Officers with the Frisco Police Department have completed training for a new pursuit tool – “the Grappler.”
Frisco officers completed training the week of Christmas for a new device, which drops from the squad car’s front bumper and ropes the suspect vehicle’s rear wheel, according to a press release from the department. The technology is designed to “safely bring dangerous vehicle pursuits to an end.”
“The Grappler gives officers a safer option to stop fleeing vehicles, especially when dealing with impaired or reckless drivers,” Frisco police officials posted on Facebook. “By reducing the risks associated with high‑speed pursuits, we’re strengthening our commitment to protecting everyone on Frisco’s roads – our residents, our visitors, and our officers.”
Department officials thanked the Texas Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority, under the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. They said the agency supports law enforcement across the state with tools and training.
“Our mission remains simple: a safer Frisco for all,” officials wrote.
The department posted a video of the new technology on Facebook, showing a squad car pulling up behind another vehicle. The grappler folded down from the front bumper, caught the suspect’s rear wheel, and loosed a strap to drag the vehicle to a stop.
Troopers with the Texas Department of Public Safety used the device on December 20 to stop a fleeing suspect in South Texas, agency officials posted on Facebook.
The inventor of “the Grappler,” Leonard Stock, first conceived the device after watching violent police chases on TV, according to the company’s website. Within a week, he developed a prototype. Since then, he launched the idea into a successful business in Phoenix, Arizona.
Soon after its invention, the Border Patrol was one of the first agencies in America to adopt the device, according to KSAZ.
