My son has the option to be pepper sprayed tomorrow...?

Question

He's 17 and a tender soul who has taken our local police academy youth camp and the "graduation" is a delightful choice of pepper spray or pepper foam.

I know, sounds barbaric. As his nervous mom, I am not thrilled with this, but as he picked the lock on the shakel I used to chain him to his bed I am over ruled.

He gets to choose so which do you think? I have already given him baby shampoo (our friend who is a cop said it can help) and a hose will be available.

Call me a wimp but I can't wait for tomorrow to be over with--his dad isn't too thrilled either.

Any experience with this, what can you tell me?

Thanks so much for your answers!

*****The shakle was a joke, I don't want him to do it. He has the option of saying no, but he will be the only kid, so he won't do it. It does sound abusive, but trust me he is the least abused kid on the planet..his dad already has a huge present for him and he's not going to be a cop--a history professor--it's just an experience he wanted to have. Ugh.

Answer 1

I recommend the baby shampoo also. After he is sprayed he needs to wash his hair and face with the shampoo and rinse continuously. Something else he needs to know that was eluded to. When he gets home and takes a shower, it will burn again, so use the baby shampoo in the shower too. It won't kill him, but it will burn like fire. I have never been foamed, but the localized affect sounds plausible. Tell him good luck and he will have a good one to tell his buddies.

Side note: This won't make you happy, but I think a lot of LEO would agree. I would rather be tazed than maced and I have had both. The tazer is over after 7 seconds, mace stays with you for a while.

Answer 2

Theoretically either one is okay. It'll sting and his sinuses will definitely clear up but the spray and the foam are so close that they don't matter. After about thirty minutes his face will still feel hot and his eyes will still water some but he'll feel better.

The foam is suppose to be less potent. However, the foam has a larger psychological impact because he'll have this stuff with the consistency of shaving cream that stings on his face.

It's a coin toss. I would personally just do the spray.

For decontamination I don't use water. I let the stuff air dry, face into the breeze, and use a wad of paper towels to pat (DO NOT RUB!) my face dry. Once it is dry I wait tell I can get into the shower. Put my back to the water, lean back, close my eyes, and wash my hair and face over and over again. Wash the clothes in regular detergent and they'll be fine. If he uses water after being sprayed it will just keep flushing it back into his eyes. But a lot of people do this and swear by it..............I get a kick out of watching them hog the hose.

He'll be fine.

Answer 3

As a police officer I have been sprayed and tased. You need to pick him up some Dawn and a spray bottle or there is special decontamination they sell at police shops. Mix a drop of dawn into the water as this will help remove the carrier of the actual pepper. He will also need to pat his face dry, not rub it. The agency should have a hose close by for him to wash his face off and cool it off. Our agency also had a fan. He can put his face into the airconditioner of the car if he needs to. I would suggest foam as it stays localized. If he gets sprayed it has a tendency to spread and have more effect on the nose and eyes. No matter what he gets sprayed with, it will burn the eyes, nose, eyebrows and lips and can affect him up to an hour even with decontamination. When he gets home and takes a shower, he needs to hold his head back where the spray will wash out backwards over the back of his head and not into his face. Just to let you know, the reason officers and potential officers are sprayed is down to law suits. If the recruit is sprayed, he can testify that he knows what the suspect is going through and therefore will be more sympathetic. My attitude is you didnt have to shoot me to qualify me with a gun and so I know what it feels like, but...its just something you have to go though. Good luck

Answer 4

GET MILK, whole milk is best. Get a gallon of it and pour it on his face and even in the eyes if he gets the pepper spray in the eyes. I kid you not. It's something that can remove the burn from the eyes and pouring milk in your eyes will not hurt. The milk will remove the oils from the pepper spray.

My uncle trains police dogs and is on the K-9 force. They all had milk there when he got sprayed and it works wonders. Also, he will have the desire to rub his face and eyes.....DON'T DO IT. It will make the burning 100x worse. Just keep pouring the milk and the burning will subside.

Answer 5

ok being sprayed is not fun .I was sprayed for the reason that I could carry it in my duties of a Police Officer this was required. I can tell you that this is NOT fun. it cannot hurt you
but what it does is make it very very hard to see and fight back. The advise to him if he does do it is wash it off don't use the myth of milk or anything like that. make sure to wash off very good then use lots of paper towels to pat off face.
the faster he can stop using water the better. pat face and air off. also after the effects are gone when he takes a shower that night make sure to cover eyes because some residue will be present on his hair . I have used it in the field on individuals that fight and i feel for them lol . Mom he will be ok , but trust me once he see the effect on his friends he may have second thoughts. It won't injure him though .

Answer 6

Take the spray. Make sure his contacts are out if he wears them. It burns for about 1/2 hour. Baby shampoo does help but cold water and time is the best. Spray is better than Taser!

Answer 7

The day after tomorrow will come whether he opts for the spray or not. When it does he will have done something that not everyone has done. He can be very proud to have confronted his fear and conquered it.

On the other hand if he decides not go through with it, starting the day after tomorrow he will wish he had.

What is the saying, "That which doesn't kill us makes us stronger."

Answer 8

I've been sprayed twice in the face by an ex boyfriend and yes it burned for awhile but it's not something you as a mother should worry about. If it was my son ,I would say, "Go for it dumb a s s !!

Answer 9

You are a WIMP:):)
Dad too:):):)
No big deal.

In USCG they put us in trailer and pumped tear gas in...
we sat on metal benches.
Gas masks at ready.
And did not put them on until we got the order and after we got good taste of tear gas.
(did this at the Naval Base at Little Creek Virginia part of refresher training aka reftra)
And some of the guys in trailer weren't much older than your son.

It's REALLY REALLY REALLY NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT

Answer 10

He will be fine. Yes it will be uncomfortable and yes it will not be pleasant but no one has ever been permanently injured or worse being sprayed. Just make sure he follows the directions given to him and it will be over in minutes. If he does decide to go into Law Enforcement please tell him welcome and thank you for stepping up.