# Policeman pepper sprays pizza at traffic stop. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 3, 2013, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/policeman-pepper-sprays-pizza-at-traffic-stop/665241 "2013-08-03T13:21:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/policeman-pepper-sprays-pizza-at-traffic-stop/665241/41 "2013-08-04T01:28:49Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > Only if I don’t throw up or end up in the emergency room. > > [I’m having second thoughts after reading this.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepper_spray) Get the vegan kind. And use it outdoors. ETA- looks like anybody could make the raw extract. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/policeman-pepper-sprays-pizza-at-traffic-stop/665241/42 "2013-08-04T01:29:00Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > Only if I don’t throw up or end up in the emergency room. Did I say it was to be a partial or conditional report? Full report. My desk. Tuesday. > [@](#): > > [I’m having second thoughts after reading this.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepper_spray) Wimp. And get the stuff dissolved in propylene glycol. That stuff is used in foods so much it almost qualifies as food itself. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/policeman-pepper-sprays-pizza-at-traffic-stop/665241/43 "2013-08-04T01:59:36Z")
There’s actually several videos of people doing this. [Here’s one](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIR4PwfTF5U) where she dumps the whole pepper spray onto her sub. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/policeman-pepper-sprays-pizza-at-traffic-stop/665241/44 "2013-08-04T03:03:15Z")
The two key points from the news reports are first, that he was a backup officer on the traffic stop, hence the arguments here that he couldn’t possibly do it because the kid would have not noticed would not be valid. Second, as I posted above, the news report says that the officer removed the pizza from the back seat. The question comes down if his pepper spray device allows a really short burst or not. ---
**Author:** ![Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Springtime_for_Spacers)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/policeman-pepper-sprays-pizza-at-traffic-stop/665241/45 "2013-08-04T03:39:20Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > Were the teens eating the pie in complete, choreographed unison? How do 5 kids eat pizza after one of them bites into it and begins doing the Curly Shuffle as his face and gut feel like they are being consumed by the insatiable fires of hell? I can see them realising the pizza is really hot and thinking someone in the pizza place has either mistaken their order or purposely messed with them and just deciding to go ahead and eating it because a. they are hungry and b. eating really hot stuff is macho. Then when their reaction to what they have eaten goes over and above what could be expected from whatever the pizza place had available realising that the cop was responsible. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/policeman-pepper-sprays-pizza-at-traffic-stop/665241/46 "2013-08-04T04:35:03Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Well, if it were a trial, they have certainly raised a certain degree of reasonable doubt. > > Who’s up for an actual experiment? Let’s get a pizza and a pepper-spray thingie, and try it out for real! Anybody like theirs super-hot? I have to acknowledge my ignorance on the subject of pepper spray. I would have imagined that it could be sprayed in varying amounts - in a range from a very short burst to a long blast. I didn’t know that the amount sprayed by the cop in this scenario would necessarily be the same amount as someone using it in self-defense as presumably the folks here have experienced. You learn something new each day. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/policeman-pepper-sprays-pizza-at-traffic-stop/665241/47 "2013-08-04T05:45:53Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > What really strikes me as unbelievable, though, is five teens sharing a pizza. Unless there is more than one pizza involved. Totally. They probably woke up in the middle of the night hungry and had to raid the fridge for some quiche. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/policeman-pepper-sprays-pizza-at-traffic-stop/665241/48 "2013-08-04T06:16:47Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#): > > . . . I would have imagined that it could be sprayed in varying amounts - in a range from a very short burst to a long blast. I didn’t know that the amount sprayed by the cop in this scenario would necessarily be the same amount as someone using it in self-defense . . . The question still remains unanswered: can pepper spray be sprayed, even in the shortest of bursts, without creating a cloud of odor that would be detected by people in the vicinity? We hold our breath (so to speak) for **Musicat** ’s experiment. ---
**Author:** ![RedFury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ec9cab/32.png) [@RedFury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedFury)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/policeman-pepper-sprays-pizza-at-traffic-stop/665241/49 "2013-08-04T09:22:00Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > …Plus, seriously, how do 5 teens get sick from eating it? You notice that shit from the first bite. Did all 5 decide to roll up their pizza slices into pizza rolls and swallow them whole simultaneously? Because the first capsaicin-infused bite would have tipped one of them off and you’d think they’d put down the pizza pieces. Ever hear of The Munchies? ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/policeman-pepper-sprays-pizza-at-traffic-stop/665241/50 "2013-08-04T11:01:59Z")
I guess we can ad pizza to the [pepper spray cop meme](https://www.google.com/search?q=pepper+spray+cop+meme&client=safari&hl=en&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=PjP-UZ2HHIPW9AT17oCICA&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=568&bih=216) ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/policeman-pepper-sprays-pizza-at-traffic-stop/665241/51 "2013-08-04T12:59:13Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Totally. They probably woke up in the middle of the night hungry and had to raid the fridge for some quiche. Why not save the snark for something that isn’t true? It would be ridiculous to try to split a pizza amongst five people. At most you split it in half with one other person. If you have more than that, you get pizzas, not just a single pizza. You definitely can’t divide it amongst five people–there aren’t enough slices, and you can’t reliably cut a slice in more than a half piece. I find it hard to believe that anyone who went to college wouldn’t know this stuff. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/policeman-pepper-sprays-pizza-at-traffic-stop/665241/52 "2013-08-04T13:31:52Z")
Shut up, **BigTard**. ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/policeman-pepper-sprays-pizza-at-traffic-stop/665241/53 "2013-08-04T13:37:51Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > The question still remains unanswered: can pepper spray be sprayed, even in the shortest of bursts, without creating a cloud of odor that would be detected by people in the vicinity? > > We hold our breath (so to speak) for **Musicat** ’s experiment. Bump? ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/policeman-pepper-sprays-pizza-at-traffic-stop/665241/54 "2013-08-04T14:06:20Z")
I won’t be going to town to get pepper spray until Tuesday, so keep holding your breath. There are no corner drug stores (or any other kind of store) close to me. And I don’t plan on spending a fortune on this project. If I can’t get something cheap that allows repeated, measured (by me) sprays and appears safe for experimentation, I won’t do it. If anyone else wants to try, I won’t be upset if you steal my thunder. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/policeman-pepper-sprays-pizza-at-traffic-stop/665241/55 "2013-08-04T14:50:58Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Why not save the snark for something that isn’t true? It would be ridiculous to try to split a pizza amongst five people. At most you split it in half with one other person. There’s weird things about the story as written (as I have said) but this is definitely not one of them. It depends on the size of the pizza. When we were teenagers, four or five of us would split a 16"-18" pizza all the time (more the latter size usually.) ---
**Author:** ![hansel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6bbea6/32.png) [@hansel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hansel)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/policeman-pepper-sprays-pizza-at-traffic-stop/665241/56 "2013-08-04T14:55:44Z")
This is Orange County, where the police are [allowed to ejaculate onto people they pull over](http://laist.com/2007/02/10/oc_cop_gets_off_in_court_after_masturbating_on_stripper_during_questionable_traffic_stop.php). If they’re limiting themselves to pepper spray, sounds like they’ve tightened up the rules a bit. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2013, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/policeman-pepper-sprays-pizza-at-traffic-stop/665241/57 "2013-08-04T17:18:31Z")
I’m having trouble believing these guys ingested any pizza. Wouldn’t your mouth be on fire after the first bite? You’d spit it out? > **[OC Deputy Is Accused of Pepper Spraying Teen's Pizza](https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/oc-deputy-accused-pepper-spraying-teens-pizza/1956816/)** > > An Orange County Sheriff’s deputy is facing jail time after being accused of pepper spraying a teen’s pizza without his knowledge during a traffic stop last year, the OC District Attorney’s Office announced Friday. Juan Tavera, a six-year veteran of... > [@](#): > > An Orange County Sheriff’s deputy is facing jail time after being accused of pepper spraying a teen’s pizza without his knowledge during a traffic stop last year, prosecutors said. > \ > The teen returned home to share the pizza with four friends, and all five people became sick as a result of ingesting the pepper spray-contaminated pie. He became suspicious and notified the sheriff’s department of his interaction with the deputy, the DA’s office said. > **[Pepper spray](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepper_spray)** > > Pepper spray, oleoresin capsicum spray, OC spray, capsaicin spray, mace, or capsicum spray is a lachrymator (tear gas) product containing the compound capsaicin as the active ingredient that irritates the eyes to cause burning and pain sensations, as well as temporary blindness. Its inflammatory effects cause the eyes to close, temporarily taking away vision. This temporary blindness allows officers to more easily restrain subjects and permits people in danger to use pepper spray in self-defense ... > [@](#): > > The active ingredient in pepper spray is capsaicin, which is a chemical derived from the fruit of plants in the Capsicum genus, including chilis. Extraction of oleoresin capsicum from peppers requires capsicum to be finely ground, from which capsaicin is then extracted ---
**Author:** ![Apocalypso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Apocalypso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apocalypso)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/policeman-pepper-sprays-pizza-at-traffic-stop/665241/58 "2013-08-05T01:55:24Z")
I think the reporting was probably wrong in saying they ingested it. I’ve never eaten or come in contact with pepper spray of any sort. I’ve had capsaicin pepper extract sauces, and the stuff was wicked hot. I can’t see 5 people unknowingly eat a pizza that’s been sprayed with capsaicin, just because one person would react to it immediately and the rest wouldn’t eat it. What I think is more likely maybe one of them smelled it, noticed the pepper spray and asked the others to smell it and see if there was anything wrong with it. The fumes gave them all burning sensations in their lungs (I don’t know if it’s possible for capsaicin to affect your lungs). The other possibility is they got the pepper spray on their skin when handling the pizza, but they didn’t actually eat it, or maybe just one or two ate some. You can’t wash it off and it burns for days. Which is why they use it in ben-gay like creams (dilluted considerably I believe). ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/policeman-pepper-sprays-pizza-at-traffic-stop/665241/59 "2013-08-05T02:06:21Z")
[Existing thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=698390). ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/policeman-pepper-sprays-pizza-at-traffic-stop/665241/60 "2013-08-05T02:18:51Z")
I can’t believe the dude didn’t notice it before returning home, pepper spray gets EVERYWHERE is an enclosed space. Accidentally discharged one once indoors and people twenty feet away where coughing and gasping. There is no way you could not notice if the pizza was sprayed inside the car. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/policeman-pepper-sprays-pizza-at-traffic-stop/665241.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/policeman-pepper-sprays-pizza-at-traffic-stop/665241.md?page=4)