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96 Comments
- Dinsdale77, on 11/17/2008, -0/+56It won't take much to convince me that getting a limb blown off totally sucks ass.
- Hobbes24, on 11/18/2008, -1/+45you know...there are VERY FEW standards for making a ***** grenade
1. not blow up until you pull pin
2. wait a few seconds to blow up after you pull pin
3. blow up
how could they not realize they missed one? - Kaboom108, on 11/18/2008, -1/+26Isn't knowingly providing our troops with defective weapons treason?
- kakwakas, on 11/18/2008, -1/+22Well, for one thing, you usually just throw them in the same room as your target, as opposed to strapping them to your target and making them go off.
- kakwakas, on 11/18/2008, -0/+18The concept is the exact same.
- inactive, on 11/18/2008, -0/+17"I'm just like Oskar Schindler! We both sold shell to the nazis, the difference was mine WORKED!"
- doublefelix, on 11/18/2008, -0/+17They went straight to:
4.) profit - wingedkat, on 11/17/2008, -0/+17I wonder, is it just that this is a "non-lethal" grenade so they thought it wouldn't matter?
- Darren07, on 11/17/2008, -8/+22Pics or it didn't happen.
Oh, wait. - ZenFu, on 11/18/2008, -0/+12If this story is true, the company should INSTANTLY have their military contract revoked. Somebody must have known about this and kept quiet to save a few bucks. In which case, it amounts to nothing less than treason as they're knowingly supplying the military with arms designed to work against them (essentially benefiting the enemy).
It's bad enough we send our men and women into situations where they literally put their life on the line for pay that amounts to about minimum wage, the last thing we need to do is instill fear and doubt in them about the quality of their own weaponry (and in turn, their COs for auth'ing issue, the DOD for signing contracts and the gov't for jumping into bed with said company).
Granted, *****-ups occur on the battlefield. Radios stop working, guns jam and artillery can be disabled by the enemy. That's to be expected. Soldiers should NOT have to be put in a situation where they need to clear a house and wonder, "will this flashbang work in my favor or severely incapacitate (read:kill when the enemy works out what's happened) my team when i pull the pin?"
Doesn't matter if the faulty grenades were tagged, bagged and then reissued to the FBI. End of the day, they're faulty...and if someone who could've prevented this knew about the problem but didn't speak up, the company should pay for it. - mustang460, on 11/18/2008, -3/+15Because they have an extremely small blast radius, and unless the FBI is duct taping them to innocent people before blowing them, there is really no reason to get upset.
- comptonstomp, on 11/18/2008, -4/+15most of the time they don't go around throwing them at innocent people
- kangy3213, on 11/18/2008, -2/+13That Blows, I mean, no it doesn't.
- canadianxj, on 11/18/2008, -0/+10I'd say they missed two of those steps.....
- z95headhunter, on 11/18/2008, -0/+10No *****, thats why it says FAULTY grenades.
- thegrantman, on 11/18/2008, -0/+10No,just business as usual.
- Ruger11mcrdpi, on 11/18/2008, -0/+9Answers and suggestions for this. (from experience)
1) These are flash bang grenades. They are designed to stun people with a loud bang, and a bright flash, not injure.
2) This type of grenade was supposed to have been recalled two years ago. I know this because I had them in Iraq (I'm a Marine Infantryman) And the incident happened where one went off accidentally. We had ours IMMEDIATELY removed and were soon given a newer, safer model.
3) These faulty ones have a soft foil outside them, and the metal top can separate in the explosion and injure someone. Also the heads can separate if the grenade is bent or sat on, etc. They are just a weak design, cheap and poorly made.
4) The new grenades have a solid metal body with holes in them. Also, they have TWO safety pins, they are damn near impossible to screw up, and they are rugged as hell. (Carried and used these for several months in Iraq)
5) This police officer's unit obviously failed to check what was out there, see if recalls were made on their grenades, or buy the best ones available. They are definitely to blame for issuing cheap, faulty gear.
6)On a final note: If this guy had it on his back, and just had the spoon clipped to his gear, then that is a total safety violation and can EASILY result in an accidental explosion. I have seen Soldiers, Marines and Police officers carry them this way because "It looks cool" or they don't have a correct pouch... It results in the grenade being hung by the very mechanism that if released, causes it to explode! Not smart. In this case it would be his fault and the fault of whoever checked his gear.
Lastly, and this is just a minor point... If the guy hadn't had the stupid thing strapped to his back, it might not have gone off either. It may easily have snagged on the seat and detonated. He should have had it secured in a pouch on the front of his vest. And yes I know why some guys put them on their backs, so the #2 man in a stack can throw them. I also know this is a poor excuse because you end up carrying a weapon that you yourself cannot reach or use. - Wakkyweed, on 11/18/2008, -0/+9An old boss of mine had his house raided by the DEA, and they threw flash grenades through his front and back windows. They then threw him on the floor and cuffed him, and dragged his 60 year old mother out of the shower and cuffed her too. The flash grenades left big burn marks on the carpet.
It turned out later that the drug dealer they were after was living next door. - kakwakas, on 11/18/2008, -0/+9Also known as flash grenades.
- R314, on 11/18/2008, -0/+8Old JP Morgan made a pretty penny during the Civil War selling defective second-hand rifles to the Army, which were responsible for blowing off soldiers' thumbs.
- Autodidaddict, on 11/18/2008, -2/+9RTFA
- commenter01, on 11/18/2008, -0/+7and now:
5) Jail time.
Followed closely by:
6) Anal rape.
damnit. it's probably a white collar prison. - pennvneff, on 11/18/2008, -0/+7Your equipment is made by the lowest bidder.
- godphase3, on 11/18/2008, -1/+8Things like this make me so angry, and frightened at the same time. I'm in a line of work where I have to depend on my equipment, and my life is on the line. I hate knowing that there are companies that would put people in such danger knowingly, and fear that the same could happen to me.
- brandita, on 11/18/2008, -0/+7Hope that doesn't blow up in their face.
- asdfrewq, on 11/18/2008, -1/+7MOST of the time?
- comptonstomp, on 11/18/2008, -2/+8ah its just a flashbang you pussies rub some dirt on it
- OrangeTide, on 11/18/2008, -0/+5they had all of those steps, they just made a few with them in a different order.
- devilclown, on 11/18/2008, -0/+5Your question made me google this, apparently Flash-Bang induced heart attacks and fires are common, no actual body parts blown off. Problems arise when they use these at the wrong address:
http://www.roanoke.com/editorials/wb/88822 - doublefelix, on 11/18/2008, -2/+6Take the Surgeon Generals advice on this one, a flash bang is NOT a safe replacement for a flesh light.
- AlexJTanner, on 11/18/2008, -10/+14so I have a question. If flash grenades do such damage and we cry out when they blow up in the FBI's hands, why don't we cry out when the FBI throws them at people?
- CalmLlama, on 11/18/2008, -1/+5So a bunch of FBI agents experienced part of what they put normal Americans through EVERY DAY and they bitch + sue about it.. Does this mean those people in prison who have been injured by flash bangs get to sue the FBI for using them now?
- baralo, on 11/18/2008, -0/+4The Military and FBI are the last people I'd try to scam.
- MeatyMcBeef, on 11/18/2008, -0/+4It's one thing to sell a faulty garden hose...but when you're selling faulty grenades...
- OrangeTide, on 11/18/2008, -0/+4if a "non-lethal" waterheater explodes and injures someone, you can expect a very costly lawsuit to follow.
- oneredeye, on 11/18/2008, -2/+5Headline is misleading. Grenades are loads more dangerous than flashbangs.
- palehorse864, on 11/18/2008, -0/+3Can someone point out in the article where it says "Wagner still cries about the experience" It's in the description but not in the article.
- inactive, on 11/18/2008, -0/+3Nope. Just business. The life of a servicemember is worth less than a prisoner. I don't remember any prisoner being ordered to run in front of a machine gun.
- inactive, on 11/18/2008, -2/+5Come on guys, it's obvious the war profiteers in this country don't CARE if the weapons work or not, so long as they have a contract to sell them. And I'm sure the current ***** in chief will make sure his buddies stay gainfully employed with our Government at least until January, and probably makes sure they get a contract to stay employed in the meanwhile.
It's just like ED-209. - ZenFu, on 11/18/2008, -1/+4Ssh. You hear that neo? That's me playing the world's smallest violin for you.
There, now shut the ***** up. Your opinion is not relevant here. Why? Because almost every political comment you've made on digg is a negative, whiny piece of ***** that has instantly made want to start repeatedly punching you after i've read it. - LordBacon, on 11/18/2008, -1/+3No... but the ammunition "only" cause some type of cancer ....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_War_syndrome - OrangeTide, on 11/18/2008, -1/+3it's not for killing. RTFA.
and thinking that anyone getting their hand blown off is fair just shows your lack of humanity. - maz2331, on 11/18/2008, -0/+2Add one more point....
6. These grenades were designed and developed by the U.S. Navy, with manufacture contracted out to the company. The faulty design was discovered after several years of production.
Still, after discovering the flaw, they should have absolutely issued a recall and destroyed any existing inventory, or applied a retrofit if possible to make them safe.
This does look like something that should be handled as a routine product liability civil case, not as a felony Federal criminal prosecution. Maybe the fact that it blew up on an FBI agent has something to do with that? - LordBacon, on 11/18/2008, -0/+2I take 6. all the day :P
- inactive, on 11/18/2008, -1/+3You know, I have absolutely no sympathy for the FBI agent in the story. In Miami a few years ago, at a peaceful protest against the FTAA I got to be the victim of several flash bang grenades. One exploded about a foot fro my head. Deafening, frightening but not nearly as deadly as the other things the police, FBI and secret service hurled. Shot at a distance of ten foot with a 12 gauge shot gun, loaded with a solid slug of ABS plastic in the back of my knee I couldn't walk for a day, my knee swelling up to the size of a grapefruit.
My crime, supporting the US Steelworkers in their march against globalization. Pretty radical those retired union members.
So, when a big, strong FBI agent in full riot gear has night mares because he had a little flash bang grenade I say send him to Iraq to train the Iraqis, lets see how his nightmares go then. - Wakkyweed, on 11/18/2008, -0/+2He tried calling for an ambulance, but the hospital thought he was just doing a Jerky Boys routine.
"Really, I'll tell ya I don't even see fingers, but maybe it's just because I'm all numb and stingey" - palehorse864, on 11/18/2008, -0/+2Thanks. And awesome name btw.
- AlexJTanner, on 11/18/2008, -0/+2I would like to remind you dumbasses of a little idea we have here in America. An idea that I think makes us a little bit better than other places. It's called "Innocent until proven guilty." So yes the FBI is throwing these things at innocent people.
- Ruger11mcrdpi, on 11/18/2008, -0/+2Good point there. On a side note too, those original grenades really weren't THAT unsafe unless the user mishandled then or didn't store them properly. I've carried them for over a year and thrown probably 12-15 and never had an issue. I saw one break its top off but honestly the guy that had his break, he kept them in a big pouch, 2-3 together where they could get squashed, instead of a single pouch.
That said, we do need more robust flashbangs than that, I shouldn't have to worry that much about a flashbang when I'm in combat. The new ones totally kick ass and are safer than our Frag M67 Grenades. -
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