ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - A New Mexico sheriff, whose office is plagued by racial profiling lawsuits, said deputies will be outfitted with new superhero-style restraining devices but not body cameras.
The Albuquerque Journal reports the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office is giving 20 deputies a BolaWrap - a handheld device that shoots a Kevlar wire, which wraps around a fleeing suspect several times and restricts movement. Supporters of the device say it’s a tool that looks like something Batman would use to take down villains.
The company that makes the BolaWrap shooter, Wrap Technologies, markets it as a way to improve officer safety. Each device costs about $1,000, according to the company’s website.
“Every day the women and men of BCSO boldly place their lives on the line to keep our children, families and businesses safe, it is absolutely imperative we equip them with the most effective public safety technology,” Sheriff Manuel Gonzales said in a written statement.
The move comes as Gonzales says he can’t afford to purchase body cameras for his deputies as now required by state law. Gonzales drew ridicule last week after he announced he was looking to allow deputies to put smartphones in their vests and record video instead of purchasing body cameras.
Gonzales has faced criticism before for refusing to force deputies to wear body cams amid a string of deputy shootings.
Two Black women from Wisconsin are suing Bernalillo County Sheriff Manuel Gonzales and two deputies, alleging racial and religious profiling stemming from a traffic stop in July 2017.
The lawsuit comes about five months after Bernalillo County reached a $100,000 settlement with another Black woman who filed a lawsuit against BCSO after she was pulled over three times in 28 days by deputies Patrick Rael and Leonard Armijo, the same deputies named in the new lawsuit, in spring 2017.
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