With over three decades of law enforcement experience, Travis Rowland knows what it feels like to be in a bind.
The veteran retired law enforcement officer shares several stories of situations that he was placed in during his career that could have easily turned to a serious, if not deadly, outcome when dealing with offenders. In many of those cases, he was alone with no other backup.
But perhaps if he had a Man Catcher, those situations could have been taken care of a lot easier.
“I could have used this probably at least ten times when I was with the state highway patrol,” he said, holding up the netting prototype of his invention, the Man Catcher.
The Man Catcher is a constructed netted piece of 900-pound fish netting secured with a 2,000-pound border. Through a network of loops, netting and fasteners, the Man Catcher can be placed upon the ground and confine a handcuffed offender safely during an arrest.
During trial runs, Rowland said it took about three minutes and 1 seconds to secure a subject. And through those test runs, not a single person has been able to get loose from the Man Catcher.
“It all boils down to having something that doesn’t hurt the offender, which is a good thing,” Rowland said. “The offender is subdued safely, and the officer remains safe as well. It protects the offender and the officer.”
Rowland began his career within law enforcement as a deputy sheriff, a role he kept for four years. He spent close to seven years at Dixon Correctional Institute and the Louisiana State Penitentiary, also known as Angola and nicknamed the "Alcatraz of the South.” He also worked at Veteran Affairs. But it was with the Mississippi Highway Patrol where he spent most of his career at 26 years.
Rowland said he found himself in many tense situations when it came to apprehending and arresting offenders. And in many of those cases, he was the lone officer. Reflecting on those situations and partially inspire while watching one of his favorite television shows, “Mysteries at the Museum,” the idea of the Man Catcher was born.
“It sparked me to want to figure out something that would help in the apprehension of these perpetrators so that they would not be able to hurt you or themselves,” he said. “The main thing was keeping suspects away from your gun. A lot of agencies use Tasers now, and if all you had was a taser, you could do this by yourself.”
When he pitched the idea to his stepson, who is a deputy sheriff, Rowland said the Man Catcher would be extremely useful with lunacy cases.
“My stepson had a very large, strong guy that was a lunacy case that he had to bring in by himself,” Rowland said. “After I showed him this and how it could have helped, he has been wanting to see it work.”
When Rowland first came up with the idea, he started with fish nets of lower weight possibilities and found that he needed something stronger…900 pounds stronger. With the 900-pound fish net and a 2,000-pound border, the Man Catcher was created.
“I wanted to make it so strong that no one can get out of it,” he added. “So far, nobody we have tried it on has been able to.”
Rowland’s invention is also in a patent pending status.
“There is nothing like this on the market,” Rowland said. “My brother-in-law John Harville is an engineer, and he helped me finish the design. Once you handcuff the offender, whether it be from the front or back, you throw it out and place the offender inside. Running zip ties through a belt loop or the netting itself, you secure the offender without hurting them. The movable design can be adjusted. It is also about properly securing the offender without harming him or the officer.”
“Fighting with somebody on the side of the road is not fun at all,” he added.
Rowland has already pitched the idea to the Yazoo County Sheriff's Department, the Yazoo City Police Department, sheriff’s departments in Madison, Rankin, Warren, Simpson and Marion counties and at Hattiesburg.
“The response has been very good,” he said. “The last meeting I had in Columbia, the guy we tried it on couldn’t even get up. Another thing is that it allows you to pick up the offender to move him if he doesn’t want to walk.”
Rowland is hoping to spread the word about the Man Catcher. Keeping officers safe from getting hurt or even facing potential litigation during an arrest is a key factor behind the invention. But it is also about keeping the offender safe during what could be tense situations.
