Press Release: Los Angeles Sheriff's Department Set To Launch Six Month Study On TigerLight® Non-Lethal Defense System

October 27, 2005

Los Angeles Sheriff's Department Set To Launch Six Month Study On TigerLight® Non-Lethal Defense System

TigerLight, Inc. is planning to donate 500 TigerLight® Non-Lethal Defense Systems to deputies at the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department for a study on the use of force.

Heber City, Utah. - Los Angeles Sheriff's Department received Board of Supervisors approval for the six month independent study to determine the TigerLight® Non-Lethal Defense System's effect on use of force and force related issues. It's believed the pepper spray equipped light may provide deputies with a way to protect themselves without being forced to strike with flashlights or drop them to retrieve pepper spray or other devices from their belt.

The TigerLight® Non-Lethal Defense System is the only tool that provides an instant, stealth response to sudden aggression while enabling the simultaneous, synergistic application of lethal or non-lethal force.

TigerLight, Inc. CEO, Michael Teig worked closely with Commander Charles "Sid" Heal since early this year to bring everything together. Commander Heal is regarded as one of the foremost experts on non-lethal and less lethal weapons. "Because of the suddenness of many attacks on deputies, defensive actions need to be near instantaneous to avoid injury. To date, this has always involved some type of impact, usually fists or flashlights. The "dual nature" of the TigerLight® may provide an ability to provide the same amount of protection without having to resort to impact", said Heal.

Mark Correia, Ph.D., an Assistant Professor in the Justice Studies Department at San Jose State University, developed the research design and intends to implement the study over the 6-month period. "In order to effectively assess the impact of the Tigerlight® system on use of force within the LASD, our research design will include a variety of data collection techniques. These techniques, in combination, allow us to capture the data necessary to provide LASD with a comprehensive evaluation of the Tigerlight® system in relation to use-of-force issues", said Correia.

"The objective is to improve officer and civilian safety by keeping the level of force to a minimum", says Tigerlight, Inc. CEO, Michael Teig.

There were 60,000 assaults on officers in one year, according to the 2003 FBI Report. Forty one thousand of these were preceded by a verbal threat and could likely have been prevented with TigerLight® in hand.

The danger in these situations for both the officer and the civilian increase dramatically once physical contact is made. The subject gains potential access to the officer's weapons and the officer has a 43% chance of being injured, according to the 1999 NIJ Use-of-Force Study.

"The reason there are 60,000 assaults is that officers don't have time to respond with incapacitating force. Most assaults initiate from conversational distance, not 21 feet" says Teig.. This is why, according to the NIJ study, pepper spray is used in only 1 out of 50 incidents it could or should be used in. The TigerLight® addresses the other 49 that belt carried pepper sprays and other devices in holsters, cannot.