Is L.A. Going To Be The Testing Grounds For New Gadgets?

As the 21st century moves on so does technology within
L.A.'s law enforcement as it tries to find non-lethal ways
of dealing with combatant individuals. The L.A. Sheriff's
department known for shooting first and asking questions
later is trying to turn it's track record around with space-
age weapons. Read the article below and feel free to ring in.



Charles "Sid" Heal stands excitedly in the parking lot of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's station in San Dimas, tinkering with a prototype for the ominously named "Active Denial System."
With one zap from what looks like a satellite dish on a tripod, those within target range feel a burning sensation on their skin.

Heal, a Sheriff's Department commander, tested the device on himself.

"It is like stepping into a scalding shower. You are going to step back quickly," Heal said. "It just stops them in their tracks."

Heal likes the system because he sees it as one day making rubber bullets or tear gas obsolete -- giving police a less violent way to control crowds and combative suspects. Heal said he believes the Sheriff's Department will be deploying some form of the weapon within a few years.

Heal, a barrel-chested veteran with a street-fighter's nose and bulging biceps, knows a lot about deadly force.

He was a beat cop in southeast L.A. County, headed the sheriff's SWAT unit and had tours in Vietnam, Somalia, Kuwait and Iraq as a Marine and Marine reservist.

But for the last decade, Heal has dedicated himself to helping cops avoid deadly confrontations. As head of the sheriff's Technology Exploration Unit, he has tested hundreds of high-tech law enforcement gizmos -- some backed by huge corporations, others the brainchild of garage inventors.

The 32-year veteran of the department is not a scientist, and he doesn't develop products. But a bad review from him can doom or delay an invention, while endorsements can have buyers lining up at the maker's door. Some, such as Tasers and pepper-spraying flashlights, are now a part of deputies' everyday lives.

His pursuit of improving policing through advanced technology has made him a national figure in law enforcement circles. Guys without last names from the CIA seek his advice. If James Bond were an American, colleagues joke, Heal would be Bond's gadget guy, Q.

"He is a silent warrior. He brings a skill set few possess," said Los Angeles Police Department Deputy Chief Mike Hillman, a friend of 30 years. "He has been able to integrate technology designed for the military into law enforcement to save lives and wrote the bible on SWAT."




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