Nonlethal Weapons

Pepper Spray

Since 1923 and the creation of the first civilian chemical munitions company, law enforcement has sought out methods, tools, tactics, and techniques to assist with subduing violent individuals through “less than deadly” force. During the turbulent 1960s, President Lyndon Johnson created a Blue Ribbon Commission to study crime and violence. One of the committee recommendations called for the development of nonlethal weapons, which resulted in a number of technological advancements including CN-based Chemical Mace®. The product was designed to be a safer alternative to hands-on tactics and gave officers immediate access to a weapon that allowed them to engage suspects from beyond the fist/foot range. Safe and arguably effective, the product's demise was ultimately two-fold:

• 1.
  Chemical Mace® did not stop a significant percentage of those who were sprayed—especially those who were drunk, drugged, or mentally deranged.
• 2.
  Chemical Mace® earned a well-deserved reputation for secondary contamination. More than a few officers “cleared the jail,” or drove to headquarters with their heads out the window because the suspect was contaminating them from the back seat of the car.

The product definitely reduced injuries to officers and suspects alike, but the failure rate and secondary contamination caused most agencies to stop issuing it by 1980. In 1988, oleoresin capsicum or pepper-based sprays (extracted from the essential oil of the cayenne pepper plant) caught the eye of progressive police trainers. Similar agents had been tested by the military in the 1930s, used by mail carriers on dogs since the 1960s, and introduced to law enforcement as an alternative to Mace® in 1971. The pepper products ultimately proved much more effective than CN and are on practically every duty belt in America today. Pepper spray is considered by many to be the most significant injury-reduction tool in law enforcement history.

Impact Projectiles

In the Bible, the First Book of Samuel documents the slaying of Goliath by the shepherd boy David. The Philistine was armed with proximity weapons, including a bronze javelin, iron spear, and sword. These were heavy weapons, and even the giant had to get close to use them. David was well aware of this, and his vulnerability should he end up within their range. So he kept his distance, reached into his bag, and lifted out five smooth stones.

The use of extended-range impact energy is nothing new. From Biblical times to the present day, people have recognized the safety that comes with distance. This is especially true when facing an adversary armed with a weapon that requires direct access to be effective. Significant events in the chronology of impact rounds are outlined as

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