In order to be effective, pepper spray must make contact with a person’s or animal’s mucus membranes. That would be in the eyes, nostrils and/or mouth. The term ‘effective,’ in terms of pepper spray, refers to creating a definitive dysfunction or serious reduction in a person’s or animal’s ability to continue to assault or attack you. OC contact will also create a rather intense burning sensation when it contacts exposed skin.
A former associate of mine (a sublime skeptic), upon being issued a canister of pepper spray, conducted a self-exposure exercise. He read the instructions and paid especially close attention to the decontamination procedures. Anticipating the worst (or maybe the best – depending how you look at it) he decided that the best place to proceed with the self-exposure test was in his shower to accommodate rapid decontamination. So he stripped himself down and jumped into his shower. He held the canister out at arms length and gave himself a brief burst of the pepper spray – upon which gravity carried the excess OC to exactly where you do not want an irritant to contact you. Of course he couldn’t see and he had difficulty breathing and his motor coordination was severely limited. He had great difficulty executing the decontamination procedure, but gained supreme confidence in and respect for the effectiveness of pepper spray.
My primary law enforcement function from the mid 1980s through the 1990s was oversight and operation of a police training academy that served a population base of approximately 1,250 law enforcement officers. This was during the period pepper spray was being adapted as a law enforcement tool. Part of my job was to train and certify most of these officers in the use of pepper spray. The pepper spray training curriculum at that time included a voluntary exposure exercise. Of course virtually every officer elected to participate in the exposure exercise for fear of being branded a coward should he or she decline to participate. And, of course, the lead instructor was expected and elected to frequently participate in exposure demonstrations to calm the fears and nervousness of the student/officers and to prove it was effective and safe to participate. (I doubt there is another man on earth who has been exposed to pepper spray more than me.)
Once pepper spray contacts mucous membranes, the effects are as follows:
1. temporary blindness (involuntary closing and temporary inability to open the eyes – I should stress that pepper spray does not actually alter or impede the physical structure or mechanical operation of the eye or ocular components – it’s just the autonomic reaction to the intense burning sensation);
2. temporary inability to breath (due to swelling of sinus and mucous membranes in the nose and throat and involuntary interruption of autonomic responses);
3. due to reduced breathing capacity and compromised oxygen transfer (dilated capillaries), many people exposed to pepper spray report experiencing lightheadedness, disorientation, confusion and loss of muscle control. This is particularly what gives the assailant’s intended victim that brief window of opportunity to escape.
People who have been caught totally by surprise by exposure to pepper spray in an actual tactical situation have reported that they thought they were having a heart attack or some type of coronary episode. (This, however, does not happen in training exercises where participants anticipate and understand the exposure.)
People exposed to pepper spray also experience massive rhinorrhea – a voluminous discharge (snot) from the mucous membranes of the sinuses. (We actually used to take photos of the officers participating in our exposure exercises and give the person with the longest hanging snot string a ‘booger’ trophy.) One of my favorite one-liners in the pepper spray training class was, “… pepper spray impresses the snot out of me.”
Of the thousand plus officers I’ve had participate in pepper spray exposure exercises, I’ve encountered one person whose reflexes were so quick, we had difficulty getting the pepper spray in his eyes or nostrils. Of course he was standing there looking at the canister in the instructors hand fully anticipating being sprayed. I’ve come to the conclusion that no one can avoid pepper spray’s invasion to mucous membranes in the sudden, unanticipated deployment of pepper spray in an actual tactical situation.
We even had people wearing glasses participate in exposure exercises. Glasses may serve to prevent the highest concentrations of pepper spray from invading directly into the eyes, but the indirect invasion of pepper spray always proved to be effective in halting the aggressive actions of our test officers.
The effective deployment of pepper spray does require some minor marksmanship skill, depending on the nature of the pepper spray product you choose to use. There are generally three types of spray dispensers.
One is a very concentrated stream. The spray is dispensed in a narrow stream and requires the most skill to hit the intended target (the eyes, nose and mouth area of the assailant). The advantage of such a dispenser is that it affords greater range and can be deployed without letting the assailant get as close. Another advantage is that when it is deployed competently, there is less chance that it will affect anyone in the vacinity it is not intended to. Some dispensers claim ranges of up to 15 or 20 feet.Dispensers that produce a less concentrated stream of pepper spray product sacrifice a little range but don’t require the degree of accuracy to make contact with the intended target area on the assailant.
A third type of dispenser is referred to as a ‘fogger.’ It dispenses the pepper spray product in a finely atomized mist that covers a larger area. It is probably the surest way to get the pepper spray to where it needs to be to affect the assailant’s mucous membranes. But you sacrifice even a little more effective range.Many manufacturers of pepper spray products offer inert samples of their various dispensers for sale as well, that allow users to experience the performance of their selected dispenser type so the user knows better what to expect concerning the deployment of his or her chosen pepper spray dispenser.
And some manufacturers offer pepper sprays with UV dyes in the formula that marks the assailant for easier identification later on.
Probably the most extensive research on the effects of pepper spray was conducted at the University of Helsinki, Finland. The researchers used 10 volunteer police officers (5 at a time – conducting the tests twice). They made a battery of scientific measurements and tests of each officer’s eyes just before, immediately after, 1 day after, 1 week after and one month after pepper spray exposure.
The results of the research were published in the July, 2000 volume of Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science Journal. I’ve read the report, but I won’t even pretend to represent to you that I understand it’s scientific techni-speak. But the conclusion stated that although there were some immediate changes to mechanical, temperature and chemical sensitivity, there were no issues that persisted after a week in any of the eyes examined. They determined that a single exposure to Oleoresin Capsicum was virtually harmless.
Manufacturers of pepper sprays promote their products by making potency claims. They represent potency based on the percentage of Oleoresin Capsicum compounds present in relation to the inert ingredients in the contents of the canister. Products on the civilian market range from 2% up to 20%. The pepper spray products carried by police and security officer is generally in the 10% to 12% potency range. (Note: Many states regulate the potency of pepper sprays carried by civilians to the 5% or 6% range.) Bear spray (developed for outdoor sportsmen, hikers, campers, hunters and fishermen) is usually between 18% and 20% OC concentration.
It the nature of our culture to gravitate to the big numbers, assuming that the sprays with higher concentrations of OC will work better. Manufacturers have known this for ages and market it that way. Frankly, if I were going hiking in bear country or fishing in an area populated by feral hogs, I’d go for the higher concentrations, too.
There is another potency indicator that some manufacturers use to promote their pepper spray products. That’s the Scoville Heat Unit (SHU) rating. You see, neither God nor Sam Colt were able to make all members of the Capsicum fila equal. While concentrations speak to quantity, SHU ratings speak to quality. This index was invented by Pharmacist Wilbur Scoville in 1912. Some peppers are hotter than others and produce more highly concentrated capsaicinoids.
If you live in a state that restricts the concentration of OC in your pepper spray, find the products with the percentage of OC concentration allowable and the one with a higher SHU index.
No comments:
Post a Comment