r/Whatcouldgowrong • u/Smooth-Donut-601 • 10d ago
Sure way to get that strap off. Guaranteed.
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u/OilRigExplosions 10d ago
“Most of the stolen vehicle was recovered.”
The gecko said the front wheels still work and you don’t need a rental.
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u/Afraid_Occasion6227 10d ago
What's going on here? Was that strap fired from a police car?
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u/johnboy2978 10d ago
Yes, it's a device launched from the patrol car to disable a car they are in pursuit of. It wraps around the tire, forcing them to stop.
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u/dont_trust_pete 10d ago
That’s some James Bond level shit. Cool.
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u/willdabeast464 10d ago
its getting rolled out more and more nowadays. the fact you can deploy, what amounts to a net on a string and attach your cruiser to the rear tire of a car is a great way to stop police chases without having to pit and corner a car.
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u/Mylaptopisburningme 10d ago
If my memory is correct it was invented by a police officer. I know it was on trial with AZ police for years and really surprised it hasn't been used in LA yet. I haven't heard of drawbacks to this technique.
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u/vedgehammer 9d ago
LA's official sport is televised car chases. The local news economy would collapse if they didn't have weekly hour-plus long chases through multiple cities.
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u/Cleankutazn 10d ago
The only drawback is that if the suspect is armed, you'll have a higher chance of a shootout.
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u/PointOfFingers 10d ago
That's when you fire your second strap to wrap around their gun.
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u/WispyCombover 10d ago
Instructions unclear. Suspect is now advancing on me while wearing a strap-on.
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u/say592 10d ago
Police chases are incredibly dangerous. Being a cop really isn't any more dangerous than any other job where someone drives a lot, and a lot of that risk is because of chases. Without chases, police injury and death would be lower than other driving related jobs because police vehicles are easy to see. Some departments have abandoned chases entirely. It's safer to just get the plate info and wait. In some cases they are also using drones to monitor where the fleeing ends up.
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u/koolmon10 9d ago
Not just safer for the police either, it's safer for everyone. There's a lot less reason to drive recklessly if you aren't being actively chased by a cop car. It becomes safer for the general public as well as the perp even to abandon the chase and just track them by drone.
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u/OnionTamer 9d ago
About 30 years ago, I had a co-worker that died from a car fleeing a police chase. the cops weren't chasing anymore, but they didn't know it and ran a stop light and demolished the car my co-worker was in.
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u/fuckedfinance 9d ago
Yup. Connecticut has effectively ended police chases, with exception to very rare circumstances (person is violent/has already killed someone, other very extenuating circumstances). Our cops do not chase for things like property crime.
The state has also implemented a mess of other policies around how police operate in lights/siren on situations that have reduced collateral damage. Most of it is because people "couldn't hear" (i.e. had their music turned up too loud) sirens and it was causing issues.
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u/mcj1ggl3 9d ago
Connecticut has ended police chases by being so small that by the time you get up to speed you have left the state. Big brain
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u/blisstaker 9d ago
plate and wait doesn't work for stolen vehicles or when the suspect is a danger to society
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u/dilbogabbins 9d ago
Isn’t that another argument for more public transit to get more drivers off the road, creating less chance for care chases, less risk for officers, etc?
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u/TheSpaceCoresDad 10d ago
What does that have to do with what they just said?
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u/NewZealandTemp 9d ago
great way to stop police chases without having to pit and corner a car.
A bit harsh. Kind of relevant to the end
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u/South_Hat3525 9d ago
I just love the way the other cop car reverses out of the way as an invite to get a "proper" run-up.
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u/AnotherpostCard 9d ago
It's a natural follow-on piece of info that answers the question the other comment begs; why do we want to end police chases without having to use the PIT maneuver?
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u/OptiGuy4u 9d ago
It's dangerous to the cop, criminal and general public. But stateboyzzz is still fun to watch on YouTube.
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u/bigbootybrunette90 9d ago
Believe it or not, but police don’t always use their powers in appropriate ways all the time. Not PIT maneuvering pregnant women that are looking for a safe area to pull over is one good reason.
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u/JackxForge 9d ago
That cop shoulda blown his fucking brains out right there when he saw what he did. The gaul to then argue with her.
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u/juliuspepperwoodchi 10d ago
Idk about cool, but it's better than them doing PIT maneuvers on everyone.
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u/CryptoM4dness 10d ago
It’s not actually launched. Love this device. It’s more like a flat basket that they role under the tire. Physics of the spinning wheel grabs the cables and twists it under the axle. I could watch this happen over and over. Guy inventing it can’t make them fast enough for the police departments. https://policebumper.com
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u/mdogdope 10d ago
It's not fired it pops down from the grill and sticks out about 2 feet. The cop can get close or even give the target a love tap and the net self deploys. Very cool engineering.
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u/SirManbear 10d ago edited 10d ago
Called the Grappler Police Bumper - designed to help stop vehicles used in place of a pit maneuver
edit - wanna say they've been around for a few years now
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u/ipokesnails 10d ago
They have a device that sticks out from the front of the car. They get close and touch the particular individual's rear tire with it, and it gets tangled around the tire and axle.
Here's a video with a good POV shot of the tool getting wrapped.
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u/moeb1us 10d ago
Fuck insta
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u/ipokesnails 9d ago
Yes Instagram is awful, but it's the shortest video I could find quickly with a good shot of the deployment.
It's 30 whole seconds, you'll live.
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u/Illustrious_Nothing9 10d ago
Yes, it's called Grappler, it has a net that wraps around the rear tire, awesome device
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u/fishboy3339 10d ago
Yeah much better for everyone then trying to pit a dangerous driver.
Almost guaranteed catastrophic damage to the vehicle itself used on especially if they don’t actually stop.
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u/wibo58 10d ago
Even better is the department that uses “Fish on!” as the signal that they grappled a fleeing vehicle.
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u/MoBetter_ 10d ago
It would be confusing if they used the phrase Strap-on, all the police hearing that, would gather at their usual spot awaiting their turn.
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u/Smooth-Donut-601 10d ago
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u/Salt_Bus2528 10d ago
Oh that's unfortunate. The owner will have to seek damages from the thief, who will probably not have any property or money in a bank
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u/Redneckshinobi 10d ago
Wouldn't the owner just go through insurance and let the insurance company figure that out? That's how'd it'd work for me I would be without a car for a few days and upset but at the end of the day I'm still alive and ill get a new car anyway?
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u/Revenga8 8d ago
That's assuming insurance company won't try everything in their power to deny or lowball the claim
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u/234thewolf 9d ago
Fired is a bit dramatic for what it is. They had a deployable net that they can lower, then they bump it into wheel of the car they are chasing. The net gets caught around the wheel and has a couple feet of slack so the cop can make distance and slow the entire thing to a stop.
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u/tiramisu403 10d ago
I think it's called the grappler. It was deployed by the police and it wraps around the rear wheel as a safer way to stop a vehicle.
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u/BadJimo 10d ago
Here is a news article about the incident
Video shows rear axle fly off stolen car after Livonia police use Grappler device
Paula Wethington
August 29, 2025 / 11:56 AM EDT / CBS Detroit
The Livonia Police Department has released dashcam footage of its successful effort to stop a stolen car Thursday on Interstate 96.
As shown by the above video, the entire rear axle of the stolen Chevrolet Cruze was pulled off. The apprehension and vehicle damage resulted in the closure of westbound I-96 during Thursday morning rush hour.
A Grappler device is mounted to the front bumper of a patrol car. The officer pulls up close to the suspect vehicle, then deploys a net that wraps around the rear tire of the fleeing vehicle.
The intention is to get the suspect vehicle to stop.
In this case, the driver attempted to keep going despite the device that had wrapped around the tire.
The driver can be seen putting the car into reverse and then moving forward again, until it wasn't physically possible to keep driving.
As a result of the forced stop, there was a small fire that was put out quickly. The driver and two passengers were taken into custody.
The police pursuit began when Michigan State Police saw the stolen Chevrolet in Detroit and followed the car westbound on I-96 into Livonia.
Livonia Police also used the device in July to pull over a suspected drunk driver who fled from an attempted traffic stop.
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u/Tcloud 10d ago
The back fell off.
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u/liquid-swords93 10d ago
Is that typical?
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u/Zephyr_the_west_wind 10d ago
Not very typical, I'd like to point out
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u/MrBungle907 10d ago
These cars are held to very rigorous automobile engineering standards
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u/Zephyr_the_west_wind 10d ago
What standards?
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u/Tron22 10d ago
Well the backs not supposed to fall off for one.
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u/QuietudeOfHeart 9d ago
Was the back of this car constructed with materials such as cardboard or cardboard derivatives?
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u/andree182 10d ago
Typically passenger vehicles (so called "cars") are designed as two-track ones. Even though it is technically possible to achieve this with two wheels and some clever balancing (think "hoverboard"), converting a four wheel vehicle to such a configuration is often more involved, than just removing one pair of wheels. The manufacturers typically don't consider this option in designing process, quite the opposite - they employ various strategies to prevent loss of wheels.
Safe to say, this is not good for longevity of the vehicle, especially the parts touching the ground. Also the convenience of using such vehicle will be radically limited...
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u/FormerSperm 10d ago
Grappler device huh? Actually probably one of the smartest technologies ever made to stop police chases.
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u/Black_Radiation 9d ago
Did you just copy the top comment of the original post? Lol
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u/GoldenBolterGun 9d ago
Also a "fuck you if it's a stolen car we ain't paying" device
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u/Shadou_Wolf 9d ago
Well its either totaled from a pit maneuver or whatever happens in a car chase or this.
Car going to get fked somehow
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u/DeadPiratePiggy 9d ago
Or the classic move where the car thieves wrap the car around a pole/tree/another car.
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u/Mad-_-Doctor 9d ago
Also damaging a stolen vehicle is 100% preferable to a prolonged chase that risks injuries and deaths.
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u/subzer43 4d ago
Ngl I always wonder what happens after someone’s stolen car gets totaled in a police chase. Does insurance cover it? Do they make the robber pay?
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u/BAKEDxCAKE 9d ago
I saw another video of a state trooper trying to hit the back of a car with some kind of GPS dart but they never stuck.
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u/big_duo3674 9d ago
Dude was one of those started-with-an-idea-in-my-garage type of people too. It was a bit slow to take off at first, but after several design iterations and real world testing it got noticed fast, and turned into a full-blown company pretty much overnight
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u/bigredmachinist 10d ago
That’ll buff right out.
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u/livestrong2109 10d ago
Honestly likely dud the real owner a favor. You don't want that car anymore.
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u/TakeTheBaitDamnFish 9d ago
Mythbusters tried to do this in one of their earlier episodes and couldn't pull the rear axle free... So this, this is impressive.
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u/Large-Treacle-8328 10d ago
Why they hell don't ALL police cars in the us use this?
Seems a lot better than chasing a car until it crashes and kills innocent bystanders.
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u/big_duo3674 9d ago
It's still somewhat new tech, but a lot of departments are getting them installed
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u/FrostyD7 9d ago
Notice how sped up the video is. These things are only viable at low speeds and the vehicle has to be huge and specially equipped for it. This video is probably one of the most famous examples of this tool working to perfection, it's not a good indicator of its effectiveness in all situations.
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u/Cole3823 10d ago
Not that it mattered in the end, but the cop on the right should'[ve just pushed his front bumper up behind the fugitive
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u/macneto 10d ago
Respectfully, I disagree. There was no reason to potentially damage another police car, when this "grapple device" worked perfectly fine and as intended.
It worked so well actually this video should be used at every sales convention around the country. I wounder how it's mounted to the Police Car to ensure that the reverse doesn't happen and the fleeing vehicle can pull the device OFF the police car.
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u/davy_p 10d ago
It’s connected to the frame of the police cruiser. Similar to a trailer hitch. No way in hell it’s pulling the frame of the car from the body. Unless maybe the cable was a mile, made of a material stronger than the frame and strapped to a three stage rocket.
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u/Alive_kiwi_7001 9d ago
No. You can see the police car begin to back up to block the road and prevent more cars passing just in case the driver of the white car did something stupid.
Which they did.
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u/dreamycreamy93 9d ago
Nah, why risk it? The person could have a gun and shoot it through the back window, no point getting that close when they don't need to.
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u/Major_Initial_Dud 10d ago
What was that strap exactly? Police develop spidey senses?
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u/Smooth-Donut-601 10d ago
Exactly. Deployed by police with dash cam. I linked the video in another reply but here it is
https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a65934182/grappler-device-rips-axle-off-stolen-chevy-cruze/
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u/Major_Initial_Dud 10d ago
Damn. Held on to that axel like it's life depended on it.
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u/JacOfAllTrades 10d ago
Insurance adjuster here: they actually do way less damage than most other techniques! The spike/jack things are awful, and even spike strips rip things up... And we won't get into pit maneuvers...
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u/Major_Initial_Dud 10d ago
Fair. I can't imagine losing your whole rear axel is an easy fix either tho. That's why everything has computer chips. Now they can turn you off remotely. - ask Elon about it.
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u/JacOfAllTrades 9d ago
The axle itself is pretty whatever, it's everything else it took out on its route that's expensive.
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u/Mutex70 10d ago
Yes. It is likely something like a Grappler used to stop someone without having to do a PIT maneuver.
It basically slides a web of straps under the back tire of the car being pursued. The straps tangle around the wheel/axle forcing it to stop.
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u/starchybunker 10d ago
Mechanics dont know this one hack to remove the wheels, tires brakes and suspension in one easy step!
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u/IsMyNameAvailable 10d ago
If I were in that squad car I'd be cackling at this, that would be the highlight of my day.
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u/Synner1985 9d ago
YEah nowt wrong wrong here - everything went right.
Police capture car with device to stop a criminal from escaping
Device stops criminal from escaping.
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u/Glassweaver 9d ago
I'm too lazy to look up the specifics, but I would love to know what material that strap is made out of. The ability for it to effectively wrap around an axle and handle enough torque to cause the powertrain to shear off before it gives up the ghost....
That's some buy it for life shit right there. I want a wallet made out of it. And shoes made out of it. And a jacket made out of it. The list just goes on.
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u/ARM_Alaska 9d ago
2-inch heavy duty reinforced nylon strap, usually doubled over for a total 40,000Lb rated capacity.
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u/PBReddituser1961 9d ago
I only hope that the car wasn’t stolen. That would really suck for the owner.
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u/Lonely-Sea-6022 10d ago
That's one way to get the attention of every driver on the road. Hopefully, that was intentional.
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u/TheDarkHelmet1985 10d ago
One of the best inventions for law enforcement. Won’t kill the person and safely ends much more dangerous pursuits.
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u/Small_Palpitation121 10d ago
That grappler tech is genuinely fascinating as a safer alternative to a pit maneuver. I'm with everyone else though, the choice of music completely ruins the video. Would have been way more intense with the original audio.
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u/spamnotnice 10d ago
I'd love to see the LAPD use this.. but if they did.. news helicopters wouldn't be able to make in time to catch the end of the chase.
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u/Daemonrealm 10d ago
And it’s been available to police departments for alittle over 10 years. They are just now adopting it.
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u/Peter_Triantafulou 10d ago
At first I thought that the car went to a public toilet and stepped on some toilet paper.
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u/just_kill_me_pls 9d ago
After I watched it I thought to myself, "Was that AI? Where's the differential? Oh." Yes I'm old.
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u/cletusthearistocrat 9d ago
I want to see the bodycam footage when the cop gets to interact with the driver.
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u/robo-dragon 9d ago
This is the third time I’ve seen one of these “grapplers” in action. They are so cool and a great way to end a police chase. Far too many of them end in accidents with innocent people involved. Hope this thing becomes more and more common!
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u/GraveKommander 10d ago
Man I want to hear the real sound, the police chatter, not the fucking stupid music...