By Police1 Staff
A vehicle-stopping device that self deploys is being tested that can deflate the tires of a vehicle, with manufacturers saying it allows officers to better distance themselves from speeding, swerving vehicles.
The Safe, Quick, Undercarriage Immobilization Device (SQUID), developed by the Pacific Scientific Energetic Materials Company, is a long flexible strip filled with hollow spikes that self-deploys across multiple lanes, and can be retracted in less than a second to prevent other vehicles from being affected by it.
The suitcase that contains the SQUID, known as the NightHawk, makes the device easy to transport and easy to disregard.
The SQUID can be deployed by remote from up to 180 feet away.
A second device, which must also be used with the SQUID, is the Pit-Ballistic Undercarriage Lanyard, or Pit-BUL, a device designed to look like a speed bump that penetrates a vehicle’s tires with spikes that are attached to netting. The nets wrap around the now-deflated tires and into the axles, forcing the car to seize up
The Pit-BUL can also be activated automatically, or manually.