Defense Spray

[CAL]

Mk III or Mk IV size? What do you carry?

[DD78]

Mk III or Mk IV size? What do you carry?


The smaller the better. You are going to have to carry it. You can fog a crowd with the smaller size and still have plenty of whoop ass left in the can.

Your choice really though.

[Feet]

We are issued the big ones but I would prefer the small one. I have NEVER needed a whole can in a situation.

[cherokeegunsmith]

As a Police Officer, we were issued MkIII size, Deputy Sheriff, your choice (since we had to buy it ourselves) which meant I stayed with MkIII size; as a Parole Officer, if you carry a gun you are required by POLICY to carry OC, and we are issued MkIII size. I would caution you that OC does NOT (in my personal experience) work as well on the street as it does in a training enviroment, in other words if you use it, be ready to move up the force continuum. When OC first came out it was touted as the "greatest thing since sliced bread" and a panacea for controling people without resorting to a higher level of force, these assertions probably got some officers hurt and may have been a contributing factor in the death of an officer in the NW who was stabbed to death and found clutching an empty OC canister, some years ago.

[DD78]

When OC first came out it was touted as the "greatest thing since sliced bread" and a panacea for controling people without resorting to a higher level of force

The same misconception that plagues the Taser these days.

OC is merely a distraction. You still need to know how to fight. Of all the times I have sprayed someone or been present for a spraying, (about two dozen in all) I've only seen one guy give up and put his hands behind his back willingly after getting sprayed.

I've seen a couple where it didn't seem to make much of a difference.

Similarly, we've had Taser incidents where it didn't work quite right. Especially in the winter. Thick clothes and lack of probe spread being the chief problems.

Tonight we had a Tasing where it was deployed at very close range. The probes got stuck in the suspects layered clothing and caused pain. He broke the wires off.

It's only a tool. Tools malfunction and can only work right when skillfully and properly used.