled car on the berm, then searched the field around it to direct cops to him. If hed been smarter and got close to a city, they never would have found him.
Where are all these 200MPH cars? Looked like there were only 33 models made last year and of those, only the CTS and Hellcat were under 100K. As I recall it was damn near impossible to buy the Hellcat. Regardless, You guys just pull this **** out of your asses. I drive a fair amount as do a number of people here, I don't see these cars on the regular. Most Ferrari's, Lamborghini, AMG, Vette's, etc are all electronically limit. Sure you can drop thousands and get it eliminated, but I don't think people doing 200MPH in $100K+ cars is the biggest threat on the road. I drive pretty carefully when I am in machines like that. Buddy has a Ford GT and it is a MONSTER. He is super safety conscious about him or anyone he lets drive it. My vette friends don't show the same restraint on others driving, but it is they are hardly in the same class.
This is not one of those issues that requires pictorial evidence. Photos are neither necessary not wanted.
Rams
Fair enough. I have had cars with and without navigation. I REALLY love it in dash. Biggest issues I've found. 1. It isn't nearly as convenient to enter as it is on your phone. 2. Every vehicle I have experienced, except maybe Tesla, doesn't come with free updates. If Tesla are free, I am sure it is in there somewhere... My buddy has a newer Ram and all his maps are out of date as the update is $300. You can buy a phone or 4G tablet and service for a year for that cost. My truck had navigation that I installed, but it was an Android radio with a SIM slot. Anything I can run on my phone ran on the radio. That has been my favorite navigation system used to date. I like is seems everyone else (according to this study) use my phone. Waze was bought by Google some time ago and is far superior than TeleNav (which I used to get from Sprint free, but was a paid service), Google Maps I've always thought sucks, I don't even know the native Apple product. All the Garmin I have used are offline and require regular updates. I assume this has gotten easier, but the phone does all this crap automatically and gives you the option of virtually any program to use.
Waze is infinitely better and free. Traffic updates, speed traps, debris on the road. I think it is the number one software in the country now.
I was going to suggest Waze as well.
My car has the "never updated" way too expensive to update built in Navigation that doesn't make sense. Though I can pirate something and insert that disk and make it work, I use Waze in it.
My wife's car has free updates, and displays weather on the GPS screen (something I think should be on all GPS devices.), but we still use Waze for navigation because the built in system is so horrible to use.
I know my car doesn't have two way communication, the GPS is only incoming signal.. I'd like to know how it would communicate with Toyota. Her car doesn't communicate with Toyota unless it has Wifi, which it does seem to find on a regular basis, so perhaps it could be remotely disabled... I think we could have paid for their version of Onstar, but everything they offered we have avalable already on a cell phone, and that is in any car we drive. It does do the basic self driving stuff, so there may be something I'm missing. The bonus I guess is if the Police get in front of it and beside it, all the sensors will slow the car down until they aren't blocked.
Why not just have the new cars with sensors "detect" when police lights are behind you, and go into some "safety mode"? You don't need to get all kinds of agencies involved.
Waze is infinitely better and free. Traffic updates, speed traps, debris on the road. I think it is the number one software in the country now.
Oh hey, your stuck in the turning lane of a 7 lane road how would you like to go the other way and save 7 minutes! Oh I see you decided to stay on the path you were on. There is a slight delay ahead expect to be 15 minutes late Please exit the highway at the last exit before the accident that shut down the highway. Oh you decided to not cut off the other guys that are also stuck and stay on the highway Waze may be free butt google still tracks you so they don't care.
Gives a whole new meaning to "Defensive Driving". 
