Beanbag limitations

The first generation of soft projectile devices was the beanbag shotgun that deploys a small cloth pouch filled with metal pellets. However, attendees at the symposium reported several shortcomings with the device, including:

• A need for officers to be somewhat close to the suspect.

• The frequent need for several shots.

• The possibility that people can use makeshift shields to protect themselves.

• Ineffectiveness on some people, especially those under the influence of drugs such as PCP or those in crisis who are impervious to pain from beanbags.

On numerous occasions, however, beanbags have resulted in serious injuries and death.

On March 6, a Buena Park man, whose name has not been released and who was acting erratically in front of a McDonald's restaurant in Fullerton, was approached by police, who first tried to subdue him using a Taser. When that failed, police fired “nonlethal” beanbags at the man, who was struck by the projectiles and later died at a hospital.

Elsewhere, a 47-year-old woman was killed in 2023 by Australian police after a beanbag projectile penetrated her chest and hit her in the heart. In 2022, a 42-year-old man died after Vancouver police shot him with a beanbag.

Additionally, a 61-yearold woman was partially blinded by a beanbag round during a 2020 George Floyd protest outside La Mesa police headquarters in San Diego County. She received a $10 million settlement from the city last year.

The injuries and death from nonlethal projectiles aren't an anomaly and should be a cautionary tale for police, said the National Police Accountability Project.

“There are so many examples of people suffering severe injuries from lessthan-lethal projectiles during the 2020 George Floyd protests,” the organization said in an email. “Given how harmful we've seen these projectiles can be, departments and individual officers alike should know that they should not be used to subdue a person in mental distress, especially not if they are being fired at close range.”