Inventor takes on crime market

Date: 3/7/2011

March 7, 2011

By G. Michael Dobbs

Managing Editor

WILBRAHAM — For Kevin Trigo of Wilbraham, a long-time dream is becoming a reality.

Trigo's invention, Crook Hook, is now entering the manufacturing phase and will be fabricated at The Metal Men in Chicopee.

Trigo first developed the device to assist law enforcement in 1995.

"It's been a very long road," Trigo told Reminder Publications.

Crook Hook is a two-pronged hydraulic-controlled metal hook that is mounted on the front of a patrol car. Officers can use the hook to slow down a car that they are pursuing or to keep a parked car from moving during a traffic stop.

Trigo said that 80 percent of all pursuits start from traffic stops — people wait for the officer to leave his or her car and then take off. Trigo asserted Crook Hook would prevent those chases from starting.

"It's a phenomenal opportunity to stop pursuits before they start," he said.

Trigo explained he came up with the idea when he was working as a heavy equipment operator. He was thinking of training as a police officer and watched shows such as "COPS" frequently.

He patented the idea in 1998.

Trigo said the response from law enforcement officials has been "absolutely been phenomenal."

Police officers see Crook Hook as a device that can be used in drug busts or in cases in which an officer wishes to secure a suspicious vehicle.

A criticism that has been raised — such as some of the comments left on the Crook Hook demonstration video on YouTube (www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ezb2xaTgNM) — is the device would simply rip off the plastic bumpers of modern cars. Trigo acknowledged this might be a problem, but a minor one. He maintained it would secure "most cars, most of the time."

"What really matters is the weight [of the patrol car]," he said. Crook Hook turns a cruiser into an anchor.

It is also designed not to puncture a car's gas tank, he added.

Trigo sees Crook Hook as another tool officers can have at their disposal.

Trigo worked with Paul Gelinas of Longmeadow in developing his business plan. Gelinas said his job was to make Trigo ready "to raise money, to make sure there is a market and whether or not it is a good concept."

Gelinas has a distributor in place for Crook Hook, which will be bringing the invention to trade shows.

"Everybody is excited about it," Gelinas said.

He added that currently police have three options to stop a chase: the pit maneuver, nail spikes to puncture tires or shooting out the tires. All of these options have serious risks and he said that there are about 400 chase-related deaths across the country each year.

Crook Hook will cost between $7,000 and $8,000 per patrol car installed.

For more information, go to http://crookhook.net.