Pepper Shot Pepper Spray

According to Belmont Area Detectives, a woman was walking to her home about 2AM when a man threw her to the ground and tried to sexually assault her. The woman showed police the cuts and scrapes she received after being thrown to the ground by the attacker, but said she knew it could have been much worse. She had just gotten off work at a bar and took a cab home. Just after exiting the cab she was attacked from behind and pushed down. The victim urged everyone to buy a can of pepper spray and have it at the ready. She said when you're going to be outside alone, physically have it in your hand ready. She said if she hadn't had it ready, it would have been in her bag and what's the use of having it then?

Apparently, there have been attacks in this area with a similarly described suspect: M/white or Hispanic/25-30/short hair combed back and a medium complexion. Anyone with information regarding this suspect should contact Belmont Area detectives at 312-744-8261.

So Many Choices for Self Defense Products - Which One Is Just Right For You?

How many of you remember the fairytale about Goldie Locks and the Three Bears? She kept trying various things until she found the one that was "just right" for her. I will try to make it easier for you to decide how to protect yourself, because life is not a fairytale and there are very real dangers in our world.

Everyone needs to know how to protect themselves because you cannot assume the police will be there to save you . Unfortunately, the police usually arrive after the crime has been committed. Not by choice, but by the sheer numbers of calls they must field.

The first thing you need to decide is what kind of personality do you have. Are you passive or are you a survivor? A stun gun in the hands of a passive person could result in them being harmed by their own weapon. Whereas, a survivor would have no problem pushing a stun gun into the ribs of a would be attacker.

As a police detective in my prior life I met both kinds of people. Some victims of horrendous crimes were eager to do whatever it took to be certain they were never victimized again, whereas others would sooner perish than harm the criminal attacking them. I cannot fault these victims but I worry for their safety because their survival instincts are not strong enough to keep them alive.

One such individual comes to mind. She was a psychiatrist and a true sociopath had begun stalking her. He even went so far as to make an appointment with her so he could be near her. On several occasions she found him lurking around her house in the evening hours. One time she actually found him in her home. He was arrested and served a very short time in jail. This sociopath was an extremely intelligent chemical engineer. He lived several miles from the victims residence but began coming to her neighborhood to steal cats, which he took to his residence where he tortured and killed them. I've been told that the cat is a symbol for woman. He was acting out his hatred for women on these poor cats. The residents in the victims community subsequently saw this suspect catnapping a cat and got his license number. My partner and I arrived at the suspects home too late to save two beautiful white cats that neighbors saw him drag upstairs the night before. We found them in a dumpster. They had been dipped in caustic chemicals. His apartment was filled with dangerous chemicals such as napalm, as was his car. It was a bomb on wheels. The search of his apartment required the assistance of the fire department and haz mat. Among other things we found in his apartment were numerous pieces of paper with descriptions of women and vehicle license numbers. It seems the psychiatrist was not the only woman he was stalking.

While the suspect was in a holding room he had a conversation with himself about that "tart" the psychiatrist and how she deserved the same thing that was done to the cats.

The catnappings had caused quite a furor in the psychiatrists neighborhood and had made the papers. A woman whose cat had been stolen out of her car in the shopping center where this suspect had first seen the psychiatrist was sent to Animal Control where she identified the remains of her beloved cat who had been tortured and killed. This cats value proved Grand Theft which was added to the felony counts filed on this monster. The bottom line is this monster did 3 years in State Prison for stealing a cat.

At the time of these incidents, civilians in my State were not able to carry pepper spray, tasers or stun guns. I suggested to this victim that she should have a weapon to protect herself. I don't advocate the killing of a human being but if it gets down to you or them there should be no question as to who is going down. We have but one precious life as far as we know and no low life should be able to take it.

The psychiatrist said she could never kill anyone, even though she knew how obsessed this sociopath was with her. I advised her to leave a note somewhere that in case anything ever happened to her to look for this suspect because my partner and I would be retired and it might take a while to connect him to her.

I hope this doesn't sound harsh but this person is extremely dangerous as he has no feelings of guilt or remorse which is a deadly combination. And, he's out there in society now, like a ticking time bomb.

Luckily, now there are alternatives to deadly weapons in most states. So what kind of a weapon would be a good match for a passive person? The most non aggressive product would be an electronic personal alarm, but because there are so many ignored car alarms, one should probably yell "fire" at the same time to get some sort of attention. There are many portable inexpensive room alarms that at least would give you some warning. But, what do you do next after calling the police if this individual ignores the alarm and enters your home or room? A good OC (Oleoresin Capsicum), a pepper spray derived from hot peppers, and in my opinion, the most effective, could buy time for the victim to escape. It is an inflammatory agent that is more effective than other types of defense sprays on those who may be mentally unbalanced, drunk or on drugs. For use inside or against multiple attackers a fogger style would be best. For use outside, a stream type spray would be less effected by a breeze or wind. You basically have a choice of a fogger, a stream or a cone spray. The intensity of the heat is determined by Scoville Heat Units. In other words how hot is the pepper? A Habanero pepper has a whole lot more Scoville Heat Units, than a Jalapeno. Pepper sprays come in all forms such as pepper pens, pepper pagers, walking weights, keychain sprays, lipstick sprays, basic canister types and more. An extremely informative booklet on defense sprays and how and when to use them, including all kinds of scenarios is available. The booklet is titled "The Facts About Defense Sprays and How to Use Them to Bring Criminals to Their Knees", by Doug Lamb.

A survivor could also use a pepper spray. A step up would be a stun gun, which comes in many sizes and styles. A stun gun requires close contact with an attacker. This would usually happen through no choice of yours. The main thing is knowing how and when to use it. A taser/stun gun combination like the C2 Taser, would also be a good choice because you would have the option of the tasers ability to reach out to 15 feet, keeping an attacker from getting too close to you.

You need to decide that you want to survive, after all survival is a basic instinct, at least it is supposed to be. Then pick the means to protect yourself that you will be comfortable with and determine where in your everyday activities you are the most vulnerable. Have a mental plan in place in the event of an attack. You don't need to fixate on this but you need to be aware of your situation at all times and be ready to react properly. It will become a good habit after awhile. Scope out your surroundings and be aware of exits and possible safety zones. It just makes good sense.

As I always say, be safe, not sorry.

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