University of California Davis (UC Davis) police chief Annette Spicuzza was put on administrative leave Nov. 21 after student protesters were pepper sprayed by campus police officers Nov. 18, according to a press release from the university.
This comes after videos of the incident went viral, sparking international outrage.
In the videos, protesters affiliated with the Occupy Wall Street movement are seen sitting across a roadway on campus, when a campus police officer begins to pepper spray them in the face.
As a result, Spicuzza was put on administrative leave along with two other officers who were involved in the incident, according to a press release.
“As I have gathered more information about the events that took place on our quad [Nov. 18], it has become clear to me that this is a necessary step toward restoring trust on our campus,” UC Davis chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi said in a press release.
The university will be conducting an investigation into the incident as well as hosting open forums with students, parents, and anyone else affected by the incident, according to the press release.
Some are still calling for Katehi’s resignation.
Katehi’s “use of police force to suppress the protests” demonstrated a “gross failure of leadership,” according to a UC Davis Faculty Association letter.
While most have been upset by the conduct of the campus police department, Charles Kelly, a Baltimore police officer who wrote the UC Davis police department’s code of conduct, told the Telegraph that the actions of the officers were “fairly standard police procedure."
Allan Burns, Carleton’s director of university safety, said Carleton’s response to a similar incident would vary depending on the situation.
“There are many variables that would affect how we would respond and the actions we would take,” Burns said in an email, adding that Carleton’s campus safety officers do not carry pepper spray.