EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office is testing out a new tool they say could help deputies de-escalate dangerous situations out in the field, without the use of deadly force.
It’s called the pepper ball system and while it’s not new to the agency, it’s currently only used inside the El Paso County Jail, where officials say it’s been deployed three times this year without causing injury to inmates or staff.
Now, the Sheriff’s Office is looking to expand its use out in the field.
The system launches projectiles filled with a powder irritant similar to pepper spray, giving deputies a way to gain control of a suspect from a distance, officials said.
“Right now, the deputies only have the Taser as a less-lethal option,” Sheriff Oscar Ugarte said. “I want to make sure that my deputies have the right resources in any situation they encounter.”
If approved, the tool would be added to the department’s use of force policy and come with new training and reporting requirements. Ugarte says deputies would undergo 6 to 8 hours of training before carrying the system in the field.
“You can be a long distance and you can still gain compliance from that individual and not even direct force,” he said. “The pepper ball is dispersed close to the individual that’s going through a crisis or being non-compliant.”
Ugarte says the Sheriff’s Office is still in the testing phase for patrol deputies and plans to present the option to County Commissioners Court as part of ongoing budget discussions.
If funding and training are approved, the tool could be rolled out to patrol units in the coming months.
“This will be an additional tool that the deputies have to utilize. More members of our community are going to be safe, you know, less exposure to deadly force,” Ugarte said.
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