I wish we had a 'posting icon' with tears... that would so fit this thread! Anyway, I spent about 10 years working in corrections and also did some time way back as a cop. When I started out (early '70s) the tear gas in-a-can was just starting to be available - Mace was the big name then. Pepper spray came after that. CN and CS as riot control was also used a lot but from grenades and not in spray cans.

Tear gas spray was something I never trusted - I got gassed by it more than once and every time I used it or was involved were somebody used it - the "target" didn't stop fighting right away it always took a couple of minutes to have a full impact. When it got used on a group - they would break up and move away but it sure never produced a 'full stop' to anything.

With that in my background I didn't trust pepper spray when it came out - with what I found to be good reason. I think it works “better” but is still not something you can count on. Several times in corrections settings I saw inmates just keep on fighting (even if fighting ‘blind’) after being hit several times with pepper spray. As a part of corrections training we all had to get sprayed in a classroom setting (we got told to spray the chest area and NOT to spray in the face as that could be excessive force) and try to keep moving and reacting to a situation. The instructors would spritz us across the face from lower left side jaw to right side forehead so we had the full impact. Working through It can be done, it just hurts a lot. We also did full on gas training where (again in a controlled class setting) used masks and set off several grenades – the military guys will remember too – then they have you take off your mask and expect you to shout out your name, rank, whatever to get you to breathe some of the stuff… and still sort of function. Cue the visit from the puke fairy! You do learn that you can continue to function even if at a reduced ability.

The bottom line was anyone who is willing to can and will fight through being pepper sprayed or even gassed. They won’t function as well as normal but they can and will be able to do serious harm and continue producing mayhem. As an aside, the firearms instruction also teaches that there is no such thing as an “instant” stop when shooting someone so I don’t expect any chemical agent to do it either. So, consider the use of pepper spray as a tool that can have different results when used and DO NOT count on it to fully achieve the desired result.

Paul -