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In last week’s newsletter, we asked officers whether they felt being sprayed with OC was an important component to training that enhanced officer safety or an unnecessary, uncomfortable and potentially dangerous exercise. Here’s what some of them had to say:

Charles McDonald, formerly with the Henderson Co. Sheriff’s Office in Henderson County, NC writes:

I am a retired Sheriff with 33 years in law enforcement. Many of those years I served as a specialty instructor and a member and leader of SWAT. The exposure I received to OC in training showed me what I could do–and indeed would likely have to do–in the event that I was exposed to it on the street. I have a hard time understanding how any LEO could have the nerve to refuse that aspect of training because it’s uncomfortable. It damned sure is. That’s why you and your buddies need to understand its effects and how you and they might fight through it for the sake of one another and the citizens who count on your courage. If you can’t do that, maybe you need to find a gentler career.

Investigator Daryl Allen with Decatur Co. (TN) SO writes:

As a retired military and civilian law enforcement officer I wanted to share my opinion with exposing officers to OC.  In the military we experienced both CS gas and OC spray.  Then, when OC spray certification came into play as a civilian law enforcement officer, I got sprayed so bad that water would not help.  I had to be transported to our local ER.  My eyelids, my eyebrows, my nostrils and throat were literally burned.  I spent 12 hours along with several others in the ER.  It was noted that we were allergic to the OC.  However, we were required to carry and use the OC.

During a confrontation with a highly intoxicated individual, we noted that he was not affected at all. During other uses with the OC, I would spray an individual and find myself sneezing and my eyes would water.  It would take me washing my face to stop the issue.

Just recently a new cadet in our local sheriff’s department was undergoing OC spray certification as the final part of his training and suffered a stroke.  He is doing okay but may not be eligible now to stay with the agency.

OC is part of the various levels of defensive tactics in most departments, but is it still viable?

Andrew Blubaugh from the Wadsworth (Oh) PD responds:

When I was 19, I joined the US Marine Corps. After the Marines I was a security contractor and for the last 20 years I have been in full time law enforcement.  I have been exposed to a variety of less lethal options on multiple occasions, the vast majority in a training environment.  Every exposure sucks, but I truly believe every exposure was nothing more than a great training opportunity.

One result or byproduct of that training opportunity would be understanding my reaction, limits and abilities after any exposure.  Another result is understanding the limits it may have on a dedicated suspect and being able to identify the best follow-up options after an application or exposure to a less lethal option.  Yet another result would be to understand a little of the first aid needed for a suspect or fellow officer after cross contamination.  Another great result/benefit is the ability to articulate your use of the less lethal product by understanding expectations and the reality of the effects.

All this is lost, though, if an instructor/trainer misuses the training opportunity as a right of passage or hazing.  Officers will fail to see the value and only focus on the discomfort.  The only reason we are discussing this topic is because the trainers are failing to teach the importance of exposure.  Once we understand the “why” we can live with the process.

George Williams, Director of Training at Bellingham, WA-based Cutting Edge Training says:

I agree 100% with each of the “prominent DT instructor’s” 4 benefits of a well-designed OC exposure program. Just like an individual who has never been punched in the head must learn not to fear an opponent’s punch when training to be a boxer, officers must learn not to fear OC exposure. Fear of the unknown can be extremely powerful and can lead to overreaction.

Personally, I hate being sprayed with OC. When I trained officers in OC spray employment, I always took the first hit and went through the exercise, took a 10-minute break, then supervised the rest of the exposures. I believe, like when I taught TASER, the instructor should be the first to take the hit rather than sitting back and laughing with everyone else. If an instructor demonstrates there is nothing to fear except unpleasant effects, it ratchets down the exaggerated expectation of becoming completely disabled if exposed, at least in the case of OC. Gratefully, I don’t teach OC spray or TASER employment anymore (although I still teach the tactics and when to employ either).

I understand why nobody would like to be exposed to OC spray or TASER energy. Beyond the mental preparation to persevere through adversity and extreme discomfort, it’s important to understand what the suspect will be going through when an officer responds with that force option. I believe knowing that helps the officer make better decisions and builds an appropriate level of restraint in their use.

A note on “decontamination.” Clever attorneys leap on the idea of the officer “contaminating” a suspect with OC. Officers do not contaminate or decontaminate suspects. Officers expose suspects to OC spray and provide the means to rinse off or neutralize the effects of OC. Yes, semantics. However, every post-incident process becomes a war of language and verbiage. No need to give an adversary an easy win using your choice of words that will be easily twisted against you.

G. Burch formerly with Yuma Co. (AZ) SO comments:

Having been an O.C. instructor for my agency for many years and having written policy for its deployment, I believe that exposure is important. The officer cannot be taught just in a classroom.

Having deployed it many times on the street against armed and unarmed subjects, I realize it’s important for officers to understand first-hand what your subject is going through, understanding that the resistance by a subject may be fueled by the O.C.  In a few incidents the minor or no effect of O.C. need to be understood and tactics adjusted accordingly.

Courtroom testimony to first-hand exposure can shut down a defense attorney concerning excessive force.

Prominent trainer and expert witness Greg Meyer responds:

Require the hit for all the reasons mentioned in the article; BUT make sure instructors know it must be done from several feet away and of brief duration, to avoid damage to eyes (which happens when too close).

Sgt. Flora Rispoli (ret) from Lake Worth PD/Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office

All good points relating to experiencing the effects of OC.

Just a short story. I was chasing a guy, on foot, in front of some buildings in a shopping center. He was a little ahead of me. So, I tried to get over to the side and spray ahead of him, thinking he would run into it. He did and we got to the end of the building where the wind was blowing our way. It blew the spray back at both of us, so not only did he get a good shot, so did I. It was quite scary momentarily not being able to see while chasing a bad guy.

As a side note, I never got the training spray. Don’t remember the reason, but not because of my dispute in doing so. This was certainly an unexpected life experience at taking the spray.

Lt. Joseph Pretti with the Criminal Investigations Division at Eddystone (PA) PD writes:

I think it is a good idea to expose officers to OC during training. I am the OC instructor for our department and have been sprayed on multiple occasions after receiving different instructor certifications over the years. I even had to shoot simunition rounds after being sprayed one time. We require you to be sprayed during your initial training. That way officers know what to expect, how to react, and the effects of OC spray. We also have officers go through a series of drills after being sprayed, knee strikes, elbow strikes, blocks, etc. Our department trains yearly on the use of OC spray. I started using a 1% OC mixture for training only. It has the same powerful OC effect but cuts the decontamination time in half so we can continue training without long wait times.

To this day I still prefer OC spray over the Taser. (personal preference). When used properly it has always been a very effective tool for me. Proper application is key.

Patrolman Andrew Tanzillo who serves with both Greenport and Stockton PDs in Columbia Co., NY writes:

Very good points and I agree with the value of that type of exposure and training. However I wonder how much it applies in practice or in a real incident. Those that will and can fight through will, those that lack will and can not may not prevail.

Canadian Superintendent Chris Clark shares:

I am writing to you from Lac La Biche, Alberta, Canada where our department offers the only full and most comprehensive training program for Alberta Peace Officers who serve our communities. These officers are not equipped with firearms or CEW’s and do their job including complaint response, traffic stops and public engagement with only a baton, OC and their communication skills.

We train hard in OC deployment including inert drills, tool transition from standing, seated and on their back, front and side while entering, during and exiting a ground fire. We have faced a lot of criticism on our live OC drills from other agencies stating it is unnecessary and hard on the students. As the manager of our program and having been sprayed two times for training and heavily exposed three other times during operational duties, I can attest that I would not have been able to overcome the shitty experience. Last year is a perfect example.

During our local fair in 2022 we had a bear spray attack on about 40 people. They ranged in age from infants to adults.  It was amongst the rides at about 10pm and it was dark. As soon as I saw someone collapse on the ground and heard screams, I and four of my officers rushed to the area and immediately smelled and tasted the spray in the air. Our local police, the RCMP, also responded who about 8 years ago stopped doing direct exposure to OC.  They simply now walk them through an OC contaminated area. Those RCMP officers immediately turned and began running with the crowd with their sidearms in hand.

Our unarmed peace officers made entry into the crowd and arranged for evacuation and for fire services and EMS to all attend the scene. We escorted our people using verbals and having them hold hands as we walked them through the midway. The most seriously incapacitated ones included a small child I carried out to the triage area that our officers had set up. The police were nowhere to be found as they ran around trying to find the suspect off the grounds.

After this incident during our debrief I learned that I had three officers turn away and book it to safe distances that night. They refused to penetrate the crowd and the cloud of spray due to a fear of being contaminated. Their winning mentality was obviously not as strong as other officers. After asking about training, I learned these officers had only ever been sprayed with OC and completed a scenario that involved picking up all their tools from their belt, running over a staircase, striking two bobs, then running to spray a third bob and then arresting a cooperative role player. I was shocked to learn the only officers who penetrated were the ones that I had helped train.

Their scenario in training includes attending a simple call, usually trespassing. The person refuses to leave and the officer makes the decision to arrest. As soon as they enter the reactionary gap they are shoved by the instructor and then sprayed with OC.  The instructor then calls them on and threatens them as it takes effect. The officer then activated their emergency button and live dispatchers answer the call for help and do it exactly as they would in real life.

The instructor then taunts the officer and attempts to go hands on with them. Sometimes tools come out and they are deployed. Other times the officer gets tackled and enters a ground fight.  The officer then gains control and effects a successful arrest.

Sometimes certain students do need a second instructor telling them to fight and remember what’s important right now. After the arrest the officer escorts them to a patrol vehicle, conducts a search and secured them in the back seat. The officer then goes to the rear of the patrol vehicle and accesses water bottles that we encourage them to carry while on duty. They then decontaminate and are escorted by their training partner to a decontamination area to wait out the effects and strip their gear to cleanse it. We also incorporate local EMS so that they understand the effects of OC and can provide better coaching to subjects who are sprayed or contaminated.

During the last week of training our students enter a confined area to deal with a subject. The subject is uncooperative and then poses grievous bodily harm by pulling out a weapon. The student has no choice but to deploy their inert OC due to the time and distance.

As the student deploys their inert OC an instructor will deploy live OC into the space, which fills the air. The role player then becomes actively resistant by falling to the floor and the student has to issue very good commands to gain compliance and effect an arrest. In total they are in this environment for about 5 minutes. The best part of this is that we see a fully different response from our students. It shows that the previous exposure works. And this second scenario teaches them the other side about what to do when OC does take effect.

We have seen great success with incorporating these scenarios over the last two years and even though our students hate being contaminated, the winning mentality is huge and successful. We feel that we are truly preparing them for success in the field.

Thank you for this article as I will be using it to articulate why we are doing what we are doing and that we are on the right path.

Thoughts to add? E-mail us at: editor@calibrepress.com