Less-Than-Lethal?

PepperBall guns, Bean Bag Projectiles and Tasers, seem to be a good idea at first. They have been used to take down knife wielding hostage holders and neutralize would be suicide victims all over the country. They give officers a chance to leave their guns in the holster and defuse dangerous situations without killing.

Background on Emerson Student killed by Police

In these situations the risk to life and limb is very real and there is a compelling logic to their use, even a fairly good record to back it up. A certain number of violent criminals have died as a result of bean-bags, pepper spray, and Tasers, but without less than lethal weapons, a gun would be used, and a death would be more likely.

But according to studies of some police departments, more than half of the people who end up on the business end of non-lethal weapons are not criminals, and over 80% are not threatening officers or the public with weapons of their own. That was definitely the case Thursday when a Boston Police Officer fired a FN Herstall model 303 pepper ball gun into a crowd of celebrating Red Sox fans, killing 21 year old Victoria Snelgrove. The Boston Globe reported only that a bottle was smashed near the police, who were wearing full riot gear at the time.

The police are trained to maintain a code of conduct regardless of the conduct of others. One would expect an officer of the law to exercise restraint when wielding a weapon capable of deadly force. Yet, in the case of "less-than lethal" weapons, such a policy simply isn't there.

The pepper ball gun, developed by a company called PepperBall Technologies, is perhaps the least lethal weapon of a growing class of law enforcement weaponry called less than lethal weapons. But less than lethal is a false label. Practically all less than lethal weapons have proven their capability to be lethal. Yet police departments across the country continue to use them indiscriminately as a method of crowd control and "compliance", instead of limiting their use to people who are in the act of a crime.

In light of this, a study done by the Omega Foundation for the European Parliament in 2000 recommended: "Any crowd control weapon capable of producing a lethal impact should be subject to the same legal procedures and post incident inquiry as if it were a lethal firearm." This would mean that the police would have policies that would limit the use of these weapons to situations where the risk of lethal force would be worth taking, and if that policy was not followed, the police officer who fires at innocent people would be prosecuted.

The Boston Globe recently reported that, "No accurate statistics exist for any injuries from pepper-filled balls or other types of nonlethal weapons." This may be true, but the statement is misleading. This might lead one to believe that people do not die from less than lethal weapons, or that deaths have not been recorded, or that no organization has studied the problem. But deaths have been recorded and those records have been gathered for study. Searching the archives of US newspapers will produce a number of stories about people dying from pepper spray, tasers, and bean-bag projectiles (although this may be the first incident of a pepperball related death). The Omega Foundation and the Centre for Conflict Resolution at the University at Bradford in the UK have both released studies that highlight the dangers and deaths associated with all less than lethal weapons. These studies have emphasized the dangers associated with these weapons and made recommendations for their safe use that have so far been ignored by the US media and US law enforcement.

Here is a brief overview of three weapons that are classed "Less-than-lethal."

PEPPERBALL GUNS combine the use of projectiles with a synthetic chemical agent called PAVA powder (Pelargonic Acid Vanillyamide), OC (Oleanized Capiscium), or Capsaicin II, all versions of pepper spray. Both the kinetic force and the spray have the potential to become lethal. PepperBall technologies website recommends the use of a full face mask, throat collar, and groin protection for police training with the weapons "to prevent injury." When inhaled, PAVA powder causes acute burning of the eyes, temporary blinding, and severe inflammation the mucous membranes and upper respiratory system that in turn leads to uncontrollable coughing fits. The Los Angeles Times reported 61 deaths associated with pepper spray from 1990 to June 1995 (June 18,1995).

TASERS shoot small darts and deliver electroshock up to 50,000 volts (in the commonly used M26). Massachusetts was one of the two last states to legalize Tasers for police until Romney signed a bill allowing police departments to purchase them in July for the DNC. Tasers have been the cause of many deaths in the US and Canada. Older folks, drug users, and those with heart problems are at the greatest risk. They have also been proven to cause miscarriages in pregnant women. Their use is among the most widespread of the less than lethals- AP reported the use of a Taser on a 66 year old Kansas City grandmother for "misuse of a carhorn," and resisting arrest (August 21, 2004).

BEAN BAG PROJECTILES are one of the many new items police can load into their riot control shotguns. So far there is very little data on their use. However, the National Research Council released a report in 2003 that asserts that the impact of blunt projectiles to the head, neck and chest can result in very serious injury or death. Police are trained to aim for the arms and legs, yet all of these weapons are known to be inaccurate. On June 22, 2001 a 49 year old Long Beach woman was killed when she was struck in the chest by a beanbag round. It lacerated her heart. She was carrying a gun herself but it is only a matter of time when these weapons are being used for crowd control.

OTHER LESS THAN LETHAL WEAPONS are being used and newer products are coming on to the market all the time. When these weapons are used for crowd control, and as the technology improves, their effect becomes more political and less safety oriented. A line needs to be drawn between their use against criminals and their indiscriminant use against crowds.

See also:

http://www.europarl.eu.int/stoa/publi/pdf/99-14-01-a_en.pdf

http://www.bradford.ac.uk/acad/nlw/introduction/