UC Davis Student Protestors "Make Salt"

UC Davis Police Chief Annette Spicuzza in a tv interview claimed:  "They are split-second decisions. They are decisions often you just can't review."

Police Chief Annette Spicuzza told the LA Times:

"The students had encircled the officers. They needed to exit. They were looking to leave but were unable to get out."

Police Chief Annette Spicuzza told the Sacramento Bee

"There was no way out of that circle," Spicuzza said. "They were cutting the officers off from their support. It's a very volatile situation."

In the following video, its evident that Police Chief Annette Spicuzza is an incredible liar.  The video, shows the officers in the 5 minutes before they began pepper spraying the seated students.   At no point until the spraying began, was it a volatile situation.  The officers were clearly relaxed and in no danger whatsover.  They were in full riot gear, carrying pepper spray, rubber bullet guns and batons behind some students sitting on the sidewalk.  In the video you can see one of the officers calmly stepping over the seated protestors in order to spray them directly in their faces. Police Chief Annette Spicuzza is not fit to command anything, she should be fired immediately.

In addition to the police chief, the officers who were involved in the pepper spraying are not fit to wear a uniform. Orders or not, that was clearly uncalled for brutality against peaceful protestors.   UC Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi should just resign now and save everyone the trouble of an investigation that will go very poorly for her.  The police officers involved were clearly in communication with their superiors before they began the pepper spraying.  In the last video, you can see them using cell phones and wireless devices.  The Chancellor was involved in the decision to pepper spray the seated students or she was incompetent in supervising elements of her administration, either way, she needs to resign. 

There is a terrible casualness displayed by the officers who pepper sprayed the seated students, like they were applying herbicide on weeds.  But, there is great resolve and bravery here  also.  I could not have been more proud of those young students.  Those brave kids were "making salt" and Gandhi himself would  applaud their non-violent protest.   At no time in any of these videos is there any violence by any of the students.   The silent protest against Chancellor Katehi, was incredible.  The silence of hundreds of students who just watched as she walked down the sidewalk to her vehicle, was louder and more forceful than anything else they could have done.  America can be very proud of these young students.

UC Davis Chancellor Katehi walks to her car during silent protest.

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Related articles

• UC Davis police chief put on leave after pepper-spray incident (guardian.co.uk)
• Former UW Assistant Chief of Police Annette Spicuzza Placed on Administrative Leave (from Job as UC Davis Chief of Police) (slog.thestranger.com)