Getting Pepper-sprayed

[DVC/VAZQUEZ]

While I have never been sprayed with OC before I have used it on the job and can vouch for its effectiveness.

My job trains you on the use of it but we use water in the training cans instead of the real stuff. Training is based on the accurate deployment of it and the uses / limitations instead of getting us sprayed.

I sprayed one ilegal alien during a marine interdiction and he was miserable to say the least for a good 1/2 hour. Looked like he had slime coming out of his eyes.

Needless to say, he showed me his hands after the OC got into his eyes and I was able to aprehend him.

To counteract the effects I just sprayed him on the eyes with fresh water for about 5 minutes but he looked like he had a very bad cold.

Another day I had a leaking can and touched the carrier with my hand that later went into my eye and can tell you that it burned like crazy for about 15 minutes.

[rehn]

While I have never been sprayed with OC before I have used it on the job and can vouch for

The big difference between OC and the Taser is that it's possible to continue functioning (at reduced capacity) after being sprayed with OC. The Taser's a lot more effective and has fewer after effects. Some OC training programs require trainees to punch a heavy bag or shoot an Airsoft gun after being sprayed in order to teach the trainees that if sprayed that they can continue fighting. One local dog trainer told me about a police K9 program that will spray OC into an area and then have the dog move in to go after the target - because that situation occurs and they have to condition the dogs to be willing to go into the OC zone.

This link

http://www.krtraining.com/KRTraining/Archive/KarlTaser.AVI

is video of me getting a pretty good dose of the 26 watt Taser (the new high power one) at a trade show awhile back. Watch how tight the booth guy grabs me when the juice goes on. OC basically causes pain. The Taser jams your nervous system so you just can't do anything. At the trade show the Taser guys were giving away free T-shirts to anyone willing to "take a ride". They ran out of shirts and I foolishly agreed to do it anyway on the promise that they would send me a shirt later (which they did).

In the video it doesn't look so bad but when the juice is on the connections between your brain and body basically cut off and you have no control over your muscles. When the juice is off your heart rate goes way up like you just ran as fast as you could for longer than you can. But after I sat down for 5 minutes and drank some water I went back to my booth and was fine for the rest of the day.

There's a big controversy locally and nationally about the Taser and the one point that law enforcement fails to make w/ the public is this: ask anyone that's been hit with an open hand, hit with a baton, OCed and Tasered which one they would pick if they had to pick one to experience again. Of the small set of people I know that have had all those experiences they all pick Taser because of the minimal aftereffects (compared to bruises and burning).

As for whether it's a good idea to have police experience all those things: absolutely yes. The downside to that approach (at least locally) is that Taser use has gone up (with lots of protests from people who don't understand or accept that it's less 'bad' than other options) because those that have been exposed to all the options reached the same conclusions I did about it.

[cdfcapt]

In training we had to get sprayed, pull our baton and go 30 seconds on the numbjack, and then handcuff one of the instructors.

They said it was to train you on what you can take and how bad it will be.

One gut went down fast and was out of it for 30 -40 min. He said he will shoot anybody who comes at him with that stuff and will use this training experance to defend the reason.

It burns like nothing I've ever experanced.

[Gun Phan]

Our department requires Officers to get Tasered. I went for the full 5 sec. ride with prongs (in the back). I been around OC and majority of the time it with get on the Officers more than the suspect.

Trust me, the 5 sec. seems like an eternity. Your muscles are locked up and the only thing you can possibly do is scream out profanities and your worship to God.

[Harmon]

"Karate In A Can"

One of the LEOs I shoot with does duty at the state academy from time to time. He was explaining that some 3-4% of the population is immune to OC. I haven't seen any reports to support that claim, but they have one instructor who begins the class by spraying a good dose straight into his mouth. Then he smiles at the class and says, "Ummmm.....Just like candy!"

I watched a person get sprayed with it and less than 2 minutes later hes eating a honey-bun at his cell window...crazy.

getting certified with OC spray sucks...getting sprayed with it while attempting to dissolve a 3 inmate fight really sucks.(think big badass felons who are working out 18 hours a day to get "buff" so they dont turn into women when they go to prison" you cant see, they cant see...you get hit, they get hit...it really sucks.

taking a ride with mr. taser isnt real fun either...1-5 seconds of hell... good news is that its over in 5 seconds and no damage has been done....pepper spray will re-activate on you 1-2 days later....talk about a bad case of razor burn!!!

The taser is a real nice tool to use for LE work..no decon, not cleanup of affected areas, and only those who are shot with it get the "ride" the only down fall is when the subject, defendant, inmate, convict or prisoner(whatever you want to call them) gets shot, they tend to fall and hit thier heads. and like OC, there are some folks that it has NO effect on them.

The taser darts are also pretty nasty too, think about big 0000 fish hooks flying at 200 feet per second, then shocking you with 50KV..

bottom line, if a LEO tells you to do something, its best to do it..if not things are about to suck.

Our department requires Officers to get Tasered. I went for the full 5 sec. ride with prongs (in the back). I been around OC and majority of the time it with get on the Officers more than the suspect.

Trust me, the 5 sec. seems like an eternity. Your muscles are locked up and the only thing you can possibly do is scream out profanities and your worship to God.

if you dont want to sound like a girly-man, let all of the air out of your lungs before the taser ride begins...i did and i didnt scream..

it does seem like a long time...