Most police-civilian interactions are nonconfrontational. In fact, most law enforcement agencies have community relations teams who maintain a visible profile in the community to show that, by and large, police officers joined the force to help people and keep the peace. In many situations, the mere presence of a law enforcement officer is enough to deter crime.
When crime or violence is afoot, the goal of law enforcement is always to stop a threat with the least amount of force necessary. If officer presence isn’t sufficient to calm the situation, in most cases the officer issues calm, nonthreatening commands like “Let me see your license and registration” or elevates to short, imperative commands like “Don’t move.”
“If good verbal skills can deescalate the situation – wonderful,” said Phil Tanzini, director of operations for Peacekeeper Products, the manufacturer of the Peacekeeper Rapid Containment Baton (RCB). “A lot of times that’s not possible. You’ve got to step up the force with the different types of less-lethal options.”
Equipping for every stage in the use-of-force continuum
When verbalization and empty hand control are not viable or have not been effective, it’s time to move to pain compliance. There are multiple pain-compliance tools, each with varying requirements for effective use (like the proper distance) and varying degrees of effectiveness in any given situation. It’s important, therefore, to have different less-lethal options readily available and the officer should be well-trained on the use of each device.
An officer may carry a TASER, a chemical spray, a kinetic energy device, a remote restraint or – in a crowd situation – a distraction or disorienting device or chemical agents like tear gas that can disperse a group of people over a wide area.
Knowing what to use in what circumstance is vitally important as wasting precious seconds on an ineffective device can put the officer or the suspect in danger. It’s critically important that officers are trained in the proper use of each device and, more importantly, have confidence that when they deploy the device, it’s going to work to deliver the expected results and bring the subject into compliance.
But such is not always the case.
“Technology in itself is always an issue. The more technical anything is, the more chance or propensity for failure,” said Tanzini. “In contrast, the Peacekeeper RCB is a very simple product. It consists of 10 parts so there’s very little to go wrong.”
Proven effectiveness backed by data
Law enforcements’ lack of confidence in expandable batons over the past 25 years has led agencies to seek higher testing standards prior to hopping to another impact weapon. Answering that call, the Peacekeeper Baton has proven to outperform other batons in several independent data studies.
- In a 10-month NIJ-funded study at the Weapons and Equipment Research Institute at Florida Gulf Coast University, the Peacekeeper Baton outperformed all straight stick, side handle and all expandable batons tested.
- In a Data Force Impact Study at University of Southern California (USC), the Peacekeeper Baton outperformed all other expandable batons from leading manufacturers.
- In a six-month durability study by the U.S. Army at Special Ops Command, Fort Bragg, the Peacekeeper Baton proved to be an exceptionally durable baton that could withstand harsh environmental conditions, extreme impact use and was even run over by a truck with no effects to the performance of the baton.
These independent studies reinforce the Peacekeeper Baton’s status as the most effective, dependable and durable baton available.
Peacekeeper RCB earns trust from real world uses in the field
One deputy sheriff recalled a confrontation that escalated despite multiple TASER deployments and chemical spray. “I was becoming exhausted and concerned this could soon turn to a deadly force issue,” he wrote to Peacekeeper. When another officer arrived with a Peacekeeper Baton, a single strike ended the fight and brought the suspect under control – without loss of life or significant injury.
The Peacekeeper Baton has earned a reputation as a tool professionals can trust when it matters most. Users consistently highlight its durability, especially as compared to lighter, less reliable expandables.
“I started using a straight stick because I could not depend on expandable batons,” wrote another police officer in Southern California. “I was given a 29-inch Peacekeeper RCB and I instantly knew this piece of equipment was going to last me my career. It is built like a tank. I trust this more than any other impact weapon to end a fight quickly.”
Trusted by both law enforcement officers on patrol and military personnel in combat zones, the Peacekeeper Baton delivers on its promises.
“When other expandables first came on scene I grabbed one up but was disappointed with the mass,” wrote Andy Casavant, former bureau chief for advanced, specialized reform training in Iraq, in a letter to Tanzini. Right before he deployed to Iraq as a trainer for Iraqi police, he purchased two Peacekeeper Batons to take with him. “The other little, thin expandable batons that were issued and carried were not effective no matter who carried them.
“Your baton functioned flawlessly under some of the most severe training conditions I have ever experienced,” he wrote. “In spite of all the dust, sand, dirt, sweat, blood – it never failed to function as advertised. In many cases, just the sight of that baton gained compliance!”
In some cases, its role has been even more critical. One Marine reported, “Your baton I got as a gift LITERALLY saved my life” while facing insurgents in Iraq.
The baton as deterrent
Beyond its rugged design, the Peacekeeper Baton proves highly effective as both an impact weapon and a deterrent – the sight and sound of it often stopping the threat before force is needed.
“Many people have said that snapping out our baton aggressively sounds like the rack of a shotgun,” explained Tanzini. “Every perpetrator seems to know what the rack of a shotgun sounds like. Fortunately, when we snap the baton out, people get the audible signal and it’s an overwhelming signal. We have a lot of agencies switching from a black baton to our nickel baton, because not only do they get the audible sound like a rack of a shotgun, they get the visual. The [perpetrators] don’t want to play ball and they turn around and they submit.”
The Southern California officer has carried the Peacekeeper Baton for 4½ years. Out of approximately 80 times deploying it in the line of duty, he’s never once had a strike. “As soon as a suspect sees the Peacekeeper they give up,” he wrote.
Tanzini thinks that’s a great selling point for agency administrators. “That’d be great if we never had to strike anybody and we got them to submit. I’m grateful to have a product, where in many cases, officers can just deploy it, gain immediate compliance and nobody gets hurt at all.”
Trusted by many agencies
The combination of deterrent effect, durability and strike effectiveness of the Peacekeeper RCB makes it the baton choice of over 3,000 law enforcement agencies across the United States. It has been approved by 56 of 58 sheriff’s departments in California and is the only expandable baton approved for use by California Highway Patrol, Palm Beach Co. Sheriff’s Office, Fort Worth PD, Denver PD and many other notable agencies around the U.S. Many agencies like LAPD, Denver PD and others issue the Peacekeeper Baton at the academy level.
Stories like these are echoed by officers across the country, who say the Peacekeeper Baton gives them a dependable tool when other less-lethal options fall short. For agencies facing the realities of potential failures of TASERs and other less-lethal options, a reliable baton may be the best first option or your Plan B on the on the continuum, making a difference between resolution, escalation and a possible OIS.
