Beyond Pepper Spray

Veteran police officer Michael Conti presents the first complete coverage of chemical agents and equipment from the perspective of a street cop. In one comprehensive volume, readers can quickly and easily find pertinent information about modern chemical agents, how they are deployed, their effects and state-of-the-art protective gear. It includes the most common chemical agent weapons (from OC spray to gas launchers to thermal fogging systems), specialty impact munitions and military-class chemical agent weapons (from blood and blister agents to deadly nerve agents), as well as a concise history of their development and use. This allows the reader to better understand the role these devices have played in the past and the role they may play in the coming years, both by law enforcement agencies and terrorist organizations.

This is a must-read for law enforcement, military and security personnel, or anyone with a responsibility for, or concern about, the use of chemical agents. Especially timely now is the section on how to ensure personal safety in the event of a chemical attack.

Michael Conti has been a member of the Massachusetts State Police (MSP) since 1986. His assignments have included undercover narcotics investigations, homicide, high-crime-area community policing and special security details. Conti also organized, staffed and trained a new Firearms Training Unit for the MSP. During the creation of this unit, he developed a completely new firearms training program specifically geared to preparing officers for the realities of a lethal-force encounter.