Pepper-spray projectile
law enforcement weapon
A pepper-spray projectile, also called a pepper-spray ball, pepper-ball, pepper bomb, or pepper-spray pellet, is a frangible projectile containing a powdered chemical that irritates the eyes and nose in a manner similar to pepper spray. These projectiles are fired from specially-designed forced-compliance weapons or modified paintball guns.
Description
A pepper-spray projectile may be a sphere, hence the name pepper-ball, but it may also come in other shapes. The irritant payload differs between products but is usually a powder, less frequently a liquid, gas or aerosol. Some companies offer different substances as payload for their projectiles and launcher systems, allowing potential sellers to choose substances that are certified for use in their country. Also, projectiles with an inert dummy payload are often offered for training and testing purposes.
A powder called PAVA (capsaicin II) pepper is often used. PAVA is a capsaicinoid that can be synthesized more cheaply than natural capsaicin from peppers, although PAVA is also found in nature. Canisters of carbon dioxide are typically used to fire the projectiles.
Pepper-spray weapons systems are used by law enforcement, military and other organizations, and individuals.
“Pepper-spray projectile” enters the record as law enforcement weapon. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Pepper-spray, projectile and enforcement can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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The record creator and administrative purpose are central evidence, because official documentation reflects both action and institutional priorities. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 6, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q941401. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Pepper-spray projectile” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.