Wrap Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:WRAP) ("Wrap" or the "Company"), the makers of BolaWrap and the innovative public safety solutions platform, today announced a 20 unit expansion order for BolaWrap® 150 remote restraint devices by the Detroit Police Department following a successful initial partial deployment in 2023. The aim of this purchase was to support the Detroit PD's Crisis Intervention Team (CIT), which is tasked with responding to calls relating to individuals in mental health crises.

 

"Our initial deployment of BolaWrap® with our Crisis Intervention Team has gone incredibly well, and we're doubling down," said Detroit Police Department Chief James E. White. "In the old days, you had good guys and bad guys. But today, we have a range of emerging issues we are dealing with relating to mental illness and addiction, in which individuals must be apprehended, but they don't necessarily pose a deadly threat. Now more than ever, many of the individuals we encounter are suffering from mental health issues — and we need to ensure these people get helped rather than hurt. For this reason, we decided to make a full deployment with the purchase of the additional units. Now our entire Crisis Intervention Team, is outfitted with BolaWrap®, a purpose-built solution that enables us to detain individuals without hurting them."

In 2023, when they made their initial purchase, Detroit, the most populous city in Michigan, joined more than 1,000 agencies across the US and 60 countries around the world who have adopted Wrap Technologies' solution and its "no-harm" guiding principle. Wrap Technologies' BolaWrap® is a proprietary technology that allows officers to safely restrain individuals without causing significant harm or escalating the situation. By deploying a lightweight Kevlar® tether, BolaWrap® can rapidly and temporarily immobilize an individual's legs or arms, effectively allowing officers to move in while minimizing the potential for injury to both officers and the individual involved.

The Detroit Police Department joins a host of other forces who are seeking out new tools and training to better manage the rising instances of calls relating to mental health issues — and an evolution of policing tactics. The establishment of a CIT, like the one Detroit has pioneered, cannot come soon enough. In the U.S., 50% of all fatal police encounters involve somebody suffering from a mental illness, and those suffering from a mental illness are 16 times more likely to be killed in a fatal encounter with police.

By placing a second order for BolaWrap® 150 remote restraint devices, the Detroit Police Department has reaffirmed their commitment to a new style of policing that aims to use the minimal amount of force necessary to subdue individuals without placing officers' lives in danger. Now every officer in the Detroit Police Department's CIT unit will be expected to carry BolaWrap® on their belts.

This deployment comes at a time in which police interactions with non-violent but non-compliant individuals are reaching unprecedented levels in Detroit. The Detroit Police Department serviced nearly 1,000 more calls for mental health issues in 2023 than it had the year prior — with officers helping to prevent over 1,000 suicides.

"This expanded deployment represents a significant milestone in the adoption of a ‘no-harm' inspired public safety technique in one of the nation's largest and most dangerous, urban areas," said Scot Cohen, CEO of Wrap Technologies. "The Detroit Police are at the national forefront of higher purpose policing by equipping their officers with the first new police tool to be added to any belt in the last 30 years, and we are honored to be working alongside them."

For more information about Wrap's BolaWrap® Solution, please visit wrap.com.