The North Little Rock Police Department has begun its long and expensive road to equip every officer with a nonlethal sponge launcher, but officials say the effort is worth the time and expense.
The City Council voted unanimously last Monday to approve a resolution authorizing the Police Department to apply for a $37,170 grant under the 2020 Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant Program.
Interim Police Chief Tracy Roulston said the funds would be used to purchase projectile launchers, which fire sponge rounds, and first-aid kits.
"It's an alternative to deadly force, and we've got to get these to as many officers as we can who are in the field," Roulston said. "This is something that has been shown to be very effective, and I think it will be a great option to the department in the current climate that we are in."
"We are trying to get to where every officer has that opportunity to take someone down without killing them," Mayor Joe Smith said. "We are working toward having at least one nonlethal weapon in every police car.
"It probably won't happen this year or the next two years, but that is the plan."
Joseph Green, a spokesman for the Police Department, said the nonlethal equipment sought under the grant is specifically a 40-millimeter grenade launcher that will fire sponge grenades.
The funds also would be used to buy sponge rounds.
"It's $24 per round," Roulston told the City Council. "It's not something you spend a lot of time at the practice range. Each officer will have three additional rounds plus the weapon."
The sponge rounds are considered kinetic weapons, defined as anything police fire from guns and launchers that are meant to inflict pain without penetrating the skin.
Kinetic weapons gained attention nationwide this year when authorities used them against protesters during demonstrations after the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died in May while in police custody in Minneapolis. The use of rubber bullets and tear gas left protesters bloodied and bruised.
"The chief didn't tell me the primary reason behind getting the sponge launchers, but they have been used in riot control situations nationally and locally," Green said.
The department currently has shotguns that fire rubber bullets and beanbags, but they are less accurate than ordinary bullets and still can cause damage to the target, according to Green. He said that is why it was important to equip the department with sponge launchers.
"The rubber bullets can also be mistaken for a real round as well," he said.
Sponge launchers fire a bullet-shaped projectile that weighs about an ounce. The projectile has a foam rubber nose that can cause the feeling of being punched when fired from the launcher.
Green said sponge launchers are more accurate than firing beanbags and rubber bullets and are a great alternative to the shotgun launchers the department currently deploys.
"The sponge primarily does blunt-force trauma," he said. "They can be used, for example, when somebody is coming at an officer with a crowbar, a stick or a knife. Right now we can just use beanbag rounds."
Green said the department already has 10 sponge launchers, but the launchers are used only by the special operations team.
"It's mostly for crowd dispersal, riot control or hostage situations," he said. "This grant allows us to order 20 more launchers, and the goal is to eventually replace the nonlethal shotgun."
The 20 new launchers will be for patrol officers, but to equip 195 officers with kinetic sponge weapons will take many years, Green said.
"I was talking to the chief about this, and he said we will probably both be retired by the time the department is fully equipped," he said. "It will probably be four or five years."
Green said he believes the public will see the actions the department is taking and deem them worth the time and cost.
"Obviously we don't want to use any kind of weapons, but if we have to use these, then we have to use them," he said. "These launchers can help us get away from weapons that aren't safe and effective."