mobanmarketMURRIETA, CA—This week, the Murrieta Police Department announced the addition of 40-millimeter projectiles and launchers to its officers’ arsenal.
They reported over social media that “this last quarter, the Murrieta Police Department Firearms Training Unit completed a department-wide training course on the 40mm launcher.”
According to police, the launcher gives them another option to resolve violent or potentially deadly situations with a less lethal foam projectile.
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“The department is committed to reducing the potential for violent confrontations through continued training, de-escalation tactics, and a variety of less lethal options,” they wrote.
When used properly, the 40-millimeter projectiles are less likely to result in death or serious physical injury.
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“They can be used to de-escalate a potentially deadly situation,” according to the department.
According to a recent report in the LA Times, the hard foam projectiles—each about the size of a “mini” can of soda— are launched at speeds over 200 mph.
While considered “less accurate than bullets, the foam or rubber rounds are designed to spread the force of impact over a larger area, without penetrating the skin,” according to the Times report.
Murrieta Police Department is one of 900 smaller law enforcement agencies that have adopted the launchers within the past two years, according to the Times.
Residents leaned favorably on adding the launcher to the police department’s arsenal.
“Whatever it takes to make a criminal make a better decision before things escalate,” one Facebook commenter said. “Stay safe.”
Another suggested this was a “good capability to have. Having 203 experience (of) past military experience, it’s a good tool in the toolbox.
Still, another commenter suggested it seemed like a “high-end Nerf gun.”
According to the department, the use of the 40-millimeter launcher is governed by department policy and procedures, Penal Code 13652, and Assembly Bill 48, which states:”
“Kinetic energy projectiles and chemical agents shall only be deployed by a peace officer that has received training on their proper use by the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training for crowd control if the use is objectively reasonable to defend against a threat to life or serious bodily injury to any individual, including any peace officer, or to bring an objectively dangerous and unlawful situation safely and effectively under control.”
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For more information, read: leginfo.legislature.ca.
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