The new one has normalized the use of pepper spray by the Mossos d’Esquadra. It is a spray, which contains water and pepper, and has been part of the authorized equipment of riot police since 2013. The fact that the Mossos have used the weapon three times in two weeks, and in three of them it has raised a political dust: ERC, Comuns and the CUP request the appearance of Núria Parlon, and the director of the Catalan police, Josep Lluís Trapero. Before this, the last time pepper spray was used was in August 2024, in Puigdemont’s fleeting visit and subsequent escape from the Parliament, with ERC in the Government.
In addition to political criticism, this Friday there were complaints from the Irídia group, in defense of human rights. They accuse the Department of the Interior of using pepper spray indiscriminately during the marches. “It is very worrying that the use of pepper spray is becoming the first option of riot police, completely disregarding the principles of necessity, proportionality, and appropriateness that should guide their actions,” said lawyer Anaïs Franquesa at a press conference. And he added that “between 30 and 40 people” were treated at Wednesday’s demonstration, held in Sants (Barcelona), as a result of pepper spray and baton blows, according to data from the organizers of the demonstrations.
The use of OC spray, as it is technically known, has been authorized since 2013, but its introduction occurred before during the government of Quim Torra (Junts). Its use was announced as one of the strategies to contain the riots in the street that could probably arise from the protests of the sentence of the process. The news generated such controversy that it ended with the dismissal of the then Interior press chief, Joana Vallès, because it was considered inopportune due to the political moment in which Catalonia found itself. And since then, weapons have been relegated to the background, despite requests from riot police to be able to use them. The police consider that it is an effective measure to break up crowds, and that it is less harmful than the baton or the shuttles. “It only irritates the mucous membranes,” police sources say.
Already under the mandate of the PSC, during the Government of Salvador Illa, the use of pepper spray has entered a path of normalization, not without controversy. The riot police have fired gas at three demonstrations in support of Palestine: one on October 2, in Barcelona, after the interception of the flotilla that left the city in Gaza; and the other two on Wednesday, October 15, during the general strike: one in the morning, in Manresa, where it was played behind closed doors between him and the second, in the afternoon in Barcelona, during the majority protest.
“The key now is to modulate its use well,” say police sources, who celebrate that they can finally count on the use of pepper spray when a demonstration gets complicated. Although technically it is a tool that does not require the express authorization of a political command, as was the case with shuttles, in fact It is an equipment that has been vetoed by the different political directions of the ministry. “I did not like the possible headline that could be derived, from the mossos ‘gassing‘to the people,’ police sources consider.
Despite this, pepper gas defense sprays have been purchased. Currently, the riot police have between two and three units for each of the riot teams. “It is not necessary for every police officer to have one,” add police sources. And work is still being done on improving the use of the weapon. Iridia criticizes that in recent times, protesters have been sprayed with pepper spray without prior warning. The acoustic alerts are one of the improvements that the Mossos incorporated in recent years, after the charges and protests of 15-M. They also created the mediation unit shortly after, to try to defuse possible sources of conflict before holding a demonstration.
They have also asked the Department of the Interior to fully publish the internal protocol used by the police to handle pepper spray. The Department of the Interior has decided in recent years to publish some work protocols used internally by the Mossos. They are posted on the Generalitat’s transparency portal so that anyone can see them. It was done with the use of shuttles or electric guns, and the intervention protocols of the Catalan police in the event of an eviction were also disseminated.
In addition, Iridia has demanded an “urgent and independent evaluation” of police action and a “review of the guidelines that allow widespread and intensive use of pepper spray in contexts of mobilization.” And he has reported that fewer and fewer BRIMO (riot) agents are not properly identified. “The use of vests without NOP [número de identificación] on the back is increasingly common, despite repeated complaints. And it makes accountability difficult in cases of malpractice,” Franquesa stressed. Along the same lines, the CUP requested on Thursday the “protection” of the president of the Catalan chamber, Josep Rull, to be able to “identify” who launched pepper spray.
