In Alabama, CNN reports of a man in police custody who dies after the police pepper spray him. A 911 call came in Friday night, a resident of Tuscaloosa reporting that a black man was seated on the porch of a house holding a gun.
Six police officers of the Tuscaloosa Police Department answered the call. The man with the gun was African-American Anthony Dewayne Ware, 35 years old, with an outstanding warrant of arrest for eluding police officers.
Upon seeing the authorities, Ware fled to the nearby woods. He resisted, and was sprayed with pepper spray to subdue him, then placed in handcuffs. While walking out of the woods, Ware collapsed. He was brought to the hospital but was declared dead.
No gun, supposedly carried by Ware, was recovered.
The six officers who responded to the call were 2 white men, 1 white woman, 1 black man and 1 Asian woman. The authorities are investigating and are expected to use the footage from dashboard cameras, car cameras and body cams to find out the real incident.
Ware's death is the tenth police killing this year in Alabama, where racial bias and discrimination is a major issue in the community. Only 26.6% of the population is African-American.
The pepper spray, also known as the Oleoresin Capsicum (OC) spray, a standard issue in the force, used to subdue those being arrested. Sprayed in the eyes, it can cause tears, pain and temporary blindness. It is non-lethal, but can cause death in rare cases. In some countries, mere possession of pepper spray is illegal. There can be restriction of the airways causing the person to cough. Some describe it as the sensation of being choked. When sprayed, it is advised to blink the eyes so that normal tears will wash away the irritant.
