What exactly happened with pepper spray? Video of a protest at the University of California, Davis, on Friday shows an officer shooting pepper spray at several seated demonstrators. For obvious reasons, this didn't go over well with UC Davis, which placed its campus police chief and two officers on administrative leave as a result.
But was it really pepper spray, or mace? Hard to say by looking at it, but we followed up with Claudia Morain, the news service director for UC Davis, who confirmed the officer used pepper spray.
What's the difference? Pepper spray is a chemical agent, the principle ingredient of which is oleoresin capsicum (OC), an oily extract of the capsicum pepper plant. Mace, or chemical mace, is a type of tear gas with a different chemical makeup. Because mace is illegal in many more places than pepper spray, it has become increasingly rare, and what is frequently referred to as "mace" is in fact pepper spray. To add further confusion, Mace is also a brand-name that sells mostly, yes, pepper spray.
Wait, pepper spray is actually made of chili peppers? Kind of weird, huh? The same residue that can ruin your night after chopping a habanero is what's used by law-enforcement officials to cause temporary blindness, disorientation, nausea, swelling, burning, and redness, among the many effects associated with pepper spray.
Can it seriously harm you? According to one study, though OC spray causes "immediate changes in mechanical and chemical sensitivity that may persist for a week, a single exposure to OC appears harmless to corneal tissues." The officer at UC Davis seemed more than a little too liberal in his use, but we're hoping the kids are okay.