Ten Things You Should Know About Friday’s UC Davis Police Violence
1. The protest at which UC Davis police officers used pepper spray and batons against unresisting demonstrators was an entirely nonviolent one.
None of the arrests at UC Davis in the current wave of activism have been for violent offenses. Indeed, as the New York Times reported this morning, the university’s administration has “reported no instances of violence by any protesters.” Not one.
2. The unauthorized tent encampment had been dismantled well before the pepper spraying began.
On Thursday, students had set up tents on campus, and the administration had allowed them to stay up overnight. When campus police ordered students to take the tents down on Friday afternoon, most complied. The remainder of the tents were quickly removed by police without incident.
3. Students did not restrict the movement of police at any time during the demonstration.
After police made a handful of arrests in the course of taking down the students’ tents, some of the remaining demonstrators formed a wide seated circle around the officers and arrestees. UC Davis police