A University of California police officer drew his gun and pointed it at students protesting meeting of the UC regents this morning, and the UC San Francisco police chief’s explanation as to why doesn’t seem to hold water.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, UCSF police chief Pamela Roskowski told a press conference today that the officer drew his weapon after a protester took his baton and hit him on the head with it, but that claim appears to be contradicted by a video recording of the incident.
In the video, posted on the Chronicle‘s website, the officer lunges into a crowd which is surging toward him. With his baton held in both hands in front of him, he tussles briefly with one protester. For most of the scuffle, which lasts for less than five seconds, the baton is visible in his possession. As he breaks away from the protester he is clutching the baton in his left hand, and he only draws his gun after the baton has fallen from his grasp to the floor behind him. The officer’s helmeted head is visible throughout the altercation with the protester, and there is no indication that he is ever struck with the baton or any other object.
I’ll have more to say on this incident tomorrow.
Update | Here’s another copy of the same video, from a local television station’s website. At 0:42 in this video the officer is holding his baton in both hands. At 0:45 and 0:49 he’s holding it in his left hand in the same orientation. The only time it’s even possible that he could have lost control of the baton is the three seconds (or less) between 0:42 and 0:45, and his head is clearly visible during that entire period.
Second Update | Here’s raw video of the altercation and its aftermath. Although Roskowski claimed that someone said “take his gun” before the officer unholstered his weapon, no such statement can be heard.
Morning Update | Here are some more thoughts on yesterday’s events, and what they mean for the University of California.
November 26, 2011 | I tweeted a link to this post this morning, as it seemed worth mentioning in light of recent events. Unfortunately the videos linked above are no longer online, and I have been unable to find footage of the entire incident. You can, however, see video of Officer Kemper pointing his gun at unarmed students here.
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November 18, 2010 at 12:25 am
Nestor
From what I see in the video, that cop lost grip of his baton and is by his left foot when he decided on drawing the gun. “Protection” no one was getting near him at that point in the video!
November 18, 2010 at 1:14 am
Ted
Imagine if a protester pulled a gun on a cop.
November 18, 2010 at 1:21 am
Alexander
When an officer loses one of his weapons, immediately drawing another weapon is an instinct. The officer MAY have thought that a student took his baton, in which case he was in the right to draw his gun. Many UC Officers do not receive tasers. When there is a swarm of protesters and you think that one of them may have taken something that can kill you off of your person, you’re thinking of your safety. Even if he had a taser, that taser would only stop the person with the weapon and inciting others to charge at you. The officer knows what he can and cannot do, and he did what he thought was necessary. He knew that he would be at fault, no matter what, if he fired even a warning shot.
November 18, 2010 at 1:40 am
Bob
The best way to protest the rate increase would be to boycott the school for a semester or more if needed. All students should just not show up for the entire semester and pay an fee for that semester.
This would resolve the rate hike situation pretty fast, since the management does not want to kill the goose that lays the golden egg (the students are paying for them, if they are not there, then the management can be dissolved and has no use at all)
November 18, 2010 at 2:10 am
Chocolate
@Bob: That would be ideal. But how to we get a massive amount of ignorant/apathetic/tired students to even listen to us? The administration has been highly successful in their divide and conquer tactics.
November 18, 2010 at 8:23 am
“They are not here to hurt you” « zunguzungu
[…] can see that video here. As Angus Johnston notes, In the video, posted on the Chronicle‘s website, the officer lunges into a crowd which is […]
November 18, 2010 at 11:29 am
Casper
This is very similar to what happened in Greece. An amped up, macho cop thought for some crazy reason he was in danger, and took the life of a 15 year old boy. If cops can’t handle protests, they shouldn’t be assigned to them. In Greece and many other European countries, it’s actually illegal for armed police officers to enter a University Campus for precisely this reason.
November 19, 2010 at 1:59 am
claire
No Casper no one died here