How much does it suck getting sprayed with OC? I have my training coming up in the end of May. Any ways to prepare for it?
It sucks pretty bad, especially if they plan to spray you directly in the face. A lot of people tend to freak out at first due to the feeling of suffacation. It can also re-activate later on that evening when you take a shower. If they're mean, they may have you run prior to being exposed to open up your pores for more chemical agent to be absorbed.
As a OC instructor with over 500 students under my belt I can give you some advise. I have been self sprayed from swirling winds over two dozen times. Just remember this, It is only pain. It is temporary. Do not freak out. Remain calm and work through the pain. Use plenty of cool running water to decontaminate. Do not use swimming pool water (the high chlorine content makes it worse). Do not bother with any of the home spun cures (Milk). None work. Save your money on the decontaminating sprays sold by the OC manufacturers. They don't work. Roll with it. It is temporary. It does suck for a few minutes. I have developed a "Resistance" to OC from repeated exposure. I have been known to spray it into my own mouth just to get a rise out of people. Yeah, I'm a little off.
do you think my asthma and acute allergy to peppers will make it suck even more? has or can someone die from OC spray?
A full blown asthma attack is most frequently brought on by intense activity or anxiety. When the pain hits, it will cause anxiety. If you can relax and roll with the pain, knowing it is temporary, you will be fine. With over 500 direct exposures under my supervision I have never seen asthma to be an issue. Allergy to pepper? I kind of doubt that. I have never heard of a legitimate allergy to pepper. IF you are truely allergic to pepper, you have chosen the wrong line of work. LE related training and work will expose you to pepper spray eventually.
yup, allergic to chyanne peppers and others in that pepper family. also have tons of allergies to other foods. it sucks.
has OC Killed people? Look at leoaffairs blog section on pepper spray. 4 cops with holes burned in lungs. Officer Joanne Haney in PENNSYLVANIA, Officer Cory Kirkendell in CA, a detention officer in Dallas Texas, a retired vet in Florida, and thousands more world wide have died, received lung damage, brain damage, eye damage, heart damage from being sprayed or it being sprayed around them.
my opinion pepper spray should be banned for sale and use by anyone including law enforcement. it falls squarely in inhumane area of things. it is not that effective in subduing people who tend to continue swinging blindly plus they are covered in that junk forcing police to deal with an enraged contaminated goblin. whether you spray an attacker or the police spray one the police still have to deal with this crap in a can covering the goblin. any responsible chief or sheriff would take this out of police inventory.
Ever since the introduction of the taser, we have done away from OC spray. All of our officers are certified and issued X26 tasers
It kicked my *** big time!!!! I had been working with OC for many years in CO as I was grandfathered in when they started issuing it and I was one of the few who could fight with and handle those who had been OC'ed so I thought I was somewhat immune to it's effect. WRONG!!! When I was a Wasilla, AK reserve I had to be sprayed and it was one of the worst experiences in my life. I guess I am not a tough as I thought I was!!! I would not go through that again for a job that paid $1000000!!!
I've seen people come in the ER that have been Pepper sprayed...Hard to believe that much snot can come out of a persons head....snot everywhere....
What, you would deprive, all those bears ,of their condiments? How about the little bells? Seriously, when I was young I never heard much about Cops spraying electrocuting or shooting people. Mom's Uncle was a Sheriff for a long time. He used his weapon several times but more than likely he would beat the snot out, of someone instead of shooting them. Today judging by reports, from some quarters, a lot of Police Departments hired a lot of Cowboys. They have the weapons and by God, they are going to use them on someone. Maybe they have to justify the expenditure or they are trying to use them before they expire? Not really, I suppose. My attitude has become, don't call the Cops for anything. Mom and Dad were the same way. They lived in the sticks and the only time Mom saw a Cop was when her Uncle o others brought her Brothers home for driving without a license. You couldn't get a license at age 9. Most people did not fool with a license out there anyway.
The only thing I have seen and other trainers is on very rare occasions someone has an allergic reaction to the OC Spray. If a person might think they are go to a doctor and get tested for an allergic reaction to it. But people dying frequently is a bunch of hoopla! However to trump up the poor me syndrome because of fear or simply not wanting to be involved with the training program. Those people need to get their big boy pants on and proceed. After all if they are officers they are in all probability going to experience the effects during use by another officer or from residue from a suspect it has been used on. Robo has the best advice. But I will tell you one thing they will probably be using fresh water to wash the pepper spray from your eyes and face. When they do or when you go home and take a shower Hold Your Head Back and run the water from your forehead and head toward the back of your head and hair and toward your back! If not you will wash the residue from your hair right back in your eyes AGAIN! Have fun we all have experienced it on more than one occasion. And as Robo stated it is a state of mind when it is sprayed and do not panic or get upset. And my same thoughts apply to the TASER Training! 03
HINT!!! If you get sprayed in the face in training be sure to wash you head and face several times (Dawn dish soap works well) BEFORE you get into the shower!!!!
Capsaicin is the hot stuff from peppers used in defensive sprays. It may be beneficial in preventing prostate cancer. People who have consumed Chilies over a long period may have a natural resistance to the "Spray". I think people who use this to spray bears should be aware. Many bears like hot sauce on their fresh kills.
I absolutely love hot peppers, only problem is that I can't eat spicy food in public because I sweat horribly. I wrap a towel around my head and only do it in the privacy of my home for the sake of my family. I'm a little worried if I was sprayed I may sweat to death! "We compromised in ways that sometimes we didn't sleep well at night but we did it so people could be free, this isn't freedom, this is fear". The Winter Soldier
