Spotlight aimed at UCD police’s use-of-force policies
By Lauren Keene and Cory Golden
When UC Davis police Lt. John Pike led 35 police officers onto the campus Quad to remove a protesters’ encampment on Nov. 18, he was guided by policy that may have lacked specific direction when it comes to the use of force.
The conduct of the person or people being confronted, the seriousness of their offense, the availability of other options and the potential for injury to the officer, suspect and other citizens are among the factors that police should take into account when determining the level of force, according to UCD’s five-page use-of-force guidelines.
“Even at its lowest level, the use of force is a serious responsibility,” states the policy, which the university made public last week. “It is the policy of this department that officers will use only that amount of force that reasonably appears necessary, given the facts and circumstances perceived by the officer at the time of the event, to effectively bring an incident under control.”
Whether what happened next — the pepper-spraying of roughly a dozen seated, unarmed protesters — fell within those guidelines is the subject of debate, as well as a half-dozen separate investigations.
“The policy is pretty vague regarding the nonlethal force, and it’s difficult to violate a vague policy,” said Steven G. Brandl, an associate professor of criminal justice at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee and an expert in use-of-force issues. “It really leaves it up to the officer. It’s pretty common, but not ideal.”
Brandl said UCD’s policy also appears to lack “continuum of force” guidelines — an escalating series of actions an officer may take to resolve a situation — though he said officers may obtain such direction in their training exercises.
UCD police officials have declined to comment on the department’s protocols, citing the ongoing investigations into the pepper-spraying that resulted in Pike, Police Chief Annette Spicuzza and another unnamed officer being placed on paid administrative leave.
Dated March 2, 2004, UCD’s use-of-force policy makes no specific reference to pepper spray, or to the circumstances in which it should be used.
A separate document, “Authorized Weapons and Tools,” says chemical agents should be used “when, based on the circumstances perceived by the officer, lesser force would not reasonably appear to result in the safe control of the suspect. Chemical agents are used to minimize the potential for injury to officers, citizens or offenders.”
“(It) doesn’t really say much,” Brandl said. “Again, officer discretion and training is key.”
In a Nov. 22 interview with The Enterprise, UCD Chancellor Linda Katehi appeared to place blame for the events four days earlier onto the shoulders of Spicuzza and Pike, who was the incident commander at the scene.
On Nov. 17, an ad-hoc campus “emergency team” composed of about eight or 10 members held multiple conference calls, during which the images of UC Berkeley police using batons on protesters the week before were discussed, Katehi said.
UCD has declined to name the people who participated in the conference calls.
“We were very specific that it has to be peaceful and not like Berkeley,” she said. “In a peaceful way, (Spicuzza) was only supposed to take the equipment down, not disperse the crowd, not remove the students.”
It was Spicuzza’s responsibility to decide how to move in, how many officers should be involved and what equipment they be outfitted with, according to the chancellor.
“We also told her specifically she should not do anything if there were too many students or they were too upset or whatever the environment was that would not allow them to (remove the tents). That’s what she got from me,” Katehi said.
It’s unclear whether there were any communications between Pike and Spicuzza, who was at the scene but had no direct contact with the protesters. The chief praised the officers immediately after the confrontation.
“When you encircle a group of officers that are just trying to do their jobs, it’s kinda scary, but they did a great job,” she said at the time. “I don’t believe any of our officers were hurt, and I hope none of the students were injured.”
Officers are instructed to make “at least one announcement” indicating the planned use of force “when it is reasonable to do so,” the policy states. One video posted on YouTube shows Pike verbally warning the seated students they would be subjected to force if they failed to move.
Another video shows Pike pepper-spraying the row of students, then gesturing to a second officer, who steps forward and sprays several of the protesters as well.
Incidents of police force “never photograph well, whether they’re justified or not,” said Brandl, who has viewed videos of the UCD incident. “It doesn’t look good, obviously, but the viewer is missing some of the context — what came before, and details about what the individuals were blocking.
“Those could be important (in determining) the reasonableness of the officers’ actions,” Brandl said.
Last week, Gov. Jerry Brown joined the ranks of those calling for a review of police policies in the wake of the events at UCD, as well as clashes between officers and protesters at UC Berkeley and in the city of Oakland.
The state Attorney General’s Office is still considering a request by the Yolo County Sheriff’s Department and District Attorney’s Office to play a role in their investigation, Lynda Gledhill, spokeswoman for Attorney General Kamala Harris, said Monday.
Meanwhile, UC President Mark Yudof has promised new guidelines for police.
During last week’s UC Board of Regents teleconference, Yudof, a scholar of constitutional law, echoed statements by Katehi and other UC leaders who have said since the pepper spray incident that force should not be used against peaceful protesters.
“We need to make sure that we do not meet nonviolence with violence, even when people engage in unlawful behavior,” Yudof said.
— Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net or (530) 747-8048. Reach Cory Golden at cgolden@davisenterprise.net or (530) 747-8046.
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Posted by Lauren Keene
on Dec 5 2011.
Last Login: Mon 21 May 2012 04:26:23 PM PDT
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It wasa clear-cut case of excessive force. See Young v. County of Los Angeles:
http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/opinions/view_subpage.php?pk_id=0000011710
Can anyone explain to me where this country started going down this road? We have police held to zero accountability for their actions. These officers, and Katehi are not fit for the positions they hold. Charges need to be brought. The citizens are demanding it. Let them have their day in court. I for one am tired of people trying to say their behavior was in any way acceptable. Not just the fact that chemical weapons were used, but according to the manufacturer, it was an egregious violation of the way the chemical was meant to be used.
I saw a bully with a badge, and a domino effect of lies and coverups. Apparently, Katehi and the chief didn’t think we were paying attention. The lies in their initial statements were an affront.
There are a ton of videos out there that show that the students deserved what they got. The problem is we don’t really know what Katehi told the police to do. I find it ridiculous that she says to remove the tents but not to do it if there are too many people there. Then why get the police involved if you really don’t want them to do anything. Maybe she should have gone out there with a loud speaker and demanded them to pack the tents up and leave. It makes me mad the she wants to blame the police and not take any responsibility.
That’s one problem I have, I wonder if Katehi jumped to conclusions before she saw the whole video and threw the cops under the bus? The police for the most part will be vindicated.
Hold up there. I don’t think it is the place of police to do the punishing. Sentences are handed down by judges. So when you say, “students deserved what they got”, I just can’t agree. Police are here to serve the public interest. That doesn’t mean handing down punishment without due process. Whether or not an officer feels a person deserves it, it isn’t part of the job description. In fact, your statement based on the videos you watched tends to lend credibility to the fact the officers were outside their scope.
Doesn’t the police academy teach anything about the oath officers take anymore?
Have you actually watched the video? The police had arrested protesters that they were trying to remove form the area and were surrounded and blocked exit by the students. The protesters can be heard shouting ‘you can’t go’ and ‘release them and then you can leave’. What were the police supposed to do at that time? Call a judge, get a ruling? Get real! The students asked for it and deserved what they got.
I have a feeling “OK” is ok with police violence under any and all circumstances, but it’s simply not true that the police were trapped in this case. In many of the videos, Pike can be seen stepping back and forth over the seated students before he uses the pepper spray. No one attempts to impede his movement. Additionally, officers removed several of the arrestees by walking them through the crowd opposite the seated protesters. They were unimpeded. There is photographic evidence of this here: http://www.davisenterprise.com/media-post/ucd-police-remove-occupy-uc-davis-tents/attachment/occupyucd97/
This happened before the pepper spraying, so claims that the cops couldn’t remove the arrestees or didn’t know what the crowd would do are blatant lies. OK, you’ll have to come up with a new way to rationalize your love for violent cops.
POLICE are not the problem at UC Davis and UC Berkeley: campus chancellors ARE the problem. UC Berkeley Chancellor Birgeneau’s campus police report to the chancellor and the campus police take direction from the chancellor. University of California (UC) campus chancellors vet their campus police protocols. Birgeneau allowed pepper spray and use of batons to be included in his campus police protocols.
Chancellor Birgeneau’s campus police use brutal baton jabs on students protesting increases in tuition. UC Berkeley Chancellor Birgeneau and UC Davis Chancellor Katehi are in dereliction of their duties.
Birgeneau and UC Davis Chancellor need to quit or be fired for permitting the brutal outrages on students protesting tuition increases.
Opinions? Email the UC Board of Regents marsha.kelman@ucop.edu
University of California campus chancellors accountable for the actions of their campus police. UC Berkeley Chancellor Birgeneau’s campus police report to the chancellor and the campus police take direction from the chancellor. University of California (UC) campus chancellors vet their campus police protocols. Birgeneau allowed pepper spray and use of batons to be included in his campus police protocols.
Chancellor Birgeneau’s campus police use brutal baton jabs on students protesting increases in tuition. UC Berkeley Chancellor Birgeneau and UC Davis Chancellor Katehi are in dereliction of their duties.
Birgeneau and UC Davis Chancellor need to quit or be fired for permitting the brutal outrages on students protesting tuition increases.
Opinions? Email the UC Board of Regents marsha.kelman@ucop.edu