Corona Police Department officers became the first municipal law enforcement agency in California to deploy the Grappler, a bumper-mounted device that fires a netting system onto a fleeing vehicle’s tire, during a pursuit on Aug. 28. Officers joined the chase after it entered Corona city limits and used the device to bring the pursuit to a safe and immediate end, stopping a vehicle driven by a suspect accused of assault with a deadly weapon who was believed to be armed with a gun.
The department uploaded video of the deployment to Facebook, and the footage was reported by KTLA. In a statement, Corona Police Department said it seeks innovative ways to safeguard the community while holding criminals accountable, framing the Grappler as part of that effort. With this deployment, Corona joins a growing list of Riverside County agencies now using the pursuit-stopping device.
The Grappler works differently than older pursuit tactics. Rather than requiring a patrol car to strike a fleeing vehicle’s rear quarter panel to force a spinout, as with the traditional Pursuit Intervention Technique, the device launches a heavy-duty nylon net from a vehicle’s bumper to bind the rear wheel axle and bring a car to a controlled halt, according to the Los Angeles Times. PIT maneuvers can involve increased risks of rollovers and broadside crashes, and departments have said the Grappler carries less risk than PIT maneuvers or spike strips, which can expose officers to danger while setting them in moving traffic.
Riverside County’s Head Start With the Technology
Corona’s rollout follows a broader pattern already underway just up the road. In March, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department became the first law enforcement agency in California to publicly debut and deploy the Grappler, after running a pilot program across its K-9 units in 2025, according to CBS News. Corporal Brian Conroy of the Sheriff’s Department reportedly executed 10 Grappler deployments within his first two months of equipping the device, per that report…