Device intended to deter pirates at sea headed to Israel
MIAMI - A device that helps protect boaters from pirates and other criminals out at sea is being shown to people at the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show.
They said the device can also help the Israel Defense Forces fight terrorists, and are in the process of getting the device into the country.
Jody Allan Krowe is a school administrator in Minnesota.
"After Sandy Hook, I realized we needed to do something inside a school building to protect against an active shooter," Krowe said.
He created Crotega, a company that installs a system in school ceilings and releases a chemical irritant on top of a school shooter.
"Bio-friendly, a very humane chemical irritant that can stop an active shooter," Krowe said, "and it's safe enough to spray on a 6-year-old kid, it's easy to clean up afterward and after you spray you can go into the environment, all those things that you can't do with pepper spray."
Crotega started off by inventing that ceiling device, then they created a canister, but now they're offering a backpack that is motorized and shoots over 35 feet to deter anyone who is coming up to your boat.
Lou Krupkin lives in Aventura, and is a former Israel Defense Force paratrooper focused on counterterrorism. He saw the product and knew Israel could benefit from it.
"Ended up taking with me on my flight to Israel eight canisters to a very intense strategic training facility in Israel called Caliber 3," Krumpkin said.
Krumpkin also works for Caliber 3, which is the counterterrorism and security academy that trains the Israeli army, police, and other government agencies.
"Every citizen, every civilian really should be carrying this," he said.
He said this device could be used in close quarters without impacting the soldier, like the spider web of tunnels under Gaza.
Police departments, airports, and state buildings across the country have implemented this system.