Non-lethal weapons training a shock for some in 1175th MP Company

By: Bill Phelan
Missouri National Guard Public Affairs

Spc. Andrea Crayton of St. Louis reacts after being shot with a taser during non-lethal weapons training. (Photo by Bill Phelan)
ST. CLAIR, Mo. - Given the choice of being doused in the face with pepper spray or shocked with a taser, Soldiers of the 1175th Military Police Company have differing opinions of which is worse.

Unfortunately for those Soldiers, the choice was not theirs as each was exposed to both pepper spray and the taser during non-lethal weapons training Jan. 9-10 at the St. Clair Armory. The weekend drill also included M-16 range qualification preparation using a beam hit machine.

"The taser was worse than the pepper spray," said Spc. Andrea Crayton of St. Louis. "Definitely worse."

As pepper spray and tasers are part of the military police arsenal of non-lethal options used to control suspects, Soldiers must be certified in the use of both. That certification also requires exposure to both, explained Sgt. Vincent Lowder of St. Clair, the training instructor.

"They have class instruction first and then the exposure so each Soldier can experience the effects," Lowder said. "They may need to use these weapons on a suspect so they need to experience what that person might be going through. In the case of the pepper spray, they might experience some cross-contamination and have to fight off a suspect. As a law enforcement officer, even if you have this in your eyes you still have a subject to deal with - you have a job to do and you have to do it."

During the pepper spray drill, each Soldier takes a shot directly in the face and is then required to fight off a hostile 'suspect' while keeping their eyes open.

"The pepper spray causes the eyes to water and burn and obviously it temporarily impairs your vision," said 1st Lt. Paul Wilson, the company commander. "It can temporarily burn the skin and it causes mucus to run out of your nose. It is very unpleasant but each Soldier has to be able to work through the effects because it's very common for law enforcement officers to be inadvertently exposed to it."

For some Soldiers, effects of the pepper spray subside in about an hour. For others, it can take up to 24 hours.

"We do have a cleanup station for the Soldiers to decontaminate, but it's pretty much a waiting game," said Wilson.

Taser certification involves shooting each Soldier with the weapon's electrical barbs, which penetrate the skin and deliver a charge of 1,200 volts. Spotters assist each Soldier slowly to padded mats on the floor after the initial shock.

Like the pepper spray, some Soldiers recover from the taser quickly, while others, such as Crayton, find the shock infinitely more unpleasant than the burn.

"It creates a lot of discomfort but the use of that tool might help apprehend a suspect and they need Department of Defense certification on it," Wilson explained. "It's valid training for a military policeman."

In preparation for a live-fire exercise at Camp Crowder in March, Soldiers of the 1175th also practiced their marksmanship using a laser beam hit machine.

"The target is connected to a computer so as each Soldier shoots with the laser attached to their weapon it will indicate exactly where they are hitting on the target," Wilson said.


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