Some Backstory
I recently saw footage from Muskogee Oklahoma of an elderly lady, Geneva Smith being pepper sprayed in the face by Police. To me, as a layman, this looked like a gratuitous use of force. The subject the police were pursuing (her 56 year-old son Arthur Blackmon) was already subdued by Taser. There were at least half a dozen officers confronted by one old lady. They’d broken down her door and Tasered her son. She cursed them out and was non-compliant (what were they expecting a Champagne reception?). However her actions didn't warrant a face full of pepper spray.
I want to explore if there is any circumstance in which it is justified for a Police Officer to pepper spray this little old lady in the face?
The Use of Force Continuum
In 1991 the Use of Force Model was devised by Dr Franklin Graves. According to wiki,
A use of force continuum is a standard that provides law enforcement officers and civilians with guidelines as to how much force may be used against a resisting subject in a given situation.
The Force Continuum or Use of Force Model, is a sliding scale of force that should be applied by Police Officers. The scale is categorised by the US National Institute of Justice as follows:
- Office Presence - No force is used. Considered the best way to resolve a situation.
- Verbalisation - Force is not-physical.
- Empty Hand Control (soft technique) - Officers use grabs, holds and joint locks to restrain an individual.
- Empty Hand Control (hard technique) - Officers use punches and kicks to restrain an individual.
- Less-Lethal Methods - Officers use less-lethal technologies to gain control of a situation, including Pepper Spray (Cf: there are some interpretations that have pepper spray classified as an appropriate response to passive resistance, i.e. an empty hand soft technique).
- Lethal Force - Officers use lethal weapons to gain control of a situation.
Applying the Force Continuum to the Muskogee situation
Here's the scene in Muskogee: The suspect is subdued. 6 armed officers are present. An elderly lady (unhappy with Police Officers raiding her home) is running off at the mouth.
- Officer Presence – with half a dozen officers on the scene, it would have only taken one of them to stand between Ms Smith and wherever they didn’t want her to be. Ms Smith wasn’t a suspect. From what I can tell they merely wanted to case the place for further possible threats. If that’s the case, one of the officers need only stand between Ms Smith and the officers conducting the rekkie.
- Verbalisation – there was a lot of verbalisation in this incident. One officer told her to “Stay right there”, followed by “Get down” after her son was Tasered. The officer (who eventually pepper sprayed her), told her to “turn around, turn around face that way, I’ll spray you.” Surely one of these officers could have taken the time to engage in a conversation to both calm the situation and glean useful information. Obvious questions like, “Ma’am is there anyone else in the house?” or “Ma’am do you know this man?” or “Ma’am do you know why we’re here?” You know, the kind of questions civilised Police Officers ask.
- Empty Hand Control (soft technique) – if the officer did want Ms Smith to stand in a particular place, she could have simply grabbed her wrist and taken Ms Smith to where she wanted her to be. Even this for me, in these circumstances would have been excessive. With the only suspect subdued. Unless there was intelligence to suggest another threat in the building, where Ms Smith stood was irrelevant. Other officers had already made their way past her to conduct whatever business they pleased in her home.
- Empty Hand Control (hard technique) – punching and kicking this old lady in this (or pretty much any situation short of her brandishing a deadly weapons) strikes me as excessive. However if you think the officer punching this woman in the face would be access, the officer actually escalated one step higher.
- Less-Lethal Methods – this officer opted to pepper spray Ms Smith. It would be interesting to see what the Oklahoma Police Department’s policy on Less Lethal Devices is. Would an old woman, cursing at police who had forcefully entered her property at night and Tasered her son really warrant being pepper sprayed? For those that advocate pepper spray as being an Empty Hand Control (soft technique), bear in mind that these principles are supposed to apply to civilians as well as police. Would they be comfortable with elderly people in care homes being peppered sprayed as a 'soft technique' to get them to comply?
- Lethal Force – I’ll mention lethal force only to say, that pepper spraying an 84 year-old could very well be akin to lethal force. It was more by luck than judgement that this elderly women did not have a pre-existing heart condition, respiratory condition or illness that could have turned face full of pepper spray lethal.
There is little doubt in my mind that the officer that pepper sprayed this woman will find herself at the wrong end of a disciplinary hearing. It was an assault plain and simple. Not only that but had there been other threats on the premises, the Officer and her colleagues would have had to contend with a mouthful of pepper spray as well as those threats. Thanks to their over-zealous colleague.
So back to the original question - Are there any circumstances when pepper spraying this 84 year old woman is justified?
I eluded to it earlier. Short of that elderly women posing an imminent threat to herself or other, then no. I usually associate pepper spray with controlling aggressive crowds of people. The potential consequences of being pepper- sprayed are not inconsequential. It shouldn’t be used like insect repellent to 'swat away' little old ladies.
The perils of confronting the police
Engaging in a confrontation with police is a bit like playing Russian roulette.
5 times out of 6, you can run off at the mouth ('pull the verbal trigger') and the police will treat you as the low level threat you are. Your protestation rarely provokes more than a verbal show of force from the police. Occasionally, soft technique empty hand control is exerted. If you’re particularly cute with your tongue they might smack the taste out of your mouth.
However there is always the chance that you'll miscalculate. Or, you may be oblivious to the threat that those tasked to "serve and protect" can pose in confrontational situations. Such a misjudgement can be fatal. All because your 'mouth is writing cheques your fists cannot cash'. And even if they could 'check' an Officer, you do not want to find yourself on the wrong side of the government machine. The police have the law on their side 99% of the time.
People afford a level of paternity to Law Enforcement Officers that does not exist in reality.
Police officers are not your parents. I have kids. My kids are comfortable enough around me to push the boundaries. They misbehave and (as I don't spank my kids) my use of force will not go above verbalisation. A lot of adults act like kids around police. They become too liberal at the mouth when it comes to confronting police. Pick your battles and your opponents wisely. I'm not writing to bash police. I'm sure, like everyone else, most Police Officers are reasonable people (most of the time) and are just trying to earn an honest living. I'm sure when most officers saw their colleague pepper spray a elderly lady, they thought 'what the fuck is she doing?". However some would have thought "Right on!"
My advice is simple, don't risk losing your life because you're not fully reconciled to the fact that you live in a coercive state and the life isn't fair. There is a time and a place to stand around arguing your point and it is not when the 'hired help' have the guns out.
When a police officer is ‘running hot’, like anyone else there is no telling what they would do. If someone has a kosh, pepper spray, taser or a gun on their person, and you chose to engage in a confrontation, do not be surprised if their instruments of violence are used on you. If an 84 year-old woman is not afforded a level of deference in a police confrontation, what makes you think you would be?
Stay safe.
