[garryc]

I'm a corrections officer and probably used pepper more than 80% of cops. I can't tell you how many guys full of the adrenalin of anger walk right through that stuff. They last long enough to do damage, which is usually only seconds but may take minutes. In a cell we fog it, have to let it cook a few seconds. In the case of the guy being mental, a good bit more and it's still a fight.

It is not a squirt flop situation. Criminals do not fear it like most people do, especially if they are doing drugs or are in a mental state. Never assume that a criminal will respond to a threat like you would, his mind is not like yours.

If a guy forces in don't screw around with the less than lethal stuff, her only opportunity to use force must count. Straight to lethal as long as he is a threat. The disparity of force justifies it.

Other things are:

1) Never take a child to the door. Knocked from her hands or needing to flee, her focus will be on the child instead of the threat, then he's got her.

2) Have an obstacle near, something you can step around to delay his approach.

3) Learn just what his "Line of Power" is and stay the heck out of it.

4) Understand that she might still get hurt pretty bad, but not as bad as if his lungs and heart are shot all to heck. Can't do that with pepper! The gun is not magic.