align="justify">Police often use tasers, rubber bullets and pepper spray to control riots and crowds out of control. But there could soon be a new weapon in their arsenal, a high-tech flashlight - with a big punch.

The device called a "LED Incapacitator" causes 'flash blindness' or a nauseated, disoriented feeling.

Dr. Robert Liebermen is president of Intelligent Optical Systems. The California company has an $800,000 contract from the Department of Homeland Security.

The device flashes LED lights at several specific frequencies. Before the brain has time to adjust to one frequency the Incapacitator flashes a different one. Add multiple colors, which the eyes read differently, along with random pulses and a back and forth motion and the brain just can't keep up.

"The longer you look at this [the Incapacitator] ... the more you don't want to look at it," Liebermen said. "The closer you are to it the more intense the effect."