Pepper Spray Used to Quell Seattle Protests

The Seattle Convention Center was the site of the World Trade Organization meetings November 30 through December 3, 1999. It was during the riots surrounding the talks that police officers began using tear gas to break up crowds of protesters. That week saw the introduction of the words “pepper spray” into the vocabulary of millions of Americans.

The media managed a near-total blackout even though the stories were much more significant than a few broken storefront windows. What really happened was “the unprecedented indiscriminate use of military weaponry on a peaceful population.” The police showed up in riot gear armed with rubber bullets and pepper gas.”

Numerous eyewitnesses said police officers ignored vandals who were actively damaging property. Instead, they ignored looting in favor of “assaulting demonstrators who were blockading the entrance to the WTO.” In fact, “pepper spray and rubber bullets were first used on demonstrators around 10:00 a.m. on November 30, nearly two hours before the first windows were broken.”

Since that time, stringent guidelines have been adopted by virtually all law enforcement agencies regarding the use of pepper spray and all other non lethal weapons. The guidelines are usually in the form of a hierarchy of force which defines how and under what conditions various levels of lethal and non lethal force may be used.

The hosting cities for both the Democratic National Convention and the Republican National Convention stepped up their city-wide arsenals in time for the national gatherings. One of the hosting cities went so far as to invest in special launchers for pepper spray capsules. Built on the shoulders of paint ball gaming technology, the launchers are designed to lob pepper spray containers into crowds that get too rowdy. When the fragile orbs break, the noxious mixture of pepper spray and tear gas is released into the crowd.

The combination of tear gas and pepper spray is an effective tool for breaking up a mob. A direct hit to the head area from pepper spray causes the eyes to slam shut and lots of pain from the oleoresin capsicum (OC). Derived from the chile plant, it is what supplies the burn in peppers. Tear gas doesn’t depend on contact to be effective. If it is deployed in the general vicinity, everyone will be uncomfortable very quickly. It causes similar levels of discomfort. The best thing is to avoid the clouds of tear gas and leave the area as quickly as possible.

When law enforcement officers get caught up in the heat of the moment, pepper spray is sometimes used in ways that may seem cruel and unnecessary. However, in the hands of most professionals, it is a valuable tool for intervening in situations before lethal force becomes necessary.