Lebanon, N.H.-based Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center has purchased 18 new "nonlethal devices" that are equipped with a digital camera, laser pointer, siren, strobe light and pepper gel, according to a Valley News report.
The tools can be used to disorient dangerous patients or visitors and limit assaults or violence in the facility.
The hospital purchased the devices — called Pro V2 — to enhance safety for both staff and patients. "[It's] a defensive tool, one that should be used rarely. But it adds something to be able to respond to a high-level situation," Dan Dahmen, the hospital's security director, told Valley News.
The devices give the hospital's security guards a new option to help defuse security situations. The guards must undergo a daylong training session before they can carry the device.