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Here is a forum post about bear spray. As a forum post, it has little credibility, but since it fits with what makes sense about bear spray, I would tend to accept it. supposedly from a police officer.

There is a measuring item called SHU’s (Scoville Heat Units) that is used to gauge the intensity of different items/products. It is the reaction of the item to the skin that is being measured here.

A Jalapeno pepper is rated at 7,500 SHU. Def Tech’s O.C. Pepper spray is rated at 25,000 SHU. Phase IV O.C. Pepper spray ( which is the bear repellant you are speaking of) is rated at 2,000,000 SHU ( that is two million).

We tested Phase IV about 4 years ago for our department to see if it would be better than the Def Tech at 25,000 SHU. One of our SWAT men volunteered ( he was the guy that walks around with the big red “S” on his chest all day). I gave him a one half second spray on the side of the face only for a simple test. The skin immediately blistered and he had to be taken to the hospital.

Our legal department took about 3.7 nanoseconds to decide that we would NOT replace our present OC pepper with the Phase IV

PS....In Ohio, where I work, the State Police were approved and now carry Phase IV and a second line defensive spray. They use the Def Tech OC first and if that does not stop the aggressor, they use the Phase IV.

In answer to your question now. Would it stop even a drug crazed rapist? Absolutely!! It would melt his eyeballs in his head. A person who can’t see or breathe certainly wouldn’t be interested in a life of crime at that moment.

Now for the downside. Yes, you are defending yourself from an attack. Have you used too much reactive force here? The attacker is definetely going to the hospital and if you got a good shot in his eyes, you may have caused permanent damage. Does this leave you open to both criminal and civil charges? Under Use of Force guidelines, you may meet any level of agression with the same level and take it one step higher ( this is law enforcement, but it can apply in a court of law for self defense as well). Our legal department decided against using this for these reasons. I can only guess that this is a decision that you would have to make for yourself. Chances are excellent that if you hang around after an attack, you stand a very good chance of being arrested. After that, only a jury of your peers can decide whether you acted prudently in self defense.

At this point, you can now make your own informed decision. Best of luck and I hope this is useful to you
Source:
Firearms Instructor, Arsenal Officer, Armorer, Use of Force Instructor, Chemical Munitions Instructor

https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081129230617AAtKEvQ