Less Lethal Force

My hospital has a contract to provide medical care to the county jail. At any one time, there are more than 10,000 inmates in the county jail facilities supervised by the sheriff's office. We often see patients who are in custody and have sustained trauma, sometimes from less than lethal weapons. In my humble opinion, these devices reduce the risk of injury to the law enforcement officer when attempting to arrest or control a violent individual, and they greatly reduce the risk of serious injury or even death to the violent individuals themselves. However, even these less than lethal force weapons can cause significant damage when used at close range or on individuals with underlying medical conditions that render them vulnerable to the effects of these weapons. Like other conditions we see, the challenge to the emergency physician is to detect the uncommon patient with serious injuries among the large population of walking wounded.

— J. Stephan Stapczynski, MD, FACEP, Editor