Non-Lethal Response Readiness: Warren County Trains Through High-Repetition Virtual Reality From Day One

Establishing non-lethal response as a foundational layer of proactive, lawful control enabling earlier intervention, aimed to reduce injury and safer outcomes before encounters escalate


MIAMI, Jan. 21, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Wrap Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: WRAP) (“Wrap” or the “Company”), a global leader in non-lethal response and public-safety technology, today announced that the Warren County Sheriff’s Office has deployed the WRAP® Reality™ immersive virtual reality (VR) training system as a foundational component of its recruit training, field training, and ongoing professional development programs.

The Warren County Sheriff’s Office has embedded WRAP Reality across the entire training lifecycle, from pre academy onboarding and firearms fundamentals to scenario-based decision making, report writing, and Field Training Officer remediation, establishing virtual reality as a primary environment for building repetition before officers face real world consequences.

“We start recruits in virtual reality on day one,” said Chris Shelton, Training Director for the Warren County Sheriff’s Office. “Before they ever step onto the range or into the field, they are getting repetitions and learning how to perceive threats, communicate effectively, manage distance, and make decisions under stress. We want them to fail here, learn here, and succeed on the street, because failure in the real world carries real consequences.”

The department views immersive virtual reality training as the non-lethal equivalent of dry fire in firearms training. Just as dry fire isolates and perfects shooting fundamentals without recoil or risk, the department believes virtual reality training allows officers to rehearse perception, timing, movement, verbalization, and decision making without the danger of real world injury or escalation. By removing irreversible consequences while preserving cognitive realism such as stress, ambiguity, distance collapse, and human behavior, officers have the opportunity to build correct habits before pressure peaks.

Through WRAP Reality™, officers repeatedly practice non-lethal fundamentals such as distance management, positioning, balance, verbal engagement, and early intervention timing in a controlled, repeatable environment. These repetitions have the potential to reinforce lawful and proportional responses and help officers act earlier, before encounters escalate to contact distance where injuries and fatalities are most likely to occur.

“Under stress, people default to habit,” Shelton added. “Virtual reality provides the opportunity to let us build the right habits including movement, positioning, timing, and follow on control, so officers do not rely solely on last second reactions or familiar lethal tools. We believe the environment is instinctive, realistic, and more effective than flat screen training.”

WRAP Reality™ is used broadly across the agency, including recruits, veteran deputies, court security personnel, and dispatchers. The system’s ability to capture objective data such as distance, timing, posture, verbal cues, and decision points provides immediate feedback and coaching opportunities that are more difficult to achieve in live training environments.

The Warren County Sheriff’s Office has also opened its virtual reality training program to neighboring police departments and sheriff’s offices, with the aim to extend the impact of high repetition non-lethal training across the region. To support this expanded role, the county is completing a new purpose built training facility that includes a dedicated 40 by 40 foot virtual reality training space. The $3.7 million investment is expected to provide seamless integration between virtual and physical training environments, reinforcing decision making and timing before officers transition to live scenarios.

The WRAP Reality™ system is designed to help law enforcement agencies improve readiness, enhance decision making under stress, reduce training costs, and reinforce non-lethal response options through high fidelity and repeatable training. By enabling frequent low risk repetitions at scale, virtual reality training may help agencies achieve safer and more consistent outcomes by training officers to act earlier, think more clearly, and control encounters before distance collapses and where most injuries occur.

About Wrap Technologies, Inc.

Wrap Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: WRAP) a global leader in innovative public safety technologies and non-lethal tools, delivering cutting-edge technology with exceptional people to address the complex, modern day challenges facing public safety organizations.

Wrap's complete public safety portfolio includes the non-lethal BolaWrap 150 device, WrapReality™ immersive training platform, WrapVision™ body-worn camera system, WrapTactics™ training programs, and next-generation CUAS solutions like PAN-DA and the 1KC Kinetic Anti-Drone Cassette, all of which supports the Company's mission to provide safer, scalable, and cost-effective technologies for public safety, defense, and critical infrastructure markets. Wrap's BolaWrap® 150 solution leads in pre-escalation intended to provide law enforcement with a safer choice for nearly every phase of a critical incident. This innovative, patented device deploys a multi-sensory, cognitive disruption that leverages sight, sound and sensation to expand the pre-escalation period and gives officers the advantage and critical time to manage non-compliant subjects before resorting to higher-force options. The BolaWrap® 150 is not pain-based compliance. It does not shoot, strike, shock, or incapacitate, instead, it helps officers strategically operate pre-escalation on the force continuum, reducing the risk of injury to both officers and subjects. Used by over 1,000 agencies across the U.S. and in 60 countries, BolaWrap® is backed by training certified by the International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training (IADLEST), reinforcing Wrap's commitment to public safety through cutting-edge technology and expert training.

WrapReality™ VR is a fully immersive training simulator to enhance decision-making under pressure.

As a comprehensive public safety training platform, it provides first responders with realistic, interactive scenarios that reflect the evolving challenges of modern law enforcement. By offering a growing library of real-world situations, WrapReality™ is intended to equip officers with the skills and confidence to navigate high-stakes encounters effectively, which we believe leads to safer outcomes for both responders and the communities they serve.

WrapVision is an all-new body-worn camera and evidence management system built for efficiency.

Designed for efficiency, security, and transparency to meet the rigorous demands of modern law enforcement, WrapVision captures, stores, and helps manage digital evidence, ensuring operational security, regulatory compliance, and enhanced video picture quality and field of view.

The WrapVision camera, powered by IONODES, boasts streamlined cloud integration and final North American assembly, with a critical made-in-America roadmap projected for early 2026. This track helps ensure data integrity and helps eliminate critical concerns over unauthorized access or foreign surveillance risks.

Trademark Information

Wrap, the Wrap logo, BolaWrap®, WrapReality™ and Wrap Training Academy are trademarks of Wrap Technologies, Inc., some of which are registered in the U.S. and abroad. All other trade names used herein are either trademarks or registered trademarks of the respective holders.

Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements - Safe Harbor Statement

This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "expect," "anticipate," "should", "believe", "target", "project", "goals", "estimate", "potential", "predict", "may", "will", "could", "intend", and variations of these terms or the negative of these terms and similar expressions are intended to identify these forward-looking statements. Moreover, forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which involve factors or circumstances that are beyond the Company's control and include, but are not limited to, statements relating to the expected benefits and performance of the WRAP® Reality™ immersive virtual reality (VR) training system, Wrap's planned future products, technologies, integration, intended product designs and expected benefits therefrom, expected market opportunities and outcomes related to Wrap's products to increase officer and public safety. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those stated or implied in forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including but not limited to: the Company's ability to maintain compliance with the Nasdaq Capital Market's listing standards; the Company's ability to successfully implement training programs for the use of its products; the Company's ability to manufacture and produce products for its customers; the Company's ability to develop sales for its products; the market acceptance of existing and future products; the availability of funding to continue to finance operations; the complexity, expense and time associated with sales to law enforcement and government entities; the lengthy evaluation and sales cycle for the Company's product solutions; product defects; litigation risks from alleged product-related injuries; risks of government regulations; the impact resulting from geopolitical conflicts and any resulting sanctions; the ability to obtain export licenses for counties outside of the United States; the ability to obtain patents and defend intellectual property against competitors; the impact of competitive products and solutions; and the Company's ability to maintain and enhance its brand, as well as other risk factors mentioned in the Company's most recent annual report on Form 10-K, subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and other Securities and Exchange Commission filings. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this release and were based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts, and projections as well as the beliefs and assumptions of management. Except as required by law, the Company undertakes no duty or obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this release as a result of new information, future events or changes in its expectations.

Investor Relations Contact:
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