UC Davis Pepper Spray

[cico7]

..... (beyond trespassing at this point which is arguable since it's a college campus but whatever..) that the police witnessed and then didn't attempt the first 3 steps of escalation of force.

I see it was a Campus, I thought at first it was a construction site but i have my stories confused. It is still private property and the college is still responsible for the well being of everyone. We dont know what they tried before the spray started. He did warn them that he was going to spray by showing the can and no one moved.

If the police spray the protestors and they run off, the police dont have to arrest the them.

The police could have backed up the bus and hauled everyone away. From what I saw and have heard on the news, I think the police responded reasonably. Pepper spray is not violent, clubs, nightsticks and guns are violent.

Have you (ANYONE) ever been in the middle of something like this that turned violent? Not talking about military action involving people who have been trained, but as a bystander? I was once.

[hoaxci5]

Pepper spray as a punishment for a crime isn't right though, if they committed a crime they should have been arrested not punished on the street since it isn't the police officers job to punish beyond issuing a ticket.

[cico7]

Pepper spray as a punishment for a crime isn't right though, if they committed a crime they should have been arrested not punished on the street since it isn't the police officers job to punish beyond issuing a ticket.

Please, I view this as a discussion, not a debate or argument. We wont agree on the outcome I am sure.

I think the LEO's are responding to something larger than the kids sitting. They do have the responsibility to keep violence from escalating.

Dispersing the crowd does keep the activities from getting out of hand. What if they used water instead of pepper spray? Are they still punishing the protestors?

The water may not hurt but the water pressure does. A fire hose can break ribs or worse.

Wait, were you one of the protesters that got sprayed?

[hoaxci5]

I think if their primary role was to clear the crowd they should have dropped a tear gas canister and split

That's only half joking though, because in that case they wouldn't have singled out a few people.. there were more protesters than just those sitting in a circle.
If they have a responsibility to keep violence from escalating then why did they start it? (I view inflicting pain on someone as violence so that is where I'm coming from on that one..)

Nah you wouldn't catch me at a occupy protest, like I said in the beginning I don't agree with them, but I support their right to protest.