Release of UC Davis pepper-spraying report delayed

Source: SF Chronicle

The task force report on the use of pepper spray by UC Davis police on Occupy protesters last fall will not be released as planned after the union that represents campus police said it will request a temporary restraining order to halt the public disclosure, UC Davis officials said Monday.

The task force - headed by Cruz Reynoso, a former California Supreme Court associate justice and professor emeritus at Davis - was investigating the Nov. 18 incident, in which officers casually pepper-sprayed a line of students and alumni protesting tuition hikes and income inequality. The protesters, who were sitting on the ground with their arms linked, refused to leave the quad.

The task force was ready to release the report Tuesday, but it was alerted to the impending request Monday by union attorneys. The union said it would be requesting a temporary restraining order in Alameda County Superior Court on Tuesday morning, and the general counsel for the university advised the task force to hold back on releasing the report. The request is being filed in Alameda County because the UC president's office is in Oakland.

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