OC/Chemical, Baton, or Taser?

[jqnelson]

I'm a recruit trying to decide on which of these "Level II Force" items to carry... I'm trying to decide between carrying OC/Chemical Spray, Expandable Baton, or a Taser... Right now I know a Baton for sure, and am leaning towards carrying a taser, and leaning away from carrying OC/Chemical spray. Thoughts?

[GCPD0171]

All are good choices. The thing is each one is not ideal in all situations. I currently carry OC and ASP baton. Our agency is issuing out tasers a few at a time so I'll have one in the future. The situation will dictate what type of force is most effective.

[Caspertoo]

Eh even though no dept is required to carry any less lethal force (taser, oc, baton) I can't see not carrying it myself. My dept has all three issued, plus I carry the tigerlight light system that has the OC in the base. Options are what I look for in my use of force actions.

All three of them are great in certain situations, not so great in others. When I know lethal force isn't reasonable, my favorite in the asp in my right hand and my tigerlight in my left. Three force options available to me, two different blunt trauma and the oc. I guess a fourth if you consider a really bright light to be a use of force.

[Delta784]

Carry everything that you're authorized to carry. Better to have it & not need it, than need it & not have it.

[TradArcher]

Read your department policy.

I always carry oc, baton and a taser, if one is issued to me. Once more tasers arrive, I will be carrying an x26 all the time.

OC is great because it is low in the use of force continum and is someone says @$^**&&^%$# and squares off , enjoy the burn baby.

[tpcop007]

Carry all 3 if you can. I have a problem with room on my duty belt so I opted to carry the o/c spray and taser. I took off the asp and now carry a baton ring for the straight wood baton if needed. Reason for the spray along with the taser, is you can only taze one person at a time, where spray you can get a group of people at once if need be!

[Delta_V]

If you have the room, carry all three. Since the tasers have come on board, many people at my agency have stopped carrying OC because of space issues, others are only carrying a single mag holder (or both).

The bottom line is that you can't go wrong carrying as many weapons as possible. If you have unneccesary items on your belt such as a cell phone or pager, take them off so you have room for your weapons. If your waist is so small that you still can't carry everything, I'd do what I can to carry the taser and baton.

Try experimenting with carrying your mag pouches horizontally on your strong side. That will free up space on your reactionary side for the taser. Here's what I would suggest, going clockwise from the belt buckle, assuming that you're right handed:

Horizontally mounted mag pouch
holster
cuff case (double if you want to carry two sets)
glove pouch
flashlight holder
radio
baton
OC
Taser

[Sleuth]

1. You can free up room on your belt with a vertical mag pouch.

2. I would opt for the expandable and OC. BTW, when I became an OC instructor, they sprayed me, and it did not work!

3. Whichever you choose GET TRAINING.

4. In all cases, have a plan B (and C, and D)

Edited to add: Remember, you do not have to carry the "police" size OC. A 'pocket' sized works just as well, takes up less space (it could be carried in a pocket). It just will need to be replaced more often, depending on how much you use it.

[SWATcop]

I carry all three, only because I was issued all three and therefore required to carry them. If I had my choice I'd get rid of the ASP (baton) and keep the taser and OC spray. The only thing I've ever used my ASP for is smashing out windows. Oh yeah, I threw it at a guy who was running from me one time, too. Since I bought one of those trusty little window punches that can be carried like a pen in my shirt pocket, I don't really need my ASP anymore.

[JKump]

Your duty belt is like your tool box. Carry as many tool as you can, you might need different ones for different occasions. As someone said it is better to have and not need then to need and not have.

[copwannabe310]

just shoot the bastard in the knee caps with a .45 and i garuntee you he'll cooperate. dont need all that fancy crap to make em comply.

[Sleuth]

Yup, keep that attitude, and 20 years from now your title will still be 'copwannabe'.

[jeeper]

Carry all 3!!

Like someone else said: better to have and not need than need and not have.

I have a ring for a straight baton, an Autolock expandable baton, and OC on my duty belt. If we (meaning non-supervisors) could carry Tasers, I would. Heck, I might even be willing to buy my own Taser if I would be allowed to carry it. Having recently been Tazed and having been sprayed before, the Taser is in a world of its own. However, I realize that each of these items has a position where it is the best and no other weapon will do. Which goes back to my paragraph above...

[USAcop]

If you can carry only one item it needs to be a straight baton.

Those ASP and those other small expandable batons are terrible!

Unfortuneately we have to carry the ASP. I have a riot baton in my car I can use for disturbances and riots.

Get a good quality straight baton. The cheap ones are like balsa wood and break easy. Its amazing how heavy a good quality baton weighs and how well it works.

[brkcop]

just shoot the bastard in the knee caps with a .45 and i garuntee you he'll cooperate. dont need all that fancy crap to make em comply.

I can see the headlines now.

"Ex-cop lost law suite for the unnecessary use of deadly force, criminal charges pending."