In basic training we had to run into an enclosed space with teargas in it, run in circles, stop and recite our army serial number, and run out. This was CN, not CS which is much more powerful.
If a person has a fighting instinct, they can overcome a lot of obstacles. There is absolutely no excuse for disarming law-abiding citizens.
Yup, Basic Training we of course went through the gas chamber as well. Concentrated CS gas (cause it was an enclosed space). I’ll admit, it sucked. But you can still see, your eyes are just watery and burn. The hardest part is breathing shallow and slow, which’ll help prevent coughing. Cause once you start coughing, it’s near impossible to stop. For his police/civilian grade tear gas, my guess is it wouldn’t be near as bad.
Also, different people have different reactions. We had several guys that nearly died (figure of speech), while there were two who were barely affected, even less than I was.
Overall, I would rather have a pistol and a small fighting chance at stopping the guy than to cower and cough under my chair and wait for him to zero in on me.