There has been a great deal of attention focused on electronic control devices of late... you know, TASERs. While everyone is thinking about, researching, and developing training for TASERs, it's possible to lose sight of the broader picture - TASERs aren't the only non-lethal weapon in the police arsenal.

It wasn't that long ago that we were all focused on aerosol weapons as the latest, greatest thing. In fact, many of the issues we're wrestling with now are the same ones that we wrestled with back in the aerosol days. But, because of all the public and media attention on TASERs, we don't see much regarding aerosol weapons any more. So, I thought it was time for a refresher.

Terminology Issues

Keep in mind that "Mace" is a brand name, and should not be used as a generic term for your aerosol weapon. In fact, let's expand that a little more, and say that you shouldn't generically refer to your aerosol as "OC" either. Always refer to it by name, as in "Freeze+P" or "BodyGuard", or whatever the actual name of the product is that you use. Please do not use the term "tear gas" to refer to your aerosol weapon.

Remember that what we typically refer to as "tear gas" isn't a gas at all. It's a micro-particulate solid that is delivered to its target by different mechanisms. If we're talking about crowd control munitions, we typically refer to things like grenades and projectiles. These devices deliver their active ingredients in a cloud that's generated through either a burst-type (ballistic) mechanism, or a burning (pyrotechnic) process. The cloud that expands when the device goes off contains small particles of the active ingredient, or agent.

The two active agents that are used in crowd munitions are CN and CS "tear gas". CS (real name - Orthochlorobenzalmalononitrile) and CN (real name - Chloroacetophenone) are crowd control agents that were originally developed in the 1920s. In 1962, a refined version of CN was marketed as a personal spray device (Phenylchlormethylketone), under the trade name Mace (don't worry, there's no quiz). Many police agencies utilized Mace in the 1960s and 1970s, but it largely fell out of favor, especially once pepper based products began to come on line. Mace is now a trade name of Mace Security International, under which they sell various products, including pepper based aerosols.