Horizon juvenile facility guards granted limited use of pepper spray

NEW YORK (FOX5NY.COM) - New York State is giving New York City correction officers at a juvenile detention facility in the Bronx temporary permission to use pepper spray in certain cases.

"The state has granted very limited use of OC spray at Horizon, and we are working now to operationalize this tool," a spokesperson for the DOC told Fox 5.

The permission follows several incidents at Horizon Juvenile Center in which brawls among inmates has left dozens of guards hurt.

On October 1, the city started moving 16- and 17-year-old inmates from Rikers Island to Horizon to implement the state's new raise the age law, which prohibits teenage detainees from being held at Rikers.

Guards at Rikers are allowed to carry pepper spray. But guards at juvenile facilities such as Horizon are not.

The head of the union that reps jail guards said this is a step in the right direction but more needs to be done to keep officers safe.     

But some advocates for the teenagers think the move is unnecessary.