HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. – The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office successfully deployed a new piece of “lasso” technology to halt a fleeing driver on the busy streets of Tampa late last year. On December 17, 2025, a routine traffic stop took a dangerous turn when the driver of the vehicle suddenly accelerated away from deputies at high speeds.
While the suspect attempted to weave through traffic, the agency’s aviation unit tracked the car from above. The pursuit moved onto Bearss Avenue and eventually turned south onto Nebraska Avenue. As the vehicle headed into more congested traffic, deputies on the ground decided to intervene before the situation could escalate further.
Using a Grappler device—a heavy-duty nylon tether system mounted to the front of a patrol car—deputies snagged the suspect’s rear tire. The device allowed the patrol vehicle to tether itself to the fleeing car and force it into a controlled, gradual stop…