Non-lethal weaponsThe Bruzer – a less lethal, compact 12-gauge

To augment local police officers’ growing array of non-lethal weapons, Tommy Teach, a military combat veteran, has designed a compact non-lethal 12-guage shotgun.

With the help of his business partner, David Sult, Teach developedthe Bruzer, a compact 12-gauge less-lethal launcher that can fire a variety of off the shelf less-lethal ammunition including bean bags, flash bangs, flares, chemical delivery, and rubber bullets.

Teach found that 12-gauge shotguns are not particularly portable making them unrealistic in many situations. Resembling its more lethal cousin, but roughly the size of a pistol, the Bruzer is far more portable. The device is compact enough to be drawn from leg holsters, vest-mounts, and cross-draw holsters.

In designing the less-lethal 12-guage launcher, Teach was mindful to create as similar device as possible to the original.

“We have a lot of civil unrest. When a person faces the Bruzer head-on—and we don’t actually recommend that you do this—they will see two very large diameter barrels staring back at them. It’s a big deterrent,” Teach explained. “People are going to look at this and [say] wait a minute, this doesn’t look good. And chances are … they are going to stop whatever they’re doing.”

Teach added that the Bruzer can be used in situations where lethal munitions would injure a suspect badly or damage individuals and property nearby.

The weapon has a range of fifty feet, depending on the munitions used, allowing officers to keep their distance from a subject. In addition, Teach explained that the single-action design instills a greater level of caution on the individual who wields it as it takes time to re-cock the launcher between shots, forcing the user to re-assess the situation before firing.

“The objective is to inflict sufficient pain to gain compliance. For example, you might encounter a threatening suspect with a knife. Do we need to kill that person? Not necessarily,” Teach said.