Police use of beanbags comes under fire

By Andrew Bridges

Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — Beanbags fired by police to stun suspects can cause serious injuries and even death, according to the most comprehensive medical review yet of the effects of the weapon.

Police consider beanbags a nonlethal alternative to bullets. But the 1.4-ounce bags filled with lead pellets can cause significant damage when striking any part of the body, the study found.

The study looked at 40 shootings by officers with the Los Angeles Police Department and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. They included cases in which beanbags penetrated the eye, chest, abdomen or leg of suspects, and others in which spleens were ruptured or internal organs damaged.

One death from internal bleeding was reported. The person had been hit in the chest by a beanbag.

"The main reason the paper was written was to alert our colleagues in the emergency room that this weapon is capable of causing major traumatic insult or injury," said co-author Dr. Kathryn Challoner, a specialist in emergency medicine at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center.

Trauma experts unconnected with the study said it was valuable because it alerted doctors to the potential seriousness of beanbag injuries.

Injuries could be similar to those associated with getting struck by a baseball bat, said Dr. Jeff Young, trauma director at the University of Virginia Health System in Charlottesville, Va.

"These weapons are more than a love tap," he said. "It is a pretty serious use of force," though less damaging than a shotgun blast.

Police used the same argument to support the use of beanbags.

"If it’s someone we can’t approach or he’s violent and wants to fight, it’s much safer for us and safer for the patient to use the nonlethal weapon," said sheriff’s deputy David Cervantes.

The study was based on data collected between January 1996 and February 2000. Published in the October issue of the Annals of Emergency Medicine, it’s the first time researchers have documented the beanbag injuries of more than a single person.

When fired from a conventional shotgun, a beanbag can pack the energy of a baseball line drive or a punch from a professional boxer, said Michael Keith, president of MK Ballistic Systems, a manufacturer of the specialized ammunition. The bags are used in all 50 states and at least 10 countries.

When fired from 30 to 75 feet, beanbags produce bruises, abrasions, minor lacerations and, under some circumstances, broken bones, Keith said. Drop the distance to 20 feet or less and the seriousness of the injury increases.

In some of the cases studied, victims had been fired upon from as close as 8 feet away.

"If a round is fired at an exceedingly close range, you can get penetrations," Keith said.

Copyright ©2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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