Eight young children were accidentally pepper-sprayed and another suffered minor injuries from an accidental firearm discharge in two separate incidents of police ‘clumsiness’ in recent days.
The eight children were pepper-sprayed at Ysgol Gymraeg Gilfach Fargoed primary school in Wales on Wednesday, after an officer was demonstrating their equipment and accidentally used a live caniser of the self-defence spray instead of the mock canister containing water.
Police apologised for the accident which caused the pupils eye irritation from the Pelargonic Acid Vanillylamide (PAVA) spray, but no serious medical attention was required, according to Wales Online.
In a separate incident, a seven-year-old girl was lucky to escape with just a split lip after a live round was accidentally discharged from a firearm at the headquarters of the Nottinghamshire Police force, while a group of children were on a tour on 30 October, Nottingham Post reports.
It was initially feared that the girl may have been struck in the face by a bullet ricochet, but Nottinghamshire Police have said that they believe the injury was caused by an ammunition cartridge that fell and bounced into the girl’s face as the weapon was fired into the ground.
The incident has been referred to the Police Complaints Commission (PCC) and the officer involved has been taken off firearms duties, pending the outcome of an investigation into what happened.
