Maker of LAPD Beanbags Defends Use

Proper use of beanbag rounds should not cause the death of suspects, such as the Van Nuys man who died after he was fired on four times by Los Angeles Police Department officers, an expert said Friday.

Michael Keith, president of MK Ballistic Systems in Hollister, Calif., which makes the beanbags for the LAPD, said the weapons should not penetrate skin when used properly.

Keith said police officers should be trained to avoid shooting beanbags at a suspect’s heart, head or neck. They pack the wallop of a boxer’s punch.

The Los Angeles County coroner’s office has concluded that Daniel Antonio Hernandez, 29, died when his chest and lung were pierced by a beanbag round fired by police who were attempting to subdue him in Van Nuys last weekend.

No one has claimed the body, and authorities have failed to find next of kin, according to Scott Carrier, spokesman for the coroner’s office.

“It penetrated through his chest and lacerated a lung,” said Carrier. It is the first such death the office has investigated, Carrier said.

Beanbags may be shot from a minimum distance of 30 feet for the best effect and accuracy, said LAPD Cmdr. David Kalish. They can be shot from at most 45 feet for effect, he said.

Kalish said he did not know from what distance Hernandez was shot.

Police will investigate the incident as if the death had been caused by an officer firing normal rounds from a firearm. The officers and their sergeant remain on duty, police said, and the case is being investigated by Robbery-Homicide detectives.

Hernandez was acting strangely and aggressively when the six officers and the sergeant from the Van Nuys Division arrived in response to calls from neighbors in the 13900 block of Valerio Street and confronted him last Saturday, police said.

Authorities said Hernandez threw rocks at officers and brandished two metal poles, at one point charging the officers. He was shot twice with beanbag rounds, which had no effect, and he fled, police said.

When he was confronted a second time, he charged police and was shot twice more with beanbag rounds, which struck him in the face and upper body, police said. He continued to fight as officers tried to handcuff him, authorities said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The LAPD began using beanbags in 1994 and new recruits and officers receive eight hours of training to learn how to shoot them, Kalish said. The LAPD has used beanbags 21 times in 1999 and about half of all officers are trained to use them, he said.

“These less lethal weapons are an important option in the use of force. They’re generally very effective,” Kalish said.

Ironically, beanbag rounds are one of a growing number of weapons officers turn to in order to avoid the use of deadly force when subduing suspects. Other options are pepper spray, police dogs and darts that carry an electric jolt.

Both supervisors and officers may decide when to use the beanbag shotguns, which are painted with green to differentiate them from shotguns with regular, lethal rounds. According to Kalish, if an officer is unable to get close to a suspect who is armed but does not require lethal force to subdue, the beanbag may be a better option than a Taser gun or pepper spray, which require an officer to get closer to a suspect.

“The way we teach you to use that force is that it is reasonable and necessary to overcome the resistance” of a suspect to be taken into custody, Kalish said. Had one beanbag stopped Hernandez, one round would have been sufficient, he said. If not, “then it would be appropriate to consider other options like another beanbag.”

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Avoiding Deadly Force

Shotgun-fired beanbags allow police to temporarily incapacitate suspects instead of killing them. Most suspects fall in pain, thinking they have

been hit by a regular shotgun round.

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BEANBAG PROTOCOL

Procedures vary among agencies, but the following practices are common:

Although bags can be fired from any 12-gauge shotgun, most departments designate weapons for beanbag use by painting portions of the guns a different color. This reduces chances of firing a regular round left in the shotgun by accident.

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Although bags can be fired from any 12-gauge shotgun, most departments designate weapons for beanbag use by painting portions of the guns a different color. This reduces chances of firing a regular round left in the shotgun by accident.

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Source: Anaheim Police Dept, Los Angeles Police Department

Graphics reporting by JANICE JONES DODDS/Los Angeles Times

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