Upon hearing that the Fairfax County Police Department had scrapped conventional shotgun shells in favor of “bean bag” projectiles, my initial reaction was to mock the change. Bean bags? What’s the next tool in the police arsenal — pillows? Given the approving tone of the article in The Washington Post, I was tempted to dismiss the idea as the latest excrescence of politically correct dogma.
After further examination, I have reconsidered. Tasers are one non-lethal alternative, but they don’t always work, especially if the target is pumped up on drugs. Does anyone remember Rodney King? The bean bag projectiles aren’t perfect — they can cause injuries or in rare circumstances kill. Still, they inflict a lot less damage than bullets or buckshot. The Fox News clip above shows how Atlanta police used bean bag rounds to disarm a man with a hatchet and axe.
Giving police alternatives to beating recalcitrant suspects into submission is always a good idea. — JAB
