Advocacy & Safety - Pepper spray question

Is it possible to kill a normal person with pepper spray, in particular with pepper spray marketed as bear spray?

The spray iteself should not kill you. The reaction to is such as mucus and fright from breathing problems, may scare you and cause problems.

maybe if you made them eat it....

That's good. I want to have a good all-purpose defensive weapon which will stop crazed dogs and crazed humans without murdering the latter. (Killing the former would probably be okay.)

How does the spray come out - in a fog or more like a stream? I picture myself spraying it and riding through the cloud.

That's good. I want to have a good all-purpose defensive weapon which will stop crazed dogs and crazed humans without murdering the latter. (Killing the former would probably be okay.)

I think you have that backwards.

Some of the sprays are just aeresol droplets in the air when they are sprayed and are very suceptible to gusts etc. Others area stream of liquid (less likely to be blown back at you but you have to aim better) or foam (shorter range.)
Each has there own potential.

Most areas don't limit the use or sale of mace or pepper sprays. If you in one of those areas try carrying Halt! or a brand of dog spray. Not as effective on a person but the whole point of sprays is not to stop someone just to slow them down. Even if someone is really high the spray makes there breathing harder and eyes water enough to give you an advantage in fight or flight.

As an answer to the first part though, sure. If they have really bad athsma or breathing problems or have a bad bronchospasm from exposure. Still, not that many deaths statistically, much more from fistfights etc...

I think you have that backwards.

agreed

The bear spray is strong enough to possibly cause a person's throat to swell up and choke them.

I am a retired mail carrier. This is some good, inexpensive stuff that I carried for use on dogs for years. It comes out in a 10' stream. It is pepper spray, and will not permanently harm an individual. I still have a old can with me during my rides.

http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=115&subcategory=1130&brand=&sku=1151&storetype=&estoreid=&pagename=

You are opening yourself up to civil and/or criminal action depending on state/municpal laws/ordinaces. If bears are not a problem in your area you may be in a pickle to explain, why you have bear OC(15%).T he explination had better be a good one because the Atty of the party sueing you will make a big deal, about the pain and harm you caused his/her client. I am sure you will get no support from the manufacturer of the OC canister, because they will have it labled, not for use on humans, etc... Police are issued aprox 20% OC spray, depending on local laws you may be limited to 10%.

Tazer.

As far as I know pepper spray is not illegal to carry or use as a less then or non-lethal means of self defense. But once you use it as a offensive weapon that is when it becomes illegal. In my community anyone can legally carry a tazer, pepper spray or even mace as a means of less then, non-lethal self defense.

I carry & have used halt while riding. I have sprayed more dogs then I care to count & have had to spray one person too who wanted to cause me harm while I was riding by him. He ran at me with the intention of shoving a stick into my wheel. This was an adult not some stupid kid. When I sprayed him with the Halt he stopped within 6 feet of me & dropped to the ground screaming, yelling & holding his hands to his face, I kept riding. Halt works very well & it has a bright orange or red dye in it, which as far as a I know is like permanent marker. On a dog that is no big deal but on a person, well not only will it make their eyes water or affect their breathing temporarily but it can also ruin their cloths.

Lots of "jail house law" on here

Generally, you are more likely to get away with u-lock beating someone than you are with pepper spray.

Lots of places have ordinances againt checmical defenses, suach as mace and pepperspray. spart of that is in windy environments, where the chance of it hitting someone else is higher than most people are comfortable with.

As for the criminal suing...this is a failure of our legal system and needs worked out...IMO if someone can be legally defined and convicted in a court of law as an assailant, then any means necessary to defend yourself should be justified....and they should lose the ability to sue since they made the active decision to initiate this line of behavior. Unfortunately, it seems the courts can't grasp the simplicity and appropriateness of that.

he he ha ha :) Jail house law. But seriously, my point is use a product that is desighned and tested for use against humans and is not prohibited. It may save some headaches later if you have defended yourself.
The Fine print:(opinions are generaly worth what you pay for them, all opinions listed by are just my opinion, no animals were hurt in typing this retort, dealer stock may very etc..)

YES, if they have an asthma attack as a result!



Is it possible to kill a normal person with pepper spray, in particular with pepper spray marketed as bear spray?

If someone comes at me with the intention of doing harm to me or to steal my bike, I will give him some mace in the face, I have to defend myself and property. If he is that stupid than he gets what he deserves.

Pepper spray can blind people, particularly if they are wearing contact lenses when sprayed. The pepper spray gets underneath the lense so it cannot be flushed out, and since your bodies reaction to the spray is to close your eyes as tightly as possible it is very difficult for someone to remove their contacts after being sprayed.

Just something to keep in mind.

Pepper spray is legal in almost every state. That being said, your municipal laws may be different but when push comes to shove the state law over-rules your communiuty law. However if using on a person, you better be able to prove self-defense. Even on a dog. What you see as a threat may just be a posturing on the animals part. The owner could sue you just easily. In our state for one(WI) you cannot use pepper sray on a dog or other animal unless it is on the road and out of its property. Wild animals also, you can not just ride by a wild animal and spray for safteys sake. Yes 9 out of 10 times you would get away with it, but you have to always think about that 1 time that someone would see you and report it. Life is to short to be paranoid. Most times you can simply kick a dog in the snout and they will tuck tail. The spray should never be used unless other means fail. Same with a person, if you cannot out run a person coming at you on foot, there is other worries. Even on my road bike I will take the grass or gravel to stay away from an aggressor. I would rahter run than take the chance of having the headache of dealing with the cops over something that coul have been avoided.
Stacey

You are opening yourself up to civil and/or criminal action depending on state/municpal laws/ordinaces.

You are correct. I can only speak for Massachusetts. Here in MA, you may not carry any kind of pepper spray without a Firearms Identification card, issued by your local police depertment. The FID card for pepper spray is generally not as hard to get as one for rifles, but the penalty for getting caught using the spray without an FID card can be quite severe. No, I'm not joking.

Here's the worst part of all this: The procedure for applying for such an FID card varies a lot from one police department to another. If you local PD is very small, with mostly part-time employees, the waiting period can take weeks or months.

Blame it on the state legislature, which I sometimes believe has the collective I.Q. of a turnip.

You are correct. I can only speak for Massachusetts. Here in MA, you may not carry any kind of pepper spray without a Firearms Identification card, issued by your local police depertment. The FID card for pepper spray is generally not as hard to get as one for rifles, but the penalty for getting caught using the spray without an FID card can be quite severe. No, I'm not joking.

Here's the worst part of all this: The procedure for applying for such an FID card varies a lot from one police department to another. If you local PD is very small, with mostly part-time employees, the waiting period can take weeks or months.

Blame it on the state legislature, which I sometimes believe has the collective I.Q. of a turnip.

1984

You are opening yourself up to civil and/or criminal action depending on state/municpal laws/ordinaces. If bears are not a problem in your area you may be in a pickle to explain, why you have bear OC(15%).T he explination had better be a good one because the Atty of the party sueing you will make a big deal, about the pain and harm you caused his/her client. I am sure you will get no support from the manufacturer of the OC canister, because they will have it labled, not for use on humans, etc... Police are issued aprox 20% OC spray, depending on local laws you may be limited to 10%.


I carry this. (http://personalsecurityzone.com/cgi-win/order/prodlist.exe/PSZ/?Template=ProdDetail.htm&ProductID=10717)

I just noticed that it says it only has .35% OC. Can this be correct? That would be very little, no? I have used mine a couple of times on dogs and it did melt them away.

Lots of "jail house law" on here ;) Hey, there are more armchair lawyers hear than you can shake a stick at.

You are correct. I can only speak for Massachusetts. Here in MA, you may not carry any kind of pepper spray without a Firearms Identification card, issued by your local police depertment. The FID card for pepper spray is generally not as hard to get as one for rifles, but the penalty for getting caught using the spray without an FID card can be quite severe. No, I'm not joking.

Here's the worst part of all this: The procedure for applying for such an FID card varies a lot from one police department to another. If you local PD is very small, with mostly part-time employees, the waiting period can take weeks or months.

Blame it on the state legislature, which I sometimes believe has the collective I.Q. of a turnip.
that is absurd. The bad guys, or the road -ragers who attack bicyclist can attack you while you are riding, and I doubt it they care about the law. But we are not supposed to be able to defend ourlseves. I always carry pepper spray when I ride. screw the law.

Pepper spray is legal in almost every state. That being said, your municipal laws may be different but when push comes to shove the state law over-rules your communiuty law. However if using on a person, you better be able to prove self-defense. Even on a dog. What you see as a threat may just be a posturing on the animals part. The owner could sue you just easily. In our state for one(WI) you cannot use pepper sray on a dog or other animal unless it is on the road and out of its property. Wild animals also, you can not just ride by a wild animal and spray for safteys sake. Yes 9 out of 10 times you would get away with it, but you have to always think about that 1 time that someone would see you and report it. Life is to short to be paranoid. Most times you can simply kick a dog in the snout and they will tuck tail. The spray should never be used unless other means fail. Same with a person, if you cannot out run a person coming at you on foot, there is other worries. Even on my road bike I will take the grass or gravel to stay away from an aggressor. I would rahter run than take the chance of having the headache of dealing with the cops over something that coul have been avoided.
Stacey

Of course, that is good philosophy for any instances. It is always better to avoid a fight if you can. I would rather avoid a fight, if all posible. However,if you have ridden in an urban area for anylength of time at all, sooner or later some motorist with an anger control problem is going to attack you, and you had better be ready to escape, or if you cannot, then it is "game on'. Just f**k em up good.