San Francisco police attempted a move straight out of a superhero movie this month when they tried to use a lasso-like tool to restrain a man. But their efforts resulted in a triple blooper as the less-lethal gadget flopped three times, and officers resorted to using guns.
Footage released Monday shows San Francisco Police Department officers firing a BolaWrap on an armed man running from a store near Market and Fifth streets on Sept. 13. Officers follow the man into the Powell Street BART station, where they activate the device a second and third time, to no avail.
The footage then shows three officers shooting the man when he raises his revolver in the air.
The man, later identified as 30-year-old Justin Matthew Alderman, was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to police. He was booked into county jail Sept. 16 on suspicion of receiving a stolen vehicle, obstruction of a peace officer, and possession of a firearm by a felon, among other charges, according to online records.
“Given the dynamic, volatile, high-risk situation, the officers did everything in their power to resolve the situation,” SFPD spokesperson Evan Sernoffsky said, disputing that the device had failed. He said BolaWraps are not a replacement for firearms and are “not like a magic wand.”
The BolaWrap is a handheld device that shoots out a thin rope that wraps itself around a target. Manufacturer Wrap Technologies advertises it as a deescalation tool for law enforcement to safely restrain people from a distance. The SFPD bought 55 BolaWraps and began using them over the summer as part of a pilot program, Mission Local previously reported.
Police departments across the country have been experimenting with the BolaWrap, which costs more than $1,200, excluding extra cartridges.
It is unclear how effective the device is. Former Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore said last year that there wasn’t enough information to make a conclusive decision about its effectiveness after multiple trials since 2019. Officers in El Cerrito have two of the devices but have attempted to use them only once, and it failed because the officer was too close to the target. Seattle police started using the devices in 2021 but stopped last year.
During the September incident, SFPD officers attempted to make contact with Alderman after spotting him sleeping in a parked BMW with a revolver in the passenger seat. When the officers approached the car, Alderman made a run for it with the gun, dipping into a nearby store and then out again, in a chase that led into the Powell Street BART station, according to the SFPD.
The first time the BolaWrap was activated, the officer wasn’t close enough for the cord to wrap around Alderman.
When an officer activated the BolaWrap a second time in the station, it wrapped around Alderman’s legs, but he continued walking. Sernoffsky said the BolaWrap helped in “slowing the suspect down,” adding that Alderman “struggled to remove” it from his legs. The officers activated the BolaWrap a third time just before using their guns.
“The officers in this case were using every tool possible to resolve the situation without using deadly force,” Sernoffsky said. “The BolaWrap is not designed to replace deadly force.”