Posted: 2/25/2008 7:18:52 PM EDT
| Have there been cases where Pepper Spray was deployed but the subject was not affected by it? My co-worker and I were discussing this at work. I said that not everyone is affected by pepper spray while my co-worker insists that everyone is affected by it. If someone could shed some light into this subject I would appreciate it. Thank you. |
| don't quote me on this, but i've heard stories where people who are on illicit drugs, such as cocaine, can have a really late response to it, or none at all...it was especially bad w/ the foam pepper spray where they would wipe it off and throw it back at the officer (again, don't quote me cuz I don't have concrete sources for that) |
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I've sprayed a lot of people and have seen it not work like it was supposed to. Almost everyone is affected by it but not everyone. One guy I've sprayed 2 times. Each time he was drunk. Sprayed him, fought with him (one sided...very impaired), then loaded him up and took him to the station. He fell asleep with the red pepper all over his face....both times. We had a lot more trouble with the foam when we carried it. It just didn't work. I've been intentionally sprayed with foam and liquid and the liquid is FAR worse. Most of the bad incidents have probably happened with foam. We don't carry it any more. We still carry liquid pepper and I still love it. 
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| I have seen several people that are not effected by OC spray first hand. For the most part the mentally ill seem to be the most immune group. Of the 6 or so "immune" people I have seen, all but 2 were crazy. One guy in particular had next to no pain reflex at all, he later relieved himself of his manhood with a pair of scissors. |
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It happens quite often as mentioned above. Intox'd, illicit narcs, scrip meds, add in some mental illness or an agitated determined subject can exhibit no response to the OC. Works great on you though! This extends to impact weapons and pain compliance techniques as well. |
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Funny because it is not me. www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3pXu4ZYI-8 |
  Of course he won't be able to reproduce again so that's a good thing!! |
| I personally timed a suspect 8 minutes before the pepper spray took effect. The perp was high on crack and drunk. 3 other officers sprayed him too. He kept charging us on a motel parking lot. We kept our distance, waiting for the pepper spray to kick in. 8 minutes is an eternity in that kind of situation. |
is that really you? |
 wimps..when we got sprayed we had to keep our eyes open... |
Yeah, it seems 80% is about right. When that stuff works, its awesome but when someone is sprayed and they wipe their face and stare at you, its on. |
Wipe their face and lick their fingers while laughing at you. Time for plan B. (he fell, honest  ) |
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Have seen it not be effective numerous times. EDP's and people who eat a ton of hot (spicy) food are more prone to having little effect. Also, the more you are exposed to it, the less effect it has. If a guy gets sprayed, the next time is much less effective. The first time you get sprayed, a lot of the reaction is mental because you don't know what to expect, afterwards, not so much. |
| My favorite was when I sprayed a guy and then took him to the station. When there, he was crying and wanting water. I was leading him to the shower and right next to the shower was a toilet. Yes....he dropped to his knees and was washing his face from the toilet. I couldn't get him out of the toilet long enough to get him to the shower!! |
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In my experience, if the arrestee is drunk or high, it has a delayed effect. This can be crucial when you're fighting. The delay can take as much as a minute or more to take effect. We don't use spray a lot, we often use batons or hands-on because of the delay, or the risk of overspray/officer exposure. Most of the people we fight are drunk. eta- just like any other tactic or tool... if it doesn't work, don't keep trying it! move on to something else, or move up your use of force scale. policy/code/case law dictates of course. |