A stop stick is a tire deflation device that police use to end vehicle pursuits by puncturing a fleeing car’s tires with hollow spikes, letting the air out gradually so the driver loses speed without losing control. It replaced the older solid-spike strips that caused instant blowouts, and most departments now treat it as one of the safer ways to bring a chase to a halt. The name itself is a registered trademark of Stop Stick Ltd., but officers and the public use it as shorthand for any hollow-spike device of this kind.
How a Stop Stick Works
The device is a lightweight mat or segmented stick studded with hollow, pointed spikes. When a vehicle rolls over it, the spikes puncture the tires and break off inside them. Because they are hollow, each embedded spike acts like a small open valve, bleeding air out over seconds to minutes instead of all at once.
That slow release is the whole design philosophy. Older solid-spike strips tore tires open and caused instant blowouts, and a blowout at highway speed can send a car spinning into oncoming traffic or off the road. Hollow spikes avoid that. The driver keeps enough steering and braking to coast down and pull over. The tires are destroyed and need replacing, but the vehicle itself usually comes through with little other damage.
How Officers Deploy It
Deployment happens fast, under pressure, and in a predictable sequence. An officer coordinating with the pursuing unit by radio sets up ahead of the fleeing vehicle, positioned off the pavement until the last possible moment. The device is pulled into the roadway using an 80-foot cord so the officer can stand well back from traffic.1Stop Stick. The World’s Leading Tire Deflation Devices Standing near a lane with a vehicle bearing down at pursuit speed is one of the most dangerous moments in the job, and the cord length is a big part of what keeps the officer alive.
Timing drives everything. The device has to reach the suspect’s lane after the last civilian car passes and before the suspect arrives. The instant the target vehicle crosses it, the officer retracts it so the pursuing patrol cars and any following traffic do not hit it. The spikes cannot distinguish a suspect’s tires from anyone else’s, so constant radio communication between the deploying officer and the pursuit unit is essential.
Federal guidance from the Department of Justice recommends that a supervisor approve the deployment, help choose the location, and make sure dispatchers are told where the device was placed and whether it worked.2U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. Vehicular Pursuits: A Guide for Law Enforcement Executives on Managing the Associated Risks The same guidance says only officers trained specifically on tire deflation devices should be deploying them.
Where Stop Sticks Can and Can’t Be Used
Department policies restrict deployment to straight sections of road with clear sightlines, cover for the officer, and enough reaction distance. Curves, blind hills, bridges, and overpasses are usually off-limits. The officer needs to see the vehicle coming with enough time to act, and tire deflation on a curve raises the risk of a rollover or complete loss of control.
Heavy traffic and pedestrian zones complicate the decision further. The DOJ tells agencies to weigh the suspect’s speed, the road surface, weather, the type of vehicle, and whether the area is populated before authorizing deployment, and to use their own deployment data to set maximum safe speeds for local conditions.2U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services. Vehicular Pursuits: A Guide for Law Enforcement Executives on Managing the Associated Risks
Motorcycles
Almost every department prohibits using a stop stick against motorcycles, mopeds, and other two- or three-wheeled vehicles. Deflating a tire on a motorcycle at any real speed is almost certain to put the rider on the pavement, and a crash at pursuit speeds is likely fatal. Because that outcome is so predictable, deploying a stop stick against a motorcycle is treated as deadly force under most policies. An officer can only do it if deadly force would already be justified based on the threat the rider poses.
Hazmat and Large Commercial Vehicles
Some agencies also restrict or forbid deployment against tanker trucks, hazardous materials carriers, and other large commercial vehicles, where a sudden tire failure could trigger a secondary disaster. These rules vary by department and live in local policy rather than any federal standard.
The Legal Standard
Deploying a tire deflation device is a use of force, and courts analyze it the same way they analyze any other force decision. The Fourth Amendment asks whether the officer’s actions were “objectively reasonable” under the totality of the circumstances. The Supreme Court applied that test to pursuit interventions in Scott v. Harris, holding that an officer’s effort to end a dangerous high-speed chase does not violate the Fourth Amendment even when it risks serious injury to the fleeing driver, as long as the chase itself endangered bystanders.3Justia Law. Scott v. Harris, 550 U.S. 372 (2007)
Scott involved ramming rather than a stop stick, but the reasonableness analysis carries across pursuit tools. Because stop sticks are built to produce a gradual stop instead of a violent impact, most departments and courts treat them as a lower level of force than the PIT maneuver or ramming. Motorcycles are the exception.
If deployment causes injury or unreasonable damage, the affected person can bring a federal civil rights claim. The statute allows anyone deprived of constitutional rights by someone acting under government authority to sue for damages.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 U.S. Code 1983 – Civil Action for Deprivation of Rights Winning requires showing the deployment was objectively unreasonable, which is a steep climb when officers followed standard protocol during an active pursuit.
Risk to the Deploying Officer
Stop sticks are safer than many pursuit tools, but the person setting one up is working within feet of a roadway as vehicles approach at speed, often at night. FBI data cited by law enforcement safety researchers shows an average of two officers per year are killed deploying tire deflation devices, most of them struck by either the fleeing vehicle or a pursuing patrol car.
Training exists to limit this. Officers are taught never to enter the roadway, never to wrap the cord around any part of the body, and to plan an escape route before the suspect arrives. The 80-foot cord is the single most important piece of equipment keeping the deploying officer out of the strike zone.
What to Do If Your Car Hits a Stop Stick
Innocent drivers sometimes roll over a device that was deployed a moment too early or pulled back a moment too late. If it happens to you, steer to the shoulder as the tires lose pressure, turn on your hazards, and stay in the vehicle until officers reach you. Don’t try to drive farther than you need to in order to get off the road.
Once you’re safe, document everything. Photograph the damage, note the time and location, collect the names and badge numbers of the officers on scene, and ask for a copy of the incident report. You’ll need all of it to pursue reimbursement.
Compensation usually runs through the state or local government’s tort claims process. Most jurisdictions require a written notice of claim filed with the responsible agency within a set deadline, sometimes as short as a few months. The notice should describe the incident, the damage, and the amount you are seeking. The agency can settle, deny the claim, or let the deadline pass; a denial or non-response generally opens the door to a lawsuit. Deadlines and procedures differ sharply by jurisdiction, and missing a filing window can permanently bar the claim, so talking to a local attorney quickly is worth the time.
If federal officers were involved, the Federal Tort Claims Act requires you to present the claim to the responsible agency within two years of the incident before you can sue.5Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers. Officer Liability – State Law Torts and the FTCA
How Well They Work
Stop sticks don’t succeed every time. A suspect may swerve past the device, or it may catch only one or two tires. Even a partial hit usually slows the vehicle enough to matter, but a driver on one or two flats can still cover a surprising distance. The manufacturer reports more than 4,000 successful deployments by law enforcement in a recent two-year window, though no national success rate is tracked publicly.
A standard kit, with three deflation sticks, a spare, a mounting tray, and the cord reel, runs around $500 per unit based on recent government procurement contracts, with replacement sticks near $135 each. The spikes break off in the tires and can’t be reused, so departments treat them as consumables and budget accordingly. For all their limits, tire deflation devices remain one of the few pursuit tools that can stop a vehicle without the patrol car ever touching it, and that’s what keeps them central to pursuit policy.