These results should not come as a surprise to anyone, when officers know what to expect they perform at a higher level. Confronting the unexpected can greatly reduce officer safety and often leads to dire consequences. If it is done properly, the exposure can instill a confident attitude that the officer can effectively deal with the effects long enough to tend to their own self-defense. There are many other reasons to expose officers to aerosols during training, running the gamut from enhanced officer safety and decreased tendency for horseplay to litigation defensibility. Officers that have been exposed to their own aerosol product have a great deal more credibility when testifying about the effects of the aerosol in a courtroom setting.
Aerosols are a viable method for controlling resistive behavior.
There is far less likelihood of suspect injury with an aerosol weapon than with a baton or a firearm, and far less likelihood of officer injury than with empty- hand control techniques. It is not realistic to expect that officers are going to use aerosols and not be exposed to the effects. In response to the time worn excuse that we don't shoot people to let them know that it hurts, nor do we shoot people and tell them that it is a non-lethal, low aggression form of physical restraint. Officers need to be trained and retrained like any other weapon system. In the interest of officer safety, initial training should be as realistic as possible.