What is the current state of the law on the use of pepper spray by a police officer in a confrontation with a man with a knife?

Under this version of the facts, the officers could be found to have had sufficient time to contemplate their use of force and the deliberate indifference, not the purpose-to-harm, standard would apply. See Duenez, 2013 WL 6816375, at *15 ("Even if it found that decedent had a knife in his hand, that alone would not necessarily bring the situation into a 'purpose to harm' situation since a reasonable jury could find that decedent was not advancing on [the officer], nor threatening him with the knife."). In McCloskey v. Courtnier, No. C 05-4641 MMC, 2012 WL 646219, at *4 (N.D. Cal. Feb. 28, 2012), the court denied officers' motion for summary judgment as to bystanders' claims under the Fourteenth Amendment. The bystanders were the unintended objects of the officer's use of pepper spray, and the court found that disputed factual issues precluded a determination of whether the officer had time to fully consider his use of pepper spray and thus the court could not determine which culpability standard should apply. Id.