A new proposal being considered by the New York City Council would limit corrections officers’ use of pepper spray to control unruly inmates in the city’s jails.
The bill, introduced Thursday, would require corrections officers to get permission from patrol commanders before using the powerful oleoresin capsicum spray, also known as pepper spray, on inmates, except in emergencies.
Councilwoman Sandy Nurse, a Democrat who chairs the Criminal Justice Committee, introduced the bill at Thursday’s City Council meeting, which placed it on the agenda but did not discuss it, she said. New York PostCity Councilwoman Tiffany Cabán, a Democrat, co-sponsored the bill.
Under the proposal, pepper spray would only be allowed to be used in “emergency situations where delay in use would create an immediate risk of death or serious injury or would seriously jeopardize the safety or security of a facility.”
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Councilman Sandy Nurse introduced the bill at Thursday’s City Council meeting. (Getty Images)
But the city’s corrections officers union has warned that the bill would put both officers and inmates at risk, with union president Benny Bosio telling the New York Post that using chemical agents “is less likely to cause serious injury to inmates and officers than using physical force.”
“I invite Councilman Naas, and any other council member who supports this reckless bill, to spend a full day with us in a holding area that holds inmates with gang ties and ask them if they still believe officers’ hands should be tied when using chemical agents,” Boscio told the outlet.
Boscio also explained that Nurse appeared at a Criminal Justice Committee hearing in September 2022 where female correctional officers spoke about their experiences of being sexually assaulted.
“Nurse would understand very well that chemical agents are only used in emergency situations and that they would have to be used immediately to save the life of someone under attack by a violent inmate inside the prison,” he said.
“I’m confident this bill will pass the City Council because it would only put corrections officers at risk,” Republican City Council Minority Leader Joe Borelli joked to the New York Post.
The bill was introduced after the New York City Prison Oversight Board released a report in February criticizing the New York City Department of Corrections’ “excessive reliance on chemical agents.”
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Pepper spray is packaged at manufacturer Balistol in Arham, Germany, on March 2, 2016. (Getty Images)
The Board of Corrections found that there were 2,972 pepper spray “incidents” in city jails in the first 10 months of 2023, a nearly 50% increase over the first 10 months of 2018.
The committee also found there were 24 instances in October of corrections officers using pepper spray on mentally ill inmates without consulting mental health staff.
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The report also found that in eight cases that month, officers used pepper spray on inmates attempting to hang themselves, rather than cutting or removing the rope or other string.
This comes after the City Council approved a bill in December that would have severely restricted solitary confinement in jails, but Democratic Mayor Eric Adams signed an emergency executive order last month blocking key parts of the bill just before it was set to take effect.
