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LRPD tells Little Rock board pepper spray is a last‑resort tool; officers apologize for overspray incident
Summary
LRPD briefed the board on SRO protocols after a Central High incident where pepper spray overspray affected uninvolved students. LRPD officials said SROs carry the same equipment as patrol officers, described use-of-force training, and apologized while pledging joint protocol reviews with district security.
Little Rock Police Department officials told the school board on Oct. 30 that pepper spray is among tools carried by school resource officers (SROs) and should be used only after verbal commands and other resistance‑response steps fail.
Assistant Chief Dyer and LRPD SRO leaders described a ‘resistance‑to‑response’ protocol used by officers and said SROs receive specialized training (about 40 hours, plus additional special‑response training). Chief Dyer said pepper spray is intended to protect officers and students from injury when fights escalate and that deploying it can sometimes affect bystanders depending on ventilation and the size of the space.
Board members pressed for alternatives that would reduce collateral exposure, asked whether school security personnel should lead first responses to avoid LRPD deployments, and requested clearer after‑action reviews. One trustee said parents reported students walking to class were affected after a pepper‑spray deployment used to break up a fight at Central High. Dyer apologized for the outcome and said LRPD had used pepper spray three times so far this year and only once inside a school; he said the department is open to refining coordination protocols so school security and LRPD roles are better delineated.
LRPD also described community engagement efforts — Save Our Sons, a girls’ program and classroom visits — as part of prevention and relationship building, and confirmed SROs are paged via school radios when security requests assistance. District and LRPD leaders agreed to continue joint reviews of incident reports and protocols to limit inadvertent exposure in future responses.
What’s next: LRPD and LRSD security staff agreed to develop clearer operational protocols and communications to minimize overspray risk, increase training and ensure after‑action reviews of incidents involving use of force.
