Module 2 - Law Enforcement Equipment and Police Canines

- Image Source: Sergeant A. Kowalyk, Edmonton Police Service

Pepper spray typically comes in a canister carried in a pouch on a police officer’s equipment belt. Most patrol officers in major police departments across North America carry these canisters.

Similar to their use of CEDs, police officers may use pepper spray instead of an impact weapon such as a baton. Pepper spray is considered advantageous because it can be deployed quickly, often with success. It leaves little sign of physical harm after the effects of the spray have worn off in about 30 minutes to an hour. In some circumstances, pepper spray is a preferred weapon in potentially physical confrontations because the use of a baton often causes soft tissue damage. Pepper spray can also be used to neutralize an aggressive subject who may be armed without the officer having to resort to a CED or a firearm.

Police officers are instructed to use their pepper spray only during a limited set of circumstances such as when a suspect is resisting arrest or is openly confrontational and is about to attack an officer. When the pepper spray is pointed in the direction of a suspect, verbal direction is given in conjunction with its use, such as “Stop resisting—put your hands in the air.”

Risks Related to Pepper Spray Exposure

When police officers use pepper spray to subdue suspects, there is a risk that they may be inadvertently exposed to its effects. For this reason, officers are trained to be aware of prevailing winds that might blow the spray in their faces. In addition, officers experience its effects in their classes to help teach them how to react in appropriately should this occur.

People who suffer from severe asthma or who are under the influence of drugs may face some risk of injury or death if they are exposed to pepper spray. This is generally attributed to a potentially fatal condition called “excited delirium” that involves subjects who suffocate or experience heart failure after undergoing tremendous exertion while resisting arrest. Present research indicates that pepper spray is not a direct causal factor in such cases of in-custody death.

The Journal of Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science published a study that concluded that one exposure of the eye to OC is harmless but repeated exposure can result in long-lasting changes to the cornea, the outermost thin layer of transparent tissue in the front of the eye. This study concluded that a single exposure to pepper spray causes no lasting negative effects upon visual acuity.