Pepperspray/OC and contacts?

[Nickotym]

In a nod to RubenZ http://www.thehighroad.org/showpost.php?p=3454425&postcount=26; how does wearing contacts affect pepperspray effectiveness? Does it make it worse or not as bad as a rule?

The main reason I ask is that with contacts in I am not affected much by onions when my wife will be tearing up due to them.

 

[RubenZ]

Same here. Onions don't affect me. When I have my contacts off they do. The only way I can pepper spray working on someone with contacts is if the actual spray entered your eye. Put if they sprayed you with your eyes closed and you opened them. I bet you'd be able to return fire or kick some temporary arse before you felt any affects.

 

[Jeff White]

OC will ruin your contacts. Soft contacts will absorb it and you will never get them clean, you might as well just throw them away. I could see where hard contacts might provide a little temporary protections, but the soft ones are just going to get contaminated and keep the contamination in your eyes as long as you have them in. Probably a good idea to remove your contacts as quickly as possible after exposure.

Jeff

 

[Checkman]

I stopped wearing contacts several years ago and switched back to glasses with safety lenses. If somebody comes after me with pepper spray the glasses will give me more protection. Ditto for any flying objects.

LEO's (I'm one of those) are trained to use deadly force against anyone attacking us with pepper spray. The only conclusion is that they're trying to incapacitate us in order to get our sidearm.

The glasses give me just a little bit more peace of mind and I can shoot just fine without them. I know because I do it at the range just to make sure.

I look better with lenses, but who cares? It isn't a beauty contest and my wife has been looking at my face for the past nineteen years. Who am I trying to impress?

 

[strat81]

LEO's (I'm one of those) are trained to use deadly force against anyone attacking us with pepper spray. The only conclusion is that they're trying to incapacitate us in order to get our sidearm.

I'm curious if there is legal precedent for this as it pertains to civilians. For example, if I am otherwise behaving like a good citizen and a goblin peppersprays me, do I (as an average schmoe, not a LEO) have justification for using deadly force?

 

[Checkman]

That is a good question. Beats me. In my case I'm a uniformed officer and the assumption is that they showing proof of intent by attacking me. It's obvious that I'm armed. When off duty or a private citizen......look into it or go with your instinct.

 

[don_hamer]

Having contacts in is really bad. It will kill your contacts and flushing your eyes with water is useless. They are really hard to get out of your eyes because pepper spray make your eyes want to stay closed.