Flashball
Flash-ball
Less-lethal launcher
Flash-Ball is a registered trademark for a less-lethal hand-held projectile launcher developed by French hunting firearms manufacturer Verney-Carron. Flash-Ball is intended to be used by riot police as an alternative to lethal firearms, bean bag rounds and plastic bullets.
| Flash-Ball | |
|---|---|
A French policeman holding a flash-ball launcher | |
| Type | Less-lethal launcher |
| Place of origin |  France |
| Production history | |
| Designed | 1990 |
| Manufacturer | Verney-Carron |
| Produced | 1995–present[1] |
| Variants | Side-by-side Over-and-under |
| Specifications | |
| Cartridge | 44×83 mm |
| Caliber | 44 mm |
| Barrels | 2 |
| Action | Striker fired |
| Rate of fire | Double-action |
| Sights | Iron |
The weapon exists in two versions of calibre 44/83. The super-pro version features vertically stacked barrels and is made from metal alloys, while the compact version is made from lighter composite materials with the twin barrels side by side. Both versions of the weapon can be used to fire a variety of ammunition although a soft 44 mm rubber ball is the most common.
According to the manufacturer's own publicity, the Flash-Ball's standard round has the stopping power of a 9 mm calibre handgun but considerably less kinetic energy per square centimetre, making it unlikely to penetrate the body of a normally clothed person even at ranges down to 5 metres (5.5 yd).
Various human rights groups have expressed fears that the widespread deployment of such weapons could result in police being less likely to apply de-escalation tactics when dealing with potentially dangerous situations.[2]
Numerous eye losses, comas, and brain traumas[3] as well as major bone breakages[4][5] and two deaths due to cardiac arrest have been attributed to the use of Flash-Ball by police.[6]
France: Law enforcement in France
Macau: Grupo de Operações Especiais (Special Operations Group) of Macau Police
Portugal: Public Security Police
- The Local France. (2019, January 28). Riot control guns: What’s all the fuss about flash balls in France? https://www.thelocal.fr/20190128/riot-control-guns-whats-all-the-fuss-about-flash-balls-in-france
- "Amnesty International Report on France 2003". Archived from the original on 14 June 2007. Retrieved 6 July 2007.
- Hiquet, Jean; Gromb-Monnoyeur, Sophie (July 2016). "Severe craniocerebral trauma with sequelae caused by Flash-Ball® shot, a less-lethal weapon: Report of one case and review of the literature". Medicine, Science, and the Law. 56 (3): 237–240. doi:10.1177/0025802415587320. ISSN 2042-1818. PMID 26130748.
- "Gilets Jaunes: French 'flash-ball' row over riot-gun injuries". BBC News. 18 January 2019. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
- "Villiers-le-Bel, au bord de l'implosion". Le Monde.fr (in French). 16 June 2009. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
- "Le rôle "indiscutable" d'un tir de Flash-Ball dans la mort d'un homme à Marseille". Le Monde.fr (in French). 14 December 2010. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
