The 2025 Supreme Court decision in Barnes v. Felix represents a seismic shift in how use-of-force incidents will be evaluated under federal civil rights law. By expanding the analysis and calculus of the courts to include the 'totality of the circumstances,' the ruling broadens the scope of officer accountability beyond the moment force is applied. This white paper explores how the ruling will reshape the legal risk landscape for law enforcement and argues that pre-escalation strategies—anchored by tools like the BolaWrap 150—are now essential for protecting lives, reducing injuries, preserving careers, and minimizing civil liabilities.

Barnes v. Felix (2025) involved a dispute over a use-of-force incident in which an officer applied force during the arrest of a non-compliant but unarmed subject. The plaintiff argued that the officer's conduct in the minutes leading up to the use of force—including lack of de-escalation efforts—was reckless and unconstitutional. In a stunning 9-0 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that courts must now assess an officer’s actions through the lens of the 'totality of the circumstances,' considering both the lead-up and the actual use of force. This redefined legal threshold compels a rethinking of how officers are trained and what tools they have at their disposal to act before the crisis may spiral into violence.

For decades, police use-of-force cases hinged on the 1989 Graham v. Connor standard, which prioritized whether an officer’s split-second decision to use force was reasonable in that moment. Barnes v. Felix expands that evaluation to include before the use-of-force conduct—actions, decisions, verbal commands, and tactical choices. This puts renewed emphasis on the officer's actions during the pre-escalation period.

In this new legal landscape, officers may be found liable not for how they used force, but for their actions in the pre-escalation period. Departments that lack pre-escalation tools, training, or tactics may face increased litigation risk, consent decrees, and community backlash.

WRAP Technologies has introduced the concept of the WrapWindow to describe a critical timeframe early in a police encounter where opportunity is high and risks are reduced. The WrapWindow exists once the subject has also cleared the legal and constitutional measure to be detained or arrested and has not fled, attacked, or otherwise crossed the threshold into active threat. Within the WrapWindow, officers have the best opportunity to take action and deploy a pre-escalation tool, such as the BolaWrap™ 150.

The WrapWindow exists within the newly described Pre-Escalation Period. The longer Pre-Escalation Period starts when the officer first makes contact with a subject and ends at any point when the subject's actions create an escalation of greater conflict or when the call concludes without incident. By focusing pre-escalation training efforts on the early "WrapWindow" phase, agencies and officers can resolve situations before they escalate into crisis and reduce the risk of liability under the “totality of the circumstances” test adopted in Barnes v. Felix.

The BolaWrap™ 150 is the world's premier pre-escalation tool. While the BolaWrap™ 150 can be successfully deployed during other phases of a critical incident, included in conjunction with backup and lethal cover, its most effective use case is within the WrapWindow of the Pre-Escalation Period. BolaWrap™ 150's success stems a multi-sensory cognitive disruption that leverages light, sound, and tactile sensation to expand the pre-escalation period and give officers the advantage to place the subject into handcuffs safely.

Traditional force tools rely on often unreliable, unpredictable, and even lethal pain based compliance. In contrast the BolaWrap 150 achieves compliance through cognitive disruption AND a temporary reduction in physical movement. It avoids physical injury, emotional trauma, and the appearance of excessive force.

In the context of Barnes v. Felix, BolaWrap™ provides officers with a demonstrable option that we believe must be deployed before force becomes necessary, when possible. We believe its deployment can serve as compelling evidence that officers took every possible step to avoid escalation by engaging a subject within the WrapWindow using a pre-escalation tool. These pre-escalation actions will now be critical in civil rights litigation and internal reviews.

The integration of the BolaWrap™ 150 and a Pre-Escalation Phase philosophy to train within the WrapWindow offers measurable benefits across four critical dimensions:

• Lives Saved: Early, safe interventions reduce fatal encounters, reduce escalation of force, and reduce unpredictable risk particularly in behavioral health crisis or substance abuse cases where confusion or fear often drives noncompliance, even with current pain-based-compliance tools.

• Fewer Injuries: Subjects are restrained without violence or pain, and officers avoid close-contact hands-on confrontations that often end with risky injuries, exposures, or escalations.

• Careers Preserved: In the post-Barnes era, officers will face scrutiny for their choices in the lead-up to force. BolaWrap™ and our WrapTactics training to engage safer and sooner, within the WrapWindow, will help protect jobs and livelihoods.

• Reduced Liability: Early, pre-escalation action demonstrates good-faith efforts to avoid escalation, conflicts, violence, pain, harm, and even death, a critical factor in courtrooms and policy audits.

The Barnes v. Felix ruling is a clear call for transformation in law enforcement. Use-of-force liability is no longer limited to the final moment—it encompasses the choices made throughout the pre-escalation period. Agencies must adapt to this new reality, and they must do so with urgency, compassion, and clarity.

Wrap Technologies stands ready to partner with law enforcement agencies ready to lead. With the BolaWrap™ 150, WrapTactics training, our WrapWindow doctrine, and Pre-Escalation Period strategies, departments can meet the moment: saving lives, reducing injuries, preserving careers, and avoiding multi-million dollar civil liabilities.

To learn more, schedule a demonstration or call to learn how BolaWrap™ and our connected ecosystem of WrapPlus will align with your agency’s use-of-force policies and risk management goals in the post Barnes era.