Reasonable Use of Force For the Occupy Movement

1. Reasonable Use of Force For the Occupy Movement

2. If the Occupy Movement had a mascot, who do you think it would be?

3. ? Bland…

4. ? Cliché…

5. ? We might be on to something…

6. This is Lieutenant John Pike, a police officer at UC Davis.

7. Through the power of the internet, he has become lovingly known as…

8. PEPPER SPRAY COP!

12. Lt. John Pike • Became the face of opposition to the Occupy Movement • Demonstrates how far social media has come in the capacity to spread ideas • Rallied Occupy members and garnered unwanted publicity for UC Davis campus

13. Gap • Amount of force law enforcement agencies apply to the Occupy Movement • Amount of force public deems as necessary to employ

14. Perception of force • Deciding how much force is reasonable or necessary is difficult • Every situation is different • Public judges that decision after the fact knowing all the variables

15. UC Davis and Occupy Oakland • Two different Occupy incidents • Highlight the difference between accepted levels of use of force • Is there a solution to minimize damage to society and maintain respect for authority?

16. UC Davis

17. What happened? • According to the Huffington Post, UC Davis chancellor, Linda P.B. Katehi orders campus police to remove the Occupy encampment(Cherkis) • Police move in to remove tents with minimal arrests and incidents • Protesters surround police and shout that they will let the cops go pending release of arrested students

18. What happened? • Police spend upwards of 15 minutes giving out warnings to protesters that they would be required to use force if they did not move • Prime example of current tactics by police officers being out-of-date and insufficient to resolving Occupy movement conflicts

19. Occupy Oakland

20. What happened? • According to The New York Times, Occupy goal was to move the protesters to the vacant Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center(Maslin Nir) • Police confront protesters for destroying construction barriers • Protesters respond with bottles, metal pipe, rocks, spray cans, improvised explosive devices, and burning flares

22. What happened? • Officers respond with smoke, tear gas, and beanbags during the arrest of 20 people • Night ends with protesters breaking into City Hall, breaking windows and property, and burning an American flag in front of the building

24. Whose fault? • Tensions escalated quickly • Would this have been a problem if police just let Occupiers take the vacant building? • Do we blame the police officers for provoking retaliation and causing property damage?

25. Use of Force

26. Too little… • Runs risk of failing to apprehend the suspect • Endangers themselves, fellow officers, and the public if the suspects resists violently

27. Too much…

28. Use of force doctrine • Law enforcement agencies had to create a doctrine to determine acceptable use of force • Strike a balance between security needs and ethical concerns for the rights and well-being of intruders or suspects(Use of force)

29. Double standard • Decision is complicated • Citizens expect the police to be aggressive in the enforcement of the criminal law against serious offenders(Alpert 486) • They also expect the police to show restraint when they or those they know are involved

31. Technology • Tasers • Pepper spray • Etc… • Use of force becomes a moving target

32. In Hindsight

33. Davis and Oakland • Errors of judgment • Escalated conflicts • Bad publicity for police officers • Negative publicity for protesters • Could have been handled better

34. At UC Davis • It is clear that pepper spray was not necessary for the police to leave • The main objective of removing tents was already complete • Didn’t take into account that their actions would be spread around the internet like wildfire

35. But… • Occupy protesters should not have surrounded the cops in the first place • Undermined the peaceful image of the protest and begged for retaliation

36. At Occupy Oakland • Protesters got out of hand immediately • No justification for escalation besides mob mentality or lack of personal judgment • Exhibits an image of immaturity and lack of respect for authority and private property • Don’t burn the American flag. For real.

37. Should police have backed off? • Argument: Conflict and damage would have been kept to a minimum if police had backed off • Argument is weak • Should police let bank robbers do as they please because confronting them could cause a shootout?* *I know that is a hyperbole

38. Mediation

39. Mediation Observations • Finding the middle ground requires a fundamental change in the approach of law enforcement • Need a change tailored for Occupy protest circumstances • Public needs to understand the difficulty of deciding when to use force and how much

40. For UC Davis • Police should have erred on the side of caution • Risk to officers and public was minimal

41. For Occupy Oakland • Police were forced to respond with force • Police blamed after the fact for causing the chaos • Public should contemplate the double standard presented and temper bias toward police

42. Questions?

43. Works Cited • "UC Davis Pepper Spray – What Really Happened". YouTube.com. 28 November 2011. Timasu. 1 April 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhPdH3wE0_Y&feature=related>. • "Use of force." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 11 January 2012. Web. 1 April 2012. • Adams, Kenneth, et al. Use of Force By Police: Overview of National and Local Data.Washington, DC: U.S. Dept. of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, National Institute of Justice, 1999. Print. • Alpert, Geoffrey P., and William C. Smith. "How Reasonable is the Reasonable Man?: Police and Excessive Force." The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 85.2 (1994): 481-501. Print. • Cherkis, Jason. "UC Davis Police Pepper-Spray Seated Students In Occupy Dispute." The Huffington Post. 20 November 2011. Web. 1 April 2012. • Maslin Nir, Sarah, and Matt Flegenheimer. "Hundreds Held in Oakland Occupy Protest." The New York Times. 29 January 2012. Web. 1 April 2012.