What guidelines / rules are given to cops about the use of Pepper Spray?

[Quixote1818]

Are they the same in every district or do they change depending where you are? It looks like torture to me.

Looks like it is time for legislation to be passed so the rules are the same in every state and that it should ONLY be used if the office feels threatened or the crowd or person is unruly. Clearly spraying kids sitting on a sidewalk or women pinned in is not the place for it and they should be aloud recourse.

[The Straight Story]

1. Here is one (PDF)

http://www.nyc.gov/html/ccrb/pdf/pepperreport.pdf

During these training sessions, officers are not only instructed on the circumstances under
which use of OC is justified, as per the Patrol Guide, but also on proper procedural usage for the
spray. Officers are told to use verbal techniques to de-escalate the confrontation, if possible,
before resorting to pepper spray. They are taught not to fire the spray from within three feet of
subjects, not to use the spray on a windy day, and not to use OC in group settings or for crowd
control; they are trained to fire a maximum of two one-second bursts of the spray. Although the
Patrol Guide recommends the use of pepper spray against emotionally disturbed persons, officers
are warned during training that the spray might not work on such persons or on people under the
influence of drugs or alcohol, and to be prepared to change tactics should the spray not work.
They are cautioned that ineffectiveness is not a reason to escalate force used; rather the
independent circumstances continue to dictate appropriate force, regardless of the effectiveness
of pepper spray. Officers are trained to look out for an allergic reaction (which takes place about
one time in one hundred) to transport subjects who have been sprayed either on their sides or
sitting up, and to flush the subject’s eyes with cool water as soon as possible. Officers learn that
the effects of pepper spray should dissipate in about forty-five minutes.10

[onehandle]

2. Spray early and often?

I support the police in most cases, but those photos anger me.

Resist, rank and file cops. Let the commanders do the torture.

[treestar]

3. Sample from Oakland

http://www.nlgsf.org/docs/OaklandPolicePolicy.pdf

[pipoman]

4. Each department guidelines vary..

department policies are usually not public information. It is quite democratic..

[The Straight Story]

5. Problems with it's use in Canada:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2007/07/10/bc-standoff.html

The pepper-spraying incident, which attracted attention country-wide, occurred on July 2 as people held a parade of vehicles in the community to celebrate two youth soccer teams' wins in a Vancouver tournament.

RCMP officers resorted to the pepper spray amid a struggle with residents after the driver of a pickup truck with several children in the back refused to stop for police. Fifteen adults and children, including two under two years old, were treated for exposure to pepper spray.

Joe said years of antipathy by some band members toward what they say is their chief's lack of consultation with his people came to a head at the band's annual general meeting Monday night.

------

http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/tasers/pepper-spray.html

However, while the inquiry assessed RCMP conduct in policing the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) summit, it never recommended that the force review its policy on the use of pepper spray when dealing with dissent. Now, 10 years later, questions persist about the substance, particularly in light of the most recent incident earlier this month involving a group of native people celebrating a kids' soccer game at Sechelt, B.C.

This time, it was a home video of the incident that sparked outrage and forced the RCMP to apologize.

The Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs said in a statement: "There is no possible excuse for pepper-spraying babies and small children. No excuse whatsoever!" But apart from that, civil liberties groups say pepper spray may not be as safe a weapon as police like to think it is, nor is it always the most appropriate tool to curb protests.

[The Straight Story]

6. The use and abuse of pepper spray (PDF by an attorney)

http://www.nlg-npap.org/html/research/LWpepperspray.pdf

[Quixote1818]

7. Thanks to you and the others who have posted info about this. nt

[HopeHoops]

8. When you feel like you have to pee, just do it.

The cop just casually walking along spraying the students is beyond disgusting.