A pepper-spray projectile, also called a pepper-spray ball, pepper-ball, pepper bomb, or pepper-spray pellet, is a

frangible A material is said to be frangible if through deformation it tends to break up into fragments, rather than deforming elastically and retaining its cohesion as a single object. Common crackers are examples of frangible materials, while fresh bre ...

projectile A projectile is an object that is propelled by the application of an external force and then moves freely under the influence of gravity and air resistance. Although any objects in motion through space are projectiles, they are commonly found ...

containing a powdered

chemical A chemical substance is a unique form of matter with constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Chemical substances may take the form of a single element or chemical compounds. If two or more chemical substances can be combin ...

that irritates the eyes and nose in a manner similar to

pepper spray Pepper spray, oleoresin capsicum spray, OC spray, capsaicin spray, mace, or capsicum spray is a Tear gas, lachrymator (tear gas) product containing as its active ingredient the chemical compound capsaicin, which irritates the eyes with burning ...

. These projectiles are fired from specially designed forced compliance

weapon A weapon, arm, or armament is any implement or device that is used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime (e.g., murder), law ...

s or modified

paintball guns A paintball marker, also known as a paintball gun, paint gun, or simply marker, is an air gun used in the shooting sport of paintball, and the main piece of paintball equipment. Paintball markers use compressed gas, such as carbon dioxide (CO2) ...

Description

A pepper-spray projectile may be a sphere, hence the name pepper-ball, but it may also come in other shapes. The irritant payload may differ from product to product but is usually a

powder A powder is a dry solid composed of many very fine particles that may flow freely when shaken or tilted. Powders are a special sub-class of granular materials, although the terms ''powder'' and ''granular'' are sometimes used to distinguish se ...

, less frequently a

liquid Liquid is a state of matter with a definite volume but no fixed shape. Liquids adapt to the shape of their container and are nearly incompressible, maintaining their volume even under pressure. The density of a liquid is usually close to th ...

gas Gas is a state of matter that has neither a fixed volume nor a fixed shape and is a compressible fluid. A ''pure gas'' is made up of individual atoms (e.g. a noble gas like neon) or molecules of either a single type of atom ( elements such as ...

aerosol An aerosol is a suspension (chemistry), suspension of fine solid particles or liquid Drop (liquid), droplets in air or another gas. Aerosols can be generated from natural or Human impact on the environment, human causes. The term ''aerosol'' co ...

. Some companies offer different substances as payload for their projectiles and launcher systems, so potential sellers can choose a substance that is certified for use in their country. Also, projectiles with an inert dummy payload are often offered, for training and testing purposes. A powder called PAVA (capsaicin II) pepper is often used. PAVA is a capsaicinoid that can be synthesized for cheaper than grown peppers, although it is also found in nature. Pepper-spray weapons systems are used by law enforcement,

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

and other organizations, and individuals. The weapon is used generally in the role of stand-off weapons, where physical proximity to a suspect is deemed dangerous but

deadly force Deadly force, also known as lethal force, is the use of force that is likely to cause serious bodily injury or death to another person. In most jurisdictions, the use of deadly force is justified only under conditions of extreme necessity a ...

is not warranted. The systems are not limited to classic standoff situations and allow agents to apply as many rounds as required to cause individual

suspect In law enforcement jargon, a suspect is a known person accused or suspected of committing a crime. Police and reporters in the United States often use the word suspect as a jargon when referring to the perpetrator of the offense (perp in dated U. ...

s, multiple suspects, or crowds sufficient pain in order to subdue them.

Other uses

The projectile is usually sold to be used with a launcher or gun by the same company, to provide best reliability. The different companies usually also sell other types of projectiles for non-lethal use or projectiles with combined effects. Such effects may include: *break glass and disperse barricades *mark suspects for later round-ups *force of impact effect

Lethality

Although generally considered

less-than-lethal Non-lethal weapons, also called nonlethal weapons, less-lethal weapons, less-than-lethal weapons, non-deadly weapons, compliance weapons, or pain-inducing weapons are weapons intended to be lethality, less likely to kill a living target than c ...

when properly used (targets should exclude the face, eyes, throat or spine), one death has occurred when they have been fired at inappropriate areas. In one well-publicized incident in 2004, the

Boston Police Department The Boston Police Department (BPD) is the primary law enforcement agency of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1854, the BPD is the oldest municipal police department in the United States. It is also the 20th largest law enforce ...

's use of an

FN 303 The FN 303 is a semi-automatic less-lethal riot gun designed and manufactured by Fabrique Nationale de Herstal. The FN 303 uses compressed air to fire projectiles from a 15-round drum magazine. It is designed to incapacitate the target through ...

during a crowd control situation resulted in the fatal shooting of Victoria Snelgrove, when the projectile struck her in the eye. Also in 2004,

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Davis, California, United States. It is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University ...

(UC Davis) police who wanted to break up a block party shot a pepperball at an unarmed student and damaged his eye—the student subsequently lost his athletic scholarship and dropped out of college. In 2012, a federal appeals court ruled that the police could be sued over the incident. In 2013, the student was awarded $774,000.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pepper-Spray Projectile Non-lethal projectiles Chemical weapons Lachrymatory agents Riot control agents