Officer Creates ‘Option’ for Subduing Suspects

The latest development in the arms race with criminals is a device invented by an Oxnard cop that attaches to the barrel of a gun but fires pepper spray instead of bullets.

Officer Ed Ludaescher invented this thing he calls the Option about four years ago and is now marketing it to law enforcement agencies worldwide.

“There are so many situations where you have people who won’t comply and you have your gun out and you need to take some action. I just thought there ought to be a better way to handle some of these cases,” he said.

The spray is contained in a black cylindrical canister mounted under the barrel of a pistol or shotgun and activated when an officer pushes a lever.

The eye-stinging substance can be fired from more than 12 feet away, an advantage over hand-held spray that is most effective within 6 feet.

Oxnard Police Cmdr. Mike Matlock said the Option is particularly handy for SWAT officers who must always use two hands to hold a shotgun or machine gun and cannot easily reach for a pepper spray can on their belt.

“It was always a very difficult situation because our hands were full with a gun and it was hard to get to the spray,” Matlock said.

Oxnard’s 20 SWAT officers are using the Option on their big guns and testing the device on 12 pistols. Eventually, all patrol officers may be packing pistols equipped with the canisters, Matlock said.

The Los Angeles Police and County Sheriff’s departments are also testing the device, which runs about $100 each. Matlock stressed that the Option is used only in cases where a gun must be drawn and will not replace an officer’s belt can.

To take a look at the device and learn more, go to https://www.option safety.com on the Internet.

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An argument over a fence that led to criminal citations for the chief fund-raiser at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and a local attorney will likely not go to court.

The district attorney’s office declined to file charges against 48-year-old lawyer Mark Zegar. This week, the case is expected to be dropped against Mark Burson, 44, head of the Ronald Reagan Foundation, said a source close to the investigation.

Burson’s case is being handled by the state attorney general’s office because Burson is a friend of Ventura County Dist. Atty. Michael Bradbury.

The incident occurred Sept. 14, in the backyard of Burson’s Westlake Village home. Burson wanted to move a fence closer to his neighbor’s house, because he believed it was on his property, police said.

Seeing Burson removing the fence, the neighbor got angry and called his Westlake Village lawyer, Zegar.

During an argument, Burson alleged Zegar punched him and asked authorities to cite the attorney for misdemeanor battery. Zegar had Burson cited for misdemeanor vandalism for moving the fence.

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After 19 years teaching, listening to and holding the hands of thousands of crime victims and their families, one of the county’s first victims advocates has retired to concentrate on her battle against breast cancer.

Ellie Liston, 62, spent 15 years as a nurse and administrator at Community Memorial Hospital before leaving to become one of three women hired by the district attorney’s office in 1979 for its then-new Victim Services Program.

During the last two decades, Liston told victims how the judicial system works, called them for their cases and sat with them in court when they faced their attackers.

She also mentored dozens of new advocates and helped the office grow to its current staff of 20 full-time employees.

She is known as a gutsy gal who always asked the judge for permission to sit next to any child who was put on a witness stand.

“She wasn’t the least bit shy and she provided so much warmth and encouragement,” said Lela Henke-Dobroth, the county’s chief deputy district attorney. “Her presence was like magic because she was able to help people to relax enough to testify. From a prosecutor’s standpoint, we couldn’t have gotten through our cases without her.”

Liston said that during the years she worked with victims the toughest cases were those involving the families of murder victims.

“It never ends for them, because the person will never come back. With some crime victims you can work toward getting better and helping them get control back, but for the families of murder victims, there is no making it better,” Liston said.

Liston, who officially retired Oct. 1 at the start of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, is receiving follow-up treatment after surgery.

The prognosis is good and she is in great spirits. She spends her free time sewing, gardening and loving six grandchildren.

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E-mail may be sent to holly.wolcott@latimes.com.