MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – The use of deadly force by Miami Beach officers has been highly publicized in recent years.
Like in 2011, when half-a-dozen officers fired more than 100 rounds into an erratic car on South Beach.
But on Wednesday, the department unveiled a new "non-lethal" weapon that officers will have at their disposal that fires lead pellets.
The bean bag 12- gauge shotgun is set to become standard issue for patrol officer, and can be fired from as far as 75 feet away.
"So now, we have the advantage of we can negotiate with someone a bit more," Officer William Collado said.
"We do have that distance if we do need to deploy it. Instead of actually deploying some bullets down range, we can deploy these bean bags, and hopefully ,it does not result in death."
The new weapons are bright orange and are clearly marked. They can fire pellets at a force of 200 feet per second, and old shotguns from Miami Beach police have been retrofitted to fire the bean bag pellets.
"We think it's a win-win for everyone," Deputy Chief Rick Clements said. "It can cause some blunt trauma, especially bruising, and again, we're specifically designed in training to go ahead and deliver the round at a distance of not less than 20 feet."
This is one tactical tool that Miami Beach officials are praising.
The bean bag shotguns will be carried by 40 officers starting in November.
These guns will not replace the handguns officers carry on their waistbands or other firearms that officers may have at their disposal.