In a world where death by cop is constantly on the rise, it’s refreshing to see this deputy opt for a non-lethal lasso instead.
Back when guns only held six bullets and cops still had humanity, the US was a land of lassos. Cowboys of the movies used them to rangle cattle, and police used them to rangle wild animals that roamed the free land.
But, they have somewhat gone out of fashion of late. Fully automatic weapons, tasers, and other modern tools fill the hands of police instead. But, one deputy reminded us that sometimes non-lethal and classic are the best approaches with his lasso skills.
Chainsaw Looney Feels Lash Of Deputy’s Lasso
In a totally normal day in Washington State, a man was reported to local police for chasing his father with a chainsaw. He was having some kind of mental breakdown, and decided that his relations were getting cut up.
The police managed to corral the man into a small pond, where he stood, brandishing his chainsaw. Cops then spent an hour trying to coax the man to put down his weapon. But he was having none of it. Running out of ideas, police officers threatened to shoot him with a beanbag gun.
However, one of the deputies usually working on the mountain dispatch remembered he had a lasso in his vehicle. Usually, it would be used on wild animals, but in this case, it was perfect for the partially submerged chainsaw chap.
Footage shows the deputy swinging the lasso before dropping it perfectly over the man’s head and around his torso. Pulling it tight, he managed to drag the man from the pond, as other officers disarmed the man in the midst of a mental health episode.
Using his quick thinking and the coolest tool in his arsenal, he safely apprehended the struggling man. Nobody had to use a weapon, and apart from some rope burns and bruised ego, nobody got injured.
Praising his out-of-the-box approach, the public information officer for the local county said, “The subject’s suffering a mental health crisis with a deadly weapon, that’s made threats and doesn’t want help. How do you combat that and take them safely into custody? Well, a lasso clearly did it in this case.”
That deputy gets to walk with his head held high, to the jingle of his freshly shined spurs. Bring back lassos, I say.