A task force report analyzing last year’s pepper-spraying incident at UC Davis that was scheduled to be released Tuesday has been delayed, according to a statement from the UC Office of the President.
A union representing UC campus police and a police officer at the center of the pepper-spraying incident is expected to request a court order Tuesday to halt the report’s disclosure, officials said Monday. This prompted former California Supreme Court Associate Justice Cruz Reynoso, who is heading the task force, to postpone the report’s release.
The pending request by the union came as a surprise, said UC spokeswoman Dianne Klein. The new release date hinges on how Tuesday’s hearing will pan out, she said.
The pepper-spraying incident, which occurred last November, garnered widespread criticism of the UC’s treatment of Occupy demonstrators. In response, UC Davis Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi requested UC President Mark Yudof to form an official task force to investigate the incident, which also prompted a systemwide review of police policies and procedures pertaining to protest activities.
Reynoso and 12 other task force members were scheduled to publicly outline their findings from the UC Davis pepper spraying incident along with recommendations to the university on Tuesday.
Both Reynoso and Yudof expressed their concerns regarding the request to halt the disclosure of the task force’s findings.
“I am disappointed,” Yudof said in the statement, “and I have asked the UC General Counsel’s office to do everything in its power in court to turn back this attempt to stifle these reports.”
Compiled by Naheed Rajwani, Bruin senior staff.