Officers in pepper spray incident put on leave

SAN FRANCISCO - Two University of California, Davis police officers involved in pepper-spraying seated protesters are being placed on administrative leave as the chancellor of the school accelerates the investigation into the incident.

UC Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi on Sunday said she has been inundated with reaction over the incident, in which an officer dispassionately fires pepper spray on a line of sitting demonstrators.

Video of the incident was circulated widely on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter on Saturday, in which protesters flinch and cover their faces but remain passive with their arms interlocked, as onlookers shriek and scream out for the officer to stop.

The university's faculty association called on Katehi to resign, saying in a letter there had been a "gross failure of leadership."

Katehi said she takes "full responsibility for the incident" but has resisted calls for her resignation, instead pledging to take actions to make sure "that this does not happen again."

At a news conference Saturday, Katehi said what the video shows is, "sad and really very inappropriate."

"I do not think that I have violated the policies of the institution," she said. "I have worked personally very hard to make this campus a safe campus for all."

Outrage over police pepper-spraying students
Video: Police pepper-spray passive students

However, a law enforcement official who watched the clip called the use of force "fairly standard police procedure."

Katehi remained in a media room for more than two hours after the news conference Saturday, eventually walking to an SUV past a group of students nearly three blocks long who, in a coordinated effort, remained completely silent. The Sacramento Bee said.

Below is video from CBS Station KOVR of Katehi leaving the building

The protest was held in support of the overall Occupy Wall Street movement and in solidarity with protesters at the University of California, Berkeley who were jabbed by police with batons on Nov. 9.

Charles J. Kelly, a former Baltimore Police Department lieutenant who wrote the department's use of force guidelines, said pepper spray is a "compliance tool" that can be used on subjects who do not resist, and is preferable to simply lifting protesters.

"When you start picking up human bodies, you risk hurting them," Kelly said. "Bodies don't have handles on them."

After reviewing the video, Kelly said he observed at least two cases of "active resistance" from protesters. In one instance, a woman pulls her arm back from an officer. In the second instance, a protester curls into a ball. Each of those actions could have warranted more force, including baton strikes and pressure-point techniques.

"What I'm looking at is fairly standard police procedure," Kelly said.

Images of police actions have served to galvanize support during the Occupy Wall Street movement, from the clash between protesters and police in Oakland last month that left an Iraq War veteran with serious injuries to more recent skirmishes in New York City, San Diego, Denver and Portland, Ore.

Some of the most notorious instances went viral online, including the use of pepper spray on an 84-year-old activist in Seattle and a group of women in New York. Seattle's mayor apologized to the activist, and the New York Police Department official shown using pepper spray on the group of women lost 10 vacation days after an internal review.

In the video of the UC Davis protest, the officer, a member of the university police force, displays a bottle before spraying its contents on the seated protesters in a sweeping motion while walking back and forth. Most of the protesters have their heads down, but several were hit directly in the face.

Some members of a crowd gathered at the scene scream and cry out. The crowd then chants, "Shame on You," as the protesters on the ground are led away. The officers retreat minutes later with helmets on and batons drawn.

Ten people were arrested.

Nine students hit by pepper spray were treated at the scene, two were taken to hospitals and later released, university officials said.

UC Davis Police Chief Annette Spicuzza said the decision to use pepper spray was made at the scene.

"The students had encircled the officers," she said Saturday. "They needed to exit. They were looking to leave but were unable to get out."

Many Twitter and Facebook comments supported the students and criticized the response.

"Stomach churning video of police using pepper spray on seated anti-Wall Street protesters in Davis, Calif.," actress Mia Farrow wrote in a retweet of the video.

[RegisteredVoter1984]

Bankers / Politicians / Police Chiefs: IF YOU continue to hire Aggressive Retards - then WE WILL continue prominently featuring their & your criminal activities in the media. (ps ~ you can NOT destroy ALL the cameras!!!)

[gruven13777]

How many mortgage-backed securities swindlers were pepper-sprayed for bringing our economy to the verge of total collapse back in '08?

[taks4]

None.

[Fatesrider]

None were even charged, let alone prosecuted.

[bajajohn1]

Many of the mindless right-wing extremist posters are here spewing their undemocratic vileness. Most of them belong in Hitler's Germany or in a jail cell for ripping off the nation.

[taks4]

The word NAZI means, National Socialist German Worker's Party. It sounds like a Liberal, Progressive, Socialist, Democrat party. You should know that. It means Hitler has more in common with your FleaParty.

[bajajohn1]

Charge with criminal acts such as assault and battery and then charge them with civil rights violations. After that sue them for civil rights violation for excessive use of force. The actions of those cops brings shame to the nation on a worldwide basis.

[taks4]

I'm sick of the mindless OWS mentallity. The liberal "Fleaparty". They need to occupy a shower stall.

[bajajohn1]

We are sick of your mindless rip-off of the American public. Please occupy a jail cell.

[nanc12]

The video of the silent students is very powerful. Without words, they are voicing their disapproval, just as their fellow students were peacefully protesting and just as they silently took the outrageous assault by the officers. All the neocons can do is call them names, but these images speak much louder than your ignorant taunts.

[sofarfrome]

""In one instance, a woman pulls her arm back from an officer. In the second instance, a protester curls into a ball. Each of those actions could have warranted more force, including baton strikes and pressure-point techniques.""

So, if one curls up into a fetal position because one is afraid of being assaulted, one will be assualted anyway? I thought police were there to protect the people, not assault them. Using pepper spray as a form of control should be deemed unconstitutional. The constitution is for the PEOPLE not those that work for the government. The constitution is supposed to protect us from the government. Our government supports demonstrations and rebellion when the citizens of countries feel their government is using/abusing them but we are not allowed to do it here? Even when our constitution says we have the right to peaceful assembly:

Freedom of assembly, sometimes used interchangeably with the freedom of association, is the individual right to come together and collectively express, promote, pursue and defend common interests.[1] The right to freedom of association is recognized as a human right, a political freedom and a civil liberty.

""Freedom of assembly and freedom of association may be used to distinguish between the freedom to assemble in public places and the freedom of joining an association. Freedom of assembly is often used in the context of the right to protest, while freedom of association is used in the context of labor rights and the Constitution of the United States, is interpreted to mean both the freedom to assemble and the freedom to join an association.[2][not in citation given]

The United States constitution explicitly provides for 'the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances'" in the First Amendment.""


Sitting and not moving seems peaceful to me.

[OrangPuteh]

I have made several Internet pleas to Egyptian and Syrian protesters that they display their countries' flags whenever possible so that the world can differentiate between Egyptian, Syrian and American POLICE RIOTS.

The world is watching.

[tvwatcher5345]

athorities had the right to move them out, but just get a uhaul and take them away, don't pepper spay people that are just sitting there, its bad

[sofarfrome]

The people's right to assemble is written into the constitution. Where is it written the authorities have the right to move them out?

[bajajohn1]

Some of you right wing extremist would fit nicely in Hitler's Germany or Stalin's Russia.

[sofarfrome]

""In one instance, a woman pulls her arm back from an officer. In the second instance, a protester curls into a ball. Each of those actions could have warranted more force, including baton strikes and pressure-point techniques.""

So, if one curls up into a fetal position because one is afraid of being assaulted, one will be assualted anyway? I thought police were there to protect the people, not assault them. Using pepper spray as a form of control should be deemed unconstitutional. The constitution is for the PEOPLE not those that work for the government. The constitution is supposed to protect us from the government. Our government supports demonstrations and rebellion when the citizens of countries feel their government is using/abusing them but we are not allowed to do it here? Even when our constitution says we have the right to peaceful assembly:

Freedom of assembly, sometimes used interchangeably with the freedom of association, is the individual right to come together and collectively express, promote, pursue and defend common interests.[1] The right to freedom of association is recognized as a human right, a political freedom and a civil liberty.

""Freedom of assembly and freedom of association may be used to distinguish between the freedom to assemble in public places and the freedom of joining an association. Freedom of assembly is often used in the context of the right to protest, while freedom of association is used in the context of labor rights and the Constitution of the United States, is interpreted to mean both the freedom to assemble and the freedom to join an association.[2][not in citation given]

The United States constitution explicitly provides for 'the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances'" in the First Amendment.""


Sitting and not moving seems peaceful to me.

[roadracer9x]

First of all, beyond the fact that the police used excessive measures to clear the students from the area, let's not confuse what the protestors were doing with their Constitutional rights. The First Amendment guarantees the rights of free speech and assembly, but it does not guarantee the right to 'occupy'. I cannot occupy your property just as you cannot occupy mine. You cannot occupy private property without breaking the law and if you occupy public property and interfere with rights of others to use or transit such property you are violating other peoples' rights. You cannot pitch a tent and camp in a National Park or State Park unless it is in an approved campground, any fees are paid, and all regulations are adhered to. Just because we as citizens 'own' such land does not give us rights to ignore the rules. It is time people stop misusing the Constitution as an excuse to break the laws and then complain about what happens afterwards. UC Davis had every right to clear the protestors from university property; however the UC police handled the situation badly. The fault lies with their training and police leadership, not with the Chancellor.