This study of the effectiveness of OC pepper spray, prepared by the Police Review Commission of the City of Berkeley, is believed to be the first and only independent study of the effectiveness of police use of pepper spray in the United States. This study is based entirely on information contained within police incident reports. All of the data analyzed in this study is derived from the statements of police officers themselves, who have either used or directly observed the use of OC pepper spray in the field. (It should be noted that, so as to provide information to the City Council in a timely fashion, this study was produced within 20 days of receipt of the data and no funds were expended in producing this study.)
Some 3,000 Police Departments throughout the United States are now using OC Pepper Spray as a law enforcement tool to subdue violent or combative subjects. Tens of thousands of persons, among them police officers, have been exposed to this chemical weapon. Despite this sudden and widespread deployment of OC, there has been very little study of the effectiveness of the product.
Pepper Spray manufactures have touted their product as 100% effective. The FBI study conducted by Agent Thomas Ward made similar grandiose claims. Several police departments have reported effectiveness in the 80% to 90% range. The Baltimore County Police Department was awarded a research grant by the NIJ and the IACP to conduct a research project in the use of OC spray. This study concluded that the overall effectiveness of OC in confrontational encounters was 90%. Other researchers have questioned some of the assumptions and criteria for "effectiveness" of the Baltimore study and suggest that the data in the report shows O.C. to be 80 -82% effective. (The Medical Implications of OC Sprays, Mike Doubet)
In contrast, testing conducted by the American Women's Self Defense
Institute and by Modern Warrior shows OC spray to be almost completely
ineffective against a "goal oriented" attacker.
In all of the above mentioned studies, there appears to be no
consistent standard definition for what constitutes effectiveness, no
consistent methodology of analysis, and vastly differing conclusions,
ranging from 0% to 100% effective.
On October 3, 1997, the Berkeley Police Department provided the Police Review Commission with all "adult" police incident reports in which police used OC pepper spray since the chemical agent was first deployed in mid-1993. The reports are presumed to refer to 36 separate incidents in which officers used OC spray. Three of these reports provided to the Commission contain no information about the use of OC and could not be included in the analysis. In many of these reports, OC spray is used more than once and sometimes by more than one officer, but is considered as one incident for purposes of this analysis.
In addition, three other incident reports describing OC use were
obtained, bringing the total number of pepper spray incidents included
in the database back up to thirty-six. These include two reports filed
with the California Department of Justice and one incident report
obtained through the Commission's complaint process.
This study makes no attempt to establish an arbitrary definition of effectiveness, but rather examines the "totality of circumstances" and makes an assessment of the effectiveness of OC spray in the context of each unique situation.
We find that the greater significance of this study is contained in the data itself, rather than the Commission's interpretation of that data. One may examine the statements made in these police reports and come to their own conclusions about the effectiveness of OC.
Berkeley's City Manager issued a report to the City Council on September 9, 1997 and found that "the pepper spray was reported to be ineffective thirteen times (35%) of the time." This 35% ineffective assessment is substantially higher than results reported by any other law enforcement agency in the United States. The City Manager's report also found that "Thirty-four of the incidents involved violent or bizarre behavior ending up in a physical struggle with the police officer."
In most of the incidents examined by the Police Review Commission, we
find that a police officer's observations and the actions of the
subject who was sprayed with the OC demonstrate quite clearly whether
the use of the OC spray was effective, ineffective, or partially
effective. In other incidents, there is ambiguous or insufficient
information contained in the report to make a reasonable assessment of
the effectiveness of OC.
The analysis conducted by the Police Review Commission of the 36 police
incident reports shows the following:
Out of a total of approximately 200 sworn officers in the Berkeley Police Department, only 27 officers (13%) have ever used OC pepper spray.
One officer is responsible for 8 out of the 36 uses of OC spray (22%).
Only one female officer has ever used OC pepper spray.
OC pepper spray was found to be "ineffective" in 19 out of 36 incidents (53%). [If the 6 incidents of "unknown effectiveness" are removed from the total number of incidents, OC spray was found to be "ineffective" in 63% of the all the incidents in which it was used.]
OC spray was found to be "partially effective" in 4 out of 36 incidents (11%).
OC spray was found to be "effective" in 7 out of 36 incidents (19.4%).
OC spray was found to be of "unknown effectiveness" in 6 out of 36 incidents (17%).
Police officers experienced "Secondary Exposure" in 7 out of 36 incidents (19.4%).
The subject sprayed with OC became "more aggressive" in 10 out of 36
incidents (28%).
Perhaps the most disturbing results of study are the problems
associated with secondary exposure to OC spray and the propensity of use
of OC spray to result in a more aggressive subject.
In nearly 20% of all situations in which OC spray has been used, an
officer was adversely affected by the chemical agent. In one incident,
the officer required hospitalization. In other situations, officer
exposure to the OC allowed the subject an opportunity to escape. The
danger of secondary exposure to police officers poses serious officer
safety implications. We find that the 20% rate of secondary exposure is
unacceptably high and makes police use of OC a risky proposition.
Similarly, because the use of OC spray results in a more aggressive
subject in 28% of incidents in which it is used, we find that the use of
OC poses an unacceptable level of risk to officer safety. [The 28% "more
aggressive" statistic is closely corroborated by the study conducted by
the Peel Regional Police of Canada (Ashton, 1994). This study of 96
usages of OC spray found that "24% of the subjects became more
aggressive" after exposure to OC spray.]
The Police Review Commission recommends that the Berkeley Police Department discontinue the use of OC pepper spray.
Issues pertinent to effectiveness of OC spray and to officer safety are addressed in this report. However, the serious medical health complications associated with the use of OC spray as well as the adverse impact on police-community relations are also important factors that contribute to the recommendation of the Police Review Commission.