Trying to outrun police usually comes with a pretty obvious problem: eventually, someone has to figure out how to make the car stop. Oak Brook Police Department officers recently got their chance to test a particularly interesting solution when a fleeing rental van refused to cooperate.
The department said the incident marked its first successful deployment of a Grappler, a device designed to catch and disable the rear wheel of a fleeing vehicle. Instead of relying on a traditional pursuit tactic, officers were able to essentially throw a heavy-duty net around the van’s wheel and bring the whole thing to an end.
Oak Brook Police proudly shared the footage afterward under its recurring “F.A.F.O.” banner, which the department jokingly defines as “Fantastic Arrests / Fearless Officers.” The department credited its combination of “tools, technology and tactics” with helping bring the situation under control.
Of course, putting that kind of police gadget on camera was almost guaranteed to get people’s attention online. Between the rental van, the Grappler and the department setting the footage to “I Fought the Law” by The Clash, commenters had plenty to work with.
That’s One Way To Stop a Van
The video is pretty wild. It shows an aerial view of the chase in black and white, focusing on a white U-Haul van that can be seen driving away from officers. The cops tried to stop the runaway van twice, but they were unsuccessful.
So, the team had another plan up their sleeve. It was pretty cool to watch the grappler do its thing, hooking a net under the van to then shoot a grappler that essentially stops the vehicle in its tracks. The van pretty much stops right there in the street as officers come to surround it.
In a statement, Chief Brian Strockis of the Oak Brook Police Department said, “We are a police agency committed to pursuit mitigation, and we will bring fleeing offenders to justice in a safe and responsible manner.”
Commenters Loved Watching the Grappler Do Its Thing
A lot of commenters were far more interested in the Grappler than whatever led to the chase in the first place. One person called the device “amazing,” while another simply declared, “The Grappler is very cool” and suggested the department needed its own YouTube channel.
The fact that the fleeing vehicle was apparently a rental van also gave everyone an easy joke. One commenter figured the renter was “obviously” not getting the deposit back and hoped somebody had paid for the insurance, while another joked that the whole thing “has to be a heist.”
Others were mostly impressed with Oak Brook Police for ending the situation successfully. Comments included “criminals should skip Oak Brook,” “This has to be the winner of the Internet today,” and plenty of praise for the officers involved, so it seems the department’s first Grappler deployment earned considerably better reviews than the rental van probably will.