Police Defend Use Of Force On ‘Occupy UC Davis’

November 18, 2011 10:53 PM

A police officer sprays sitting Occupy UC Davis protesters with pepper spray on Nov. 18, 2011. (CBS)

DAVIS (CBS13) – Law enforcement officials defended the tactics used Friday to dismantle an encampment set up by “Occupy Wall Street” sympathizers on the UC Davis quad, a raid that drew accusations of excessive force from students after sitting protesters were subjected to pepper spray at point-blank range.

UC Davis Police officers in riot gear warned “Occupy UC Davis” demonstrators to pack up their tents and leave the field located between the Memorial Union and Shields Library at about 3:00 p.m., and then moved in to take down the protesters’ tents a half hour later.

University officials had warned students several times since Thursday that camping would not be allowed on the quad.

A growing crowd filled the field as officers hauled away tents and a number of protesters linked arms and sat down on the path in the middle of the field, defying orders to leave. Shortly before 4:00 p.m., an officer used a can of pepper spray to coat the sitting demonstrators in the chemical dispersant before officers began taking students into custody one by one.

The watching crowd began shouting chants of “Shame on you” and “Let them go,” while dozens of students recorded the encounter on cell phone cameras.

“I don’t think that was warranted,” one protester told CBS13. “It was non-violent protests, we were sitting, linking arms.”

UC Davis Police Chief Annette Spicuzza said officers used force out of concern for their own safety after they were surrounded by students.

“If you look at the video you are going to see that there were 200 people in that quad,” said Chief Spicuzza. “Hindsight is 20-20 and based on the situation we were sitting in, ultimately that was the decision that was made.”

Authorities are still reviewing video of the incident, Spicuzza added.

Officers left the quad after making 10 arrests, nine of which were UC Davis students. Law enforcement retreated out of the field in a direction that was not obstructed by sitting protesters.

Protesters vowed to remain in the quad and reestablish their camp Friday evening, but as of 10:00 p.m. Friday, no demonstrators or tents were visible in the area.

>> Send photos and videos to CBS13.

Police Defend Use Of Force On Occupy UC Davis

Keith Draws

Of course the police could have just waited until each student needed to leave for the toilet and then just not allow them to return. But because they are mindless thugs they would rather use violence and I see some comments actually approving of this brutality. I can only assume they are police too.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2011/11/19/police-should-criticize-not-defend-excessive-use-of-force-at-uc-davis/ Police Should Criticize, Not Defend, Excessive Use of Force at UC Davis – Forbes

[...] you look at the video you are going to see that there were 200 people in that quad,” said Chief Spicuzza. “Hindsight is 20-20 and based on the situation we were sitting in, ultimately that was the [...]
http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2011/11/19/police-should-criticize-not-defend-excessive-use-of-force-at-uc-davis/ Police Should Criticize, Not Defend, Excessive Use of Force at UC Davis – Forbes

[...] you look at the video you are going to see that there were 200 people in that quad,” said Chief Spicuzza. “Hindsight is 20-20 and based on the situation we were sitting in, ultimately that was the [...]
crazy

You would think that no one likes to see 19-20 year old kids pepper sprayed like that. It is one thing to disagree with people its another thing to approve their beating, especially when the opponent consists of kids.

SW

kids are under 18, welcome to the real world of self accountability

RobK1967

More like welcome to fascism

newie68

19-20 year olds are NOT kids!! They are full grown adults!! And for the record, they were pepper sprayed not BEATEN! I have looked at the Constitution and while I see a right to protest, I’ll be damned if I can find a constitutional right to occupy SH!T!!

RobK1967

But you do have the right to be a complete idiot, and my don’t you take full advantage of that

daarcyzzz

the students were told to leave. If they are not smart enough to follow directions they should not be in college. If a teacher assigned a project to pass a class and the student did not complete that project, the student would not pass that class. Well this is a lesson in life. Listen to the people in authority. If you work for a company and they tell you to do a job then do it. If you refuse they will fire you.

mm

cops to do not have the “authority” to infringe upon our constitutional rights. there are no enforceable laws above the bill of rights. this is the “life lesson.”

SaraB1956

How is it “peaceful” when students disobey a lawful order to disperse? If police don’t have the right to enforce their lawful orders, then why do we have them?

deets

Non-violent civil disobedience is generally considered “peaceful” in that it involves no violence.

The entire point is that they are breaking a law in a peaceful manner as a form of protest. This was an important strategy of the civil rights movement, one championed by Martin Luther King, Jr. who was arrested about 30 times while performing non-violent civil disobedience.

BM

Try reading the First Amendment – the highest law of them all – the right to assembly peacefully.
deets

@BM

The 1st Amendment as interpreted by the Supreme Court does NOT provide for the right to assemble unconditionally and without any limits. For example, higher courts have repeatedly upheld laws requiring permitting for large assemblies and similar laws, usually in the name of public safety.

mm

constitutional rights supersede any other “laws.”

scott

Not on private property …….
Wrong Again

UC Davis is a state school. So NOT private property.

Jeff

Sitting quietly=peaceful

Pepper spraying those people=not peaceful

Glad I could clear that up.
RobK1967

There is your problem then, it was not a lawful order. Just because the police order something does not make it lawful

My2Cents

UC Davis Police Chief Annette Spicuzza said officers used force out of concern for their own safety after they were surrounded by students. What? So let me get this straight……instead of the police leaving once the tents were taken down, Lt. Pike and Chief Police Spicuzza thought is safer for the police officers to pepper spray peacefully seated protesters, manhandle protesters to disengage them and arrest ten of them, and then cowardly band together, with rifles raised against the students, and back their way out of the park. Someone needs to take a class in critical thinking skills….and it is not the protesters!
http://thepuffingtonhost.com/police-violence-against-uc-davis-students/ Police Violence against UC Davis students | The Puffington Host

[...] a report by the CBS Sacramento station Friday night, Spicuzza said the officers’ own safety was also a concern. “If you look [...]
http://bnewsworld.com/watch-uc-davis-police-pepper-spray-students/ WATCH: UC Davis Police Pepper-Spray Students | BNewsworld

[...] a report by the CBS Sacramento station Friday night, Spicuzza said the officers’ own safety was also a concern. “If you look [...]
National

The police weren’t threatened. by the students sitting down. So use of the pepper spray was not needed. The lt should be fired and brought up on charges. Afterward, the kids remained and shouted Shame on You to the cops and You can go.. And the cops left. The students remained
http://www.tribalwar.com/forums/showthread.php?p=16830428# LIVE HUGE NYPD RAID ON OWS by motoxbudd – Page 24 – TribalWar Forums

[...] [...]
Steve in L.A.

OK. So after reading this news article, I’m left with the impression that Chief Spicuzza’s logic runs something like this…

(1) My officers were surrounded by 200 unarmed students in jeans, t-shirts, and running shoes shouting “shame on you” and “let them go.”

(2) My trained officers dressed in full riot gear and armed with radios, guns, batons, and chemical weapons felt threatened by words.

(3) So the officer’s CO on the scene steps forward and pepper-sprays unarmed non-violent students sitting on the ground because he thought that action would somehow de-escalate the tension and lessen the “dire threat” about to “engulf” the “surrounded” officers/Red-Coats.

Does that accurately sum up the Chief’s logic and reading of the situation?

Good grief. We in US have got to be at a major turning point. Peaceful dissent cannot be met with a militarized response. Our children are NOT our enemies. Good God!

If campus police can deal with being “surrounded by students” then… do I really need to finish this statement?

==============

“…UC Davis Police Chief Annette Spicuzza said officers used force out of concern for their own safety after they were surrounded by students.”

“If you look at the video you are going to see that there were 200 people in that quad,” said Chief Spicuzza. “Hindsight is 20-20 and based on the situation we were sitting in, ultimately that was the decision that was made.”

Jeff

We should be able to upvote comments, because this would get my vote.

http://edujunction.net/2011/11/19/watch-uc-davis-police-pepper-spray-students/ WATCH: UC Davis Police Pepper-Spray Students | eduJunction

[...] a report by the CBS Sacramento station Friday night, Spicuzza said the officers’ own safety was also a concern. “If you look [...]
Joe

“If you look at the video you are going to see that there were 200 people in that quad,” said Chief Spicuzza. “Hindsight is 20-20 and based on the situation we were sitting in, ultimately that was the decision that was made.”

What kind of justification is that? It happened to be the wrong decision.
Canadian

“I want to be very clear in calling upon the Egyptian authorities to refrain from any violence against peaceful protesters. The people of Egypt have rights that are universal. That includes the right to peaceful assembly and association, the right to free speech, and the ability to determine their own destiny. These are human rights. And the United States will stand up for them everywhere.” —Barack Obama

Yet this happens in his own Country? Very disturbing.
Jim

The article ends by saying that the protesters vowed to continue the occupation, but had mostly cleared out later that evening… However, in the video, you can clearly hear the GA asking for everyone to reconvene on Monday at noon.

Also, it should be pointed out that the officer didn’t pull out the pepper spray in a moment when he was about to get attacked… he struts around and holds the can in the air first… this is the same behavior we see in serial killers. He is taunting the crowd and showing off. Even before he pulls the trigger, he has already acted in a way that is threatening, unprofessional, and arrogant.

This officer should be terminated immediately. And whoever ordered these officers to show up in riot gear with paintball guns should be run out of the country.

Even if the students didn’t obey orders to clear out, this was not necessary. There are a million different ways that the situation could have been handled.

1) suspending students who were insubordinate.
2) turning the sprinklers on
3) throw a party with free food somewhere nearby
4) having regular cops just walk around until people just dispersed.
5) sending in street preachers to talk to the students about Jesus Christ
6) water balloons

…and those are just off the top of my head.

CW

if you watch during the center time of the video while they were on the sidewalk, the cop walking around with his hand on his ear was taking on a cell phone.
When he got off the phone is when the spray came out.
Someone authorized the use of chemical agents to force disbursement.
The question is, who was he talking to?
Go Coppers Go!

If the officers had shown up without riot gear on, and some student got squirrely and stupid; and an offeicer got hurt–would you be inclined to also call the oficer arrogant and unprofessional?

Just wondering, are you an anarchist with an agenda, following this occupy movement around–or are you really that clueless how the police really set standards to protect their officers?

No one likes the idea that officers are overstepping civil rights; but we all know that given the elements of a large group of young people, dissatisfaction, and a group mentality can lead to heightened emotional states and violence.

Here is another thought, when the little kids were told to go home, no camping allowed; and they refused–that was an act of trespass. They are lucky they didn’t get arrested for a trespass misdemeanor. protesting is one thing. Camping and being an unwelcome nightmare and scourge to the eyesight and health and safety of the public is just unacceptable.

RobK1967

Congrats on defending the indefensible, your entire argument, or lack thereof is laughable
Jim

“Camping and being an unwelcome nightmare and scourge to the eyesight and health and safety of the public is just unacceptable.”

You are right – We should pepperspray the homeless too… I hate when they ask for change.

I am pretty clueless about how police set standards… you got me there. I don’t know why anyone would authorize the use of a chemical weapon on unarmed, seated “kids.”
99%er

If only we enforced banking and finance laws as strictly as “no camping’ laws–then we wouldn’t be in this mess.
blake

That’s not trespassing. It’s a public school AND they have the freedom to protest.

The riot gear wasn’t the problem. It was the pepperspray. As a US Army veteran, this is NOT the correct way to go. Pepperspray is for quelling RIOTS not PROTESTS! If the kids were throwing rocks, or spitting, or throwing punches, THATS When you use pepperspray. Not just because youre a jerk with pepperspray who wants to bully college students.

These kids are supported by the UC Davis Faculty. Even the City of Davis Police Department has stated they took the wrong action.

Stop looking for exuses for bullies to be bullies.

will

Sorry, students could of avoided it by obeying the orders to clear. Look at the offenders NOT the peace-keepers.

RobK1967

I am looking at the offenders, the so called police. Why do so many enable the indefensible?
blake

Will, would you let me search your house without a warrant?
Would you let a police officer search the trunk of your car just because he was curious?

No. There is a reason we have laws. The police are no exception.

Yes the officers ordered the students to clear the areas HOWEVER, citizens are ONLY obligated to follow LAWFUL orders from peace officers. This was an unlawful order, and therefore it does not need to be followed. If it doesn’t need to be followed, the police have no right to enforce it. Not only did the police enforce an unlawful order, they used excessive force in doing so.

The Nazis were just like that. And Im sure you don’t support them.

Mark Zoe

You can tell by the officers body language and expression on their face that they were very scared. They should have pulled out their guns and started firing at the students. Look at the officer in the background with his hands spread apart, some may interpret this as him holding the crowd back, but he was really trying to find a way out.

http://shiftingtheparadigm.wordpress.com/2011/11/20/liveblogging-the-november-18-uc-davis-pepper-spray-incident-student-activism/ Liveblogging the November 18 UC Davis Pepper Spray Incident – Student Activism « shiftingtheparadigm

[...] Spicuzza, the chief of the UC Davis police department, told the local CBS news that officers began spraying, in the station’s paraphrase, “out of concern for their own safety,” a claim that video and [...]
http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/photos-from-occupy-uc-davis/ Photos from Occupy UC Davis

[...] key photo is here which is a 1000 words that utterly undercuts police claims that the pepper spraying was an act of necessary self-defense on the part of the [...]
http://www.up2datenews.com/police-should-criticize-not-defend-excessive-use-of-force-at-uc-davis/ Police Should Criticize, Not Defend, Excessive Use of Force at UC Davis | Up2dateNews

[...] you look at the video you are going to see that there were 200 people in that quad,” said Chief Spicuzza. “Hindsight is 20-20 and based on the situation we were sitting in, ultimately that was the [...]
CW

Spicuzza —-> Liar Liar pants on fire.
Edwards v. South Carolina, 372 U.S. 229 (1963), in an 8-to-1 decision, the high court overturned the breach of peace convictions of 180 black students who had peacefully marched to the state capitol to protest discrimination. The police stopped the demonstration and arrested the students because they were afraid that the 200-300 who gathered to watch the demonstration might cause a riot. The court held the state law unconstitutionally over-broad because it penalized the exercise of free speech, peaceable assembly, and the right of petition for a redress of grievances. A disorderly crowd, or the fear of one, cannot be used to stop a peaceful demonstration or cancel the right of peaceable assembly.

blake

It’s not being arrested that is the issue. It’s the use of excessive force.

It’s like if a teacher punches a student in the face for not doing is homework.

Would you really stand up for the teacher because the student should have done his homework? No. Why? Because it was excessive and unwarranted action.

CW

How about this?
The legal bills will be coming in.
You need to be re-educated.
Hague v. C.I.O., 307 U.S. 496 (1939), the high court ruled that peaceful demonstrators may not be prosecuted for “disorderly conduct.” This case also secured streets and sidewalks as public forums.

Time for kiddies to grow up

Bogus argument. Protesting, maybe. But no longer protesting when they choose to camp out. Camping out is illegal. And refusing to vacate is illegal. I believe there is also an infraction in not doing as an officer says.

And as difficult as it is for you to understand, those cops did the right thing in making sure the students were not going to mass jump those coips; and they kept control of the situation. Just look at how quickly the Oakland movement got.There is an inherent risk to harm when involved in a protest involved a group of dissatisfied people who are directly confronting a perceived representative of authority.
And we have already seen on this thread a great deal of spectacular maturity and show of respect for the government, the police and the school faculty.
Those kids are lucky more of them didn’t get arrested. I believe there is a clause in every tuition assistance and grant package I have seen that restricts payout to felonies, violent misdemeanors, and any charges involving drugs..

RobK1967

You can excuse fascism if you wish, it does not change the fact the cops were wrong and that you are just an enabler of police brutality. Seig Heil
blake

Actually you’re wrong. Refusing to follow an UNLAWFUL order is NOT illegal. These officers used batons. They sprayed pepperspray down someones throat, and he was coughing up blood 45 minutes.

If we followed every order given by police, we’d be living in a dictatorship.

Police officers are JUST as likely to assault a protestor as a protestor is to assault a police officer. Don’t defend this cowardly bully of an excuse.

Because even the Davis City PD said the campus police were WRONG.

CW

http://pastebin.com/P5xsZkah
CW

See any conflict with your free speech rights regarding this incident?

United States v. Cruikshank, 92 U.S. 542 (1876), the Supreme Court said that the “right of the people peaceably to assemble for the purpose of petitioning Congress for a redress of grievances, or for anything else connected with the powers and duties of the national government, is an attribute of national citizenship, and as such, under the protection of, and guaranteed by, the United States.” The high court applied the liberty only to any federal government’s encroachment.

De Jonge v. Oregon, 299 U.S 353 (1937), the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the right to peaceably assemble “for lawful discussion, however unpopular the sponsorship, cannot be made a crime.” The decision applied the First Amendment right of peaceful assembly to the states through the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
http://www.republicaffair.com/video-uc-davis-pepper-spraying-incident.html Video: UC Davis Pepper Spraying Incident

[...] – of up to 16%.”UC Davis Police Chief Annette Spicuzza said officers used force out of concern for their own safety after they were surrounded by students.“If you look at the video you are going to see that there were 200 people in that [...]
Squire Bond

The Chief is lying. Did she watch the video. That is not in the slightest what happened. Does she have a brain in her head. She needs to go and so do half the cops that work for her.