SHERMAN OAKS : 5 Treated Following Pepper Spray Mishap
Five people were treated at area hospitals Thursday when a worker accidentally released an unknown amount of pepper spray in an office building, authorities said.
Nine employees at Teletech Communications in Sherman Oaks complained of respiratory problems and eye irritation after the 7:45 a.m. incident, but only five required medical attention, said Jim Wells, a Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman.
Paramedics transported the victims from the office building in the 15300 block of West Morrison Street to Sherman Oaks Community Hospital, Encino Hospital and the Medical Center of North Hollywood, Wells said.
An unidentified company officer said an employee who was showing the spray bottle to a colleague accidentally released some of the spray inside the building, he said.
No one was seriously injured. “Everyone is fine,” Wells said.
Pepper spray, or oleoresin capsicum, is a cayenne-based gas used by law enforcement officials to immobilize suspects. Although pepper spray is illegal for civilian use in California, it is allowed in other parts of the country.
Most often, it is obtained through mail-order companies and home sales, authorities said.
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