It’s a Friday evening. You’ve just returned home from a night on the town with your friends. As you approach the door, you hear unfamiliar noises coming from inside your home. A scratching noise. It gets louder and louder as you get closer to the door. Your heart is racing as you start to realize something is not right. You open the door only for it to be kicked by intruders.
This was Seth Froom’s experience one August night in 2011 at his Highland Creek home. It marked the second time the inventor of the Yellow Jacket stun gun phone case was robbed at gunpoint in his own home, defenseless.
“It was a terrible situation, so I was looking around for some type of weapon system to defend myself and my home,” Froom said. “I learned in that moment, you only are as effective as what you have in reach when that moment of chaos comes. It’s a very unpredictable moment.”
The only thing in Froom’s hand at the time was his iPhone.
“I decided I needed some sort of protective device that wouldn’t intrude on my life, like a lethal firearm,” Froom said.
And so the idea for the Yellow Jacket phone case was born.
Yellow Jacket case is a protective case for the iPhone that acts as a stun gun and rechargeable battery. It fires .8 amps of electricity when discharged.
The LSU graduate describes the pain “as an unexplainable sensation.”
“It’s not so much an overwhelming pain as it’s something your body moves every effort to get away from,” Froom said. “It really does stun you.”
Froom relied on his U.S. Army training in combat arms as a springboard for his research for Yellow Jacket.
According to Froom, 45 out of 50 states allow stun guns, but laws may be different in some jurisdictions. Some universities have restrictions, but Louisiana and the University allow stun guns.
LSU Police Department Spokesman Capt. Cory Lalonde said it is not illegal to carry defensive weapons on campus — except firearms — but it is illegal to carry if used in such a way that causes bodily harm unnecessarily.
“I don’t encourage students to carry these devices,” Lalonde said. “But my word of caution is receive proper training. Understand how to use [these defensive weapons].”
Along with proper training, Lalonde advised students to be prepared in the event an assailant takes their weapon and uses it against them.
General business freshman Jonathan Dorsey said he wouldn’t buy the Yellow Jacket because he doesn’t think he would pull his phone out fast enough to use.
Conversely, psychology freshman Jordan Nichols said carrying a stun gun is useful because of the size of campus. She said with a stun gun, she would feel protected from danger.
Interdisciplinary studies freshman Bonnie Rees said she’s worried about shocking herself accidently, but Yellow Jacket is equipped with safety features to prevent accidental discharge. Yellow Jacket has a safety cover over the stun gun and on/off safety switches on the side of the case.
Yellow Jacket is $139.99 for the iPhone 4/4S and available to those at least 18 years old. Yellow Jacket will be available for the iPhone 5 this November, and Froom said buyers could expect a Samsung Galaxy S4 case by December or January.
The iPhone 5 case will feature more power from the stun gun and the ability to use the stun gun even if the phone dies. Froom said he is developing a case for law enforcement officers.
For students who cannot afford this device, Lalonde offers simple safety precautions.
“The most important thing is to be aware of your surroundings and avoid walking around campus alone at night,” Lalonde said. “Utilize campus transportation and LSU police.”

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Grace Steinhauser

Creator Seth Froom tests out the new iPhone case that doubles as a stun gun Friday, Sept. 6.