14 DAY TRIAL // You're probably familiar - hopefully only from movies and TV-series - with US police arresting and questioning techniques. The telephone book in the interrogation room is a classic, so is the good cop vs. bad cop routine, and what about the one-foot long metal flashlights the cops carry around all day?
In fact, did you know that more than 50 incidents involving Los Angeles police using flashlights as weapons have been reported since 2002?
Well, this one is about to go extinct, as Los Angeles police today unveiled their latest tool in the fight against crime - a flashlight powerful enough to stun suspects but too lightweight to beat them with.
Good news for bad guys, isn't it?
The new flashlight, developed specifically for the Los Angeles Police Department and expected to be acquired by police forces around the world, replaces the heavy 33cm metal flashlights controversially used by city officers to strike a car theft suspect three years ago.
In June 2004, when attempting to ditch the cops, motorist Stanley Miller was struck 11 times by an officer using his metal flashlight in an incident caught by a TV news crew and broadcasted around the nation.
The new 7060 LED flashlight is 22cm long, weighs 295 grams, is more than 50 percent lighter than the old model, has a rugged polymer casing and produces a blindingly bright light.
"If you shine this into someone's eyes, you will momentarily disorient them. But unlike the previous flashlight it cannot be used to inflict unintended damage or used to strike someone around the head," LAPD chief William Bratton told a news conference.
The American Civil Liberties Union welcomed the new flashlights, which were purchased by the city for $US1 million and will be distributed to all LAPD officers starting in June.
"The LAPD's swift response shows what can happen when police seek innovative solutions to reduce misconduct. The old flashlight sent the wrong message to the community, and the new, smaller version can be a powerful symbol of the department's commitment to reform," said Ramona Ripston, executive director of the ACLU in Southern California.
Probably, some officers wonder if the new gadget won't send the wrong message to the bad guys community, also, something like: "So, they've got plastic flashlights, and I'll be carrying a steel crowbar..."