top
Santa Cruz IMC
Santa Cruz IMC
Indybay
Indybay
Indybay
Regions
Indybay Regions North Coast Central Valley North Bay East Bay South Bay San Francisco Peninsula Santa Cruz IMC - Independent Media Center for the Monterey Bay Area North Coast Central Valley North Bay East Bay South Bay San Francisco Peninsula Santa Cruz IMC - Independent Media Center for the Monterey Bay Area California United States International Americas Haiti Iraq Palestine Afghanistan
Topics
Newswire
Features
From the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay Feature

Police Officers Pepper Spray People on Science Hill

by ~Bradley (bradley [at] riseup.net)
On January 12th, two University of California police officers used pepper spray to disperse about 15 people gathered below an occupied redwood tree on Science Hill at UC Santa Cruz. The officers got out of their car, which was parked in the parking lot, and then followed the people dressed in black and wearing bandannas across their faces. One of the officers proclaimed that the group was trespassing and then both officers began pepper spraying people in their faces.

No one was apprehended by the two officers and more police quickly arrived on the scene. Two bags, which appeared to contain food items, were left below the tree until an officer took them to the backseat of a police car. Several police cars rapidly drove away from Science Hill and may have been pursuing the group which they accused of assisting trespassers.
tapestry_1-12-08.jpg
Shortly after the pepper spraying, three treesitters came down to the lower branches of the redwood and discussed some of their motivations with a group of inquisitive supporters. One the treesitters spoke of how he grew up in Santa Cruz and developed a deep passion for the trees at UCSC. Since being in the tree, he has come to more fully appreciate the relationship other animals have with the redwoods.

A student stood below the tree and told people in and below the tree that the reason he was there was because he received an email from UCSC telling him to avoid the treesit. The treesitters thanked their inquisitive supporters for the good conversation and encouraged people to stop by anytime with food or for conversation. A few final suggestions from a treesitter were that people should be more casual and come during the day in smaller groups when the police are not around.


For more information about the treesit on Science Hill against UCSC expansion and the increased police repression, see:

Eyewitness Report of Police Attacking Two People at UCSC
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/01/10/18471576.php

Winter Break at the UCSC Tree-sit
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2007/12/19/18467787.php

Santa Cruz Community Supports Tree-sitters
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2007/11/16/18461591.php

Standoff with Police as Activists Occupy Redwoods to Oppose UCSC Expansion
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2007/11/08/18458938.php
§Police Officers Approach
by ~Bradley
enclose_1-12-08.jpg
§Police Officers Use Thier Pepper Spray
by ~Bradley
spray_1-12-08.jpg
§Close Up of a Stream of Pepper Spray
by ~Bradley
spray-close_1-12-08.jpg
a close up from the photo above
§An Officer Continues Pepper Spraying
by ~Bradley
pepper1_1-12-08.jpg
§Left Hand on Shoulder, Pepper Spray in Right Hand
by ~Bradley
pepper1-close_1-12-08.jpg
a close up from the photo above
§Officer Holds Pepper Spray After Spraying People
by ~Bradley
pepper2_1-12-08.jpg
§An Officer Holding Pepper Spray
by ~Bradley
pepper3_1-12-08.jpg
§Holding Pepper Spray After Spraying People With It
by ~Bradley
pepper4_1-12-08.jpg
§An Officer Takes Two Bags Left Below The Tree
by ~Bradley
food-grab_1-12-08.jpg
§Two Bags and a Blanket Brought to a Police Car
by ~Bradley
confiscated_1-12-08.jpg
§Provisions in the Backseat
by ~Bradley
backseat_1-12-08.jpg
§M. Larsom
by ~Bradley
m-larsom_1-12-08.jpg
* I think I read the name correctly, but I could be wrong.
§Comfort Bubble
by ~Bradley
comfort-bubble_1-12-08.jpg
A slightly humorous point of the day came when Officer Brian Hughes said to me, just before this photo was taken, "Bradley, I will arrest you if you get in my comfort bubble."

Of course this was only humorous because Officer Hughes quoted funny words from the eyewitness account posted on SC-IMC about his unjustified violence on the night of January 9th.

Eyewitness Report of Police Attacking Two People at UCSC
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2008/01/10/18471576.php
§Officer Tony Contreras Explains the Situation
by ~Bradley
more-security_1-12-08.jpg
The guy on the left might have been involved with the security hired to keep watch on Science Hill, however Officer Tony Contreras was pointing out which trees were occupied.
§Police
by ~Bradley
police_1-12-08.jpg
§Treesitters
by ~Bradley
treesitters_1-12-08.jpg
§Treesitters in Tree 4
by ~Bradley
sitters-tree4_1-12-08.jpg
* I am calling this tree, "Tree 4" only because I heard the other three occupied trees called "Tree 1," "Tree 2," and "Tree 3."
§Talking with Treesitters
by ~Bradley
interview_1-12-08.jpg
Add Your Comments
Listed below are the latest comments about this post.
These comments are submitted anonymously by website visitors.
TITLE
AUTHOR
DATE
Brent
Fri, Jan 25, 2008 2:41AM
Brenda
Thu, Jan 24, 2008 6:06PM
Ike S.
Thu, Jan 24, 2008 3:11PM
vincent
Wed, Jan 23, 2008 9:39PM
nr5667
Wed, Jan 23, 2008 8:47PM
UC Pepper Spray
Wed, Jan 23, 2008 2:54PM
nr5667
Wed, Jan 23, 2008 2:42PM
Innocent Until Proven Guilty in COURT
Wed, Jan 23, 2008 1:17PM
nr5667
Wed, Jan 23, 2008 11:51AM
Robert Norse
Wed, Jan 23, 2008 9:00AM
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!

Donate

$110.00 donated
in the past month

Get Involved

If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us.

Publish

Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay.

IMC Network