In response to recent backroom discussions between the Berkeley City Council and officials from the police department, pepper spray opponents are calling for a public hearing to discuss the matter and bring updated information about the controversial gas into the deliberations. We continue to hear about misuse of pepper spray and even deaths related to its use from around the country. This is not the time to stop keeping track of how pepper spray is being used and what effect it has on the people being gassed. said Andrea Prichett of Berkeley Copwatch.
Pepper spray is a dangerous weapon.
We believe that it is unreliable, untested and easily misused by officers. Safeguards must be in place to guard against the arbitrary use of this potentially lethal spray. Opponents of the spray cite abuses in Alaska, Colorado and other states, most recently, in Seattle at the World Trade Organization protests. Misuse of pepper spray is one of the issues currently being investigated by the Seattle City Council due to allegations of widespread police misconduct during the protests. Copwatch led the charge to have the spray banned in 1997 when estimates of pepper spray related deaths ranged from 65-100 nationally.