Non Lethal Weapons, now please.

It ’s time for the cities of the Monterey peninsula to invest in non lethal weapons and training for peace officers.  Because it is horrific for many of us in the community to read and hear of fatal shootings by law officers, of individuals out of control for various reasons.   Individuals out of control with brooms, screwdrivers, and corkscrews.   Usually out of control of their emotions, through real disease, or more likely: alcohol and drug abuse.

Fact: is a movement with real promise to reduce harm worldwide.  They include a wide array of products for many circumstances.  They can be safely  used for purposes of riot control, to tactical and electronic warfare, to safely incapacitating drunks armed with screw-drivers, from 20 feet away.

Pepper gas bullets are a promising new non lethal weapon. They can be fired from light weight pistols and can be effective up to 30 feet away from a combative.  A company called Jaycor is selling these now (www.jaycor.com/).  Net guns are available which are very effective.  Sticky foam is a humiliating and very effective incapacitating weapon that is also fired from lightweight guns.  The list is long and  the weapons are effective.

Fact:  Our nation is full of firearms and they are very accessible to just about everyone. Therefore, it is rational to expect that any one could have a firearm and be ready to use it.

Fact:  A law enforcement officer should never expect that dying on the job is part of the job.  Keeping the peace and enforcing our laws should not be associated with the likelihood of getting killed in action by a citizen.  No where in the job description of a law enforcement officer is the statement: “may allow him/her self to be killed while responding to a domestic situation.”

Fact:  A law enforcement officer, especially in the United States of Firearms,  should never be armed with non lethal weapons, with the intent of using them.  We do not want our beat cops looking for opportunity to deploy a non lethal weapon - this attitude would endanger the lives of the officers, who should be primarily concerned with their own lives and the lives of fellow officers and innocents, during confrontation with a combative.   We do want our patrol men and women to have the option of non lethal weapons, should a
circumstance arise in which their use would be appropriate.

For some communities, every patrol person need not be trained and equipped with modern non lethal weapons to have this option at disposal.  One trained team in a central location could be on-call for non lethal weapons situations at the responding officer’s discretion.

Perhaps an excellent compromise between those who would use land at the former Fort Ord as a militaristic law enforcement officer training grounds, and those would rather see peaceful academic purposes represented on that land, would be a non lethal weapons training facility?

I urge the city councils of Monterey and of Seaside to make non lethal weapons a referendum for priority in our community.  Soon, before another mentally impaired citizen is shot full of holes from explosively fired lead projectiles, while threateningly weilding a household  object.

In the mean time I am an in search of an attorney willing to handle the application for a non-profit trust.  To establish accountable fundraising for non lethal weapons, and training, for law officers of our community. The fund will be well publicized and easily accessed for deposits by any one in the community.  Please contact me for corraboration on this noble effort toward harm reduction for all of us:   at jmason@redshift.com, or at Radio Free Monterey: 373-4757.
 
James G. Mason
Monterey, CA.

Back to the RFM Story