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Pepper Spray - A Legal Weapon Frequently Used In An Illegal Manner

By Neil Shous, Esq.

Three fifteen-year-old girls were arrested over the weekend on felony charges when they attacked another teen with pepper spray and then slammed her head into the ground. Pepper spray is a legal self-defense weapon in California. However, it is also used in a variety of illegal situations that have little or nothing to do with self-defense or the defense of others. Like the above case, people frequently use pepper spray as a way to incapacitate another person so that they may take control over that individual. And unfortunately, the police are no exception? If used improperly, pepper spray can subject an officer to California criminal and even civil charges. Examples of inappropriate use of pepper spray by officers include situations where the officer repeatedly sprays an individual, sprays an individual who is already restrained, or sprays an individual who is exercising one of his/her many constitutional rights...continue to full post

Full post as published by California Criminal Defense Blog on May 05, 2010 (boomark / email).