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Too hot to handle

by Ethan Smith < br > Leader Staff
| January 24, 2007 12:00 AM

Reserve deputy trainees get a face full of pepper spray

It was a lot worse than they were expecting.

That was the unanimous conclusion of this year's batch of reserve deputy trainees after they all got a face full of pepper spray Saturday as part of their state-mandated class in the use of oleoresin capsicum.

Seven reserve trainees, two Sanders County Sheriff's deputies and one Hamilton police officer each took a full blast of oleoresin capsicum — commonly referred to as pepper spray — in what many described as one of the most painful experiences of their lives.

“It was way worse than I thought it would be, especially to my eyes. I went into Saturday thinking it would be a bunch of guys just doing their thing, and I was completely floored. By the time we were halfway through it, I started feeling bad for everyone,” said reserve trainee Tim Brester.

Brester, who is president of the Polson Ambulance Service, has treated spray victims in the past as an emergency medical technician, and said that still didn't prepare him for the experience of receiving a direct shot to the face.

The class was conducted by Sheriff's deputy Erwin Lobdell, who is a certified instructor in O.C. training. The class is mandated as part of the Peace Officer Standards and Training (P.O.S.T.) requirements reserve and full-time deputies and police officers are required to take before they are allowed to carry pepper spray in the field.

And part of that class dictates that students get sprayed in the face, just as they would deliver in a real-life situation. The idea, Lobdell told the class, is that if a deputy or officer is called to testify about the use of pepper spray in court, they will be able to honestly say they know exactly what it feels like.

The spray, which is made up of compounds from the fats, oils and waxes of the hottest pepper plants, affects different people in different ways. Those with a higher tolerance for peppers — people who eat them regularly, for example — generally fare better than those who don't, Lobdell said, and that prediction held true during Saturday's class.

Bigfork assistant fire chief Nat O'Farrell, who is also a Lake County reserve trainee, fared better than most of the other trainees, but it still shocked him, he said.

Like Brester, O'Farrell has gone on calls where he and other Bigfork firefighters have been asked to treat spray victims. Most of those calls were accidental sprayings with pepper or bear spray, he said, but it still didn't prepare him for what it felt like to receive a direct shot to the face.

“We've had calls before, where there's been an accidental discharge with bear spray or pepper spray. When I went to those calls it didn't seem as bad as when I got hit in the face,” O'Farrell said.

As part of the training, the “suspect” donned a large garbage bag to protect his clothing, and then picked up a foam-covered bat used in defensive tactics training. The sprayer then ordered him several times to put the bat down, just as a deputy would in real life, before delivering a 2-3 second burst of the spray directly in the suspect's face.

Unlike a real-life situation, though, there were three buckets of cold water nearby for trainees to wash their faces in. The first contained baby shampoo in case the soapy water got in their eyes, and the second and third buckets contained clear water to continue the decontamination process.

Even with the nearby water and a Polson Ambulance crew on standby to treat those with more serious reactions, most of the trainees went through what they described as a living hell.

Detention officer Lanny VanMeter spent most of Saturday working a hose to help wash trainees' eyes out with, and was one of the last people to be sprayed. He said washing others' eyes out all day did little to prepare him for the shock of the actual experience.

“It was worse than I thought it would be. I didn't realize it would affect everyone the way it did. I guess the whole day surprised me,” VanMeter said.

But by gaining a better idea of how it felt, reserve trainees said it also helped them better understand when — and when not — to use it in a real-life situation.

Trainees said being sprayed gave them a better idea of just when to use it if they encountered those situations in the field.

“It would certainly be a deterrent,” VanMeter said.

But its potency also taught trainees the importance of only using it if absolutely necessary, they said. Trainees said they got a much better understanding of just how serious the stuff can be.

“I will probably be less likely to use it. I'm not afraid to use it, and I will use it when appropriate, but it has definitely taught me patience. I will definitely give clear warnings (to the suspect), and I will give them every last opportunity to comply,” Brester said. “I won't wait too long, but I will think twice before using it.”

During the training, two different types of spray were incorporated — a “fogger” blast that covered the person's face, ears, forehead and neck, and a stream blast that allowed more pinpoint contamination of a person's eye area and forehead.

Based on the reactions to the fogger spray, which covered a larger area, O'Farrell noted that he's more likely to carry the stream version once he's a reserve officer. After all, as part of the class, trainees had to also consider what would happen if a suspect were able to take it away from them and use it against them.

For most of the trainees, the first 10 minutes were absolutely excruciating. Only time could really help, although Saturday's chilly air and cool breeze helped many cope with the after-effects.

They were warned during the class that taking a shower afterwards would only aggravate the pepper still on their skin, and most trainees reported a resurgence of the effects once they tried to fully wash it off at home.

“That was the worst part, being in the shower. I tipped my head back to wash my hair, like they told us to, but when I went to put the soap on and patted it on my face, it washed it all over my arms and legs,” O'Farrell said.

“I came home, and they told me to bend over the tub and wash my hair first. I did that, and son of a gun, it came back after about two or three minutes. I couldn't open my eyes for about a minute,” VanMeter said. “It was like my eyelids were frozen.”

If nothing else, the class experienced a sense of camaraderie at having to go through that experience, Brester said, similar to what he's experienced working in emergency medical situations.

“It's that same little brotherhood, the EMS (emergency medical service), that becomes a close family. I've seen it so many times with emergency services, whether it's the fire department, Sheriff's deputies, or ambulance crews. That's so important to what we do,” he said.

“It has something to do with being knee-deep in crap, and being there with your partner. You can count on them. I would have been done in this (ambulance) career so long ago if I didn't have this family setting. I'm proud to have done it, this pepper spray training, although I don't think I'd ever go through with it again unless I was forced to.”