Monday, November 21, 2011

What kind of pepper spray did UC Davis police use on Occupy protesters?

BAE Systems Pepper Spray
used against UC Davis students
Def-Tec MK-9 is an extra-strength .7% Major Capsaicinoids solution (identified by an orange band on the cannister) which is 3.5 times more powerful than Defense Technology's "First Defense" product.

That weaker solution (than the one used at UC Davis) is effective to 18-20 feet and should not be sprayed closer than 6 feet, according to the manufacturer. The only spray the company makes which is stronger than the one used at UC Davis is intended for use on bears.

UC Davis Lt. Pike, using MK-9 pepper spray in a manner
inconsistent with the manufacturer's recommendations.
Former Marine Pike, who makes $110,000 per year,
is apparently unable to follow written instructions.

Defense Technology, (1855 South Loop, Casper, WY 82601, Phone: (877) 248-DTFL (3835) Fax: (877) 984-TECH (8324)) the manufacturer of MK-9, is now owned by BAE Systems via its acquisition of Safariland which merged with American Body Armor in 1996.

BAE Systems seems to be unusually corrupt. This is what Wikipedia has to say about the corporation:

BAE Systems is a British conglomerate formed in 1999 by the £7.7 billion merger of two British companies, Marconi Electronic Systems(MES), the defense electronics and naval shipbuilding subsidiary of the General Electric Company plc(GEC), and aircraft, munitions and naval systems manufacturer British Aerospace (BAe).
  • In September 2009, the Serious Fraud Office announced that it intended to prosecute BAE Systems for offences relating to overseas corruption. On 5 February 2010, BAE Systems agreed to pay £257m criminal fines to the US and £30m to the UK.
  • Under a plea bargain with the US Department of Justice BAE was convicted of felony conspiracy to defraud the United States government and sentenced in March 2010 by U.S. District Court Judge John D. Bates to pay a $400 million fine, one of the largest fines in the history of the DOJ. U.S. District Judge John Bates said the company's conduct involved "deception, duplicity and knowing violations of law, I think it's fair to say, on an enormous scale".
  • In September 2003 The Sunday Times reported that BAE had hired a private security contractor to collate information about individuals working at the Campaign Against Arms Trade and their activities.In February 2007, it again obtained private confidential information from CAAT.
  • In September 2005 The Guardian reported that banking records showed that BAE paid £1 million to Augusto Pinochet, the former Chilean dictator.
  • BAE ran into controversy in 2002 over the abnormally high cost of a radar system sold to Tanzania. The sale was criticised by several opposition MPs and the World Bank; Secretary of State for International Development Clare Short declared that BAE had "ripped off" developing nations. In December 2010, leaked US diplomatic communications revealed that Edward Hoseah, the Tanzanian prosecutor investigating misconduct by BAE, had confided in US diplomats that "his life may be in danger" and was being routinely threatened.
  • BAE Systems has been under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office, into the use of political corruption to help sell arms to Chile, Czech Republic, Romania, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Tanzania and Qatar.

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