B'Tselem report: Crowd Control: Israel's Use of Crowd Control ...

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pepper, whose pungency measures 2 million SHU. 93 It is one of the most pungentsprays used by law enforcement agencies throughout the world. 94Police procedure imposes strict restrictions on the use ofpepper spray:• Police officers may use the spray only after undergoing a training courseconcluded by a final licensing exam, and pursuant to an annual refreshercourse. 95• The decision to use the spray should be made only after considering all thecircumstances at hand, and then only against people who have allegedlyattacked, or are about to attack, a police officer or a civilian, or against asuspect violently resisting arrest or attempting to flee.• The spray may be used only when there is no other choice under thecircumstances, and when physical contact with the suspect is likely to leadto greater damage than use of the spray. The police procedure stresses that“the spray must not be used against a suspect passively resisting arrest”(emphasis in the original). 96• The spray must not be used against pregnant women, young children andthe elderly, nor may it be used in closed places (unless there is a real andimminent danger of a physical attack against a police officer). The spraymay be used “only against a solitary individual around whom there are noinnocent bystanders who could be hurt.” 97• Before using the spray, the police officer must warn the suspect that heis under arrest and that if he does not obey and promptly cease violentconduct, he will be sprayed with pepper spray. 9893 For the product at the manufacturer’s website, see: http://www.pepperenforcement.com/law_enforcement.htm . The company currently markets the product under the brand name Personal SafetyCorporation Pepper Enforcement.94 SHU (Scoville Heat Unit) is a measurement unit indicating the concentration of capsaicin, the activeingredient in hot pepper. The pungency levels of pepper sprays in use by law enforcement agenciesworldwide range from 0.5 million to 2 million SHUs. However there is one spray that measures as high as 5.3million SHUs. The percentage of these sprays’ concentration, which indicates the ratio of capsaicin extract tothe other ingredients in the aerosol, ranges from 5 to 10 percent.95 Israel Police, Procedure for Operating Pepper Spray 02.220.200, date effective: October 2007, § 5.a [inHebrew].96 Ibid., § 5.b.3.d.97 Ibid., § 5.98 Ibid., § 5.c.40
Crowd Control Crowd Control Weapons in the West Bank• The aerosol is used by pressing the spray button once. Only if a single dosedoes not stop the violent conduct may the button be pressed again. Inaddition, the police officer must make sure that he is 1 to 4 meters awayfrom the suspect. 99• The regulations state that the use of pepper spray must end as soon as thesuspect stops resisting, and that the suspect must be permitted to wash theaffected area as soon as possible. Sufficient ventilation must be provided, aswell as medical aid, if requested or if signs of distress continue for more thanhalf an hour after exposure. The police officer must report use of the spraywhen writing up the incident report. 100Border Police officer pepper-sprays a demonstrator during his arrest, Burin, Feb 2013. Photo byRyan Rodrick Beiler/Activestills99 Ibid., § 3.1.b.2. There is an apparent contradiction between this section and § 7.2 (safety instructions) ofthe procedure, which state that the spray may not be used at a distance of less than a meter and a half.100 Ibid., § 4.2.41
Page 1 and 2: CROWD CONTROLIsrael’s Use of Crow
Page 3 and 4: Researched and written by Sarit Mic
Page 5 and 6: IntroductionCrowd control weapons a
Page 7 and 8: Tear GasTear gas is a chemical irri
Page 9 and 10: Crowd Control Crowd Control Weapons
Page 21 and 22: Rubber-CoatedMetal Bullets 41Rubber
Page 25: Crowd Control Crowd Control Weapons
Page 28 and 29: grenades on the ground, not throw t
Page 30 and 31: seven years, at least 46 Palestinia
Page 32 and 33: that the regulations relating to th
Page 34 and 35: Sniper armed with a Ruger rifle. He
Page 36 and 37: military truck equipped with water
Page 39: Pepper SprayPepper spray is a conce
Page 43 and 44: Sponge RoundsSponge rounds are a ki
Page 47 and 48: Weapons in LimitedUseSecurity force
Page 49 and 50: ConclusionIn responding to demonstr
Page 51 and 52: IDF ResponseCrowd Control Crowd Con
Page 53 and 54: issued separately by Israeli police
Page 57: B’TSELEM - The Israeli Informatio

B'Tselem report: Crowd Control: Israel's Use of Crowd Control ...

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