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Agencies everywhere are under pressure to show a real commitment to de-escalation. The recent Police1 article, “Up close: PepperBall is a non-lethal de-escalation tool for patrol,” looks at how PepperBall gives patrol officers a practical way to do that on the street.
One of the most striking points from the article came from Michael Lee, PepperBall VP and general manager for U.S. law enforcement. In agencies that make PepperBall launchers widely available to patrol, officers are seeing compliance in about 90% of encounters simply by presenting the launcher and giving clear commands. When officers do deploy, they can start with air-only shots or indirect fire at the ground or nearby surfaces, using sound, presence and an organic irritant cloud to gain cooperation at distance instead of closing in.
Projectiles carry inert or PAVA powder, and are produced in an ISO certified facility. The shell breaks at relatively low energy, delivering significantly less impact than many other less-lethal tools. The effects are strong but temporary: tearing, coughing and discomfort that typically resolve within minutes with fresh air and water.
Behind the equipment is a national training program. PepperBall instructors run hundreds of train-the-trainer classes each year, covering use-of-force law, policy alignment and practical deployment. Those trainers bring structured, repeatable instruction back to their agencies and often brief local leaders and community members on how the system works and what subjects actually experience.
Taken together, the tools, the training and the track record, give agencies a grounded way to turn de-escalation policy into everyday practice - without asking officers to give up time, distance or safety.
Read the full Police1 article here:
https://www.police1.com/police-products/less-lethal/up-close-pepperball-is-a-non-lethal-de-escalation-tool-for-patrol
