Friday, February 6, 1998
CSOs to carry pepper spray for self-defense
SAFETY: After physical attack
of officer on campus, UCLA decides to issue new equipment
By Steven Tanamachi
Daily Bruin Contributor
The eyes and ears of the UCLA community will soon have new
arms.
Within weeks, the Community Service Officers (CSO) will begin to
carry pepper spray for self-defense.
"Students are concerned about the safety of the university,"
said Nancy Greenstein, director of police community services.
The recent effort to increase self-defense comes two weeks after
a CSO was physically attacked in front of Schoenberg Hall. The
officer was taken to the emergency room and treated for facial
lacerations, but returned to work after a week.
"CSOs are not paid, trained or expected to intervene in
dangerous situations," said Matt Ellis, assistant manager of the
CSO Programs.
"We’re not an interventive program," he said. "So the question
comes up, ‘How do you protect yourselves?’"
The officers’ primary duty is to alert the fire or police
department in any dangerous situation.
The issue of carrying the spray has surfaced during the past few
years, but hasn’t had the necessary funds to go through. The attack
on the officer has expedited its appearance, according to Ellis.
The UCLA administration services footed the $3,500 bill for the
pepper spray and training.
CSOs have never carried arms before – only their radios, and
occasionally, their flashlights.
Officers on other campuses and the UCPD carry the spray as well,
according to Ellis.
Any risk involved in carrying it is minimal, according to
Ellis.
"The biggest risk is that it could be taken away and used
against you," he said.
In California alone, there have been at least seven deaths
attributed to the use of pepper gas by police on citizens.
Choking, coughing, sneezing, nausea, burning skin sensations and
temporary blindness are all possible results of being sprayed.
"If (an attack) is something that’s going to happen, you can’t
do much to prevent it," said Robert Shaffer, a third-year music
student who frequents the Schoenberg classrooms. "You just do what
you can to protect yourself."
All CSOs will now go through a mandatory training course. But
because there was no notice of using the gas in CSO’s hiring
agreement, officers are not required to carry it. The contract has
now been modified and all new hirees will have to pack the
spray.
One officer who would not release his name said that he would
not carry it.
"It’s a matter of self-defense," he said, "And it’s not
crucial."
Greenstein doesn’t foresee any objections from the officers or
the public but expected a "positive" reaction.
Students have been surprised in the past that they didn’t carry
the spray, she said.
Ellis, as well, didn’t believe that there would be any backlash,
but foresaw a possible problem "with people seeing that we’re
arming CSOs."