You’ve probably heard that protestors at Occupy UC Davis were pepper-sprayed by police during a non-violent protest. (It’s very likely that you have heard but it hasn’t registered, as there have been many similar events nationwide and it’s hard to keep track.)
After the incident, UC Davis police chief, Annette Spicuzza, had this to say:
“There was no way out of that circle. They were cutting the officers off from their support. It’s a very volatile situation.”
Imagine in your mind the kind of “volatile situation” to which this description might apply. Now here’s the picture:
Having never been pepper-sprayed, I have no idea what it’s like, although it doesn’t seem pleasant. But these protestors can take some solace in the idea that this kind of display will bring more support to their movement than a million chanted slogans. The police were obviously badly trained, but the ultimate responsibility lies with UC Davis Chancellor Linda Kaheti, who ordered them in. It’s a horrifying demonstration of what happens when authority is unchecked and out of touch. I’m not sure where the propensity of local authorities to call in police dressed like Storm Troopers started, but it has to end. This isn’t what our country is supposed to be about.
Here’s the video:
Update: On the question of since when are all protests met with police in riot gear freely dispensing pepper spray, Alexis Madrigal has researched the answer, which is: since the 1999 WTO/anti-globalization protests. Apparently police training is not flexible enough to accommodate the fact that different situations call for different responses.
I’ve updated the post to include some history of police responses to protesting.
It was 1997 APEC summit in Vancouver that saw one of the first large public controversies over police pepper spraying protesters.
Jesus fucking Christ. The republicans must be pissed….
Respect to the protestors. They remained calm and refrained from giving these Neanderthals any justification for their actions. I am most appalled by the policeman holding up the pepper spray triumphantly before starting his aggressive act. In any civilized country the responsible people would be forced to resign.
To Nick and others who see this as an indictment of American democracy, it happens here in the UK as well.
The police acted like fascist thugs because: 1) this is what they were supposed to do–i. e. the Chancellor’s instructions were to clear the area with all means necessary or 2) the Chancellor cannot control the police and they acted the way they did because many police seem to think they are postmodern warriors and acting though makes them look cool
Either way, the Chancellor bears the ultimate responsibility and should resign NOW!
Alan,
So you agree that the police should not have peppersprayed the protesters, right? After all, you are arguing that the authorities played right in to the riff-raff’s hands this way?
–o–
If one fears/suspects that one might be peppersprayed, what sorta precautions can one take? Will say yoghurt help ease the burning as it does for Indian food?
According to all the hubbub on twitter (#OccupyDavis), two of the officers have been placed on administrative leave.
The response of authorities at many of these Occupy demonstrations have way overstepped the bounds of common sense. But in this era of increasing paramilitarization of local police forces, I am not surprised. It seems to be the Stanford Prison Experiment writ large. In this particular case, the Campus Police show up in SWAT/riot gear — a recipe for disaster. Donning such a uniform (flack jackets, black uniforms, helmets, face shields) all add a layer of anonymity that somehow short circuits moral brain function. This in no way excuses the behavior of individuals who must bear responsibility for their actions, but I think that the bureaucrats and politicians, in this case the California government and the UC system, need to critically examine their protocols and regulations to ask the question of how did they contribute to the situation. I am sure there are regulations that govern peaceful protests on the campus and other regulations of how to deal with them.
No doubt there was a desire to “nip things in the bud” before an encampment developed. I am reminded of an anti-apartheid tent village on the green at Dartmouth in the mid-80s. As it grew, the administration was helpless to do anything about it. It came to an end when the cold weather came and some right wing students decided to torch it one night. Luckily, no one was camping out that night and there were no injuries. Cities are now under pressure from the White House to deal with these protests, and many liberal officials are making really stupid decisions. Fines, citations, and other non-violent methods need to be considered and tried before any physically coercive methods are employed. The latter being a very, very distant last option.
The behavior by the police is just WRONG! This is America! I thought we were the land of free speech and the right to assemble. I’m appalled but unfortunately not shocked. Do I agree with the protestors position or even know what they were protesting? Not necessarily, but I support their right to protest. There was no immediate public safety hazard or impediment to traffic flow. Therefore the police had no cause for their abusive reaction.
> The entire point of the demonstration was to be pepper sprayed, or to provoke some other kind of newsworthy attack. They succeeded, and gained much publicity.
That is the point, don’t you see? The students are showing you that you literally have to do nothing but sit there quietly, and that is a crime worthy of chemical attack. It’s called martyrdom, and it works precisely because it requires so little to get an overwhelmingly hostile response. Are you truly free in a country where you cannot expect to sit peacefully without being attacked? Our founding fathers would not see this as their America. This is exactly the brutality that we went to war over to start this country.
For years my dad has told me a few brief memories of protests he saw while he was in college (Michigan State). In one he recalls seeing protestors fill a street and assuming it was celebration of a football event, until he saw someone with what he described as a beautiful gas mask, in a nice case—that’s when he realized it was a war protest. So I think if pepper spray had been expected or desired you might reasonably expect one among the large crowd would come prepared.
Also, it’s scary to see the police escalate this, though after reading The Truth about Violence, (a scary post about self defense & crime by Sam Harris) I can almost see where the cops are coming from, having to deal with crime all day, I would be surprised if they were clear and level headed after constantly placing their mind in worst-case-scenario-mode. That said, I still think their actions were inexcusably inappropriate/unnecessary. I don’t think the definition of assault should differ between a police officer and a citizen unless the citizen is violating a law and it’s a last resort, measured, etc..
What is most concerning is that it is hard to think this isn’t going to get a lot worse, given the bleak outlook of economic and political improvement for most likely years to come, and more especially the job market. Back in the spring I mentioned to a friend the unbelievable wealth inequality, and he said, whenever societies get too unequal, one of two things happens; a) laws are passed to help even it out again, or b) heads get chopped off. I’d like to think as a civilization we’ve matured past such behavior but people seem to be bent on destroying my naive faith in our species.
It’s very important that these activities remain non-violent – at least on the protesters’ side. And not too confrontational.
I remember the free-speech movement in Berkeley, although I was a bit too young to participate. I remember that the turmoil created the overall feeling among the general public that “this has got to stop.” So when the governor of California put down the protests with a firm hand, it gave him a big boost in public standing, and led the way to his being a viable candidate for national office.
And that is how we got Ronald Reagan as President of the US. And things have been just rosy, ever since …
Beware the law of unintended consequences!
John Conway says: “The faculty, I can tell you, are PISSED.”
Really? You have telepathic powers? You don´t think that there might be a substantial number of faculty who think that the protesters are a bunch of assholes who deserve no sympathy, but who prefer to keep their opinions to themselves?
@Flagitious Nebulon:
Telepathic powers? Really? You don’t think that John Conway, being a Professor there might, oh, I don’t know, have actually _talked_ to a number of faculty members and be basing his statement on fact? Of course, if you’d rather convince yourself that your opinion is shared by a large but silent majority, be my guest.
» Alexis Madrigal:
And while the kids may cough up blood and writhe in pain, what happens to the man who does it is in some ways much, much worse.
Yes, it’s really terrible what must have happened to the poor guy that almost forced him, in a situation where he was under no duress, let alone in any danger, to violently assault people sitting on the ground doing nothing. He wasn’t even told to do it, let alone by somebody with authority over him. So this is not remotely comparable even to the SPE or Milgram’s studies. Somebody who is as incapable of independent thought and of proper consideration of the constitutional rights of the citizens he has sworn to protect has no business being a police lieutenant.
One of the major lessons to be learned from the OWS movement is that the police have new technical toys that they will use. They have become a paramilitary force. They are more concerned with using their toys and practicing their crowd control techniques than they are in protecting and serving the public and the public’s exercise of their First Amendment rights.
It’s like they are spraying at bugs or vermin and they are enjoying it. This isn’t “crowd control”. This is a judgement and conviction without due process, right in front of our eyes.
Hey, Flagitious? Do those politely silent faculty think “the protesters are a bunch of assholes who deserve no sympathy” before or after they’ve been pepper-sprayed by those who have already decided for them? Guess who the assholes and COWARDS are?
“I’m not sure where the propensity of local authorities to call in police dressed like Storm Troopers started, but it has to end. This isn’t what our country is supposed to be about.”
I agree, 100% with you, but unfortunately this is what this country is evolving towards more and more.
The OWS movement started as a semi-spontaneous reaction to growing inequality, out-of-control profiteering by the financial industry and government corruption. But it has now exposed a horrible de-evolution of our police forces into anti-democratic paramilitary units post-9/11, post Seattle and especially owing to the “war on drugs” which has given them lots of new, dangerous toys even while helping to erode our liberties.
Oh! I thought that such things (police brutality) happen only in third world countries. It happens in the developed world also!! It’s a pity.
I find it interesting that the first post about the occupy wall street movement on this blog has to do with this incident. Interesting that you didn’t mention this one:
According to Oakland Tribune, “Occupy Oakland” has devolved into something resembling “Lord of the Flies,” after the classic novel and movie in which a group of British school children are stranded on a desert island and proceed to turn on one another. In this case a group described as “bullies, the mentally ill, drunks, thugs and anarchists” have turned the encampment into something resembling a state of nature, where the strong terrorize the weak, and where ad hoc rule making has caused a combination of anarchy and oppression.
Or this one:
At “Occupy Baltimore” rape victims are being urged to not report their attackers to the police, but rather to a “security committee” that will investigate the incident and, if necessary, provide “counseling” to the perpetrator. Speaking of rapes, one is reported to have occurred at “Occupy Cleveland” when a 19-year-old student was ordered to share a tent with a man named “Leland” who then, it is alleged, sexually assaulted her. The matter was not reported to law enforcement until two days later when the girl related the incident to a professor.
Or perhaps this one:
A participant of “Occupy Seattle” has been arrested for exposing himself to young children at least five times. In one instance, he approached a pair of 13-year-olds playing at a public park and “performed a lewd act.”
I remember reading a commentary written at the start of this OWS movement, which said something to the effect that what the protesters were looking for was a ‘Kent State’ moment, where police brutality was so disproportionate as to be absurd. Is this it?
Pity that such a ‘non-violent’ movement had to cause so many assaults, rapes, and other unspeakable crimes before coming to a moment its supporters could latch on to.
The way he was spraying them reminded me of the way you spray bugs. That is not the way you treat people, especially those who are just sitting there.
I know this makes great entertainment, but what does this have to do with Physics?
@Tom W #47
Way to obfuscate! A quick search of the Oakland Tribune’s website will show readers that the article you quote-mined:
1. Is over a month old.
2. Includes a quote *from a police officer* relating the “Lord of the Flies” comment, reported as his (anonymous) opinion and not as fact, or the statement of the Tribune.
3. Notes that the camp’s more peaceful residents are the ones suffering from the actions of your noted bullies and thugs. In fact, the majority of the article describes the actions of a *single* disruptive man, not of groups of violent people turning the encampment into a “state of nature”: “The tumult around security centered on the man who throttled Hughes on Monday morning.”
4. The most current news from the Tribune on Occupy Oakland notes that all Occupy camps had been cleared out as of 11/21 (“Police quickly and peacefully cleared a Snow Park encampment at 19th and Harrison streets near Lake Merritt early Monday, which left Oakland without an Occupy encampment for the first time since Oct. 26”), with a new camp begun on the site of a foreclosed home on 11/22. So far, no reports of unrest or violence or pig’s heads on pikes . . .
I’m guessing the other claims in your post are equally distorted and mined for convenient bits of sensationalism and authority opinion that aren’t actually reported fact, so I’ll let others Google those if they’re inclined. I’m sure there are instances of terrible behavior at some Occupy locations, but that’s hardly surprising, people being people and some being attracted to large boisterous groups in order to display their personal brand of sociopathy. That hardly means such folks are emblematic of the movement. (Having actually seen the Occupy Oakland and San Francisco camps on my commute, I can verify that they did not resemble, to me, any scene from “Lord of the Flies”, even if they could seem a little chaotic.)