Sumpter OKs buying BolaWraps, speed signs with forfeiture funds

The Sumpter Township Board of Trustees at its Nov. 9 zoom meeting unanimously approved two purchases using police department drug forfeiture funds.
Three BolaWrap restraint units at a total cost of $4,068.65 were recommended by Public Safety Department Director / Police Chief Eric Luke.
In a memo to the board, Director Luke said this request originated following a call earlier this year when one of his sergeants broke his thumb, damaging the joint while taking a combative subject into custody. The injury resulted in an almost four-month medical leave.
“I believe if available on that call, the BolaWrap device would have kept that injury from occurring,” Luke said.
He explained that BolaWrap is a device that discharges an eight-foot Kevlar cord with tiny barbs on each end. When used at a distance of 10-25 feet, the cord wraps around the subject’s body one to three times, creating a temporary restraint that allows officers to apply traditional restraints in a more-controlled manner.
Luke said the company has come out and demonstrated the equipment twice and he and his trainers agree it has its place in their goal of de-escalation and better officer safety and is something that should be implemented.
He told the board that he went to a conference in October 2019 when this technology had just come out and he’s been watching it since then. Luke said the old model included a .380 round and you would hear a gunshot, but now it’s all electronic and Sumpter would get the new model.
He said 20 to 25 other departments in Michigan are using this. It is used before doing the taser which causes pain and brings pain compliance. This keeps someone from moving their arms or legs and the shock of being wrapped out brings compliance, he said.
Sumpter police started using bodycams back in 2013 long before other local departments purchased bodycams. He said if the BolaWraps are approved, Sumpter will be the first in this area to begin using this technology.
The other forfeiture-fund purchase approved was two Evolis Radar Speed Signs at a total cost of $5,779. Luke said officers can’t be everywhere when citizens complain about speeders and this is regarded as a “traffic-calming tool.”
The battery-powered portable radar signs, with LED displays, are securely attached to the speed limit signpost at each end of a given zone and record the speed of all vehicles traveling past in any given period and this can be turned into charts through the software.
He said the data collection is typically done with the sign in place but the display off and the data is used to confirm whether there is a speed issue. If so, the LED is turned on which studies have shown to help correct driver behavior with an average of 25% in speed reduction.
The LED display is programmable for both vehicle speed and a message underneath. He said the two units will be moved around the township as needed.
Luke said Van Buren Township has such signs on Haggerty Road north of Bemis to slow people down in the area of the curves. He said a Sumpter resident complained that people are driving 90 mph on Wear Road all day and so they will record the speeds there and report to the person who complained.
He said most people who go too fast just aren’t paying attention to their speed. Luke said these signs are not cameras and no one will get a ticket in the mail. He said it is like Doppler radar for weather.
In other business at the Nov. 9 meeting, the board:
• Approved purchase of Fleet Management software from Verizon at a cost of $20 per truck per month, at about $1,440 a year for all six trucks. The technology reports where workers are, determines downtime, shows which roads were plowed, and helps reduce vehicle maintenance;
• Approved the Municipal & Community Credit Contract with SMART for 2022, with $9,386 provided for van/bus operations;
• Approved the supervisor’s reappointment of Tyrone Borden to the planning commission effective Oct. 15, with a term to expire Oct. 14, 2024;
• Approved the supervisor’s reappointment of Daniel Watson to the planning commission effective Nov. 14, with a term to expire Nov. 13, 2024;
• Approved the supervisor’s reappointment of Jane Stalmack to the Zoning Board of Appeals and the planning commission, effective Nov. 14, with a term to expire Nov. 13, 2024;
• Approved appointing Jeff Biles as backup electrical inspector through Nov. 9, 2022. Regular electrical inspector Jeff Dommer had a death in his immediate family and Trustee Peggy Morgan said the board sends condolences;
• Removed from the agenda approval of a contract with Michelle Thornsberry of Sumpter Township as part-time Human Resources Consultant because she has time constraints and wouldn’t be able to complete the duties;
• Received the monthly ordinance report for October as presented by Director Luke. Luke reported seven active investigations, 24 total active court cases and seven new-issues cases. Investigations closed/completed were 236;
• Heard Supervisor Tim Bowman commend Administrator Cole and Director Luke for getting a $31,000 FEMA grant for COVID-related expenses;
• Was advised by Supervisor Bowman that Pfizer vaccines and boosters will be available at the community center from 1-4 p.m. Monday, Nov. 22. That is also the day for the drive-up, free-food distribution for Forgotten Harvest at the community center from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Forgotten Harvest comes to Sumpter on the second and fourth Mondays and always needs more volunteers;
• Approved township attorney Rob Young’s report, which included a resolution appointing the township administrator as authorized signer on “day-to-day stuff” for the MERS retirement account;
• Heard complaints about the Independent from Trustees Rush, Oddy, and LaPorte, Supervisor Bowman, and attorney Young. Bowman asked if the township couldn’t outlaw the paper and Young said there is freedom of the press and you can’t outlaw the paper;
• Heard Clerk Esther Hurst report that the Nov. 2 election held for residents in the Huron School District went very well and she thanked the election workers and those who exercised their right to vote. She also said that residents have been sent to the clerk’s office for information and most information there needs to be requested under the Freedom of Information Act; and
• Held 30 seconds of silence thanking veterans for their service to mark Veterans Day on Nov. 11, as suggested by Trustee Tim Rush.