Friday, Nov. 18, dozens of peaceful Occupy protesters were pepper sprayed in the face after refusing to remove their tents from the University of California – Davis campus. After refusing to move, demonstrators sat and linked arms to show solidarity. Many spectators recorded original footage of the harsh attacks. The videos were quickly uploaded to YouTube and instantly became a viral phenomenon. Two officers involved have been suspended and UC – Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi is facing pressure to resign after how she handled the incident.
According to ABC News, Criminal Defense Attorney Okorie Okorocha believes that the police offiers had no reason to pepper spray the crowd. Okorocha explained that tear gas is used to move people away from an area, whereas pepper spray is used to subdue a resisting person or group. Thus, he questions why police would incapacitate a crowd with pepper spray while trying to make them disperse.
As of recently, many Occupy movements have turned violent, as seen in raw footage from Occupy Oakland and others. ABC News has been covering Occupy protests thoroughly and offered an article about what what comes next for Occupy protesters.
The various accounts of unnecessary police brutality and violence remind me of the Civil Rights Movement. The massive amounts of police brutality only drew attention to the social issue of race inequality. It appears that this time, police brutality is forcing the public pay attention to the inequality between social economic statuses of the nation's people.
According to ABC News, Criminal Defense Attorney Okorie Okorocha believes that the police offiers had no reason to pepper spray the crowd. Okorocha explained that tear gas is used to move people away from an area, whereas pepper spray is used to subdue a resisting person or group. Thus, he questions why police would incapacitate a crowd with pepper spray while trying to make them disperse.
As of recently, many Occupy movements have turned violent, as seen in raw footage from Occupy Oakland and others. ABC News has been covering Occupy protests thoroughly and offered an article about what what comes next for Occupy protesters.
The various accounts of unnecessary police brutality and violence remind me of the Civil Rights Movement. The massive amounts of police brutality only drew attention to the social issue of race inequality. It appears that this time, police brutality is forcing the public pay attention to the inequality between social economic statuses of the nation's people.