This article is about the chemical compound. For devices used to dispense it, see Pepper-spray projectile.
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Pepper spray
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Exceptionally hot
Scoville scale
1,250,000[a] SHU
Pepper spray, oleoresin capsicum spray, OC spray, capsaicin spray, or capsicum spray is a lachrymator (tear gas) product containing the compound capsaicin as the active ingredient that irritates the eyes to cause burning and pain sensations, as well as temporary blindness. Its inflammatory effects cause the eyes to close, temporarily taking away vision. This temporary blindness allows officers to more easily restrain subjects and permits people in danger to use pepper spray in self-defense for an opportunity to escape. It also causes temporary discomfort and burning of the lungs which causes shortness of breath. Pepper spray is used as a less lethal weapon in policing, riot control, crowd control, and self-defense, including defense against dogs and bears.[5][6]
Pepper spray was engineered originally for defense against bears, mountain lions, wolves and other dangerous predators, and is often referred to colloquially as bear spray.
Kamran Loghman, the person who developed it for use in riot control, wrote the guide for police departments on how it should be used. It was successfully adopted, except for improper usages such as when police sprayed peaceful protestors at University of California, Davis in 2011. Loghman commented, "I have never seen such an inappropriate and improper use of chemical agents", prompting court rulings completely barring its use on docile persons.[7][8][9]
^"Chemical hazards in law enforcement". The Police Policy Studies Council. Retrieved 2009-02-09. Most law enforcement sprays have a pungency of 500,000 to 2 million SHU. One brand has sprays with 5.3 million SHU.
^Jamie Smith, reviewed by Deborah Weatherspoon, Ph.D. (October 15, 2020). "What is pepper spray, and is it dangerous?". Medical News Today. Retrieved September 2, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Twilight Greenaway (10 January 2013). "How Hot is That Pepper? How Scientists Measure Spiciness". Smithsonian.com, US Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
^"Red Pepper Spray Ingredients and Formula". sabrered.com. SABRE - Security Equipment Corp. Archived from the original on 2015-01-05. Retrieved 2022-09-01. Sabre Red=10% OC @ 2,000,000 Scoville Heat Units. Thus, 90% of the formulation dilutes the 2,000,000 SHUs creating a Scoville Content of 200,000.
^"Bear Spray Vs. Dogs: How Effective Is It?". Tbotech.com. 2009-07-04. Archived from the original on 2012-11-15. Retrieved 2011-12-02.
^"Pepper Spray". Llrmi.com. Archived from the original on 2015-06-23. Retrieved 2011-12-02.
^Circuit, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth (November 11, 2002). "276 F3d 1125 Headwaters Forest Defense and Molly Burton v. The Coun". F3d (276): 1125 – via openjurist.org. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
^Seelye, Katharine Q. (November 22, 2011). "Pepper Spray's Fallout, From Crowd Control to Mocking Images". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 21, 2019. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
^Hemphill, Kenny (August 4, 2015). "10 Inventors Who Came to Regret Their Creations". Mental Floss. Archived from the original on April 28, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
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The UC Davis pepperspray incident occurred on November 18, 2011, during an Occupy movement demonstration at the University of California, Davis. After...
supervision of Charles Jonkel and Bart O'Gara. Hunt had identified commercial peppersprays as an effective deterrent for bears in previous research; however, they...
rioters. Since the 1980s, riot control officers have also used tear gas, pepperspray, rubber bullets, stun grenades, and electric tasers. In some cases, riot...
lachrymators both currently and formerly used as tear gas include pepperspray (OC gas), PAVA spray (nonivamide), CS gas, CR gas, CN gas (phenacyl chloride),...
systematic review of the injuries and deaths caused by tear gas and pepperspray". BMC Public Health. 17 (1): 831. doi:10.1186/s12889-017-4814-6. PMC 5649076...
PAVA spray is an incapacitant spray similar to pepperspray. It is dispensed from a handheld canister, in a liquid stream. It contains a 0.3% solution...
fresh chili peppers have a water content around 90%, whereas Tabasco sauce has a water content of 95%. For law-enforcement-grade pepperspray, values from...
in the 21st century Nuit Debout Post-democracy Radical media UC Davis pepperspray incident Author Dan Berrett writes: "But Occupy Wall Street's most defining...
an active ingredient in riot control and personal defense pepperspray agents. When the spray comes in contact with skin, especially eyes or mucous membranes...
use the peppers in hand grenades as a nonlethal method to control rioters with peppersprays or in self-defence. The DRDO said that ghost pepper-based aerosol...
actual strikes and kicks. Also, for some agencies the use of aerosol pepperspray and electronic control devices (TASER) may fall into the same category...
chemical spray. Prosecutors later said on April 27 that the chemical spray was pepperspray. On January 28, 2023, Khater was sentenced to almost seven years...
apologizes for pepper-spray incident. Los Angeles Times Stetler, Brian (November 21, 2011). Campus Police Chief Put on Leave in PepperSpray Incident. New...
men interrupt the moment. However, Reenu averts the assault using a pepperspray Aadhi himself had given to her for self-defense and they arrive at the...
died and more than 50 were injured when panic ensued from the use of pepperspray by a security guard to break up a fight. The club's owners were convicted...
and shot a protester who tried to stop him. Tear gas, flashbangs and pepperspray were used by police in the densely populated residential neighborhood...
easily afflict others than the intended targets. Nerve gas, tear gas, and pepperspray are three modern examples of chemical weapons. Lethal unitary chemical...
in pepperspray catch fire when shot by a taser. They tested this myth on MythBusters and declared it confirmed with certain types of pepperspray. He...
Videos which showed several penned-in female demonstrators being hit with pepperspray by a police official were widely disseminated, sparking controversy....
panic induced by pepperspray, the main ingredient of which is oleoresin capsicum, a concentrated capsaicin wax extracted from chili peppers. Allergic reactions...