This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The following editorial appeared in Tuesday's Los Angeles Times:
Watching UC Davis campus police pepper-spraying a line of seated student protesters, the immediate and valid reaction is: What part of nonviolent do these officers not understand? Quelling student demonstrations without harm and with a minimum of residual outrage should be at the top of university training programs for police staff.
A widely viewed video shows one officer walking along the line of students at an Occupy Davis encampment Friday, spraying them at close range as they bend their heads but otherwise remain still. Statements afterward by the police chief, who was placed on leave Monday, and Chancellor Linda Katehi only fueled the anger by appearing to defend the two officers who previously were placed on leave.
While deploring the incident and vowing to investigate thoroughly, Katehi reportedly said the police officers were technically following protocol, though some situations call for not following protocol. If the police were indeed following protocol, there might be a serious problem with the protocol itself.
In fact, according to Katehi, the police had not been asked to move the students, just the tents and other encampment equipment. The seated students were blocking the officers' access to the tents but using no threatening words or gestures, according to multiple witnesses.
Generally, police agencies use pepper spray to subdue violent suspects or break up aggressive crowds, not to gain compliance from peaceful, non-threatening people.
Calls for Katehi's resignation, however, are at minimum premature, and widespread Internet sharing of the phone number of one of the officers — so that people can harass him — is unconscionable. Though Katehi's original response failed to inspire confidence, she quickly corrected course and is assembling a diverse task force for a 30-day investigation. UC President Mark G. Yudof has ordered an obviously needed review of all university police training. Both reports must set clear policies for the treatment of nonviolent protesters and stern discipline for those who violate the policy.