UC Davis protests & The militarization of campus police

We should also note that at Columbia, a private university, the campus police carry no arms and no pepper spray. This is what Columbia University police look like when arresting students:


This is what the police at Davis, a public university, looked like yesterday:

. And regulations prohibit the use of pepper spray on inmates in all circumstances other than the immediate threat of violence. If a prisoner is seated, by definition the use of pepper spray is prohibited. Any prison guard who used pepper spray on a seated prisoner would face immediate disciplinary review for the use of excessive force.

3268. Use of Force.
The purpose of this section is to set forth Department of
Corrections policy governing the use of force. The policy has its
foundation in California Penal Code statutes and relevant case
decisions.
(a) Definitions.
(1) Reasonable Force:
The force that an objective, trained and competent correctional
employee, faced with similar facts and circumstances, would
consider necessary and reasonable to subdue an attacker, overcome
resistance, effect custody, or gain compliance with a lawful order.
(2) Unnecessary Force:
The use of force when none is required or appropriate.
(3) Excessive Force:
The use of more force than is objectively reasonable to accomplish
a lawful purpose.
(4) Non-Deadly Force:
Any use of force that is not likely to result in death.
(5) Deadly Force:
Any use of force that is likely to result in death.
(6) Use of Force Options:
(A) The choices available to an employee when selecting a
reasonable force option.
(B) The choices include, but are not necessarily limited to:
verbal persuasion or orders; physical strength and holds; chemical
agents and/or other immobilization devices; handheld batons;
less-lethal weapons or firearms.
(1.) For the purposes of this section, a ‘‘less-lethal weapon’’
includes the 37 mm launcher and any other weapon when used to
fire less-lethal projectiles.
(2.) For the purposes of this section, a ‘‘firearm’’ is a weapon
used to fire lethal projectiles.
(b) It is the policy of the Department of Corrections to accomplish
the custodial and correctional functions with minimal reliance
on the use of force. Employees may use reasonable force as
required in the performance of their duties, but unnecessary or
excessive force shall not be used.

babun1024 wrote:Crazy world, we need less humans...

ELLI PEARSON: Well, we were protesting together, and the riot cops came at us, and we linked arms and sat down peacefully to protest their presence on our campus. And at one point, they were—we had encircled them, and they were trying to leave, and they were trying to clear a path. And so, we sat down, linked arms, and said that if they wanted to clear the path, they would have to go through us. But we were on the ground, you know, heads down. And all I could see was people telling me to cover my head, protect myself, and put my head down. And the next thing I know, I was pepper-sprayed.

kiranr wrote:Dansik, you seem to be arguing the technicalities. Why were they given an order to clear out in the first place if the protest is peaceful?