ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, May 14, 1996 TAG: 9605140051
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: Associated Press
State police in Virginia have joined law enforcement agencies around the country in trying out new gadgets intended to put an early stop to potentially deadly high-speed car chases.
The devices - one is the Stinger, and the other is a Stop Stick - can puncture and gradually flatten a tire so the driver has to stop.
``With pursuits becoming what they are in today's society, I think we've got to look at everything that's out there to give us the advantage to protect the public while we're trying to do our job,'' said Lt. Col. W. Gerald Massengill of the state police.
``And that's what this is all about: trying to come up with a resource that will terminate the pursuit without fear of some of the things that we've gone through, such as accidents and injuries and fatalities.''
The Stinger and the Stop Stick are being tested by state police in the Richmond area, Tidewater, Northern Virginia and Roanoke, Massengill said. About 200 of the devices have been distributed to troopers on a trial basis.
They work something like this: When a police chase begins, the pursuing officer radios for help, and an officer farther up the road throws the device on the highway in front of the suspect's vehicle.
When the motorist drives across it, the vehicle's tires are punctured by hollow, 11/2-inch metal spikes that snap off inside the tire. The device, with a 30-foot pull cord, is then whipped away to avoid piercing other motorists' tires.
``The purpose of it is not to blow the tires; it's to give a slow deflation,'' said Brian Chodrow of the state police planning and research unit. ``It allows the driver to have control during this deflation period.''
The device has been used only once since police began tests last fall. In that case, a driver being pursued from Newport News on Interstate 64 was stopped after the device flattened three of the car's four tires.
``The vehicle was in excess of probably 120 mph, and he hit this thing and didn't go much more than a mile and a half,'' said Sgt. Patrick Sedillo. ``It will even work on a tractor-trailer.''
State police had planned to end the pilot program this spring and decide whether to buy one or both of the devices, which cost $375 to $390 each. But officials want more time for testing.
``I don't like to say this, but we would like to have more than just one pursuit where we actually use this in order to get a full evaluation,'' Chodrow said. ``That's why we've extended the period.''
Sedillo said the devices can't be used in all pursuits. In heavy traffic, for example, they would be impractical because the tires of innocent motorists could be punctured.
The devices also won't be used on a motorcycle because ``more than likely, [the rider's] going to wreck,'' Sedillo said.
``The first and foremost thing that we have trained our troopers to do in deploying it is safety,'' he said. ``If he doesn't feel like it's safe, then by no means will he do it - even if it will stop the car.''
LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. Virginia State Trooper Sgt. Patrick Sedillo examinesby CNBthe Stop Stick, which he is holding, and the Stinger on the ground
at Virginia State Police Training Academy in Richmond.