The incident at UCal Davis in which a police officer sprayed pepper on a line of Occupy Wall Street demonstrators has gone viral and been shown on CNN and other news outlets. Predictably, comment has been all over the place, including some pundits who blame the protestors.
Speaking as someone whjo once worked in law enforcement, I'll chime in with a few remarks of my own. Back when I was chief ranger at Richmond National Battlefield Park, we converted from mace to pepper spray as our non-lethal weapon for incapacitating threatening people. The reasoning was that mace is a chemical agent and a person who is really determined, or under the influence of narcotics, can fight through it and continue an attack. Pepper spray, on the other hand, is a biological agent that causes an allergic reaction that no one can ignore. It will put you down.
The manafacturer provided information on use the warned against using the spray in an enclosed area or spraying into the wind. The Park Service provided training materials and guidelines for use in the field. As personnel who were expected to handle political demonstrations, we also were trained in methods of moving passive persons without hurting them.
I have no doubt that the Davis Police Department trains its officers in the uses of pepper spray, both in terms of safety and appropriateness. Judging by what I saw on the video recording, the officer greatly exceeded - indeed obliterated - his training. He needs to find another way to make his living, because he cannot be a police officer anymore. In addition, any supervisor who approved this use of the spray, or failed to stop it, should be fired.
All freedom loving people should deplore this clear violation of the civil liberties we all have been taught to hold precious.
Speaking as someone whjo once worked in law enforcement, I'll chime in with a few remarks of my own. Back when I was chief ranger at Richmond National Battlefield Park, we converted from mace to pepper spray as our non-lethal weapon for incapacitating threatening people. The reasoning was that mace is a chemical agent and a person who is really determined, or under the influence of narcotics, can fight through it and continue an attack. Pepper spray, on the other hand, is a biological agent that causes an allergic reaction that no one can ignore. It will put you down.
The manafacturer provided information on use the warned against using the spray in an enclosed area or spraying into the wind. The Park Service provided training materials and guidelines for use in the field. As personnel who were expected to handle political demonstrations, we also were trained in methods of moving passive persons without hurting them.
I have no doubt that the Davis Police Department trains its officers in the uses of pepper spray, both in terms of safety and appropriateness. Judging by what I saw on the video recording, the officer greatly exceeded - indeed obliterated - his training. He needs to find another way to make his living, because he cannot be a police officer anymore. In addition, any supervisor who approved this use of the spray, or failed to stop it, should be fired.
All freedom loving people should deplore this clear violation of the civil liberties we all have been taught to hold precious.
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