Spurred by graphic images from recent police uses of force at UC campuses, Gov. Jerry Brown has requested that state police officers review their policies for using force and make changes to their guidelines accordingly.
In a Monday letter to the state Commission on Police Officer Standards and Training, Brown wrote that he was “seriously concerned that the rules governing use of force … are not well understood in the context of civil disobedience and various forms of public protest,” citing police use of pepper spray and other forms of force at recent “occupation” protests at UC campuses.
The protests at UC Berkeley and UC Davis, in which protesters were hit with batons and sprayed with pepper spray, respectively, have drawn widespread condemnation. The university has pledged a review of its police policy while both campuses are undertaking reviews of their own.
Brown has spoken with both UC President Mark Yudof and former Los Angeles Police Department Chief William Bratton — who Yudof charged with leading the UC’s police policy review — about police use of force, according to Brown spokesperson Elizabeth Ashford.
Read the full letter below.
Damian Ortellado covers higher education.
Comment Policy
Comments should remain on topic, concerning the article or blog post to which they are connected. Brevity is encouraged. Posting under a pseudonym is discouraged, but permitted. The Daily Cal encourages readers to voice their opinions respectfully in regard to the readers, writers and contributors of The Daily Californian. Comments are not pre-moderated, but may be removed if deemed to be in violation of this policy. Click here to read the full comment policy.
Governor Moonbeam gets it right.
larry that was the cheesiest troll i’ve ever seen lol. Run back to W.O.W. and troll a video game. This is real life.
So you define “troll” as those who dare disagree with you? Larry has done a far more detailed job of outlining and justifying his position on this subject than you have. You’re the “troll” here, not Larry.
Honestly, when viewed from multiple angles, this looks like an entirely appropriate use of force. The protestors encircled the police, refused to let them proceed, made demands to release the people they arrested. By blocking their path and interfering with their duties, they confronted police. By making demands to let the arrested go, this all ceased to be a peaceful, lawful protest. All of this is corroborated by the multiple video recordings, the official account by the police and the statements of those who were pepper sprayed. The spray was clearly used not as retaliation, but to accomplish arrest without further injury.
Under the spreading chestnut tree I sold you and you sold me.
How you come to believe those facts by looking at the video is baffling. Those cops were not encircled, and even if they were then why use force on the row of students doing nothing but sitting on the ground?
If they were truly encircled and in danger they would have sprayed the students who were standing up “surrounding” them; not the ones who had been sitting on the ground for some time…
(Those who don’t watch the news are uninformed; those who watch FOX are misinformed)
I was beaten and left to bleed to death in a drunk tank in 1975 for having long hair. Police beat minorities on a regular basis as long as we have had minorities. I can sew up the problem in 1 word, ATTORNEYS! My lawyer(Bob Finnell) sold me out by rigging the jury
Yet you’re still alive. Funny.
well at least it is something. Obama has not said a thing.
No rush, Jer…cops have been out of control for, what, 2 months now?
Unfortunately, when you tell one group of people they have power over another, they will inevitably abuse that power. Humans have proved this over and over. The police response to Occupy protesters nationwide has been appalling. Apparently civil rights only exist if you’re doing what your government wants.
There’s no “civil right” to interfering with the lawful duty of a police officer. Section 148 of the California Penal Code hasn’t been stricken due to any constitutional challenge. As usual, the marginal ones reveal their ignorance.
Oh, I didn’t realize the right to peaceful protest was no longer in effect. I also didn’t realize that the lawful duty of police officers was to attack students trying to make a peaceful statement about their convictions. This whole time I was under the impression that the police were supposed to serve and protect.
Then I’ll bring my own pepper spray to the next teabagger rally
He was our governor in the seventies, shouldn’t he know how to handle protest? But finally….. someone notices.
The first serious response from a politician yet. Bravo!
It’s about time… I wrote Governor Brown on this subject and copied in my state senator and assemblyperson the day after the incident. It’s taken this long for any kind of response???
Who cares?
When is Governor Moonbeam going to review the problem with public employee pensions that he promised to address?
Come on now, why deal with real issues when there’s an opportunity to do some good old-fashioned political posturing? Moonbeam, Birgenau, the Occupy Cal folks, and the rest of actors aren’t interested in dealing with real issues. It’s all about theatrics…
They aren’t gonna listen. They’re COPS pure and simple they have a GUN and A BADGE THEY CAN DO WHAT THEY WANT WHEN THEY WANT HOW THEY AND DON’T HAVE TO ANSWER TO ANYBODY. EVEN THE GOVERNOR!
You’re a fucking moron.