A Northern California police department will be equipping their officers with nunchakus, otherwise known as nunchucks.  No, this is not satire.

Police officers in Anderson, CA will be required to pass a 16-hour training program to use the nuncnhaks.

The police department was looking for a tool that would reduce injuries to officers, and also the people they capture .
Anderson’s top cop decided nunchucks were the answer, said Sgt. Casey Day.

“It gives us the ability to control a suspect instead of striking them,” he said.

If you’ve watched Bruce Lee and the Ninja Turtles, you’ll notice that nunchucks aren’t typically used to pacify enemies. They’re used to beat people up. But those are movies and Anderson police insist they can detain a suspect with them in a peaceful way.

Day was recently certified to train the department’s officers on the use of the nunchucks. A 15-year police veteran, he said he has given up the baton for nunchucks.

“I see the value and the safety they bring to me,” he said, adding that the new tool provides a distance between an officer and a suspect.

Pincher-style nunchakus became popular with police in the 80s, said Greg Meyer, a former LAPD training captain and use-of-force expert. Anaheim, San Diego and the LAPD are a few of the agencies that have used them in the past.

Many law enforcement agencies stopped using the nunchakus when officers used them improperly — in some cases resulting in in bodily injury.

LAPD stopped using nunchucks to subdue people at protests in 1991.

Sgt. Day hasn’t used his nunchakus yet, but says he’s confident he will use them properly.

“I don’t go around looking for trouble,” he said.

That’s actually exactly what cops do though. It’s their job to “go around looking for trouble”, which leads me to believe these nunchucks won’t be preventing any injuries, but rather providing someone who watched too many Bruce Lee movies the weapon of choice to beat people over the head with.  But I suppose time will tell.