From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Pepper that packs punch set to spread across U.S. By Jill Serjeant LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - As Los Angeles police and civil liberties groups argued on Tuesday over tacticsused to break up a mass rally, the makers of a new pepperball projectile rushed to sing the praises of a system"better than a fist or a gun." After making its public debut during the 1999 Seattle riots, the Pepper Ball System was seen on Los Angeles streets for the first time on Monday night. Launched by a compressed air device that shoots out hard plastic spheres releasing a pepper powder irritant, it was among an arsenal of rubber bullets, bean bag projectiles and batons used by police to disperse some 9,000 people at a free rock concert outside the National Democratic Convention. The device, which packs a punch and a powder that burns the eyes and skin, initially confused protesters and news media caught in Monday night's melee. But San Diego makers Jaycor Tactical Systems predicted it would soon be used by police forces across the United States and said interest was strong in Indonesia, South America and other nations. "The combined effect of the surprise, the impact and the irritation is what buys law enforcement the time to subdue an individual, or causes an individual to comply with what they are being told to do," said Roger Behrendt, general manager of Jaycor Tactical Systems, which is a unit of Jaymark Inc. . Developed over the last four years and capable of delivering 12 rounds per second, it is being bought or tried out by scores of agencies including the military, prisons and law enforcement. "It is being used across the nation," said Behrendt. Dozens of people were hit by the peppery projectiles or shot in the back by rubber bullets as they scrambled to leave after a small protest on the margins of the concert turned violent. Behrendt said the system was a versatile and safer alternative than some of the other tools used by police. "If a law enforcement agency has to deal with people and all they have is either a fist or a gun, that forces them to be beating people with sticks or get into an unsafe situation." " ... people walk away from incidents where they use Pepper Ball. Nobody is dead. Nobody has broken bones. All they have is a little bit of a bruise if they were hit, or an irritant powder that is nothing more than food," he said. Protest leaders planning dozens of non-violent demonstrations during convention week had pleaded with police to refrain from using pepper spray, tear gas or rubber bullets. Civil liberties groups on Tuesday accused police of overreacting and called for an independent investigation. Los Angeles police defended their tactics, saying their response was "strategic, measured and appropriate." Kenneth Pantling Nock's Grim Truth - In proportion as you give the State power to do things for you, you give it power to do things to you; and the State invariably makes as little as it can of the one power and as much as it can of the other. Cybershooters website: http://www.cybershooters.org List admin: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ___________________________________________________________ T O P I C A The Email You Want. http://www.topica.com/t/16 Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Your Favorite Topics
