I’m a 30 year veteran of a large state law enforcement agency with more than 20 of those years spent in patrol. In every instance of OC deployment, I and my fellow officers suffered a nearly equal amount of exposure and the subsequent ill affects of OC as the intended target. The burning eyes and skin, mucus discharge, and respiratory difficulty were felt nearly as much by the cops as the bad guy. I volunteered to be exposed to the IMPACT chemical irritant during a product demonstration at my agency’s academy. The substance stung my eyes so badly that I was unable to keep them open and therefore would have struggled greatly to fight off any attempt to handcuff or further an arrest. But skin did not burn, there was no mucus discharge and absolutely no respiratory difficulty. Within minutes I was completely recovered and approximately 25 minutes later I was on my computer answering e-mails with no hint of having been sprayed. If I was on patrol today I would absolutely place the Impact chemical irritant back on my belt.