U.C. Davis Launches Probe, Chancellor Asked To Resign By Faculty

Video surfaced online Saturday showing an officer at a California university calmly pepper-spraying a line of several sitting protesters, who flinch and cover their faces but remain passive with their arms interlocked as onlookers shriek and scream out for the officer to stop.

The chancellor of the University of California, Davis described the video images as "chilling" and said she was forming a task force to investigate even as a faculty group called for her resignation because of the incident Friday. "The use of the pepper spray as shown on the video is chilling to us all and raises many questions about how best to handle situations like this," Chancellor Linda Katehi said in a message posted on the school's web site on Saturday.

The UC Davis video images, which were circulated on YouTube and widely online, prompted immediate outrage among faculty and students, with the Davis Faculty Association saying in a letter Saturday that Katehi should resign. "The Chancellor's role is to enable open and free inquiry, not to suppress it," the faculty association said in its letter. It called Katehi's authorization of police force a "gross failure of leadership."

At Saturday's news conference, 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. "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 and model Mia Farrow wrote in a retweet of the video.

I am glad there is an uproar by not only the students, but university faculty as well. The behavior on display by this officer was abhorrent, and I really hope there are serious repercussions following the investigation.

I thought the statement by the police chief was utter nonsense. The students had encircled the officers, and were therefor unable to get out? We're not that stupid. Please. It's on widely circulated video for all to see. The cops had ample room to walk around the protesters. Are you kidding? They were in the middle of a freaking park! What a joke of an excuse. Not a reason at all to discharge a weapon at non-threatening students.

news.yahoo.com...

reply to post by MysticPearl

As I stated in another thread regarding this incident, this was reported on the local radio station where I live, thousands of miles away.

They repeated the same explanation, that the officers were surrounded and felt threatened, and were forced to use pepper spray to protect themselves. Having seen video of the incident, I literally yelled at my radio.

Such obviously BS excuses are beyond pathetic in this age of digital media and video sharing. I have to give them credit for having the guts to offer such a blatantly false explanation, though. I guess if you are going to lie, may as well lie BIG.

Originally posted by VariableConstant
reply to post by MysticPearl

 

...

Such obviously BS excuses are beyond pathetic in this age of digital media and video sharing. I have to give them credit for having the guts to offer such a blatantly false explanation, though. I guess if you are going to lie, may as well lie BIG.

Indeed this is one of the most secure bases of the art of propaganda. A BIG lie, repeated often, is more effective than making up small lies on the run.

It's also one of the most disturbing things about news presenters: The mistaken belief that to have a balanced report you have to present the "other" side, even if it's blatantly untrue, biased, corrupt, or misleading....

Originally posted by Ex_CT2

Originally posted by VariableConstant
reply to post by MysticPearl

 

...

Such obviously BS excuses are beyond pathetic in this age of digital media and video sharing. I have to give them credit for having the guts to offer such a blatantly false explanation, though. I guess if you are going to lie, may as well lie BIG.

Indeed this is one of the most secure bases of the art of propaganda. A BIG lie, repeated often, is more effective than making up small lies on the run.

Yes, straight out of Hitler's playbook. Bless the information age, where we are able to see past the lies.

Giving us access to the internet was probably one of their biggest mistakes. Soon to be corrected, no doubt.

the person charged with the saftey of students,
calls in the riot squad (for sanitary saftey concerns)
and students get harmed,

the is a law in my country that prohibits unessary force by the police

change the law in your country,
poliece who use the i felt threatened line must be prepaired for prosicution if they unessarly harm others

one rule for all

asault is asault

shame

xploder

When rich men are involved in major crimes, they get asked to "resign".

How about he get arrested and charged for conspiracy to torture citizens for their political beliefs?

Officers now placed on leave.

news.yahoo.com...