'Appalled' by police response to protesters, UC president to convene chancellors

[Newsjock]

Source: Sacramento Bee

University of California President Mark G. Yudof issued a statement today saying he is appalled by images he has seen of police actions at campuses this week, including at UC Davis where officers sprayed protesters with pepper.

Yudoff said he will hold a meeting of campus chancellors to discuss police response to campus protests and will put together a group of experts and stakeholders to assess police actions.

Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/11/20/4068647/appalled-uc-president-vows-to.html

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Full text of UC president's statement. As this is a UC news release, it is not subject to copyright.
http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/article/26702

University of California President Mark G. Yudof today (Nov. 20) announced the actions he is taking in response to recent campus protest issues:

I am appalled by images of University of California students being doused with pepper spray and jabbed with police batons on our campuses.

I intend to do everything in my power as president of this university to protect the rights of our students, faculty and staff to engage in non-violent protest.

Chancellors at the UC Davis and UC Berkeley campuses already have initiated reviews of incidents that occurred on their campuses. I applaud this rapid response and eagerly await the results.

The University of California, however, is a single university with 10 campuses, and the incidents in recent days cry out for a systemwide response.

Therefore I will be taking immediate steps to set that response in motion.

I intend to convene all 10 chancellors, either in person or by telephone, to engage in a full and unfettered discussion about how to ensure proportional law enforcement response to non-violent protest.

To that end, I will be asking the chancellors to forward to me at once all relevant protocols and policies already in place on their individual campuses, as well as those that apply to the engagement of non-campus police agencies through mutual aid agreements.

Further, I already have taken steps to assemble experts and stakeholders to conduct a thorough, far-reaching and urgent assessment of campus police procedures involving use of force, including post-incident review processes.

My intention is not to micromanage our campus police forces. The sworn officers who serve on our campuses are professionals dedicated to the protection of the UC community.

Nor do I wish to micromanage the chancellors. They are the leaders of our campuses and they have my full trust and confidence.

Nonetheless, the recent incidents make clear the time has come to take strong action to recommit to the ideal of peaceful protest.

As I have said before, free speech is part of the DNA of this university, and non-violent protest has long been central to our history. It is a value we must protect with vigilance. I implore students who wish to demonstrate to do so in a peaceful and lawful fashion. I expect campus authorities to honor that right.

[JDPriestly]

1. Thank you, President Yudof.

[yardwork]

2. It's about time. I suspect that the chancellors have been following his directions.

I believe that both the UC board of regents and the UC president told the chancellors of individual campuses to contain and if possible shut down these protests.

[DURHAM D]

11. Yep.

Meanwhile at the top they have got to be thinking about their exposure for all sorts of lawsuits. Clearly the Chancellors are over their heads when it comes to managing things in this century. Its like they don't understand that everyone has a camera.

BTW - did you notice at Penn State they did not have in-house legal counsel until like 2010. Hard to imagine isn't it?

[yardwork]

13. Campus police attacking students like this, it's hard to believe.

Lawsuits coming - yep.

[Moravecglobal]

3. Campus police report to Chancellor: Condem Chancellors NOT police

Every qualified California student should get a place in University of California(UC) system. That's a desirable goal for a public university. However, UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau displaces Californians qualified for education at Cal. with $50,600 tuition Foreigners.
Paying more is not a better education. UC tuition increases exceed the national average rate of increase. The UC Board Of Regents jeopardizes Californians attending higher education by making UC the most expensive public university.
Self-serving tuition increases are used by UC President Mark Yudof to increase the pay of 80,000 eligible faculty & others. Payoffs like these point to higher operating costs and still higher tuition for Californians. Instate tuition consumes 14% of Ca. Median Family Income! UC is hijacking our kids’ futures: student debt.
I agree that faculty in higher education and senior management, like Yudof and Birgeneau, should consider the students' welfare & put it high on their values.
Deeds unfortunately do not bear out the students' welfare values of UC Berkeley Birgeneau’s senior management and the UC Board of Regents.
Opinions to UC Board of Regents, email [email protected]

[piratefish08]

4. excessive force is excessive force. of COURSE they are to blame.

and beyond that they are fucking HUMAN BEINGS which trumps all.


they overreacted like violent fucking thugs and the chancellors under-reacted and immediately started covering asses.


they are ALL complicit.

[roguevalley]

6. that would be wrong. if you are in a job you do it right. pepper

spraying someone outside the statutes (california penal code section 1240.7 (a)(8) is illegal behavior that they chose to do. No one in the administration can make you break the law without your consent.

[IllinoisBirdWatcher]

12. Condemn (and arrest) those individual officers who broke the law.

The one who did his little victory dance (sheesh, he was so scared of those peaceful people surrounding him) before he deliberately sprayed the group of ten sitting quietly on the sidewalk should be fired, then arrested for breaking the law. Perhaps he can get a job assisting with public relations on Staten Island.

[A Simple Game]

24. Your hatred for Staten Island is a bunch of baloney! And furthermore

you are all wrong about him being fired and then arrested.

He should be arrested and then fired, anyone with a lick of common sense would know that.

Took me a minute to figure out your Staten Island reference. I should be in bed.

[ooglymoogly]

19. How logical..."just following orders" how come that logic did not hold at Nuremberg.

They all need to be held accountable. Those videos did not show fine people exercising righteous judgment. They attested to criminal behavior and that criminality needs to be adjudicated in a court of law with just desserts to follow.

[_ed_]

31. Bullshit

They are all culpable. Those PIGS can quit, refuse orders, or do anything else other than pepper spray kids in the face.

[loudsue]

5. Sounds like he got the memo from activists that alumni donations would be stopped

if something wasn't done. The ONLY way to stop police brutality is to cut off the money at the top.

[izquierdista]

7. I'm tempted

As an alum, to wipe my ass with the next fund raising request and send them a big brown skidmark.

[loudsue]

10. That's what made AARP straighten up. When mailouts came in the mail, people by the millions

wrote a note on the donation receipt saying that they would NEVER join AARP after their push on the medicare drug "reform" that the bush team was voting on.

Every solicitation from AARP went back with a note...and no money.

[ooglymoogly]

22. including mine + derogatory feedback everywhere I could place it.

It was the Bush poison pill to medicare we are now sickened from...a boondoggle for the drug cartels that was and is unsustainable.

[Hardrada]

25. I called AARP then and told them they were Neville Chamberlains

and Quislings and Judas Iscariots.

[Fokker Trip]

15. That is a great idea. Really.

[lbrtbell]

27. Do better than that

Write back and tell them why you're not donating.

[RKP5637]

9. Yep! Stopping the money flow has results!!! n/t

[shanti]

16. it's the only way, really

cut their money off. we can do it, it just requires that people come out of their comfort zone.

[AntiFascist]

26. This is true all across the OWS movement. It is the one factor they will pay attention to. n/t

[Ineeda]

8. "stakeholders"

should include a proportionate number of Occupiers.

[mysuzuki2]

14. Good start. You can do even better by firing a few campus

police chiefs.

[NBachers]

17. Imagine a mob lining up all 10 Chancellors and the UC President and pepper spraying them

Can you imagine the hysterical media howls and cries for blood?

[EFerrari]

18. "how to ensure proportional law enforcement response to non-violent protest"

This alumna asks why this gentleman assumes law enforcement must respond to non-violent protest.

Show me.

[red dog 1]

20. "Non-campus police agencies through mutual aid agreements" probably were the violent cops.

[EFerrari]

21. The guy in the video is UC Davis Lt John Pike.

He's been outed by Anonymous.

[red dog 1]

23. Lt. John Pike should be arrested & prosecuted for what he did!

[Javaman]

28. While I'm believing this is a good thing...

I'm holding my opinion until I actually see something happen.

[panzerfaust]

29. Free speech in Amerika ...

Peace Officer Supporting Democracy

[rhett o rick]

30. PLEASE CONTACT PRES YUDOF AT THE BELOW EMAIL

[email protected]

[Moravecglobal]

32. University of California Police report to Chancellors: Condem Chancellors

UCPD take direction and are responsible to campus chancellors: Condem UC Chancellors not the police.
Every qualified California student should get a place in University of California(UC) system. That's a desirable goal for a public university. However, UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau displaces Californians qualified for education at Cal. with $50,600 tuition Foreigners.
Paying more is not a better education. UC tuition increases exceed the national average rate of increase. The UC Board Of Regents jeopardizes Californians attending higher education by making UC the most expensive public university.
Self-serving tuition increases are used by UC President Mark Yudof to increase the pay of 80,000 eligible faculty & others. Payoffs like these point to higher operating costs and still higher tuition for Californians. Instate tuition consumes 14% of Ca. Median Family Income! UC is hijacking our kids’ futures: student debt.
I agree that faculty in higher education and senior management, like Yudof and Birgeneau, should consider the students' welfare & put it high on their values.
Deeds unfortunately do not bear out the students' welfare values of UC Berkeley Birgeneau’s senior management and the UC Board of Regents.
Opinions to UC Board of Regents, email [email protected]