Sunday, August 19, 2007

CHP blog

CHP has a Cadet Blog:
http://www.chp.ca.gov/cadet/I-07.html
With pictures:
http://www.chp.ca.gov/cadet/I-07_photos.html

They are changed weekly and they don't leave the pics from the previous week up so look fast. :)

CS Gas day

Some Cadets told me, "I'll take CS gas 10 times before I take OC (pepper) spray again." So I didn't think that the gas would be as bad as OC spray. WELL, it's about the same, just on a different level. The ONLY nice part is that the effects wear off in about 5 minutes instead of 5 hours like the OC spray. Imagine yourself being drowned in 400 degree water. You can't breathe and your skin feels like it's on fire! The suffocating part was the worst part though. I couldn't believe that as soon as I stepped into the gas I immediately began gasping for air and nothing would come in. We had a few cadets pass out and a few dive out of the building (but then they had to go through again). I just hope I never have to do that again.

"CS was discovered by two Americans, Ben Carson and Roger Staughton, in 1928, and the chemical gets its name from the first letters of the scientists' surnames.[4] It was developed and tested secretly at Porton Down in Wiltshire, England, in the 1950s and 1960s. CS was used first on animals, then subsequently on British Army servicemen volunteers. Notably, CS has a limited effect on animals due to "under-developed tear-ducts and protection by fur".

"On contact with the gas the victim rapidly develops a severe burning discomfort and pronounced lacrimation. Blepharospasm and conjunctival oedema may occur. When inhaled, the gas irritates the nose, mouth, upper airways, and lungs. Profuse secretion provoked by contact combined with the filtering mechanism in the upper respiratory tract strains off the larger particles. Locally, the gas causes rhinorrhoea, nasal congestion, and irritation. If inhaled, particularly in a confined space, it can cause sore throat, coughing, bronchorrhoea, bronchospasm in asthmatic patients, pneumonia, and even apnoea. It is particularly dangerous in people with pulmonary diseases.
As well as its peculiar odour, CS gas has a disgusting, burning, acidic taste. If the saliva containing CS gas is swallowed nausea and vomiting may follow. On the skin the gas produces a tingling sensation and can cause erythema and blistering. The symptoms, however, are generally short lived."

Wednesday, August 08, 2007

Dream List

It's finally here. Some decisions are easy, some are hard. Here's the list:

1) Contra Costa – 4
2) Redwood City – 6
3) San Francisco – 3
4) San Jose – 7
5) Hayward – 3
6) Santa Rosa – 5
7) Oakland – 9
8) Castro Valley – 2
9) Dublin – 2
10) Kern Valley – 1 (Resident Post)
11) Los Banos – 1
12) Coalinga – 1
13) Baldwin Park – 1
14) South L.A. – 6
15) East L.A. – 10
16) Newhall – 12
17) Santa Fe Springs – 6
18) West L.A. – 3
19) West Valley – 5
20) Central L.A. – 8
21) San Diego – 5
22) Westminister – 1
23) Capistrano – 3
24) Santa Cruz – 4
25) Hollister/Gilroy – 1
26) Monterey – 5
27) Santa Barbara – 3
28) Ventura – 1
29) Moorpark – 4
30) Mammoth Lakes – 1 (Resident Post)
31) Inyo/Kern – 1 (Resident Post)
32) Barstow – 1
33) Riverside – 1
34) Victorville – 1
35) Rancho Cucamonga – 2
36) Arrowhead – 1
37) Morongo Basin - 2

Friday, August 03, 2007

Oleoresin Capsicum (OC spray)

OC Spray day, got Sprayed in the face then had to do 20 push-ups then run across the grass and find the water hose.

Can you say PAIN. We did! and then we said, "WATER, WATER, WATER, WATER, WATER!!!!!!" I'm looking a lot better in this picture than I did right after it happened. Hopefully I'll never have to do that again.

Oleoresin Capsicum

In the early 1980’s Zarc International, Inc. introduced a proprietary “capsicum pepper technology” to be used as a safe and effective non-lethal weapon by military and law enforcement. “Capsicums” are chili peppers which occur in many varieties that range from mild to hot. Capsicum encompasses twenty species and some 300 different varieties of pepper plants. “Oleoresin” is the industrial extraction of the dried ripe fruits of capsicums and contains a complex mixture of highly potent organic compounds.

Inflammation of Mucous Membranes

Natural Oleoresin extract of Capsicum contains Capsaicin which causes the irritation of the trigeminal cells. These cells are pain receptors located in the mouth, nose, stomach and the mucous membrane. They release Substance P (SP), a chemical messenger that communicates any pain or skin inflammation to the brain.

SP is a neurotransmitter. Neurotransmitters are inter-cellular chemical messengers that are secreted by neurons (nerve cells) across specialized structures (synapses) to transmit chemical information to one or more target cells.

Capsaicin as an irritant compound present in CAP-STUN induces neurogenic inflammation upon local application. In recent years this agent has been used extensively in research on primary sensory neurons because of its selective action on a population of C-fibre afferent and possibly also on an A-delta fibre type. Capsaicin stimulation of sensory nerves not only produces central transmission of sensory signals but also releases SP from central and peripheral sensory nerve terminals.

Substance P (SP) belongs to the Tachykinin family, which represents a group of biologically active peptides with a similar sequence of amino acids in the C-terminal region. SP was the first peptide of the tachykinin family to be found in mammals.

Substance P Arg-Pro-Lys-Pro-Gln-Gln-Phe-Phe-Gly-Leu-Met-NH2

The natural release of SP is therefore likely to represent a direct action on postcapillary venules or smooth muscle cells. Both capsaicinoids and SP act as Spasmogens on certain viscera containing smooth muscle causing contractions. Substance P is one of the key causes of total incapacity effects causing contraction of the oesophagus, trachea, respiratory track and iris muscles of the eyes.