Harris County Sheriff's Department, one of the Largest Sheriff's Departments in the U.S., has Selected the Byrna TCR as its 68 Caliber Less-Lethal Platform

ANDOVER, Mass., May 25, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Byrna Technologies Inc. ("Byrna" or "the Company") (Nasdaq: BYRN) today announced that Harris County Sheriff's Department has, after a rigorous testing and evaluation process of various less-lethal weapons platforms, selected the Byrna TCR as the 68 caliber less-lethal platform of choice for its Deputies.

Harris County Texas, home to the greater Houston area, is the fourth largest county in the nation boasting a population of over 4.5 million people and the Harris County Sheriff's Office is the 3^rd largest Sheriff's Office in the United States.  Harris County Sheriff's Office is not only charged with patrolling the county's 1700 square miles, but the agency's 5,000 deputies are also entrusted with operating one of the largest jail systems in the nation.  At any given time, the Harris County Jail will house over 9,000 inmates in its main jail complex which requires a staff of 2,700 correctional officers and administrative staff to run day to day operations.

To give their deputies better less-lethal tools, county administrators, instructors, and deputies have been testing and evaluating several less-lethal weapon systems over the last few months. The outcome of this evaluation period has resulted in the Harris County Sheriff's Office selecting and ordering Byrna's TCR .68 caliber launchers. 

The TCR, or Tactical Compact Rifle, uses 12-gram CO2 cartridges to propel .68 caliber encapsulated chemical projectiles at speeds of over 320 fps to distances of over 150 feet.  This design, coupled with the platform's "pull-pierce" technology, allows deputies to load the CO2 and 19 rounds into the launcher and then stow the device in a ready state, indefinitely, without the worry of performing daily maintenance to assure the launcher will be ready to use.  Byrna's design features will not only increase the deputies' capabilities when responding to non-lethal threats but will also decrease their response time by having tools that require no "prep" or "set-up" to be deployed into action.

Instructors within the Harris County Sheriff's Office will be attending the Byrna Law Enforcement and Private Security Train-the-Trainer (T3) Course in June.  This 12-hour course uses a "skills-based assessment" method to certify instructors to train end-users on the use of the Byrna series of launchers as well as use-of-force concepts and a review of existing applicable case-law.  The students also spend a significant portion of the course participating in reality-based training scenarios that are designed to represent actual critical incidents.

Bryan Ganz, CEO of Byrna, stated that "we are extremely pleased to have been selected by the Harris County Sheriff's Office over all of Byrna's less-lethal competitors.  It is a testament to the effectiveness and versatility of Byrna's less-lethal launchers in disarming, deterring and disabling a threat at distance.  We believe that Harris County is a harbinger of things to come and that Byrna will continue to be picked by up large Police Departments and Sheriff's Offices through the country." 

In fact, Harris County Sheriff's Office is but one of a number of recent Law Enforcement, Private Security and School Safety wins for Byrna.   When these professional end users select Byrna as their preferred less-lethal weapons system, it brings credibility and validation to Byrna as these organizations would never onboard a new weapons system without extensive testing and evaluation.  Over the last few weeks, Byrna has been selected by Northern Arizona Healthcare's Security Division, the Lincoln Unified School District Police Department and Whittier College Campus Security.

Northern Arizona Healthcare system (NA Health), headquartered in Flagstaff AZ, operates facilities in Arizona, Utah and Nevada, including areas of the Navajo Nation.  NA Health, its visitors, and staff are currently protected by a guard force comprised of 30 security professionals.  Currently, all of NA Health's security staff is unarmed and carries an array of less-lethal tools to secure the campus.  After conducting tests and research with the Byrna Launchers, the leadership feels that the Byrna SD .68 caliber handheld launcher provides their security professionals with increased capabilities relative to their current less-lethal resources.  Most notably, their security director cited the Byrna SD's "application as a ranged weapon and various ammo choices" as just some of the deciding factors that put Byrna ahead of the competition. 

The Lincoln Unified School District Police Department, located in Stockton, California, has purchased the handheld Byrna SD to equip all department personnel.  The Byrna SD will be their primary less-lethal weapon.  The school district, located just east of San Francisco, encompasses thirteen K-12 schools that serve over 9,800 students and employ over 1,000 faculty and staff.  Unlike many district police departments, the LUSD Department of Public Safety officers do not carry lethal firearms.  As such, it is imperative that their primary less-lethal weapon be extremely effective to assure they can properly protect the faculty and students throughout the school district.  After extensive hands-on testing through Byrna's Law Enforcement and Private Security T&E (Testing and Evaluation) program, the department chose the SD handheld .68 caliber launcher to be their first line of defense and their officer's primary weapon.

Whittier College, one of the most diverse liberal arts colleges in the nation, is located in the greater Los Angeles area.  The Whittier College Department of Campus Safety consists of 23 full-time staff members who are responsible for the safety and security of the students and faculty.  All officers are certified peace officers with the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training.  Whittier College officers carry both a firearm and less-lethal force options as part of their everyday uniform.  After learning about the Byrna's increased less-lethal capabilities and getting the opportunity to utilize the platform in their environment, the Department of Campus Safety chose the Byrna SD .68 caliber launcher to further increase their officer's less-lethal force options. 

Josh Schirard, Director of Byrna's Law Enforcement and Private Security division stated that "Byrna strives to provide our nations police officers and security professionals with the best less-lethal options available as well as the most progressive and realistic education and training.  By providing police and private security with more and better less-lethal tools and training, Byrna is making a difference when it comes to reducing gun violence and keeping our communities safe."

About Byrna Technologies Inc.

Byrna is a technology company, specializing in the development, manufacture, and sale of innovative non-lethal personal security solutions. For more information on the Company, please visit the corporate website here or the Company's investor relations site here. The Company is the manufacturer of the Byrna® SD personal security device, a state-of-the-art handheld CO2 powered launcher designed to provide a non-lethal alternative to a firearm for the consumer, private security, and law enforcement markets. To purchase Byrna products, visit the Company's e-commerce store.

Forward Looking Information

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the securities laws. All statements contained in this news release, other than statements of current and historical fact, are forward-looking. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans," "expects," "intends," "will," "anticipates," and "believes" and statements that certain actions, events or results "may," "could," "would," "should," "might," "occur," or "be achieved," or "will be taken." Forward-looking statements include descriptions of currently occurring matters which may continue in the future. Forward-looking statements in this news release include but are not limited to the statement that personnel from the Harris County  Sheriff's Office will be attending a Byrna Law Enforcement and Private Security course, the implied expectation that the Harris County Sheriff's Office and other law enforcement agencies will purchase product from the Company in the future, the belief that Byrna products will continue to be approved for use by other police and sheriff's departments across the country and the implication that use of Byrna products by law enforcement agencies will favorably affect the Company's and its products' reputation.  Forward-looking statements are not, and cannot be, a guarantee of future results or events. Forward-looking statements are based on, among other things, opinions, assumptions, estimates, and analyses that, while considered reasonable by the Company at the date the forward-looking information is provided, inherently are subject to significant risks, uncertainties, contingencies, and other factors that may cause actual results and events to be materially different from those expressed or implied.

Any number of risk factors could affect our actual results and cause them to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements in this news release, including, but not limited to, potential cancellations of existing or future orders including as a result of any fulfillment delays, introduction of competing products, negative publicity, or other factor, changes in the markets for security products and non-lethal defense technology could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations,

The order in which these factors appear should not be construed to indicate their relative importance or priority. We caution that these factors may not be exhaustive; accordingly, any forward-looking statements contained herein should not be relied upon as a prediction of actual results.  Investors should carefully consider these and other relevant factors, including those risk factors in Part I, Item 1A, ("Risk Factors") in our most recent Form 10-K, should understand it is impossible to predict or identify all such factors or risks, should not consider the foregoing list, or the risks identified in our SEC filings, to be a complete discussion of all potential risks or uncertainties, and should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, except as required by applicable law.

SOURCE Byrna Technologies Inc.