Just-released bodycam video shows that a September 13 Powell Street BART station police shooting was preceded by three attempts to use a sort of “lasso gun” called a BolaWrap, but that tool failed to subdue the suspect three times.

The Friday, September 13 police shooting at the Powell Street BART station, like all police shootings, had its police bodycam video made public. That bodycam video was released earlier this week, and shows that the suspect, 30-year-old Justin Matthew Alderman, ignored repeated requests to stop and/or drop his gun, and that he was spotted with the gun by a city employee, leading to the police chase and eventual shooting.

The video also shows that police attempted to use non-lethal force three times. Which sounds like charitable behavior by the SFPD. But now KGO is reporting that the non-lethal force tool, a sort of lasso-shooting gun known as a BolaWrap, failed to subdue the suspect three times, which led to the eventual shooting.

Police bodycam video of this is seen in this video. (Warning: this video is graphic, and there is of course some profanity.)

We see the SFPD officers first use the BolaWrap device at the 13:28 mark of the video, while the suspect is walking on Fifth Street (and walking surprisingly nonchalantly, considering police are yelling and shooting things at him). “Give me that shield, I’m going to BolaWrap his legs,” an officer is heard yelling. But while the officer fires the device, he does not successfully BolaWrap the suspect’s legs.

Once the suspect has walked into the Powell Street BART station, officers once again try to subdue him by firing the BolaWrap device at the 14:58 and 15:10 marks of the video. Both attempts are again unsuccessful, and eventually the suspect is shot with real bullets.

SFPD has been using the BolaWrap for only about four months. Mission Local reported in June that the BolaWrap is a “Spiderman-like lasso restraint tool,” costing between $1,000 and $1,200 per unit, and SFPD bought 55 of them. They’re also being used by police in LA and Seattle, though their effectiveness is still in question.

"Don't bring in a BolaWrap to a gunfight. You had a person who was armed with a firearm. A BolaWrap was deployed three times and it failed," SF Police Officers’ Association president Tracy McCray told KGO. "When they deploy it, a person has to be standing still. That person was moving."

McCray may be doing some Monday morning quarterbacking there. That suspect was moving about as slowly as you’re ever likely to see an armed suspect move. And police will always be advocating for more expensive gear, and more lethal gear.

McCray, unsurprisingly, advocates for giving the officers tasers. SF voters put the kibosh on taser use in 2018 after four taser-related deaths in San Mateo.

"The data on tasers has some very worrying pieces," police commissioner Kevin Benedicto told KGO. "There’s some data that shows in-custody deaths go up after tasers are first implemented. There are a number of issues of why voters acted to restrict SFPD officers' use of tasers almost 10 years ago."

The suspect, Alderman, did survive the police shooting — he was reportedly shot in the arm — and he’s being charged with nine counts of resisting police officers.

Related: More Details Emerge About Officer-Involved Shooting at Powell Street BART Station [SFist]

Image: SFPD via Vimeo