View from the cop: Crime & punishment
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AJC.com > Metro > View from the cop > Archives > 2008 > January > 11 > Entry
Hot tips on pepper spray and staying safe
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Remember to use some commons sense during all this nice warm weather. If you’re going to run or jog after work, remember that it gets dark earlier and that cars, when they hit pedestrians, generally come out in better shape. Make sure you have a vest or jacket with reflective material on it. You could carry a light or a large torch or maybe just duct tape some flashlights on your head. Whatever.
The other warning is this: Don’t get out there and get yourself isolated, after dark, where you’re vulnerable to being robbed. Street-level robberies are all based on the opportunity, which in this case is darkness and an isolated victim. Running with someone else greatly enhances your chances of NOT being attractive as a target. If you run and especially if you’re a woman, do yourself a big favor and buy a can of pepper spray.
Pepper spray is a non-toxic self-defense product derived from hot cayenne peppers, the same type of peppers used when cooking. Most pepper spray contains 15 percent Capsaicin* as the active ingredient. This in turn produces a defense spray measuring 2 million Scoville Heat Units, probably named after a guy named Bob Scoville.
More Than You Want To Know *Capsaicin is the oil extracted from the placenta tissue just below the stem of the hot pepper. Capsaicin determines the pungency of the red peppers. The pungency of these peppers is measured in Scoville Heat Units (SHUs) and is not to be confused with OC percentages. OC percentages only measure the amount of pepper. Scoville Heat Units is also known as the dry weight of Capsaicin in the spray. 2 million SHUs is the maximum amount of pungency contained in any defense spray.
Bottom Line: Good Stuff. You can buy it online. Remember the contents and don’t buy the key-chain mist type of pepper spray. You want something that will shoot a distance of about ten feet. If you are having problems finding it online, send me an e-mail. Remember that although pepper spray isn’t lethal, it is effective so be careful and remember the first rule of pepper spray: Know which direction it’s pointed in.
Some, but not all, incidents reported to the Sandy Springs Police over the past week:
Office Creepers
A woman said that someone took her wallet from her work desk, at her office at 5670 Peachtree Dunwoody Rd. She said she observed an unauthorized male in the office. She asked the man what or who he was looking for. He replied that he was looking for the Pharmacy. She said she thought he had something in his jacket. Her credit cards were soon used for over $1000 in the metro area.
A woman reported that a man came into her business in the 6500 block of Rowell Road and asked to use a phone, located at the rear of the office. She walked back, retrieved the phone, and when she returned, the man was gone. He had taken her black back bag from a shelf located at the front of the office area. (You should seriously consider keeping all employee personal items safely secured in a rear, and preferably locked area. The man ismelled of intense body odor. (Homeless guys have little to lose and make good office creepers. They’ve got all day to do it and a night in jail is like a hotel stay.)
Friends You Don’t Need
Benjamin reported that he let Calvin spend the night at his apartment along with some other friends. The next morning, Calvin said he needed bus fare so Benjamin gave him two bucks. Calvin said he was thirsty so Benjamin laid his wallet down and went into the kitchen to get Calvin some water. When he came back, Calvin had taken the rest of Benjamin’s money from his wallet and was doing the 100-yard dash down the road. Benjamin chased him but finished second. All he knows is that the man’s name is Calvin. He doesn’t know his last name and said Calvin lives in West End.
Comments
By Fred
January 11, 2008 6:53 PM | Link to this
“More Than You Want To Know *Capsaicin is the oil extracted from the placenta tissue just below the stem of the hot pepper.”
Just great, Steve is advocating the abortion or stem cell research of poor defenseless baby hot peppers. Callously scraping the placenta away from the poor mommy pepper………. Just damn.
Has Cindy weighed in on this yet? I want to read what SHE has to say about this practice. I think we need a law that NO pepper placenta be used………….
BTW Nice catch Steve on informing us on pepper spray. It was obviously a hot question after your last column. Color me stupid but I trust you more, as an experienced, trained police officer with your pepper spray info than I do some faceless, nameless poster on a blog.
By The Prophet
January 11, 2008 7:21 PM | Link to this
You know, all this talk about weapons, for self defense, yes, pepper spray is a good weapon. Also a pistol is a good weapon, but a better weapon would be a pistol that fires backwards. Why? Because most folks with pistols end up being shot by muggers who get angry when they find the gun on the victim and use it on them. There were 700 murders in atlanta in 2007. 699 of those murders were by muggers who used the snub-nosed .357 magnum that they found on their victim when they fondled their groin, (why do people hide their guns in their jock strap? WTF? are you all idiots? The gun belong taped to your upper back.)
Anyway, another weapon of choice is an umbrella. Why? because you can take it anywhere and nobody is the wiser. You need a few hours of instruction on how to wield the umbrella, or you can watch the box set of “The Avengers” where John Steed used his umbrella admirably to disable crook after crook. Emma Peel is no slouch either.
Of course the greatest weapon ever invented for self defense is the umbrella that fires backwards.
I know all. I see all. I am the Prophet!
By The Prophet
January 11, 2008 7:45 PM | Link to this
Officer Steve, I have to take exception to this pepper spray idea. Yes, if you could divine who the bad guy was, then any weapon at hand would be a godsend. However, in real life, it never works out like it does in the movies. The bad guy will get the drop on you first, and then, if you have pepper spray, one of two thing will happen: first, he’ll find it, and shove it up your azz, and probably kill you. Second, you’ll go for it, but he’s got the drop on you, so he’ll probably kill you.
We cant have vigilantes out there. We cant have Charles Bronsons out there. The criminals are still relatively rare. If we start sending out the average shmoehawks (weekend CSI james bonds) to avenge the righteousness of the innocents, then those same loose cannons will be a far, far worse problem.
You’re a trained officer, and you know how slim the odds are that you’ll ever get the drop on a bad guy. If he wants to hurt you, he’ll hurt you. We’re all sitting ducks for assassins and lunatics.
Now, I want you to blog a cautionary tale about being the big shot during a holdup, a mugging, any assault, or any witness to any crime. These criminals are begging us to make a move. Go ahead. Make their day.
honestly. Use the police we have, and let them use detective work to find the bad guys. That’s how you get them behind bars. You wont survive a shootout, trust me.
Bang bang.
By El Bubba
January 11, 2008 7:58 PM | Link to this
Lets all do ourselves a fvor and ignore this guyabove…
I just wanted to tell a funny story.
Long ago I was in my Mom’s car and looking for a lighter, found one in the glove box and sprayed myself with pepper spray. (She may have left it there on purpose!)
It was ugly, I had to open all the doors and wait twenty minutes before I could drive again.
El Bubba
By The Prophet
January 11, 2008 8:06 PM | Link to this
BTW. I didn’t steal the word, “schmoehawk” from larry david. I have been saying “Schmoehawk” since the third grade, in the fifties. I dont know where I got “schmoehawk”, but It’s at least 50 years old. It’s acceptable to use words in the lexicon of comedy.
Larry David and I have congruent approaches to comedy. I once did a bit at the Starbar at Little Five Points about the handicapped parking spaces, where I approach some poor sod who walks in a normal fashion out of a Wallgreens into his handicapped-space parked car. Well, he responded to my complaint with, “f-f-f-ff-f-f-f—fa que”. Okay? (his handicap was stuttering).
A week later, a first run Larry David episode of “Curb your enthusiasm” had the same bit in a sketch. The exact…same…bit.!
no lie. it really happened. I was embarrassed. Everyone thought I stole the bit. I didn’t. It was parrallel development of like minds.
By Cindy
January 11, 2008 8:24 PM | Link to this
oh El Bubba, that is a funny story. Still waiting to see your NY pics.
The Prophet makes valid points. Don’t bring a knife to a gun fight. However, any ammunition is better than none. Any chance is better than no chance. Any hope is better than no hope.
Fred, the mad-scientist-pepper people should proceed with their good works. :)
By Fred
January 11, 2008 9:12 PM | Link to this
Just damn El Bubba, that’s as bad as the time I grabbed the Preparation H instead of the Crest tube………..
By SGT W.Shawn.O'Kelley
January 12, 2008 8:48 AM | Link to this
I find it interesting that you failed to mention that absolute best forms of self defense, Awareness of your surroundings, and the benefit of a quality firearm. As Georgia is a state which recognizes it’s citizens right to self defense, it is relatively easy for a good citizen to aquire all neccesary paperwork to carry a pistol or revolver for self defense.Attending a class to gain and maintain profficiency should be at the forefront of any citizen who carries. Awareness of your surroundings and always carrying a cell phone with you are also good tips.
By SGT W.Shawn.O'Kelley
January 12, 2008 8:54 AM | Link to this
I find it interesting that you failed to mention that absolute best forms of self defense, Awareness of your surroundings, and the benefit of a quality firearm. As Georgia is a state which recognizes it’s citizens right to self defense, it is relatively easy for a good citizen to aquire all neccesary paperwork to carry a pistol or revolver for self defense.Attending a class to gain and maintain profficiency should be at the forefront of any citizen who carries. Awareness of your surroundings and always carrying a cell phone with you are also good tips.
By Frank Malzone
January 12, 2008 9:34 AM | Link to this
El Bubba, that wasn’t pepper spray in the glove box, you idiot, that was summer breeze. (in the new travel size container)
But I’ll bet it did sting. Your face must have been fresh for days.
By Tom T
January 12, 2008 3:55 PM | Link to this
I hear so much talk about taking your cell phone with you to call 911 in case of an attack. PLEASE don’t let the knowledge that you have the ability to call for help lull you into a false sense of security!! Sadly, the police cannot be everywhere all the time. There is this thing called “response time”, often 15 minutes or longer in many locations. Best case scenario is that the 911 operator will be able to listen in while you are attacked, rape, murdered, etc. The best way to avoid becoming a victim is to avoid the situations where you are likely to become one. Use common sense. Be aware of your suroundings at all times. And for the love of God always be THINKING. Remember, it’s always easier to avoid trouble that it is to get out of it. And for those of us who go armed, remember that the best gun fight is the one that you don’t attend. It’s a jungle out there, but you don’t HAVE to be a victim. Keep your eyes and your brain engaged at all times.
By Cindy
January 12, 2008 5:26 PM | Link to this
Fact of life…no matter how bad azz your are, there’s always someone badder.
Survival of the fittest. We can speculate and think of all kinds of situation solutions but really we just have to do our best to make ourselves the smallest target possible. We can arm ourselves too and know how to use it, but if the element of suprise wins out, we can also be killed by our own gun.
I don’t even really have a point. Just mentioning the things that popped into my head as I read along.
Carry on…
By The Prophet
January 12, 2008 6:11 PM | Link to this
That’s not true, Cindy, you DO have a point…an idiotic one, but a point. (How to marry a millionaire with Marilyn Monroe, 1959)
By Fred
January 12, 2008 7:05 PM | Link to this
Dear Sgt. O’Kelly,
Read the previous column. You came in a day late and a six shooter short.
By Fred
January 13, 2008 12:40 AM | Link to this
Wow, i killed the discussion……….
By El Bubba
January 13, 2008 2:23 AM | Link to this
(((FRED)))
By Cindy
January 13, 2008 4:58 PM | Link to this
That’s not true, Cindy, you DO have a point…an idiotic one, but a point. (How to marry a millionaire with Marilyn Monroe, 1959)
Being that this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and could blow your head clean off, You’ve gotta ask yourself, do I feel lucky…well…do ya, punk? (no description necessary, but just for dookies and giggles I’ll play the part,Clint Eastwood, classic all years)
Idiotic??? bite me.
By El Bubba
January 13, 2008 5:15 PM | Link to this
I will not live in fear, it’s that simple. Everybody is afraid these days. Take care of yourself, look around, be smart and don’t let the crazies keep you from going out, especially hiking.
It just irritates me that the fear level in the US continues to rise, and a lot of it is media hype.
The next thing you know, everyone will be required to have “papers”, just like in Nazi Germany, and we won’t be able to travel without them. There will be road-blocks, and people will be arrested, never to be seen again, spirited of to who knows where… death squads will follow.
And ‘ya know what? We won’t be any safer than we were before.
A good example of how to organize a communty/society would be any Rainbow Gathering. Everyone behaves. If they don’t they are forced to leave, peacefully.
El Bubba
By Fred
January 13, 2008 7:31 PM | Link to this
LOL How do you “force” someone to leave peacefully? Isn’t that like driving on a parkway or parking on a driveway? Like Military intelligence? Like an honest politician?
El Bubba, that dog don’t hunt son.
By El Bubba
January 13, 2008 9:02 PM | Link to this
Well, I’ll tell you how they force someone to leave peacefully. They started pointing at him and following him around, and then more people joined in, and pretty soon there were fifty or so people pointing and following, and then he left. I heard he was a pervert, flashed a kid or something similar. ElBubba
By El Bubba
January 13, 2008 10:55 PM | Link to this
Cindy! Want to sneak off with me for a little vacation in NYC? We could point out perverts and take pics for Fred. El Bubba
By Lt. Steve
January 14, 2008 10:40 AM | Link to this
Fred, Thanks for the trust but on Mondays I am faceless, nameless, and judging by today (already) clueless. I hate Mondays. Cindy is becoming a celebrity blog item. I’ve seen her too. She’s a babe.
By Gern
January 14, 2008 10:51 AM | Link to this
Mr. Prophet: Textbook wise, true. The fact is that a potential rape victim needs to be taken from a public place to a private place for the crime to be committed and, the victim is many times, the witness. It’s an imperfect world so at some point, the victim better make a stand up front and soon. I would think it would be better sooner than later if, for no other reason, the crime hasn’t been committed yet. Sometimes you need to play the odds. Some is better than nothing when nothing else worked. Your opinion was a good example of why opinions are like a—holes.
By Cindy
January 14, 2008 12:56 PM | Link to this
Awww, thank you Steve. :)
By Fred
January 14, 2008 3:44 PM | Link to this
He just wants to drive your car Cindy, or better yet catch you driving that hot rod at 160 mph through Sandy Springs……… Can you imagine the bonus he’d get from the fine of a ticket like that?
By El Bubba
January 14, 2008 11:06 PM | Link to this
Fred, Am I missing something here? Was I flirting with Lt. Steve’s wife? I’m confused and perhaps a bit worried, it being a police state and all… El Bubba
By Cindy
January 15, 2008 7:26 AM | Link to this
Aww, no El Bubba, don’t worry, I’m not Steve’s wife. I did however find it funny, and cute, that you posted that.
Fred, my daddy always taught me not to loan my ride. His saying is that you’d come closer to borrowing his wife, than his car…and there’s no chance in hell of borrowing his wife. So we shouldn’t expend much energy looking for anyone ripping up and down the road in that car …except…of course…ME. ;) Dang. Just sitting here typing about it…I can actually hear the engine in my ears. I love that car.
By Sting
January 15, 2008 11:27 AM | Link to this
Cindy, what did I just say about you and that other twin-lipped qweef-geek myspacing on this blog? If you want to chat then find a chat room. We’re trying to end crime here. We’re trying to increase security for all our citizens and make them aware of what a police officer has to deal with 24/7 365, and then you come along, and make it real nice for the son-of-sams and boston-stranglers by making it seem like anyone interested in police work is a short-bussed, blog-simple dumbell.
When you blog, the terrorists win.
moron
By Cindy
January 15, 2008 11:57 AM | Link to this
My dearest Sting:
Long Version Notice: This particular blog is not harmed by being a little social or pleasant. The prior ones regarding a very serious matter were not disrespected by anyone deviating from the topic.
2nd Notice: You know absolutely nothing about me, so don’t play your armchair detective routine with me. Oh, are you a real cop? Then tell ya what, go into your little cop meeting and look around…news flash…crazy’s manage to integrate themselves everywhere. Chat rooms are no different…so no thank you, I chose to not frequent them.
And since life is about choices…tell ya what…I’ll see your moron (by replying to you)…and I’ll raise you one (again…by replying to you)…you’re a moron and you have a nasty little outlook.
p.s. based on your word usage, if i did venture into the pervo chat rooms, I’m likely to run into you. if i taked really nasty, you’d probably be more drawn to me, instead of typing your nasty little negative pervo comments.
Short Version I see your mouth moving but all I hear is blah, blah, blah.
By Fred
January 15, 2008 12:34 PM | Link to this
Wow Cindy, I learn new interesting things every day. First I learn you are Steve’s second wife (I didn’t klnow he was Mormon lol) then i learn that when YOU blog terrorists win. Just damn you have some power woman. SHould i kneel when I post to you or is a simple genuflection in your direction enough?
I mean if terrorist win when you merely type into cyber-space, what happens when you actually SPEAK? DO blind people see, deaf people hear, the lame walk? If so can you cure that persistant zit I have on my butt? The doctors don’t seems to be able to help. When I sit it feels like an annoying Sting………
By Cindy
January 15, 2008 12:55 PM | Link to this
Fred,
You’re wasting your breath/finger motions; Sting is out enlightening the masses about the mystique of what cops deal and soiling my good name in retribution, since I ruined Steve’s blogspot.
Sting, educate everyone on the fire triangle too,or I might think you’re discriminatory toward firefighters.
Such a shame to have a fine vocabulary if I can’t use it…Oh silly me, this is no place for women-folk; sting honey your plate is coming up, i’m going to go pretty up for you now.
By Excessive Use
January 15, 2008 2:08 PM | Link to this
Yep, carry pepper spray, and I’m glad somebody mentioned a concealed firearm (assuming you carry it legally and know how/are willing to use it properly). If money’s what you have, get a membership at a gym with a nice indoor track to stay in shape. That way, especially if you live where I do and it’s buttcrack cold in the wintertime, you don’t have to build the character necessary for running outdoors in subzero temperatures.
By Cindy
January 15, 2008 3:17 PM | Link to this
After much thought and catering to Sting, I’ve decided that if you all will, poll amongst yourselves. And if the general concensus is that my ramblings here are unwelcomed and inappropriate, I’ll cease further socializations and bantering and only post LEO/Public Safety-associated information.
I anxiously await the responses.
By El Bubba
January 15, 2008 4:06 PM | Link to this
When ramblings about public safety and occasional chatter are unwelcome let me know.
If that Sting feller really is a cop I think he might be too stressed out, he might taser some guy for not signing his ticket. The guy could die as a result of it.
I worry about cops. They don’t get paid enough and then they take second jobs and I don’t think they get enough sleep.
Or maybe they do get paid enough. Scott Peterson, the one that may have killed his wife, has a six figure pension.
El Bubba
By Poll Results
January 16, 2008 6:25 AM | Link to this
The results of last night’s kakas are in: Cindy got 45,769 votes to go join the Sweathog to Fatchick blog. (cindy you would fit in there. Here’s a sample of a past blogging from your new home, the Sweathog to Fatchick website: “….sometimes I stare in the mirror at my fat, and then it gets all sweaty and I cant believe it’s me and I start to itch and scratch all over…….”
See Cindy, there are support groups for every rash.
Fred got 79,643 votes to join the cheese of the month blog. A sample: “….are there personal grooming tools available to scrap the cheese that collects between my cheeks? I only shower wonst a month and it’s hard to get back there…”
Well, it was a hard fought campaign, but it was worth it.
Bye, fun girls two…bwa
By Cindy
January 16, 2008 9:13 AM | Link to this
Poll results, after much careful consideration i have determined that the sweathogs group is full of losers such as yourself who belittle others in order to make themselves feel semi-adequate as you sit in your dark recesses, snacking on cheetos and thinking how much cooler you are online. ha! fat chicks!?!? surely you jest. I, unlike you, will not fit into anyones mold, especially not your little blogspot for eat-a-holics. I have curves…that you will never touch, but a fat chick…haha…I think not.
go get your bucket of ice cream now and cry into it as the rest of us contribute normally into society. avoid those mirrors and wonder why you’re so miserable with yourself.
loser!
p.s. I’m not going anywhere. I like it here. So if we can’t co-exist, you might want to head up a new buttholes anonymous blog of your own and cease and desist your antisocial behaviors here.
By Caren
January 16, 2008 6:11 PM | Link to this
Very few gun owners ever end up using the gun to deter a criminal. More often someone in their household is accidentally shot. In the real world—not the movies—shooting someone determined to rob or harm you isn’t easy and there is a good chance you will be maimed or killed with your own weapon. Especially if you are caught off guard or from behind. After all, even well-trained cops get shot. But if you want to enjoy the fantasy that a gun will protect you from crime, then enjoy.
By Carl
January 18, 2008 7:07 PM | Link to this
I’ve sold Pepper Spray on-site in Atlanta Kroger Stores since 1989 (Community Protection Service). We deliver locally. We explain and demo our products to individuals or groups of 25 or more. Carl 770-682-0436
By Mari Forquer
January 21, 2008 1:17 PM | Link to this
Just sitting here reading all the “good advice” about self protection…how the heck do you get to a gun taped to the middle of your back? I can’t even reach the middle of my back, and I’m not a “large” person. Good point about being aware of the sights and sounds of your surroundings. Take off those head phones connected to your MP3 CD player. You wouldn’t even hear the train coming with that thing on your ears!
By Tom
January 21, 2008 3:06 PM | Link to this
Glad you liked the material, Mari. Sometimes I get lucky. Be brave out there.
By South Paw
January 24, 2008 10:54 PM | Link to this
What’s the difference between pepper spray and Mace…which is better?