Pepperballs Nothing To Sneeze At
The East Dubuque, Ill., Police Department recently made use of its PepperBall guns to quell a fight. Fights are becoming more common in the town, and East Dubuque Police Chief Steve O’Connell, who is a certified PepperBall gun instructor, says that the recent fight was the first time the guns were used.
The devices launch projectile balls containing pepper spray. PepperBall Technologies says that the guns are used by over 1,300 law enforcement, government, corrections, and security agencies worldwide, but they are not common in the Iowa-Illinois-Wisconsin area.
Dubuque Police Chief Kim Wadding says hand-held pepper spray works well enough and that no PepperBall guns are required there. Grant County, Wis., Det. Anthony Sheckles says that while his department has never used its PepperBall gun, the weapon is a good non-lethal option. According to O’Connell, the guns are accurate up to 30 feet, and shoot six balls per second.
Abstracted by the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center(NLECTC) from the Dubuque Telegraph Herald (IA) (03/04/04) P. A1; Block, Emily .