A company in northern Indiana is ramping up production because of increased interest in non-lethal weapons.
Police departments are exploring the devices in response to recent incidents where police fatally shot unarmed civilians, such as the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.
The ML-12, manufactured by Bruzer Less Lethal International in Elkhart, is a pistol-sized launcher meant to take suspects down without the risk of taking a life.
Aside from its large barrel it looks like a gun – what makes it different is what it shoots. Standard ammo is a bean bag filled with tiny lead beads, similar to what police departments have used for years in 12-gauge shotguns.
"It would be very much like getting punched exceptionally hard, or having a very fast baseball thrown at you," says Tommy Teach, founder and CEO of Bruzer Less Lethal.
The ML-12's primary advantage over shotguns is its size. It is as small as a pistol, so officers can equip it on their utility belts without sacrificing too much space or mobility.
Teach says around six police departments in Indiana are using the launcher, as well as some corrections units and SWAT teams.
He says Bruzer Less Lethal originally made the launcher to be another tool for law enforcement agencies – to fill what he sees as a gap between tasers and guns.
"We have had great reception from police departments," Teach says. "They like it because it's a compact tool that they can use that works within a reasonable distance."
Teach says the ML-12 is accurate up to 30 feet. Modern taser guns claim a range of 15 to 35 feet, but Teach says the ML-12 being an impact launcher gives it better accuracy and speed than a taser.
Officers can also load the launcher with gas rounds, barricade rounds, distraction rounds and more, depending on the situation.
Teach is meeting with police departments in L.A. and Las Vegas in the coming weeks to give demonstrations of the ML-12.
He says the company is also working with the military, hoping to put the launcher in the hands of soldiers, airmen, and sailors around the world.
The increased demand for non-lethal options is also posing some competition for Bruzer Less Lethal, though.
The Los Angeles Times reported last week on another less-lethal product, a contraption that snaps onto the top of a standard gun, surrounding the bullet in a large metal sphere that protects the target from penetration.
The Ferguson Police Department is considering that product from the California-based company Alternative Ballistics.
Teach said in an email that the system is dangerous.
"You never ever mix systems, defined systems only. To put [a metal sphere] on a duty weapon and fire it is insane. Most law enforcement are trained to double tap when firing...what is the follow up shot? A deadly round," Teach says.
On its website Alternative Ballistics notes that their product should only be used "when lethal force is already justified."
