Policing at UC Davis – A Timeline
Posted: August 31st, 2022 | Author: ucdcoc | Filed under: Disorientation Guide '22-'23 | Comments Off on Policing at UC Davis – A Timeline
These are just a few select moments in the history of the UC Police with special attention to UC Davis; we can assure you that they have covered themselves in glory, by which we mean the blood of anyone in range of their clubs, with great regularity.
19 November 2009: Fifty-two Arrests, One Helicopter, Dogs
Confronted by a peaceful protest at Mrak Hall against massive tuition increases and other austerity measures, UCD police call in support from four other county and city forces, air support, and a canine unit. All told they make more than fifty arrests despite having no viable charges. Four officers throw one student on the hood of a police car and thus are compelled to charge her with both resisting arrest and battery against an officer. The University and the County take her to trial, earning zero convictions and one countersuit.
9 November 2011: Indiscriminate Police Violence
At a UC Berkeley Occupy protest, UCB police attack everyone they can with nightsticks, shields, and hair-pulling. County police, also present, join in the well-publicized beating of students and faculty.
18 November 2011: Pepper Spray Incident
Guilty of what one journalist calls “politicized camping,” students and others involved in Occupy Davis face police attacking their tents, seizing their possessions, and rounding them up on the quad in front of the Memorial Union. Police make random arrests. When remaining students sit down in a circle, the police apply potentially lethal amounts of military grade pepper spray to their eyes, noses, and mouths. The image becomes globally infamous and synonymous with the violence and inhumanity of police. Several of the traumatized students withdraw from school, and many endure various debilities. The university is found culpable and forced to make a large settlement. This will set in motion an extended series of events, including further massive university expenditures to sanitize its internet profile, that will eventually bring down the Chancellor who signed off on the police violence.
February 2012: The Davis Dozen
Twelve people involved in the US Bank occupation protesting student debt are charged with twenty misdemeanors and one conspiracy charge each, for the crime of sitting in the hallway of their own student union — threatening the dozen with eleven years of prison time in addition to a million dollars in restitution. The months-long court proceeding includes the document discovery indicating that US Bank no longer wishes to pursue the case and that prosecution is driven entirely by the UCD administration. It yields no convictions, a bit of community service, and one less bank.
2012: Pop Pop Pop
UC Police Fire Rubber Bullets at UC Riverside Protesters.
April 2017: The Picnic Day Five
A group of people enjoying Picnic Day are nearly hit by an unmarked police van while waiting to cross at Russell Boulevard. The cops honk and yell at them to “get the fuck off the street.” Unidentified, plainclothes cops then exit the van and begin verbally and physically assaulting the crowd. Three people of color are arrested at the scene, and two more people of color are charged afterwards although many more people are seen fighting. Only two police officers face disciplinary action (the details of which are unknown), while all five arrestees are forced to take plea deals and are placed on probation. Police records of the “Picnic Day Brawl” clearly conflict with witness testimonies. An independent audit finds that the UC Davis police report and internal investigation are “completely inaccurate” and that the cops’ conduct was “ill-advised” and “only served to antagonize.” All records are cleared as the UCDPD continues to pile up Ls.
May 2019: Modern Shackles
UCD police violently detain a community member at the campus bookstore before arresting her. The incident prompts an internal use-of-force investigation.
February 2020: Anti-Labor Action
After extensive and expensive surveillance of student labor organizers, and after campus police summon other nearby forces for support, riot cops violently attack the COLA picket line at UC Santa Cruz.
February 2020: More of the Same
UC Irvine police officer tackles a Black alumna before handcuffing her and taking her into custody during an action at Aldrich Hall. The alumna, who was on campus to get a transcript, was not participating in the event.
May 2022: Late But Useless
Regarding the scene of a fatal bicycle accident on campus, UCD police say that they “did the best they could”; an eyewitness account of police actions differs from that of the officer involved.
August 2022: Team Real Estate
UC Berkeley Police show up in riot gear to clear People’s Park, evicting unhoused people and allowing university contractors to cut down trees in preparation for construction. Community fightback pauses the destruction.