Campus Task Force Criticizes Pepper Spraying of Protesters

Helen
Current Event Posting Number: 3
Topic: Civil Rights
Title of Article: Campus Task Force Criticizes Pepper Spraying of Protesters
Author: JENNIFER MEDINA
Publication Name: New York Times
Date of Publication: April 11, 2012
Length of Article: 1 page / 555 words


          On Wednesday a task force of UC Davis released a 190 page report on the pepper spraying of peaceful demonstrators which had happened last November 18, 2011. The Occupy movement had occupied a plaza on the UC campus. The UC Davis Chancellor, Katehi had ordered campus police to clear out the occupiers from this plaza, which they did on November 18 in the afternoon.  While this operation seemed to have proceeded peacefully, the world was outraged to see in a photo or a video that a police officer pepper-sprayed at close range demonstrators who were peacefully sitting on the ground. This event was a great embarrassment to the UC Davis leadership. The chancellor, who was criticized for this happening, then appointed a task force to investigate this event and figure out how this could have occurred; after all, University leadership and police claimed they did not intend to harm anybody. The head of this task force was Cruz Reynoso,  a former California Supreme Court justice and now a law professor at U.C. Davis. The report of this event had been completed more than a  month ago, but campus police had sued to prevent its publication. The report says that this event could have and should have been prevented. The report blames miscommunication between University leadership and campus police for this unfortunate event. Presumably the University leadership was concerned about keeping students safe from outside demonstrators; however it turned out that most demonstrators were actually students and faculty, and some clergy, according to UC Davis student affairs administrators. The chancellor said she had only wanted a limited operation to remove tents, and the police was not to use riot gear, which, however, they did anyway. The demonstrators had been confused as they had been told that over-night camping was forbidden, but the police started moving in on them at 3p.m. in the afternoon.

      The 190 page report shows the importance of clear communications and following proper procedures in such matters as suppressing demonstrations. It will hopefully encourage the university leadership and campus police to act better next time when a demonstration occurs and especially to save guard the civil rights of demonstrators, which were violated here. The policeman who pepper sprayed the students so calmly and without provocation certainly should not be on the police force holding power over citizens. 
    While this report may help the U.C. Davis leadership avoid obvious errors, I am not sure if it will really improve the treatment of demonstrators in general.  Would this event have become a scandal, if there had not been a video of it?   Considering that most protesters were students, the administrations could also have tolerated the Occupy encampment for a longer time.