Plugging Rioters

Over the Fourth of July weekend, several hundred street people in Berkeley marched up Telegraph Avenue after a rally, breaking windows, smashing parking meters, looting a jewelry store and nearly overturning a new Buick from a dealer's lot. They were in for a surprise. Only 14 cops showed up to deal with the mob, armed with something new: large-bore guns that fire five wooden plugs from a single cartridge. The plugs spread out and tumble in flight.

Each one is about the size of a short section cut from a fat broomstick handle. Normally used at a range of 50 to 125 ft., they strike with roughly the impact of a policeman's nightstick. At such distances the plugs cause bruises, but they break bones only at closer range.

The Berkeley police are delighted with their new gadget, which they bought after reading reports that their Hong Kong colleagues had used it successfully in riot control. It is cheap and effective: each shell costs only $7.50. Four were fired at the Fourth of July crowd, dispersing it immediately for a total outlay of $30. "In the past," says Lieut. Ralph Schillinger, "we have fired as much as $6,000 worth of tear gas in one day and still not stopped a riot." The plugs have one other advantage over tear-gas canisters. They are too light to cause any injury to police if rioters throw them back.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.