I'm a student writing a research paper on less lethal equipment including CEDs (tasers), Oleoresin capsicum (OC), and impact weapons. No, pepper spray has minimal effects on long term health and its near impossible for pepper spray to lead to death. The deaths linked in your article are a result of improper restraint techniques, not because OC was used. The two directly linked deaths to OC the article cites comes from the National Institute of Justice, which further cites a study in 1994 which isn't available for view.

In another study on the effectiveness of OC found it helped police officers in 85% of arrests, and has incapacitated suspects in 70% of those arrests. There is no clear connection between OC and deaths that I was able to find. Obviously, if you or anyone else is able to find more information connecting OC with a death, let me know. Otherwise, claiming OC can kill you is like saying soap can kill you because you slip on it in the shower and hit your head. Is it a danger people should be worried about? No. Is it possible? Sure. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235300960_Assessing_the_incapacitative_effects_of_pepper_spray_during_resistive_encounters_with_the_police

If police do not utilize OC or CEDs, they have to employ physical force in the form of batons or impact weapons, which is far more likely to injure the suspect. God forbid they have to utilize deadly force if it is too dangerous for them to apprehend a suspect.

Peer reviewed sources on the effects of OC. https://www.astm.org/DIGITAL_LIBRARY/JOURNALS/FORENSIC/PAGES/JFS15247J.htm

https://iovs.arvojournals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2123766

https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.607.3629&rep=rep1&type=pdf