Three Marin County police agencies have overhauled how they use a controversial body restraint device following a lawsuit filed by a Novato man who said officers mistreated his brother. The changes require a dedicated observer during transport, prompt medical attention under specified conditions, limits on how restrained people are positioned, and new restrictions on using the device on children under 14.
The settlement stems from a lawsuit filed by Michael Little, who alleged that officers from Central Marin, Fairfax and Novato police mistreated his brother, Joshua Little, through use of the WRAP, a device with straps that bind a combative detainee's legs to prevent kicking, according to Marin Independent Journal. The device is designed to keep a detainee still and upright so officers can lift and move them. Joshua Little died from a drug overdose in 2024 at age 36, and the lawsuit alleged he had schizophrenia.
Michael Little, who represented himself in the case and was also a candidate for Novato City Council in the Nov. 3 election, said he saw body-camera footage after his brother's death and was shocked by what he saw. The lawsuit alleged that Fairfax and Central Marin officers placed Joshua Little in the WRAP on at least five occasions between December 2020 and April 2021, according to Pacific Sun. In one incident, Joshua told his brother that the straps were too tight and that he had passed out or could not breathe.
Michael Little Sought Changes to WRAP Policies
The lawsuit also alleged that Marin police agencies lacked formal policies for placing detainees into the WRAP. Michael Little hoped to prevent use of the device or require agencies to adopt policies governing its use.
The agencies have adopted policies similar to those already used by the Marin County Sheriff's Office. Under the new rules, officers will need a dedicated observer to monitor restrained detainees and ensure their safety during transport.
New Limits on Positioning, Medical Response and Minors
The revised policies require police to promptly request medical assistance if a restrained person reports pain or shows injury, troubled breathing, severe agitation or suspected drug intoxication. The WRAP is designed to keep a detainee upright. Separately, officers may place minors under age 14 into the restraint only if they are suspected of dangerous felonies or pose a physical risk to officers.
Thomas Bertrand is Fairfax's attorney and also represents Central Marin.
WRAP Use Across Marin Agencies
Nine of Marin's 13 law enforcement agencies use the WRAP system, according to Pacific Sun. The Central Marin Police Authority's transparency portal lists a policy manual updated in May 2024.
A Device With a Troubled National Record
The WRAP's manufacturer has estimated the device is used 50,000 times a year, but scientific safety research remains limited; the only cited evaluation, a 2013 study by the Institute for the Prevention of In-Custody Death, relied on 128 use-of-force reports voluntarily submitted by four police departments and identified no deaths or injuries. A 2024 Marin County Civil Grand Jury report found that up to two-thirds of people held in the county jail have some form of mental health disorder, underscoring the stakes for how restraint devices are used locally.
Elsewhere, the device's record has drawn scrutiny. The family of Dujuan Armstrong sued the Alameda County Sheriff's Office after he died in 2018 from positional asphyxiation while restrained by the WRAP at Santa Rita Jail, a death the Alameda County coroner's office attributed to the restraint; that agency's medical examiner determined the cause was mechanical asphyxia, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The Alameda County Sheriff's Office stopped using the device afterward, and the Missouri Department of Corrections later did the same following the death of an incarcerated man, per Pacific Sun.
More recently, the parents of a man restrained by Elk Grove police filed a federal wrongful-death lawsuit in September 2025 that remains ongoing, after video showed officers left him lying flat on his back in a spit hood and unattended for 10 minutes, as reported by the Sacramento Bee. Bloomberg Law identified 41 incidents nationwide in which someone restrained in the WRAP later died, finding manufacturer instructions were not followed in 32 of those cases.
