Impact munitions were initially intended for use against individuals armed with unorthodox weapons, such as swords, knives, and clubs (in non-crowd control situations). The beauty of impact munitions in such circumstances is that they give officers a realistic opportunity to resolve the situation from a safe distance. The widespread use of impact munitions in policing today is the result of the American law enforcement community’s diligent work over the last several decades to develop ways to resolve dangerous situations short of gunfire. The available evidence indicates that impact munitions have been a successful innovation, saving the lives of many people who might otherwise have been injured with standard police firearms. The evidence also indicates that the diffusion of impact munitions in American policing has brought with it some unintended risks that can place officers’ lives jeopardy. The diffusion of impact munitions has raised several issues about the role that these tools play in contemporary policing. The paper focuses on a few of them, beginning with a discussion of contemporary thinking about impact munitions in the context of the force options available to police. Tables, notes, references