In last week’s newsletter we shared a question from an officer looking for insights into the pros and cons of carrying O.C. on either the strong side or the reaction side. After posting a response from a former Calibre Press instructor, we tossed the question out to our readers. Response was heavy.

Here’s a sample of some of what we heard. Thanks for all the excellent feedback!

Chief Phil Bostian with the Park City (KS) PD wrote:

I have always worn O.C. spray on my strong hand side.  The reason for this is very simple.  I try to use O.C. very, very early in a physical confrontation.   I find that it is most effective when employed early.  This means it must be draw very quickly and relatively discreetly.  Reaching with the weak hand is often less smooth and more obvious since officers tend to stand with the weak side toward a suspect (as they should).  

The element of surprise greatly improves the effectiveness of O.C.  When the suspect sees it coming, they duck, they run, they try to block the spray, etc., and their adrenaline dump starts earlier.  When they are sprayed with O.C. and it comes to them as a surprise, there is a shock factor.  The spray tends to be more uniform and more hits the target due to lack of ducking, etc.  

I fully understand all the reasons why others choose to carry O.C. on the weak (reaction) side.  I just happen to disagree based on my own experience.  Employing O.C. early and with as much surprise as possible makes a vast difference in many cases, in my experience.  

I would say that I have had about a 95% effectiveness rate with employing O.C., which I chalk up to these factors.  That’s much higher than the average.  I’ve been present in many, many situations where I have seen other officers struggle to unstrap a large can of O.C. on their weak side and pull it out, then they shake it, then they threaten repeatedly to use it.  All of these things greatly diminish its effectiveness, in my opinion and from what I have actually observed.

Deputy Dominic Turner with Door Co. (WI) Sheriff’s Office commented:

If a LEO has to grab for and use the O.C. in a situation where speed is essential, then I think that’s a sign the LEO is going for the wrong tool. Speed is essential for tools which are good at countering when an LEO is suddenly assaulted, or they are directly involved in a fight, or someone is charging at them…where the immediate cessation of that behavior is crucial. O.C. is not a reliable solution to the quick cessation of an attack; it takes seconds to work, it often only seems to work against the good guys and not on the bad guys, it can be fought through, and it can work against unintended targets including yourself or backup.

None of these cons you’d want when fighting for your life.

Because the LEO needs to immediately find a solution to these situations, the LEO’s hand-to-hand skills should be the tools of choice, a firearm if necessary, or possibly a baton if available. O.C. should be used for those not directly involved in the fight such as a situation where an LEO is breaking up a fight between multiple other people or as a backup officer role. These situations usually allow for slightly more time for the O.C. to be drawn, used, and to see if it’s effective while maintaining one’s own safety, thus nullifying the need to be drawn as quickly as possible, and nullifying the need to have the O.C. on one’s strong side.

From Lt. John Phillips with the Wausau (WI) PD:

I keep my O.C. on my reaction side towards the front of my belt.  This allows for either strong or support side draw.  I typically train to draw it with my support/reaction hand.  My reasoning is that in a bladed stance I have a little extra reach with a cone or stream spray and it gives me the ability to spray around the B pillar of a car on the driver’s side approach from the 8 o’clock position. 

If drawn with my strong hand I train to draw it after a palm strike to create distance with my support hand.  Finally, in my other special team role I typically have an MK-9 in a thigh holster which is always drawn with my support hand.  We wear loadbearing vest carriers, and I used to carry it on my vest but ran out of real estate and the O.C. was my first choice to return to belt carry. 

Good question.

Corporal Rob Leocadio with the Collier Co. (FL) Sheriff’s Office wrote:

As a high liability instructor for my agency, typically I preach that your gear should be on the front 180-degree half of your body.   Essentially from stripe to stripe on the uniform pants with the understanding that certain body types may make this easier or more difficult than others. 

This way, not only your spray but all your other tools are readily accessible with either hand and we train to access those tools with either hand. This also helps in the prevention of secondary injuries to the lower back in the event of a fall. I personally feel that people carry a bunch of unnecessary gear on their duty belts anyway.  

ALSO… it is of my humble opinion that if O.C. is to be deployed it is not in a life-or-death situation such as dealing with someone with a firearm, so the deployment with either strong or off hand is not very critical as there typically is an organic window such as: “Sir, if you don’t turn around and place your hands behind your back I’m going to spray you,” in which there would be ample time to switch hands if one so desired.  

From Officer Curtis Mott with Goodyear (AZ) PD:

Here’s my very brief response from my point of view.  In making my decision in placement of use of force tools I simply run a simple simunition scenario.  Run something that requires the officer to transition from gun out – to less lethal – then return to gun out.  Or run just the opposite; less lethal – then gun  out – then back to less lethal.  This can make a big difference when forcing officers to pressure test their method.  This helps with the prioritization and placement of critical gear as well as what hand is used for what.  

I roll and train to use support hand for less lethal (Taser, O.C. and baton) and primary hand for gun.  Force Science research, of course Taser/Gun confusion, and my practical experience has led me to this point and I like it.   

That’s my two cents.

Sgt. Brian Lowe with the Halton Regional Police Service, Ontario, Canada responded:

My agency does not specify where O.C. must be carried, only that it is carried in a holster, either on body armor or your belt, and readily accessible. In my opinion, I find the weapon side to be my best choice, which you reference as the strong side I believe.  Weapons accessed by weapons hand. Light in reaction (weak) hand.  Which also can be used for close in defensive strikes or blocks.  Keep it simple for when your brain is operating under heavy stress.

Auxiliary Capt. Joe Filice with the Florida Highway Patrol in Bradenton, FL shared:

My agency specifies that O.C. is carried on the strong side, close to the belt buckle. I’m not sure if there is a researched, tactical reason or if it is the only available real estate. On the support side we have extra magazines to be drawn by the support hand and a cross draw TASER to be drawn by the strong hand. The front half of the gunbelt (9:00 to 3:00) is the most easily accessible area. The TASER and magazine pouches take up most of the prime area on the support side. That just leaves the area ahead of the firearm. The other issue is how frequently O.C. is used?  In my agency, it is fairly rare. As intermediate weapons go, the TASER is used far more often than O.C. 

Our uniform policies are publicly accessible.  Policy 06.01 Uniforms and Personal Appearance shows the layout of the gunbelt on page 10.
https://www.flhsmv.gov/pdf/fhp/policies/0601.pdf

Policy 06.02 Individual Equipment, also lists the layout of the belt.
https://www.flhsmv.gov/pdf/fhp/policies/0602.pdf

Lt. Todd Spencer with the Southampton Town Police in Hampton Bays, NY wrote:

My perspective it that deployment hand is less important than grip. There are pros and cons to either hand. I am a support or reaction side carrier as I’m comfortable with my left hand (I’m a righty) from years of support side firearms practice as well as Taser deployment.

Ultimately the officer has to be comfortable with the hand they use.   

Contrary to that, I teach only a full, 4-finger grip using the thumb on the actuator. I often see students utilizing a grip as if they were spraying Lysol utilizing the index finger on the actuator. I see no pros to this grip. The full 4-finger grip with the thumb on the actuator allows for far superior weapon retention and the hand is already in a closed fist position which could be used to punch if necessary, without having to discard the O.C. spray.  

Orientation of the O.C. in the holder is another important factor that is often overlooked. It should be oriented in the pouch so that when it is retrieved, it is facing in the proper direction for deployment without the officer having to manipulate the canister in his or her hand in order to access the actuator, thereby slowing the speed of deployment. It’s my belief that grip and orientation in the pouch are both more important than which hand is utilized.

My .02 cents

Finally, Sgt. Steve Pratt (ret.) formerly with the Springfield (MO) PD wrote:

Thank you so much for the discussion point.

I believe, if possible, all our tools on the duty belt should be accessible with either hand but specifically, I believe the O.C. should be on the officers non-shooting side.

One reason I suggest to students to have their O.C. on their non-shooting side is if the officer has their shooting side back, and their non-shooting side/leg forward, then the extended non-shooting hand gives the officer’s O.C. range/reach several more inches of distance and range.

In regard to the phrase you used in your article: “if an officer has ‘proper firearms training’ they should…”  The sad reality is many officers either are not afforded the opportunity for “proper training” or fail to embrace the training.  If we as trainers want to minimize the unfortunate incidents of “intending to draw my…” but mistakenly drew the firearm, we need to train match response with stimulus.  If I know I need my O.C., then I draw it with my non-shooting hand.  If I end up needing my firearm, then I can simply draw my firearm and properly secure my O.C. and not have it on the ground where it could possibly use against me or I might lose my footing on it.

My thoughts.

Always happy to hear from our readers! If you’ve got insights, ideas, opinions, questions to share reach out to us at: editor@calibrepress.com