Prison Officers Learn Pepper Spray Hazards

It has the ability to make a tough man cry while bringing him to his knees. It’s small, and can easily fit into a back pocket, but if needed it can quickly be activated with the press of a button. The device described? Pepper Spray.

Prison officers from Floyd County Prison experienced firsthand the stinging power of the spray canister during training exercises; however while there were varied reactions involved, all the officers undertaking the training were indeed affected by the sprays projected.

The spray canister has the ability to release over 5 million heat units, while the hottest pepper that can be eaten can only produce 300,000 units. Officers doing the training exercises described a burning sensation, in addition to having a red tinge to their skin once they had been targeted with the self defense device.

Not only those undertaking the training, but bystanders and officers who were watching the exercises from a distance reported a slight burn to their eyes and mouth.

Once the prison officers had been spray, they were quickly cleansed. Nearby a portable shower was being put to use, as well as baby shampoo, which was employed to sooth their burning eyes from the oil based pepper spray.

Afterwards, the officers then sat in front of a fan to cool off the burns. Recovery time for the officers was generally within 15 to 20 minutes, but it was difficult to measure the exact recovery time. One main objective for the training exercises was for officers to experience the effects, because in the case of them spraying an inmate, they will ultimately feel it too.

However, depending on where an officer is positioned, they can just as easily avoid feeling its effects.

When it comes to self defense, pepper spray is one of the better options available, compared to traditional weapons, as it is less lethal when employed. It doesn’t cause any permanent damage and is extremely humane to utilize.

Last year for many prison officers there were generally only two ways for an officer to protect themselves: hands on; or lethal force.

Now however prison officers are being presented with innovative ways to protect themselves and the inmates too. Another device that is being considered is a pepper ball gun, which is somewhat similar to a paint ball gun, but instead of projects pepper.

This device would permit an officer to be further away from an inmate, thus eliminating their chances of being affected by the pepper when it is discharged.