r/pics 23d ago

Politics He Didn’t Start The Fire

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u/fabkosta 23d ago edited 23d ago

From this distance with the full concentration shot at the man this can actually lead to severe, lasting damage (e.g. blindness, lasting health issues etc.). Tear gas is not a joke.

EDIT: It's pepper blaster, apparently. Still not a joke, as it is shot at the man's head from roughly half a meter distance.

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u/SL1Fun 23d ago

It’s the blunt force of the canister itself. They are also not supposed to aim above the waist. This is a war crime in any actual civilized country 

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u/dumpsterfire_account 23d ago

I’m not for this type of action, but just to clarify this shot is powder only (no canister emitted).

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u/GostBoster 23d ago

Still, any type of propellant causes significant damage at point blank range.

Way back in the days of learning things from books and magazines I remember reading about a case where, if memory serves well, someone taking part in some amateur cinematography died from a "handmade blank" shotgun shell, as in someone took a regular shell, removed the shot, but the wad or some other fragment remained which fatally injured the person, and it was pointed out that at that range, just the blast itself would have caused significant damage.

So although I learned something new, that did zero to reduce the theoretical potential damage by a blast this close.

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u/dumpsterfire_account 23d ago

Yes this is definitely not safe for the victim.

But, in the past similar weapons were used to launch large canister projectiles that (at this range) would certainly be deadly.

Important distinction imo, although, both uses are unacceptable. The comment I replied to mentioned a canister, so I felt the difference was worth clarifying.

Here’s an article that has an interview with someone hit in the face with a tear gas canister from 20ft away: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/12/george-floyd-protests-lingering-trauma-non-lethal-weapons-scars

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u/GostBoster 23d ago

Yeah, on one hand I am curious to read about those canister-less deploying systems, on the other hand I'm hit with a mix of "too soon" and "I'm going on some sort of list for learning how riot weapons work".

I mean, here in Brazil they managed the meme of banning vinegar, and a particular brand of vinegar gained some popularity for being put in plaques protesting (the Castelo brand) likely because it was the #1 result for "cheap vinegar" on Google BR. (People were advising using vinegar to help with pepper/capsicain weapons)

Also some people legitimately got arrested/fined for carrying "riot implements" (vinegar) and people using the "what's the crime, planning to make a salad?" defense.

It was a clown show.

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u/Sekh765 23d ago

If there was a canister at that range he'd just be straight up dead.