Black Jack's Last Crack

Police Commish Timoney may phase out the use of black jacks, but will suspects feel the sting?

by Gwen Shaffer

The National Coalition for Police Accountability has reported nearly 50 deaths in the United States since 1990 involving pepper spray.

It is likely that Philadelphia police officers will be hanging up their black jacks over the next few months and hitching pepper spray to their belts in its place, police sources say. Civil rights activists laud the department for carrying less lethal defensive weapons, but point to other cities where police departments are being sued for using pepper spray "indiscriminately."

Philadelphia cops are among the last major city officers to still use black jacks, but Police Commissioner John Timoney is seriously considering phasing them out. Instead, cops will carry a weapon "less likely to cause serious injury," probably pepper spray, sources say.

Black jacks—typically made of a heavy metal spring encased in leather—are associated with some of the nation's most infamous cases of police brutality. They still conjure up disturbing images of 1960s race riots, when cops clubbed demonstrators for merely exercising their First Amendment rights. Thirty years later, black jacks made the news again when Los Angeles police were caught on videotape using the clubs to beat Rodney King.

A 1994 study conducted by the Institute for Law and Justice (ILJ)—the most recent data available—shows that only 8.8 percent of municipal police forces still issue black jacks to their officers. And in an ILJ survey of 228 police departments in cities with populations of 200,000 or greater, less than 1 percent indicated that they continue to issue black jacks to their officers.

Pepper in Your Eye: Police may drop black jacks for pepper spray

Timoney is "looking at a whole host of non-lethal weapons" to replace the black jack, says department spokesman Cpl. Jim Pauley. "Something that will allow the officer to gain better control of the suspect without causing any serious injury."

In addition to pepper spray, Timoney is reportedly studying several weapons that temporarily stun a suspect, including "projectile impact weapons" such as foam balls, variations on standard night sticks, and other types of sprays.

Despite Pauley's insistence that Timoney has not made a final decision, other police sources say pepper spray, technically known as oleoresin capsicum (OC), will soon be added to every officer's "arsenal of defensive weapons."

"Pepper spray is just a less lethal type of force than a black jack," one lieutenant says. "But taking black jacks away doesn't represent any lack of faith in our officers."

Most municipal police departments stopped using black jacks "many years ago," says Buffalo Police Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske, president of the Police Executive Research Foundation.

Officers around the country began carrying pepper spray nearly 10 years ago, Kerlikowske says. Today, more than 2,000 public safety agencies now use it. Pepper spray is popular because it temporarily immobilizes a suspect but—in most cases—has no long-term effect. Typically, pepper spray causes mucus membranes to swell, inciting pain, blindness, gagging, and intense coughing for about 15 to 30 minutes. "It is like having a chili pepper rubbed on your cheek," Kerlikowske says.

Except in people who have "highly unusual" breathing disorders, symptoms dissipate with "fresh air and water," he adds.

"All the research I have read shows that no deaths have been attributed to pepper spray," Kerlikowske says. "The result of investigations into incidents where someone did die, always there was another factor involved—either drug use, an enlarged heart, or a mix of drugs and alcohol."

However, police watchdog groups cite evidence to the contrary. The National Coalition for Police Accountability has reported nearly 50 deaths in the United States since 1990 involving OC. A Los Angeles Times story tied the substance to 61 deaths. This past October, a group of environmental demonstrators sued the Eureka (California) Police Department after cops swabbed liquid pepper spray in their eyes.

"In certain instances, pepper spray is deadly use of force," notes Will Gonzalez, executive director of the Police-Barrio Relations Project. "Even though it is used against humans, there hasn't been a whole lot of medical testing done on it."

This is also a concern for police officers who are exposed to the spray.

And, not everyone has an adverse reaction to OC. "When sprayed on a small percentage of suspects, it has no effect," Gonzalez says. "It can just make the suspect angrier, which is dangerous for the cop."

Gonzalez praises the Philadelphia Police Department's training and use policy for pepper spray.

Officers are directed to use OC only as a defensive weapon, and never as a punitive measure or for crowd control. Philadelphia Police are also required to transport sprayed suspects to the hospital for treatment, and surrender their canisters there.