In a letter to UC Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi this week, the ACLU of Northern California requested a number of internal campus Police Department documents under the California Public Records Act.

Requested information includes copies of any UCD Police Department policies, general orders and training materials related to the use of pepper spray and the use of force in general, as well as records showing how the policies were developed and by whom.

“We understand from news reports that the officers involved had received training in the departmental policies for using pepper spray,” ACLU staff attorney Michael Risher wrote in the letter. “(W)e do not understand how an officer who had received such training could possibly believe that these actions were appropriate.”

Risher adds that for almost a decade now, following a federal appeals court decision in 2002, “it has been clear … that using pepper spray on protesters who have merely linked arms and refused to move violates the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution.”

The ACLU also wants specific details on the kind of pepper spray used on students last Friday, including the manufacturer’s instructions, warnings and package inserts, as well as the substance’s ingredients and concentrations.

A member of the UCD Police Department has identified the pepper spray used on Friday as MK-9, a law enforcement-grade pepper spray manufactured by Defense Technology that is significantly more intense than commercial-grade pepper spray that individuals can buy for personal defense.

According to information on some websites, MK-9 is not intended to be used at a distance of less than six feet.

In the letter sent Monday, the ACLU also requested copies of all correspondence, including emails, regarding the decision to use force, as well as the decision to use pepper spray, on Friday. The request includes all correspondence to and from Katehi and UCD Police Chief Annette Spicuzza, who has since been placed on administrative leave.

The ACLU also wants the name and rank of the officer shown in videos spraying the students — since identified as Lt. John Pike — as well as the names and contact information of each of the students arrested during Friday’s protest.

The university announced Tuesday that it would not pursue charges against any of those students and would cover any medical expenses incurred by students for injuries suffered from the pepper spray.

Risher said Monday that attorney-client privilege prevents him from disclosing if any of those protesters have contacted the ACLU to seek representation in a civil suit against the Police Department and university.

The ACLU letter also was sent Monday to interim UCD Police Chief Matt Carmichael and University of California President Mark Yudof.

In a separate Public Records Act request Tuesday, a group of UCD alumni and students asked for similar documents showing who ordered the actions by campus police on Friday and why, as well as internal discussions by administrators since then.

The group claims the university has been “actively disseminating misinformation about the events.”

“The campus administration lied to the media,” said UCD student Eric Lee, who added that he attended Friday’s protest.

“They pepper-sprayed a whole line of people and then tried to make us look like the bad guys,” Lee said. “It’s absurd.”

Lee was referring to the administration’s assertions that protesters surrounded police officers, cutting them off from support.

Laws governing the state’s Public Records Act require most information to be made available within 10 days of the request.

— Reach Anne Ternus-Bellamy at [email protected] or (530) 747-8051.

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