It’s terrible that we even have to explain what pepper balls are, but here we are — Lilly Smith

New one on me. Back in the day, the police just had batons and tear gas. Since then it has evolved to pepper spry, tasers, non-lethal bullets, smoke canisters, sound and water cannons, and now pepper "balls," bullets really.

Pepper balls and other irritants are used to disperse or move a crowd in a case of civil disturbance, and authorities might use pepper balls as compared to tear gas canisters for a few different reasons, says Hodgson. Theoretically, he says, they can more accurately target a specific person in the back of a crowd as compared to a tear gas canister, which would just blanket the whole group. He says it’s also more controllable than a tear gas canister, which can get picked up by the wind or catch something like a building or shrubbery on fire.... 

But, hey, "it's a free country." Or as "they" used to say back in the day, "Love it or leave it."

Oh, and please explain to me why chemical weapons, which are forbidden by international law for use in war, are OK for domestic security. I must have missed that.

Fast Company

It’s terrible that we even have to explain what pepper balls are, but here we are

Lilly Smith