Abdominal Wall Penetration by a Police “Bean Bag”

Abstract

Police departments across the country now have at their disposal a “nonlethal” weapon known as a “bean bag” shotgun. The bean bags, which come loaded in standard shotgun shells, are missiles intended to disable dangerous suspects without having to resort to lethal force. They were specifically designed not to create penetrating injuries. Here we present a case of abdominal wall penetration by a police bean bag. To our knowledge this is the first such reported case of this type of injury.