Deputies use new grappler tool to stop, arrest two drivers in Clark County
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- The Clark County Sheriff's Office deployed a new tool this past Thursday to stop and arrest two drivers suspected of breaking the law.
According to CCSO, the first arrest involved a man with a history of assaults, road rage incidents, as well as a hit-and-run where deputies said he "sicced his dog on his neighbor."
When he was spotted leaving home with his wife driving, CCSO said deputies deployed the new tool, a Grappler Police Bumper, to stop the vehicle.
According to CCSO, the grappler is a spring-loaded net sent from a cruiser's front bumper that grabs the rear wheel of a vehicle and wraps around the axle.
Once the grappler was deployed, the woman left the vehicle. The suspect then slid into the driver's seat and tried to drive away. But when he found he couldn't escape, deputies said the suspect took off on foot.
After he allegedly tried to assault a police K9 with a weed whacker, deputies caught up to the suspect and took him into custody.
In a second incident just a few hours later, deputies responded to a report of a man threatening people outside of a store in Hazel Dell.
Deputies said the man took off in a truck, "driving recklessly through busy areas, eluding deputies, and nearly hitting pedestrians who were crossing the street."
After deploying the grappler to bring the truck to a safe stop, deputies took the driver into custody.