Video shows police using 'grappler' device to stop fleeing vehicle and arrest alleged armed carjacking teens

Florida police released video of a new device they used to grab onto a fleeing vehicle and force alleged carjacking suspects to stop and face arrest.

A man told police that two thieves wearing ski masks allegedly pointed a gun at him as he was going home from the grocery store in the city of Hollywood on Tuesday. They threatened to shoot him in the hip and drove off in his yellow Chevy Camaro.

Hollywood police said officers were able to catch up to the alleged robbers but that they refused to stop and even crashed into one of their police cars while trying to get away.

Surveillance video obtained by WPLG-TV showed the carjackers driving dangerously at about 4:16 p.m. near a park with police chasing after them.

A few seconds into the video, one of the police cruisers crunches into the back of the vehicle with the grappler device, which deploys a nylon net around the rear tires. The car comes to a controlled stop, and police draw their weapons. Bystander video shows two suspects being arrested by police later.

Police department spokesperson Deanna Bettineschi said the two suspects, Terrell Kirkland and Santiago Iglesias, are 17 years old. They were charged with armed carjacking, fleeing and leaving the scene of a crash.

They were detained at a juvenile assessment center in Broward County.

Police also said that one of the teens tossed out a black firearm from the car, and they were able to recover it.

The Hollywood Police Department has six such grappler devices on its vehicles. WPLG reported that it was unclear whether anyone was injured during the incident.

Here's the video of the grappler:

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