Yudof names members of pepper-spray task force

UC President Mark G. Yudof on Monday appointed a group of 12 students, faculty, alumni and staff members to serve on a task force to investigate the Nov. 18 incident in which UC Davis police pepper-sprayed nonviolent protesters on campus.

As previously announced, the task force will be headed by former California Supreme Court Justice Cruz Reynoso, a professor emeritus at the UCD School of Law.

Most task force members are affiliated with UCD and were nominated by relevant campus organizations. They include:

* Patrick Blacklock, Yolo County administrator and immediate past chair of the Cal Aggie Alumni Association;

* Peter Blando, business services manager, Office of the Vice Provost — Information and Educational Technology at UCD, and past chair of the UCD Staff Assembly (nominated by the UCD Staff Assembly);

* Alan Brownstein, professor in the UCD School of Law (nominated by the Academic Senate);

* Tatiana Bush, undergraduate student and former Associated Students of UCD senator (nominated by ASUCD);

* Daniel M. Dooley, senior vice president of external relations in UC’s Office of the President, designated systemwide administrator for whistleblower complaints, and a UCD alumnus;

* Penny Herbert, manager of the UCD department of clinical operations and staff adviser to the UC Board of Regents;

* Kathryn Kolesar, chair of the UCD Graduate Student Association (nominated by the GSA);

* William McKenna, UCD law student (nominated by the Law Students Association);

* Carolyn Penny, director of International Law Programs and principal and mediator of the Common Ground Center for Cooperative Solutions, UCD Extension (nominated by the UCD Academic Federation);

* Eric Rauchway, professor in the UCD history department (nominated by the Academic Senate);

* Judy Sakaki, vice president of student affairs in UC’s Office of the President and former vice chancellor for student affairs at UCD; and

* Rebecca Sterling, undergraduate student and former ASUCD senator (nominated by the ASUCD).

“My intent in forming this task force is to allow the UC Davis community to take a fair and uncompromising look at what happened on Nov. 18,” Yudof said in a news release, “and also to make any recommendations it deems appropriate in light of its independent review of the facts.”

The task force led by Reynoso will compile recommendations for Yudof and UCD Chancellor Linda Katehi. The chancellor then will submit a plan of action to Yudof.

Yudof said the task force is expected to make recommendations for “improvements to police procedures, command protocols and campus policies and oversight structures that will help ensure that the rights and safety of nonviolent protestors and the entire campus community are protected.”

The task force will be working from a report to be compiled by former Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton, who has been hired to conduct a fact-finding investigation into the incident.

Katehi had asked that the task force recommendations be returned by Dec. 21. However, UCOP now says Bratton’s report is expected to reach the task force during the first week of January at the latest.

Last week, UCD faculty members expressed concern about the involvement of Bratton and the company he chairs, Kroll Security.

Kroll has done background checks, advised on security for foreign dignitaries and large events, and performed security assessments when UC staff or faculty are threatened, according to the UC Office of the President.

Kroll’s past work and work for Wall Street companies the students are protesting for their greed also have raised red flags for some, including the Council of UC Faculty Associations.

During a special meeting of the Davis division of the Academic Senate on Friday, Katehi was urged to tell Yudof that Bratton should not be involved.

Katehi repeated that she is keeping herself at arm’s length from the task force, to avoid any appearance that she is influencing its work, but that she had passed on faculty letters of concern to Yudof.

Linda Bisson, who chairs the Davis division, said the systemwide Academic Senate planned to raise concerns with Yudof as well.

Through Kroll, Bratton will only piece together data, not make recommendations of its own, Katehi said. That work will include compiling phone records, Bisson said.

“There are so many investigations going on, one of them at least is going to be accurate,” Katehi said, getting a rare laugh in an otherwise serious meeting with more than 200 professors.

UCD’s police chief, Annette Spicuzza; Lt. John Pike, the incident commander; and another unnamed UCD police officer have been placed on administrative leave.

Other investigations and reviews:

* The Yolo County District Attorney’s Office, through the Yolo County Sheriff’s Department, is investigating the use of force. Citing the potential “statewide ramifications” of their investigation, District Attorney Jeff Reisig and Sheriff Ed Prieto have requested the state attorney general’s involvement. No decision has been made by the AG’s office.

* UCD has launched an independent fact-finding investigation meant to inform the campus’ decisions about its own employees. Investigators are from Van Dermyden Allison Law Corp. of Sacramento and Norman A. Traub Associates of Yorba Linda.

* The state Assembly and Senate have announced a joint legislative hearing on Dec. 14 into use of force on the Davis campus as well as what happened Nov. 9 at UC Berkeley, when officers jabbed with batons Occupy protesters, most of them students and faculty.

* Last week, Gov. Jerry Brown asked the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training to review the crowd control guidelines it issues to the state’s police departments.

* Yudof has appointed UC General Counsel Charles Robinson and UC Berkeley School of Law Dean Christopher Edley Jr. to lead a systemwide look of protocols and policies for policing protests. Their recommendations are due back in March.

* The Davis division of the UC Academic Senate will form a committee to review the findings of other investigations and make its own recommendations.

— Reach Cory Golden at cgolden@davisenterprise.net or (530) 747-8046. Follow him on Twitter at @cory_golden

Short URL: http://www.davisenterprise.com/?p=112864

Posted by Enterprise staff on Dec 5 2011.
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