An older ex-cop friend tells me of being issued a pair of experimental electric-shock gloves as a Sheriff's detective in the late '70s or early '80s. He was a fair sized guy with huge hands.
Now, in this version, the shock contacts were on the tip of the thumb and middle finger, activated by pressure on the thumb.
He was called to the scene of a big gang fight, and started going around lightly squeezing the heads of everyone in reach for a fraction of a second apiece. He quickly cleared a swath as everyone he touched dropped. He eventually zapped most of the combatants who didn't split.
After they were all loaded in the paddy wagons, none of the gang bangers could remember exactly what happened, and the Sheriff took those gloves away from him. . .
We all know that Hollywood movies have the best crime fighting technology. It’s just so darn disappointing that it seems to take forever for real-life law enforcement to catch up.
But what happens if Hollywood decided that it wasn’t going to wait around for authorities to produce a futuristic weapon for the good guys? You’d probably get something like the BodyGuard.
Encased in ballistic nylon, the lightweight glove doesn’t just act as a durable arm guard, but also a 500,000-volt stun gun. And if that weren’t versatile enough for you, it also comes equipped with a HD video camera, green laser pointer and flashlight.
There’s even a neat pull pin that activates the stun gun and generates an electrical spark right above the knuckles to signal to the assailant that this cop isn’t messing around.
The BodyGuard was invented by David Brown, a cameraman who’s worked well-known musical talents such as Snoop Dogg and Rage Against the Machine. He also happens to be a friend of Kevin Costner who has thrown money and his star-powered endorsement behind this potentially revolutionary new weapon.
And if you’re still wondering this is some kind of publicity stunt for an upcoming movie, let me assure you it’s not. Here are more details as reported by Popular Science:
The BodyGuard debuted in May at the U.S. Department of Justice’s Mock Prison Riot, an annual training and technology-assessment event held at a decommissioned penitentiary in West Virginia. The first demo unit will be released to the Los Angeles sheriff’s department later this year. Brown says future incarnations could include chemical sensors, an electronic translator to help soldiers communicate overseas, or biometric readers for airport security guards. “BodyGuard will empower officers worldwide,” Brown says, “and it will save lives.”
Now when I really think about it, it’s pretty cumbersome that police officers have to talk around with all these single purpose tools hanging from their belt when many of their functions can be seamlessly integrated into the policeman’s uniform. And if the BodyGuard becomes a real upgrade for law enforcement, we may expect to see more superhero-inspired weaponry coming our way.
Here’s a promotional video for the BodyGuard:
(via Popular Science)
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