Rambharat: Pepper spray in wrong hands deadlier than a gun

WHILE saying the National Security Council (NSC) will consider a report done on the use of pepper spray, Agriculture Minister Clarence Rambharat warned that this protective measure can be deadlier than a firearm.

He spoke on Tuesday in the Senate in reply to a motion on the adjournment by Independent Senator Paul Richards calling for the legalisation of non-lethal weapons to arm women, following the recent murders of Andrea Bharatt and Ashanti Riley.

Saying TT has seen decades of heinous actions against women and girls, Richards said the country is past tipping point and is now at “tripping point” where citizens want to seek their own justice.

He begged the government that women be given pepper spray to have a fighting chance against assailants, and to give women hope.

“If it saves one life, it is worth it,” Richards said.

On concerns about criminals using pepper spray on victims, he said criminals already have guns and knives. Richards said 743 women were murdered in TT from 2000 to 2019, while thousands have suffered rape.

“There are predators and rapists roaming the streets, and women have a right to defend themselves but they just don’t have the tools to do so at this time,” Richards said.

Replying on behalf of National Security Minister Stuart Young, Rambharat said that past governments gave commitments for non-lethal weapons for the police, namely Tasers and pepper spray, both of which they only recently received.

He recalled growing up in the countryside where everyone kept some sort of weapon.

“You were always warned to be on the receiving end of the weapon you carried. Pepper spray could be more lethal than a firearm in the wrong hands,” Rambharat said.

While saying TT already has significant control over the availability of firearms, Rambharat said many issues arise if making pepper spray available.

He said the Office of Law Enforcement Policy (OLEP) in the Ministry of National Security had done a study and compiled a report.

The NSC, he said, is due to deliberate the report and then make recommendations to Cabinet.

Rambharat said some individuals reported the ill-effects of the Moruga Scorpion Pepper as being “like a heart attack.”

Saying the strength of pepper spray is typically three times higher than that, he claimed, "It is deadly. It is, as I say, in the wrong hands and in particular circumstances, far more deadly than a firearm."

This story was amended on February 10 to report Mr Rambarath's statements more accurately.