It burns us!
22 Sep 2008 
around evening time 
Matt Winckler
Yes, it burrnnsss, precious. Today was OC-10 day, and a solid burst of oleoresin capsicum in the face has imparted unto me these wise words, which I now pass on to you: stay the hell away from OC spray, for verily it is of the devil. Alternatively, next time you consider active resistance against a police officer, just pay close attention to whether he draws his Taser or his OC canister.
The day started off in a typical fashion, with PT/DT and some Criminal Procedures. Then after lunch we began a two-hour classroom session on OC-10, during which we learned that “98% of the OC experience is mental, but that is in no way denying that the other 2% really sucks.” Evidently you can, through sheer force of will, overcome the effects of OC and fight through it. I believe this, but having now experienced the thing, I also believe that actually doing so is outrageously difficult.
We learned about the way in which OC spray “hotness” is measured–using Scoville Heat Units (SHUs). For reference, your typical green bell pepper has 0 SHU–not hot at all. A jalapeño pepper has about 5,000 SHU. The spray that most agencies use is rated at 320,000 SHU. The fogger spray that KPD uses, and which I was sprayed with, is rated at two million SHU. Not fun times! The instructor pointed out that really, at some point “hot” is “hot” and the additional SHU just make decontamination more difficult and the effects last longer. I believe this, as me and the other KPD officer who got the fogger took considerably longer to recover than most other officers.
Our procedure went like this:
- An instructor and your student partner take up position about 7-10 feet away and prepare to spray you. (Two canisters are used simultaneously to ensure that if one fails or runs dry, sufficient spray is administered so that you don’t have to go through and do it again later.)
- The instructor counts down from 3. When he reaches zero, you open your eyes and both people give you a 1-2 second burst in the face/eyes.
- Proceed to a “bad guy” holding a punching bag and deliver 5 palm strikes.
- Proceed to bad guy #2 and deliver 5 elbow strikes.
- Proceed to bad guy #3 and deliver 5 knee strikes.
- Approach a compliant suspect and, using verbal commands, get him into prone cuffing position and cuff him.
There are two main types of OC spray delivery systems, stream and fog. Most people got the stream, which is a solid stream of liquid you can aim. I got the fog, which deploys a burst of fog/mist full of OC nastiness in the general direction you’re pointing. I’m not sure which is worse (and I don’t plan on going back to see what the stream is like). I’m told that some people experience a delay before the burning begins (up to 5-10 seconds in some cases), but not so with me. The first sensation of the liquid landing on my face/eyes was that someone had tossed a blanket full of needles into my face. The next sensation was somebody lighting the blanket on fire and starting to pound on it with a blunt object. If you’re not prepared for it (which hopefully I now am, having experienced it, but wasn’t at the start of today), it literally takes your breath away as your airways try to constrict to keep it out of your lungs. Or rather that’s what it feels like–apparently medical studies have been done on a bunch of idiots who volunteered to get sprayed, and they determined that you get the same amount of oxygen after being sprayed no matter how it feels.
I didn’t have trouble delivering the necessary strikes, but by the time I got to prone cuffing the flames were roaring, I could barely get my eyes open, and my voice was almost totally gone. I did my best to squeak/retch out the commands to get the bad guy onto the ground and managed to cuff him, after which I proceeded to the real pain: decontamination with baby shampoo and a very cold garden hose. Things aren’t too bad while you’ve got water running over you, but the problem is that the OC solution is actually activated by water, so as soon as you stop rinsing the burning sensation returns in full force. The only way to get past it is to tough it out for 5-10 minutes, which I began doing, but then someone pointed out that I failed to rinse off the spray completely (the fog spray was helpfully marked with orange dye), so I had to go back and do another rinsing session (which felt great) and another burn session (which felt awful). Throughout the decon process I saw more snot come out of my nose and mouth than I think I’ve ever seen before in one place.
The closest thing I can think of to describe the feeling while standing waiting for the OC to wear off is one that I’ve read elsewhere: imagine holding your face over a gas grill with the burners turned up. This is a fairly accurate description, provided you put your face down close to the meat and not up high away from the heat. We’re talking serious, foot-stomping, mental-cursing pain here.
After about half an hour I could walk around with my eyes pretty much always open, and the burn had subsided to feel merely like the worst sunburn I’ve ever had. And then we had to go inside, out of the nice cool wind, at which point the gas grill sensation returned. (68 degrees never felt to freakishly hot!)
Over time the burning subsided further to the point that even indoors it only felt like the world’s worst sunburn. And then I got home and had to wash out my hair, head, and neck more thoroughly, at which time the water re-activated the spray and I enjoyed another (albeit slightly less potent) burn phase. One more shower after that and I got most of it out; I now only feel mild burning in my eyes and on my wrists when they get wet.
The bottom line is that while I intend to carry OC-10 on my belt, I’m sure not going to be eager to use it, particularly since the fogger goes all over the dang place. That is some nasty stuff.
Hopefully this was the most unpleasant part of academy, and now it’s over. Certainly this experience has become my new benchmark for all things extremely painful. Also, I think a glamour shot may be forthcoming; I know that at least one or two were taken of me during decontamination.