A police department in Northern California has offered its 20 officers the option of carrying nunchakus, arguing the tool could be used to subdue a suspect less violently.                                  

Mostly reminiscent of Bruce Lee and Ninja Turtles, nunchakus are to give trained officers in the town of Anderson a means "to more effectively arrest, control, and subdue," police said.

"The Anderson Police Department is implementing the nunchaku as a tool to more effectively arrest, control, and subdue non-compliant suspects," Anderson police chief Michael Johnson told NBC News.    

According to Orcutt Police Defensive Systems Inc., manufacturer of the nunchakus, the goal is to use the weapon to restrain a suspect, especially if the suspect punches or kicks at an officer. Batons, which are impact weapons carried by cops throughout the US, do not offer the same restraining abilities as nunchakus, which are usually made of two wooden bars connected by a short metal chain.

Anderson police officers can carry nunchakus upon successful completion of a 16-hour training course.

"It gives us the ability to control a suspect instead of striking them," said sergeant Casey Day, who has traded his baton for nunchakus.“I see the value and the safety they bring to me,” said Day, who has traded his baton for nunchakus.

According to The Los Angeles Times, nunchakus were used by American police departments in the past, but the tool fell out of favor after its improper deployment resulted in injuries, such as broken wrists. Just in 1991, the Los Angeles Police Department ceased using nunchakus following a federal lawsuit.