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From: clewis@lsuc.UUCP (Chris Lewis)
Newsgroups: alt.cyberpunk,rec.arts.sf-lovers
Subject: Re: Future Police Speculations Needed
Message-ID: <2134@lsuc.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 7-Nov-87 00:07:23 EST
Article-I.D.: lsuc.2134
Posted: Sat Nov  7 00:07:23 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 8-Nov-87 17:53:55 EST
References: <1463@haddock.ISC.COM> <1824@trex.rutgers.edu> <23473AE4@PSUVMA> <7731@steinmetz.steinmetz.UUCP> <10785@sci.UUCP>
Reply-To: clewis@lsuc.UUCP (Chris Lewis)
Organization: Curmudgeons At Large
Lines: 21
Summary: Sonic stunning ain't all that farfetched.
Xref: mnetor alt.cyberpunk:154 rec.arts.sf-lovers:8834

In article <10785@sci.UUCP> daver@sci.UUCP writes:
>In article <7731@steinmetz.steinmetz.UUCP>, davidsen@steinmetz.steinmetz.UUCP (William E. Davidsen Jr) writes:
>> I think what you propose would only be accomplished by something direct
>> acting, like radiation or sonic stunning. How about something which
>> paralizes the voluntary muscles?
>
>Like a .44 slug or a fragmentation grenade?  I suspect that the police might
>adopt a somewhat simpler approach to hostages--find out where they are,
>and blast the shit out of the kidnappers.  A trifle hard on the hostages,
>though.

Naw, nothing that drastic.  There's a little item of ordinance called
by some a "Thunderflash" (very appropriate).  Effectively an enormous 
firecracker (paper casing).  Big boom, big flash, but no metal fragments
zipping around.  Our militia uses these to simulate mines and mortars
during training.

Used to great effect by the SAS in quelling the Iranian hostage incident
in London a couple of years back.  They went in throwing a few of these
things.  The sonic blast completely disoriented the hostage takers and
the troops were able to end the situation without killing anyone.