Spain bans police pepper spray in public order operations, keeps tear gas smoke devices

A ban reversed within a day

Spain's Interior Ministry confirmed on Friday, 13 November, that it has ordered the National Police's General Directorate to amend its internal protocol so that personal defence spray, also called pepper spray, is no longer used in public order operations. The move reverses part of a decision announced on Thursday, 12 November, when the ministry said it would ban tear gas in such operations. Under the revised plan, officers may keep deploying ATL devices, cans that release a cloud of smoke the ministry describes as harmless and non-injurious. The ministry said the General Directorate will change the pepper spray protocol without specifying a deadline. The reversal came one day after the original order, following controversy over police charges during the strike.

Police unions and the strike

The controversy stems from police charges during the general strike of 11 November, a walkout called by unions over access to housing and wage improvements. La Razón described it as the first general strike in 14 years. Police unions reacted strongly to the first decision, with the majority union among commanders and SUP, Jupol, UFP and CEP arguing that a tear gas ban would leave agents "sold out and defenceless". According to La Razón, the UFP asked Marlaska to back officers who "risk their lives" and not to treat them as "a bargaining chip" for the government. Before the strike, the ministry had told the National Police and Guardia Civil to have enough deployments to prevent "violent pickets" and barricades, according to a 6 October instruction from the Secretariat of State consulted by Europa Press.

Marlaska's stance and internal review

The Superior Police Headquarters in Madrid opened an internal review, known in Spanish as información reservada, on Thursday, 12 November, to assess police conduct during the strike in Madrid. On the same day, Interior minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska ruled out resigning. Speaking to reporters before a PSOE event in Madrid ahead of the general elections, he questioned whether some actions matched the principles of proportionality. He put it this way:

“Yesterday there were some actions that, at first sight, are not liked and do not square well with the principles of proportionality.”

Marlaska said he had ordered a "very specific investigation", separate from the routine analyses police carry out for such deployments. He also defended "the legitimate exercise of public force" by all police and the Civil Guard, calling Spain's public order police "absolutely exemplary and worthy" and a global benchmark.

Pepper spray spending and what remains allowed

La Razón reported, in what it called an exclusive, that the ministry spent more than 71,600 euros on at least 790 defence sprays for the National Police on the same day unions approved and announced the strike. The paper said the document contradicts the account Interior gave after protesters pressed over the police interventions. The document argues for buying more of this "non-harmful" material as a tool for protection and deterrence. The paper also quoted agents saying the devices are needed to resolve violent incidents, and cited Bilbao, Madrid and Barcelona as the most visible examples of rising violence in Spain. According to laSexta, police sources confirmed that personal defence spray may still be used in other citizen security operations.