Wash. sheriff's office gets federal grant to purchase two 'Grappler Police Bumper' systems

The Chronicle, Centralia, Wash.

THURSTON COUNTY, Wash. — The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office will receive $19,809 in federal Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant funding to purchase two “Grappler Police Bumper” pursuit technology systems, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday (Dec. 11).

The system utilizes a net and tether to safely stop a vehicle in a pursuit.

The bumpers are part of a number of requests and upgrades promoted by Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders as the sheriff’s office has been subject to public criticism over its police pursuit policies.

In 2024, the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office was involved in five incidents in which a pursuit resulted in death or injury. Thurston County is currently the subject of a civil lawsuit filed by the father of Washington State Patrol Trooper Justin Schaeffer , in which the county is accused of gross negligence for its role in Schaeffer’s death in 2020, partially due to deputies’ decision to continue a high speed pursuit with the suspect that struck and killed Schaeffer.

The Grappler Police Bumper advertises over 600 grappling maneuvers that allow pursuing officers to quickly deescalate pursuits and bring suspect vehicles to a stop.

The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office is one of 13 law enforcement agencies in Washington state selected to receive a cumulative $2.6 million in funding from the grant program, which is named in honor of New York City Police Officer Edward R. Byrne , who was killed in the line of duty on Feb. 26, 1988 , at 22 years old.

Agencies propose projects to be funded by the grant, and the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance evaluates them and determines funding.

“The proposals being funded this cycle range from high tech items for officer safety such as drones, robots and ballistic vests, to officer recruitment programs and school resource officers,” said U.S. Attorney Tessa Gorman . “There is even a grant for something called ‘The Grappler’ which assists officers with safely stopping a fleeing vehicle in a high-speed chase.”

Last October, Sanders met with Grappler owner Leonard Stock as he accepted the first of 10 grant-funded units.

“The devices fold out a net that is able to ‘grapple’ and immediately disable fleeing vehicles,” Sanders wrote at the time. “Deputies begin their training tonight at Olympia Airport , where they will practice grappling one of our totaled out police vehicles. Also a cool note, the owner of Grappler, Leonard Stock , is out here from Arizona personally installing the devices. TCSO will be one of the first agencies in the state to utilize the technology. Leonard designed the device in his garage after seeing the negative impacts that eluding drivers place on their communities, and is now having a hard time meeting demand nationwide for the technology. Excited to see these devices lead to safer captures. Huge thanks to the Board of County Commissioners and Department of Commerce .”
The Seattle Police Department received two large grants. The biggest, $750,012, is for Seattle and surrounding jurisdictions using the city as the fiscal agent. The grant is for Seattle and its suburbs to use for a variety of programs that reduce crime. The programs can be for law enforcement training and overtime, for victim services and community-based programs.

The second large grant to Seattle supports innovation in the 911 dispatch system. The Seattle Police Department is partnering with the National Policing Institute to implement and evaluate the Intelligent Risk Management system (IRM) for emergency calls. The system is used to evaluate calls to see if alternative dispatch, such as mental health specialists is appropriate. The program will undergo rigorous testing and evaluation. Seattle hopes the program can improve police capacity and enhance public trust. The system will also be evaluated for replication in other jurisdictions across the country.

Washington police departments receiving grants are:

—Tacoma and Pierce County: $339,235 for support of youth violence reduction strategies and a sex offender records management system.

—Snohomish County: $448,000 to support use of Rapid DNA system for use in solving crimes and identifying victims of crime or natural disasters.

—Clark County and Vancouver: $121,258 shared by the two law enforcement agencies to enhance public safety with equipment purchases.

—Bellingham: $40,170 to support adding more bicycle officers, and de-escalation equipment as well as ensuring each officer has a ballistic vest.

—Kitsap County: $39,423 to purchase ballistic vests capable of deflecting high caliber rifle shots.

Lakewood: $39,064 for the purchase of a tactical robot to allow officers to evaluate a situation without putting officers in harm’s way.

—Everett: $34,720 to enhance recruitment efforts for qualified law enforcement officers using various digital strategies with the goal of reducing the officer vacancies from 28 down to less than five.

—Thurston County: $19,809 for purchase of two “Grappler Police Bumper” pursuit technology systems.

—Bremerton: $14,524 for crime prevention strategies in its downtown core.

—Marysville: $11,426 for an Unmanned Aerial System (drone) for flyovers during warrant service or other law enforcement purposes involving threats, missing persons, barricaded subjects or hostage situations.

—Lynnwood: $10,209 equipment purchases for officer safety.

—Longview: $10,098 to continue the school resource officer program in Longview and Cowlitz County.

For copies of the grant awards with relevant contact phone numbers, email the U.S. Attorney’s Office is Communications Director Emily Langlie at Emily.Langlie@usdoj.gov .

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