LIVONIA, Mich. – A high-tech device helped Livonia police safely end a chase involving an intoxicated driver last week.
The device, known as the grappler, successfully stopped a vehicle near Five Mile and Farmington after the driver refused to pull over for officers near 8 Mile and Middlebelt, prompting a chase.
“When the grappler was deployed in this incident, that vehicle stayed in that particular lane,” said Capt. Eric Marcotte of the Livonia Police Department. “It didn’t swerve; it didn’t go outside the lanes. It didn’t go into oncoming traffic. It’s a successful, controlled stop.”
How the grappler works
The device, mounted inside the front ram bar of police patrol cars, deploys a strong netting that wraps around a fleeing vehicle’s back tire.
A tether, connecting the patrol car to the suspect’s vehicle, allows officers to maintain control and gradually bring the pursuit to a safe conclusion.
“The traditional methods of pursuit, termination techniques are the pit maneuver, where you’re spinning the vehicle out. You know, it’s kind of not sure where the vehicle is going,” Marcotte said. He added that previous methods often put officers at risk, noting that they sometimes had to deploy stop sticks in front of cars traveling at 80 miles per hour.
Flint man facing charges
The recent incident began with multiple 911 calls reporting a swerving vehicle.
When officers located the car, the driver attempted to flee, leading to a pursuit through city streets.
The chase ended when officers successfully deployed the grappler system, which effectively immobilized the vehicle.
“By the time the officers are up with the car, they have no idea what just happened,” Marcotte said, describing the suspects’ typical reaction to the technology.
The 52-year-old driver from Flint faces multiple charges, including:
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Operating while intoxicated (second offense)
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Having an open container
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Fleeing and eluding police
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Obstruction
Grappler is a Phoenix-based company, and it is estimated that at least 1,000 police agencies nationwide are using the technology, with the list growing.
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