An independent investigation has assigned plenty of blame to administrators and campus safety officers in the pepper spray incident at the University of California, Davis. From Inside Higher Ed:
The task force blames [Chancellor Linda] Katehi for improperly deciding when to deploy police and failing to communicate to police that they should avoid physical force, and criticizes the police chief, Annette Spicuzza, for not challenging Katehi on the operation’s timing, for not clarifying her expectations for officers and for deviating from best police practices. However, it singles out [Lt. John] Pike for “the objectively unreasonable decision” to use pepper spray on the students.
What’s more, the spray weapon that Pike used is not authorized under UC police guidelines. Officers were not trained on how to use it — which is probably why Pike used it incorrectly. The weapon was higher-pressure than what the officers usually used, meant to be sprayed at a minimum distance of six feet. As the report says, “Pike appeared to be spraying protesters at a much closer distance than six feet.”
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