OC spray, the tool Brimo is increasingly using in protests

BarcelonaOC spray, made from natural pepper extract, is a substance that expels a gaseous cloud that immediately irritates the eyes and throat of those exposed. This is a police tool that the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police) are increasingly using, and has recently been used in pro-Palestinian protests in Barcelona. On Wednesday, this spray was sprayed on a group of people sitting at one of the entrances to Sants station, trying to prevent the bus of the Hapoel Jerusalem basketball team from moving forward, as it was heading to Manresa for a match.

This action has generated controversy, and the CUP (Cup), ERC (Republican Party of Catalonia), and the Comuns (Commons) have already requested that the Minister of the Interior, Núria Parlon, and the Director of the Police, Josep Lluís Trapero, appear before Parliament to explain the protocol for its use.The organizations Basta Complicidad con Israel (Bad Complicity with Israel) and Boycott ICL (Boycott ICL), the Housing Trade Union Confederation of Catalonia, the unions calling for Wednesday's general strike, and Som Defensores (Social Defenders) have denounced serious violations of protocols and have also demanded explanations from Parlon and Trapero for the "indiscriminate" use of what is popularly known as pepper spray.

The debate over this spray is not new in Catalonia, but the fact that the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police) regularly use it at demonstrations is relatively new. According to police sources, it was used in the Font de la Pólvora neighborhood during the clashes following the fatal shooting at last year's Sant Joan festival, and also during Carles Puigdemont's return to Catalonia in August 2024 to prevent protesters from accessing Ciutadella Park. In recent pro-Palestinian protests, which ARA has closely followed, the OC space has been a recurring tool for Brimo officers, who in some situations prioritized the use of this gas over batons when protesters tried to break through the police cordon or engaged in violent behavior by throwing weapons. The first question, then, is what has changed.

According to various sources consulted by ARA, it is necessary to go back to 2013, when the Parliament banned rubber bullets following the Ester Quintana case And within the Mossos d'Esquadra, concern began to emerge about the tools they had available. From rubber bullets, they moved on to foam projectiles, which over the years—some particularly intense years on the streets with the post-sentence protests and the imprisonment of Pablo Hasél—also ended up causing serious injuries to several protesters and were called into question. It all led to a new study commission on the policing model in the Parliament, which abolished the most harmful foam projectiles, the long-range ones. After all this, the same sources indicate that a "natural process" has led to this pepper-laced product emerging as a primary tool. In fact, the police purchased it for the post-sentence protests, but its use has not been widespread until now.

The reason? Police sources point out that it's a "cleaner" tool because it allows the police to gain ground without beatings or direct physical aggression. "The image is much less harsh," the same sources reflect. A police force that has traditionally been more accustomed to using these gases is the French, and the Mossos d'Esquadra were able to see and analyze it up close during the joint operation at the La Jonquera blockade in 2019, police sources point out. OC spray is normally launched manually, unlike other authorized substances, which are fired, for example, from the foam launchers themselves. This spray has been regulated for more than ten years, in Instruction 16/2013. "These devices are specifically for crowd control and are intended to reduce people's ability to effectively react without producing side effects," this instruction states. The objective of using it, according to police sources, is to gain space from the protesters in a less "harmful" way.

The Limits

This limitation, "crowd control," is what some sources consulted by ARA use as an argument to criticize the lack of proportionality in the action at Sants station, given that people were seated. On the contrary, they point out that proper use, against aggressive groups or those trying to break through the police cordon, is effective and less harmful than batons. Some organizations, such as Som Defensores and Alerta Solidaria, openly criticize the increasing use of this instrument. "We view with concern the use of pepper spray as the primary dispersal tool, without prior warning or in a high-risk situation," states Som Defensores. "It is not the clean tool they seem to want us to believe it is. Explanations are needed for the change in criteria," says Martí Majoral, spokesperson for Alerta Solidaria.

Mayoral also criticizes the lack of warning to people before using it and finds it "difficult to adhere to a logical protocol." "It's a tool that has indiscriminate effects because it doesn't target any specific person," he adds, noting that on Thursday there were still people affected and some had to go to the clinic. Both Alerta Solidaria and Som Defensores criticize the Sants protesters for engaging in peaceful protest, and that the proportional response would have been to tear the scabs apart, as in evictions where these sit-ins also occur. This is a reflection shared by some sources linked to the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police). When the Mossos d'Esquadra purchased these sprays for the post-sentence protests, they explained that they would use them "very selectively and against people who are truly disturbing public order within the demonstration."

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights permits some chemical irritants, including OC, to be "launched from a distance against groups of individuals participating in violent acts." It also warns of the adverse effects of these substances, which can cause temporary breathing difficulties, nausea, vomiting, irritation of the respiratory tract, tear ducts, and eyes, spasms, chest pain, dermatitis, and allergies. In high doses, such as in very closed spaces, the UN points out that they can cause tissue necrosis of the respiratory tract and digestive system, pulmonary edema, and internal bleeding.

"Disproportionate" action

In fact, this Friday the organizations Basta Complicidad con Israel, Boycott ICL, the Confederación Sindical de Vivienda de Catalunya, the unions calling for Wednesday's general strike, and Som Defensores, in addition to calling Wednesday's pepper spray action "disproportionate," also warned that several people sitting peacefully, close together, were repeatedly sprayed in the face without warning.

"It is very worrying that the use of pepper spray is becoming the first option for riot police, completely disregarding the principles of necessity, proportionality, and belonging that should guide their actions," criticized lawyer Anaïs Franquesa, who also explained that during the action, they were beaten with batons, which caused a lot of "confusion" among the protesters, who, as they fled from some officers, encountered others.