Use of pepperball guns in Illinois jails is not the norm. Of the 90 jails, 11 reported using them in recent years, and 9 others have them on hand. But one, the state’s second-largest county jail, stands out for its repeated use.
Rockford, Ill. — A 28-year-old woman on suicide watch in the mental-health unit of Winnebago County Jail refused to surrender her clothing and hid in the corner of her cell.
In response, an officer fired a pepperball launcher into the cell: a high-pressure air gun that propels projectiles containing chemical irritants. Three pepperballs struck the woman’s foot, broke apart and filled the small space with a burning cloud as she tried to wash herself off in the sink, according to records obtained from the county…