Benzinga | Jun 4, 2021 02:03PM EDT

WRAP Provides Update On LAPD BolaWrap Pilot Program Extension

Wrap Technologies, Inc. (the "Company" or "WRAP") (NASDAQ:WRAP), a global leader in innovative public safety technologies and services, announced that the next phase of the Los Angeles Police Department's (LAPD) BolaWrap pilot program ("BolaWrap Pilot Program") will begin in the third quarter of 2021.



"The LAPD will continue to test and evaluate the BolaWrap because we see a need for additional de-escalation tools to help keep our officers and communities safe," said LAPD Deputy Chief Dominic Choi. "We look forward to continuing the pilot program with Wrap Technologies to determine if the Bolawrap device meets our needs."

"Our team is excited to continue working with the LAPD in support of their one-year BolaWrap pilot program extension and to provide training that best fits the city's needs for innovative public safety solutions focused on avoiding escalation," said Tom Smith, CEO of WRAP."We believe that post-COVID BolaWrap deployments during the pilot extension will more closely mirror the effective early intervention deployments we are seeing from other police departments."

On May 4, 2021, the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners ("Commission") approved a one-year extension of the BolaWrap Pilot Program. The Commission's approval came after the Chief of Police of the LAPD released a report dated April 28, 2021 ("Report"), which included results from the LAPD's initial BolaWrap Pilot Program, which expired in February 2021, and yielded data regarding BolaWrap deployment, operations, and results from the use of the device in the field. The LAPD submitted recommendations to the Company to enhance the serviceability of the BolaWrap. Additionally, due to an insufficient sample size during the initial BolaWrap Pilot Program, the Report recommended that the BolaWrap Pilot Program resume for one year at the LAPD's Hollywood and Central divisions prior to the LAPD's final evaluation. The Hollywood and Central divisions were selected due to the high volume of calls where the BolaWrap may be useful.

The BolaWrap is currently being tested and used by more than 500departments in the U.S. and abroad. On May 26, 2021, WRAP announced that the Seattle Police Department approved a BolaWrap pilot program. Internationally, Italy recently became the 44th country to receive BolaWrap technology.

Bodycam videos of the BolaWrap being used by police departments across the U.S. can be viewed here.