Pepper Spray Is Allowed Against Outlaws In Kuwait
In response to recent assaults on security personnel, Kuwaiti police are using pepper spray against outlaws and in self-defence, according to a local newspaper.
According to Al Rai, police can use pepper spray in self-defence and to deal with criminals under certain regulations, according to interior ministry sources.
Sources claim that the ministry is concerned about the safety of its personnel when dealing with wanted offenders that pose a threat to people and property.
According to them, mace will be primarily useful in stopping wanted offenders who, following recent attacks against several security guards, refuse to obey police instructions.
Pepper spray can only be used in self-defence against outlaws, and excessive use is prohibited, sources said.
"When interacting with a suspect or someone acting in a way disrupting public safety or putting his life or others at risk, that person would be warned that pepper spray would be used against them to give them a chance to comply with instructions and turn themselves in," the sources said.
Several police officers have been attacked in Kuwait in recent months.
Attempting to stop a Kuwaiti motorist last year, the driver briefly abducted the policeman.
Investigators turned up a bag containing a narcotic substance in the possession of the suspect, confirming that he was a drug taker.
The suspect stabbed two policemen with a knife in the town of Jaber Al Ahmad, west of Kuwait City, in September as they tried to restrain him from attacking his parents.
As a result of stabbing a traffic officer in Al Mahboula in Kuwait's governorate of Al Ahmadi, a young Syrian man fled his home after killing his mother.
Local media dubbed the killing the Mahboula crime, and police were urged to enforce the law more rigorously and be protected.
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