Chelan Co. Sheriff’s Office Seeking More Non-Lethal Weapons

The Chelan County Sheriff's Office is looking to arm its deputies with several new means of non-lethal mitigation.

Currently, every deputy at the Sheriff's Office is equipped with a TASER gun - which emits a brief, high-voltage electrical pulse to subdue suspects, but Sheriff Mike Morrison says this resource for non-lethal intervention is aging out and there are others which could prove more effective and efficient for deputies in the field.

Get our free mobile app

"We're looking at bola wraps. It's a device that shoots out Kevlar webbing - kind of like Spider Man uses. So if we have a subject who is combative and trying to fight us, it gives us an opportunity to wrap them up, put them in cuffs and lower the possibility of having to go hands on and injure them or injure ourselves. We're also looking at upgrading our less-lethal shotguns which currently shoot out little bean bag rounds to a 40-milimeter launcher that shoots out a little rubber projectile."

The push to get new non-lethal mitigation equipment for Chelan County is being driven primarily by new Washington State laws requiring law enforcement agencies to have the devices.

Morrison says the new equipment will cost around $500,000, which is money the County doesn't simply have on hand to fund such a purchase.

"We understand that funds are tight across the board and it's expensive to live here in Chelan County. But we also know the state has put some big expectations on us and is expecting us to have certain equipment. But it's another mandate without the funding to support another mandate."

Morrison says 8th District U.S. Rep. Kim Schrier (D-Sammamish) has been instrumental in the facilitation of potential grant funding for the new equipment.

He adds that the County has already applied for the grants needed to outfit all of his deputies with the updated devices.

He's hopeful the funding request will be approved by year's end and to have the equipment in the field by early 2025.