Officers in pepper spray incident placed on leave

[appleannie1]

Two UC Davis campus police officers have been placed on paid administrative leave over their

controversial use of pepper spray on student protesters, university officials announced Sunday.

A video that showed an officer dousing a group of students who were huddled on the ground Friday quickly went viral on the Internet, drawing outrage and calls for the chancellor's resignation.

“I spoke with students this weekend, and I feel their outrage,” UC Davis Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi said in a statement. “I am deeply saddened that this happened on our campus, and as chancellor, I take full responsibility for the incident. However, I pledge to take the actions needed to ensure that this does not happen again."

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UC Davis spokeswoman Claudia Morain said the two officers placed on leave were the only two officers they were able to identify as having deployed pepper spray after reviewing multiple videos of the events.

The officers, whose names were not released, will remain on paid leave indefinitely.

Katehi initially did not criticize police, but on Saturday said she would convene a task force to look into the incident. On Sunday, she said the faculty, students and staff who will serve on the task force will be chosen immediately and that they will have a 30-day deadline to complete their report.

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Police said officers were trying to get out of the protest area when they used the pepper spray.

UC Davis Police Chief Annette Spicuzza told reporters Saturday that the decision to use the pepper spray was made at the scene. "The students had encircled the officers," she said. "They needed to exit. They were looking to leave but were unable to get out."

But the school said in a statement, "Videos taken during Friday’s arrests showed that the two officers used pepper spray on peacefully seated students."

The pepper spray incident occurred Friday as police were attempting to clear an overnight encampment of 25 tents associated with the Occupy Wall Street movement. Ten protesters were arrested on misdemeanor charges of unlawful assembly and failure to disperse. Eleven were treated for the effects of pepper spray, including two who were taken to an area hospital. The students were treated and released.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/11/uc-davis-officers-placed-on-leave.html

Not enough. They need fired

[sharp_stick]

1. Always get them on video

you know that there would have been zero chance of anything happening to these assholes if nobody had it on record.

[aquart]

2. How much is Katehi paid?

[roguevalley]

20. 4 cents short of four hundred thousand dollars.

[B Calm]

3. Paid leave. . Shit that will just encourage more officers to pepper spray

[appleannie1]

6. Nothing like a paid vacation. That is what it amounts to. Some punishment.

[Hutzpa]

4. Paid Leave? That's it

no wonder these guys feel they are above the LAW.

[me b zola]

5. They also need to stand before a judge and answer to charges of assault

...but being fired would be a good first step as they are being taken into custody

[OtherSideTeam]

7. This is crazy.

They have evidence of people committing battery and they get leave?

[bvar22]

8. Hey!!! Can I get a Paid Vacation too if I spray some Hippies?

PLEEEEAAAASE don't throw me in the Briar Patch!

:hippie:


Solidarity99!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[aletier_v]

9. Somebody needs to get the Lie Factory under control

I haven't seen this much credibility
shredded this quickly
since Waco in 1993.

[ThomWV]

10. Put on "paid administrative leave"? The SOB should be put on a stake!

Put his fucking head on a pike, and put his supervisor's head on a pike, and then put their combined families heads on pikes.

[appleannie1]

11. They are trying to bury it. Out of sight, out of mind. I hope parents of those kids sue big time.

[Downwinder]

12. Indefinite paid leave, thats better than retirement.

Full pay, medical.

[Fire Walk With Me]

13. Bloomberg, Quan, Birgeneau (sp), Kitehi, you are all flatly on the wrong side of history

and are worse than clueless regarding what is occurring, and that it is Good.

You are criminals against the Good. You are obsolete. Go away if you cannot learn the truth. Be gone. Do not return until you get it.

[napoleon_in_rags]

14. "The students had encircled the officers," she said

"Videos taken during Friday’s arrests showed that the two officers used pepper spray on peacefully seated students."

That kind of false reporting is what should be raising red flags around there. If an officer said he/she got angry and sprayed somebody, that would be one thing. But having them report a serious self defense situation while video tapes show something else is quite another.

[eppur_se_muova]

15. They'll be back. Count on it. nt

[hulka38]

16. I doubt that the authorities

think the officers did anything morally wrong here - just that they acted stupidly, clumsily and created a PR nightmare for them. They are deeply regretful for their own discomfort and embarrassment.

[mick063]

17. Morally Wrong

I'm 53.

I have followed politics for 40 years (yes I started at 13, kinda Newt like..huh?).

I vividly remember the day we landed on the moon. Yes it really did happen.

I grew up watching the Vietnam war on television and reading of racial riots in Detroit and Los Angeles.

I believed a promise from Ronald Reagan that if business does well, then workers will do well and I voted for him.

I joined the Navy for six years during the height of the Cold war. I was a sonar man tasked with prosecuting submarines. I was off the coast of Panama when General Noriega was taken custody.

I work in the nuclear industry in a "blue collar" capacity. I belong to the Steel Workers Union. My profession requires that I wear suits of "personal protective equipment" or PPE. I breathe supplied air through a hose.

I give these credentials because I just want to say:

Thank you OWS activists. People want to call a veteran a hero? Well this veteran hasn't slept in the cold or taken pepper spray in the face lately.

I just want you to know that I am deeply sympathetic toward your cause and I believe you are true heros defending our country.

Sincerely I thank you. Please don't give up. You have more ears than you could ever know.

[Tsiyu]

18. Welcome to DU, mick063

Great post even if you did once believe Reagan - we'll forgive.....:fistbump:

[Ilsa]

19. Paid leave? Only if it burns up their vacation days. Otherwise it is a gift. nt

[lpbk2713]

21. So they get a couple of weeks to play golf with full pay and benefits?

That ought to really teach em a lesson they'll never forget.

:eyes:

[zbdent]

22. wonder if memos/e-mails/tapes indicating that the officers were acting under orders

(or the main one doing the spraying gave the orders) will ever surface ... and, if they do, will the usual path the life of a whistle-blower be the end result?

[csziggy]

23. UC Davis Police Chief Annette Spicuzza needs to resign

From the OP article: 'UC Davis Police Chief Annette Spicuzza told reporters Saturday that the decision to use the pepper spray was made at the scene. "The students had encircled the officers," she said. "They needed to exit. They were looking to leave but were unable to get out."'

Absolute BS - did this dimwit understand that there is a video showing that the police were surrounding peacefully seated protestors; that with no provocation the police wantonly sprayed them with pepper spray? Annette Spicuzza either needs really good glasses or she is flagrantly lying in denial of the evidence on video.

No wonder officers under her command are out of control!

[On the Road]

24. I Suspect it Was Part of a Broader Campaign