The Dangers of CS Gas Spray

Why is CS Gas an offensive weapon under English Law and illegal for it to be carried by the general populace, let alone used ?		October, 1998, has not been a good month for the British Police. First the cat was put firmly amongst the pigeons when Sir Paul Condon, Chief Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, claimed there was no racism in his force almost immediately followed by the Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police openly admitting that his force is institutionally racist. Then Essex Police got themselves hauled into court on animal cruelty charges and now the City of London Police have had a taste of their own medicine. One of their officers was rushed to hospital and suffered a heart attack after taking part in a training exercise involving the use of CS gas. This training sessions appears to have been of the type that involves entering a CS gas-filled room whilst attempting to carry on breathing; not a pleasant exercise from accounts of army and other force's personnel who have undergone this experience. The police have maintained that the use of CS gas is entirely non-injurious to health despite claims otherwise from citizens who have had such gas used against them and other, respected, medical advisors. Perhaps, now that they have downed one of their own officers they'll reconsider their stance ? Now, don't get me wrong; I have every sympathy for the officer, in his 40's, and everyone else who is a victim of CS gas, and my sympathies extend to this officer's family who are undoubtedly going through a pretty rough time of it all at present. A police spokesperson has said that, "There is no reason, at this stage, to believe there is any link between the officer's reaction to the CS and his subsequent heart attack". I am not sure that this officer, his family nor anyone else, who has seen the suffering caused by the use of CS gas, will quite see it this way. This unfortunate officer is in a critical, but stable, condition in hospital and the police have announced that they will be reviewing their training procedures. Given the near, and still possible, fatality, in circumstances where there is a clear chain of evidence back to the use of CS gas; rather than review their training procedures they should be reviewing the whole issue of CS gas and its use. It is to be regreted that the police have ignored complaints and protests from those who have been affected by exposure to CS gas in the past, fobbing them off with the it is a minor irritant excuse. Perhaps if they had taken the time to properly consider the evidence, from both victims and the medical world, they would not have, damn near, extinguished the life of one of their own officers. Eric Smith, deceased Subsequent to the unfortunate incident in London; one Eric Smith, 53, was sprayed with CS gas during an arrest, for causing affray, in Leeds on the 30th of October. Following his arrest he attended a local hospital and died three days after the initial incident. Whilst the cause of death has not been made public, it is clear that, once again, there appears to be a sequence of events that can be traced from the use of CS gas to Mr Smith's illness and subsequent demise. I do hope that the police authorities have as much sympathy to offer Mr Smith's family as they have given to the family of one of their own officers. It's just vegetable extract One of the most amusing aspects of the police's support for the use of weapons of the CS type is the claim that it can't be harmful because it is only made from natural ingredients. A bit like maintaining that nuclear weapons are completely safe because they only use commonly found particles. In The States, the preferred substance is Pepper Spray; claimed to be entirely safe because it is made from vegetable extract. Having seen police footage where their own officers have volunteered to be attacked by Pepper Spray, so they will know how it will affect their victims when they use it on them in the process of an arrest; it is immensely satisfying to see these officers writhing on the floor screaming in agony, shouting, "I can't breath, I can't f--king breath", and dunking their heads in buckets of water and requiring oxygen masks to breath whilst remaining unaffected. Unfortunately this, obviously unpleasant, experience doesn't seem to prevent them from condoning its use, and indeed, using it themselves on those they wish to detain. And Pepper Spray isn't harmful because it's a vegetable extract ? WARNING Certain activities suggested in the remainder of this section should be taken to be read as humorous and tongue in cheek proposals. The Happy Hippy takes no responsibility for anyone undertaking any of the activities suggested without researching the full consequences of their actions and having sought professional medical advice beforehand. Now I'm not suggesting that you try Pepper Spray on yourself to see what its effects are ( and certainly not without having someone who can provide medical attention standing by in case it becomes needed ), however, the non-injurious effects of vegetable extract can be sampled, entirely legally, by chopping, grinding and crushing a few handfuls of fresh, green chillies into a paste that can be smeared into the crutch of one's underpants or knickers. Even in this case it may still be advisable to have someone who can provide medical assistance standing by and, no matter what effect the chilli paste eventually has; avoid the temptation to use a wire-brush to reduce any burning or itching sensation. If you found all this processing of chillies stressful; a brief bout of masturbation ( before washing your hands ) should take your mind off it and, to say the least, put a spring back in your step. Successful experimentation with chilli paste can be followed by continuing investigations using stinging-nettles; a naturally occurring, and commonly available weed that couldn't possible have any injurious effects. A defensive weapon ? The Home Office maintain that CS gas spray is purely a defensive weapon and that it has no injurious or long lasting effects; which is why it is so commonly used during routine arrests at the first sign of stroppiness from a suspect, sometimes even before then. Which begs the question; why is it considered as an offensive weapon under English Law and illegal for it to be carried by the general populace, let alone used ? Because it's a lot more dangerous than anyone is letting on ? I think that everyone knew this even before this latest incident. On the 23rd of July, 1970, Frank Roche threw a cannister of CS gas into the chamber of the House of Commons to give MP's first hand experience of what life in Belfast was like at that time. Two MP's were take to hospital of which one required a chest X-ray before being released. The Sergeant at Arms complained that, "My face was smarting, my eyes running and I was retching". The respected British Society for Social Responsibility in Science had also reported ( H Rose and R Setler, "What gas did in Derry", New Society, 25th September 1969 ), that, whilst investigating the aftermath of a CS gas attack in the Bogside; three people had lost consciousness, a 14 month old infant developed acute bronchial disorder whilst others had to be treated for eye burning. There are numerous other reports along the same lines both arising from the Northern Ireland conflicts and those around the world. Subsequent to the recent incidents involving CS gas; it has now been reported, by government scientists themselves, that the gas is poisonous and dangerous. Scientists at Porton Down, the government's Chemical and Biological Defense Institute revealed that the chemical used to turn CS powder into gas, methyl isobutyl ketomine ( MIBK ), was highly poisonous, unsafe for use and could cause cancer. It is alleged that this report, commissioned by the Home Office, was later hushed up. Indeed, the Home Secretary, just before the contents of the report were leaked ( in the Police Review magazine of all places ), was still publicly claiming that Ministers were convinced that CS gas posed no threat to the health of the police or members of the public providing that the guildelines for use were followed. Of course, he, like everyone else, knows that these guidelines are not followed. But even before this latest disclosure; the British Government and its police forces know exactly how dangerous CS gas was and have done so for a very long time; some forward thinking police forces have refused to use CS gas for precisely this reasons. It is interesting to note that Britain, in 1995, was a signatory to the Chemical Weapons Convention which outlawed the use of CS gas for military purposes. So whilst CS gas is considered too dangerous to use, in the middle of a war, against an enemy, the British Government and some UK police forces are happy to have it used on its own citizens. Perhaps someone could explain this hypocritical stance ?
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First published sometime before Tuesday the 16th of November, 1999 Last upload was on Wednesday the 7th of January, 2004 at 04:14:55