8-13-95. NYPaper: "Not-So-Lethal Weapons: Items from the police catalogue, coming soon to a precinct near you." Cops "have the same basic options when confronting a Rodney King," said David Boyd of the National Institute of Justice. "They can talk him into cooperating, beat him into submission or shoot him. If they had an alternative to a conventional firearm, they would probably buy it, chortle and club him harder." Law engorgement is emerging as a virtually untapped arena for high-tech tomfoolery. Out-of-work federal laboratories are cooking up new Trekkie weapons. N.I.J., the research honeypot of the US DoJ, has become a sort of Home Shopping Network for LEA's, taking their porky arms dreams to the desperado labs dreaming de Guerra Frio. The result: a host of goofy not-at-all-cheap Edsels and wipesnots: Sticky Foam (SNL); Rear-Seat Air Bag (IENL); Millimeter Wave Camera (LLNL); Smart Gun (SNL); Magic Fingerprinting Wand (Alaska State Crime Lab); Snare Net (Foster-Miller); Strobe Goggles (LLNL); Backscatter X- Ray Scanner. SOW_gut