Chancellor Katehi not all of the problem, but she must go

When asked about the calling for her resignation, UC Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi replied that she did not violate any institutional policies, therefore she would not step down after video showed passive sitting students sprayed by campus police in their faces. Faculty member at the scene observed that for those refused to open their mouths, police pried open their mouths and then sadistically sprayed down their throats, all while a group of a few (a dozen to be precise) students were sitting still on the ground of the quad area at UC Davis.

Based on the videos now viral online at YouTube as well as many other websites, it is clear that those few students in protesting were not a threat to any one, in the least to the police officers in full riot gears, in Robocop costume as described by one bystander. In the video, police officers who were applying sprays were walking in a casual, if not joyful, manner, up and down and back and force around and above the sitting students. It is obvious to viewers that the pepper spray was used as a punishment. Through the entire process, students did not resist, or even move their bodies or fingers. They were sitting there, armed linked, when police officers spray on their faces. And they did not move when they were arrested one by one.

Many viewers of these videos were outraged, and called for termination of the police officer, Lt Pike of the UC Davis Police Department. As a matter of fact, a 9th Circuit ruling (276 F.3d 1125) in 2002 clearly outlawed police use of pepper spray against non-violent protesters.

However, law enforcing experts hold different opinions after carefully examining the same video. For example, Charles J. Kelly, a former Baltimore Police Department lieutenant who wrote the department's use of force guidelines, said pepper spray is a "compliance tool" that can be used on subjects who do not resist, and is preferable to simply lifting protesters. Baltimore is not subject to California State Law, and is not covered by 9th Circuit in federal justice system. That being said, Kelly also was able to point out at least two instances when he found the student protesters where not 'passive'. In one case, a girl pull back her arm when police officers grabbed her. In another case, a boy curved himself into a ball on the ground. By police book, both warrant higher level of aggressive tactics (than pepper spray). In other words, by police standard, UC Davis police demonstrated not only high level of professionalism, but also great self-restraint even after being provoked.

At this time, it worth to review the video a few more times, to check out the two cases pointed out by Kelly. The trouble is, the Seagull, or any reasonable viewer would still have a difficult time to recognize any 'non-passive' movement of gesture of those sitting students, even after the hints, clues and helpful finger-pointing.

The discrepancy between the public and the police's view illustrated a bigger problem, as many referred to as a consequence of militarization of urban police, a topic with deeper implications.

Chancellor Katehi was trapped in her own media room on campus after a press conference late Saturday. Ms. Katehi refused to step down, as she 'did not violate any institutional policies', then refused to step outside the building, possibly felt threatened by her own students, whom she sent riot police in to get rid of from the campus the day before. Students did not threaten her by any means, they just sit in darkness on their own campus, three blocks long along the side of walkways between the media room and Ms. Katehi's SUV, in 'eerily silence'. When Ms. Katehi finally collected her courage to walk the walk, no sound could be heard, not even a cough.

Anyone who thinks she can continuously lead the campus must be blind.

As pointed out by the letter from the Davis Faculty Association, Ms. Katehi should have foreseen the brutality when she sent in the riot police on students.

Police were trained and reinforced daily on the belief that they were fighting the worse criminals in the world, thus must act accordingly. It is the same rational that you do not send in soldiers on civil matters as a soldiers' first instinct would be to pull the trigger. You can blame them, but you can't expect them not to be 'trigger-happy' because that was how they has been trained on daily basis. Ms. Katehi's decision to use riot police against students under her care was a loss of judgment and 'gross failure of leadership'. Therefore, she must go.

Ms. Katehi is a liar. Even after the video went viral, in an email to the entire campus, she insisted police action was necessary 'make the campus safe for everyone'. Any conscientious sole who have had a glance of the video would beg to differ, as reflected by the international outcry in the days to come. Ms. Katehi has a bigger problem than lying in public, which is her lack of integrity and her ingeniously lack of caring to students, a mandate for any person in the education field. Ms. Katehi may be an excellent researcher or politician, but she is not meant to be an educator.

UC Davis Pepper Spray

The Seagull was so disgusted by the UC Davis incident when police officers walked to a few students who quietly sat in the quad area in protest and started spray on them.

From the calm and measured faces and paces, in a sharp contract to the students who dodge their heads in between their legs but otherwise sitting still through out the entire process, the Seagull had no doubt that had these officers given an order to shoot they would not even blink.

The Seagull will never forgive soldiers who opened fire at students in Tian'anmen Square in the early morning of June 4th, 1989. However, the incident at UC Davis showed those soldiers were not the only evils in this world.

The UC Davis police chief later claimed the police was 'cut off' and 'threatened'. With so many videos posted on Youtube, everybody could see by their own eyes whether any police was cut off or threatened in any way by any measure.

It is an even chilling moment when the UC Davis Chancellor Linda PB Katehi brushed it off, in response to the videos, as 'questions about how best to handle situations like this'. In an email to the campus, Ms. Katehi wrote: 'We deeply regret that many of the protestors today chose not to work with our campus staff and police to remove the encampment as requested. We are even more saddened by the events that subsequently transpired to facilitate their removal.'

Shame on you police, shame on you Ms. Katehi, shame on you University of California.

And watch it again, check out that smirk on his face, when University of California at Davis police officer Lt. John Pike performed his job. According to Assistant Professor Nathan Brown who was at the scene, police then pried open students' mouth with baton, then ejected pepper spray down their throats.

Professor Brown called for Ms. Katehi's resignation. A petition can be signed here.

The incident on campus at U C Davis made all the arguments of democracy pointless, when ordinary people in China see peaceful students being treated this way in the US.

Michael T. Richter says:

I am an educator in a Chinese college. I have been teaching in Chinese colleges and universities for the past decade. In that decade, deep in the heart of one of the most brutal police states in the world, I have never, not even once, seen brutality from university and civil authorities that comes even close to what I saw from UCB and UCD in recent days.

I say this with a very strong observational foundation, I might add. In the year 2003, in the first institute I taught in (Jiujiang Institute, http://www.jju.edu.cn/), there was a full-fledged student riot—complete with massive property damage (a several hundred metre section of the school’s outer wall was torn down)—over restrictions placed on student movement during the SARS crisis. I was able to witness first-hand how the school’s authorities reacted. Despite being a well-connected official in one of the most brutally authoritarian states in the world, the president of the university went out, facing personal danger (students threw a variety of objects from their dormitory windows at him including filled thermos bottles), to *negotiate* with the students. The riots were brought back under control, tempers were cooled and the crisis brought to an end, get this, without the use of guns, chemicals, batons or even policemen.

Congratulations, America, you have actually managed to surpass China’s brutality—and make no mistake, the Chinese government is a collection of brutal thugs!—in this sphere.

I hope you’re proud.

How Chinese Law Enforcement Officers Enforcing the Law

A surveillance video camera caught a scene when two Chinese law enforcement officers gave a hotel front desk girl a lesson. youtube, and youtube (same, just in case first one removed by CCP)

One officer of the Law Enforcing Bureau called in to book a room. The officer was annoyed when the girl started taking down his information, because 'everyone should know me'. "I will be there in a minute", he said, and a few minutes later, he came in to beat the girl with stationary, computer screen and chairs. Then more officers rushed in, joining him to fist, kick the girl.

When asked by reporters, the Central Propaganda Department of the CCP responded that there had been worse cases happened in the US.

The video was leaked out recently, though dated 4/20/2011. The incident happened in Hekou District of Dongying City of Shandong Province. After the video went viral on the Internet, one of the officers, Mr. Zhang Zongguo received a warning by the local CCP (DongHeGuang CCP 2011-4). And that was the end of the story.

Appellant Killed on Way to Protest Beijing University

An appellant from Sanmenxia city of Henan Province was killed in the area of South Rail Station of Beijing by police. Hundreds of appellants had been rounded up by police in the area after many appellant went to Beijing University to protest. Many of them were beaten, and one was beaten to death.

Professor and Director of Forensic Department of Beijing University Mr. Sun Dongdong claimed that more than 99% of appellants who came to Beijing to appeal wrongdoings of local courts and governments were insane, and that the best treatment was to lock them up in mental facilities.

Police of Haidian District where the Beijing University is located were instructed to look for appellants and detain them. The instruction specifically ask local police stations not to supply lunch to detailed appellants before transferring them to metropolitan level concentration camps in Majialou, Beijing.

Beijing University Police Beat Up Protesters

Protesters were beaten up by campus security force. Professor Sun Dongdong of Beijing University told the media that 99% of people who did not agree with government were suffering from mental disorder. Mental disorder had been used by Communism government to lock up political dissidents. However since last year, it has become a commonly cited reasoning to lock up anyone who fail to behave 'harmonically'.

In the communism hierarchy, Beijing University is a deputy ministry level government agency. Professor Sun Dongdong is the top forensic expert of the Ministry of Public Security.

people applauses bloodshed in police headquarter

A Beijing resident killed 6 Shanghai policemen, and wounded 4 others with a chef knife. When the words spread, the Chinese Internet community exploded with cheers and stand ovations.

Last October, Beijing resident Yang Jia came to Shanghai on a leisure trip. He rented a bicycle from a bike shop near the Zhabei rail station. Before he had a chance to tour Shanghai on the rental bike, he found himself in a jail room, beaten by several police, again and again. They wanted him to admit he had stolen the bike.

He was beaten so badly that the doctor told him he lost reproduction capability forever. He went back to Zhabei Police Bureau to complain. The Zhabei Police told him they would pay $2,000, but would not admit any guilt. When Yang pressed more, the director of the Zhabei Bureau told him he would throw him in jail again. Yang tried to complain to other government agencies and news media in Shanghai, but he was only laughed at.

He's no longer a male, but Yang decides to live and die like a man. Citizen Yang Jia had left with only one choice. On the day of the 87th university of the founding of the Chinese Communism Party, Yang pick up a chef's knife and came to the police headquarter of the Zhabei Police. He searched from the 1st floor to the 21st floor, for cops who had beat and threatened him, and killed them all. He did not hurt any female officers, and did not kill any other police who did not mistreat him.

A Beijing resident, Yang Jia lives in an old apartment building in north Beijing, just a stone's throw away from the 'Bird Nest' Olympics Stadium.

Fuck the Olympics!

Protesting Chengdu Residents Tear Gased by Police

A Chengdu resident climbed on the top of car to take a picture of the police woman, No. 006677.

It had been raining like no end in the disaster area after the Sichuan Earthquake, and refugees had to stay overnight on the street in cold rain. Where had those tents donated by people around the world gone? No detective is needed, they were stolen.

Police used tear gas on people protesting officials stealing donated tents. The incident started when self-appointed Netizens mobilized to find out the truth behind numerous relief supply tents appeared in stores on Chengdu streets. Chengdu is not a disaster area of this earthquake, but these tents are all relief supplies that were not for sale. Some of the tents found on black markets were donated from foreign countries.

Police forces were dispatched to suppress the protesting people who discovered a location of illegal retail place on Beisen Road. When more than 870,0000 affected by the quake do not have a tent for the night and the government placed the up most priority on getting in more tents, it's understandable the situation was explosive already. The bomb was ignited when a police woman, No. 006677 (police woman in the picture taken by protectors) told the protectors that they did not have a say on corruptions, and beat some of the protectors.

Soon many angry Chengdu residents came to confront the

police woman, No. 006677

, and demanded an apology. Instead of issuing an apology, the police chose to use tear gas to disperse the protectors. Around 30-40 policemen were seen beating Chengdu residents with batons. Many women, children and elderly people were beaten by the police, just because they happened to be witnesses of corruptions in the earthquake relief.

It would be the first time Chengdu residents were tear gased by police after the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989.

In one sense, foreign government and organizations should stopped donating tents to China. If they stop sending tents, then corrupted communism officials will have nothing to steal, then innocent people will not be beaten by police. In the least, anyone who still wants to donate needs to get an answer from the Chinese government first: Who is the police women No. 006677? Who are the police women No. 006677 trying to cover? Who ordered the use of tear gas on people who dare to point out officials corruption? How were the 40 Chengdu policemen rewarded for beating protectors?

Policeman Beaten by Angered Citizens

Four Guangdong policemen were beaten by angered citizens who witnessed the police drowned a man who alleged drove an motorcycle without a license.


On March 7, 2008 in Taishan, Guangdong. Four policemen stopped a guy who alleged drove a motorcycle without a license plate. It's quite common in rural area that farmers do not register their motorcycles to save registration fees. The guy fled on foot with police chasing after him. Later he jumped in a river, trying to swim across, but then one policeman got to the other side, and cornered him back to the center of the river. The man got tired after a while, and started yelling for help. There was a fishing boat close by, but the police threatened arresting the fisherman if he dare to rescue the man in water. At the end the man drawn as the fisherman, police and hundreds of people watching. When the head of the man disappeared from the surface, many bystanders (mostly students getting off school) were angered and beat the shit out of the police. Tens of thousands of people protested on the street while thousands of police were sent to the scene in the days to follow.

The dead man was a farmer in Natai Village of Fenrui Township, a 52 years old veteran with a teenage son. A similar incident happened last November in Huzhou, Zhejiang. A driver was chased by police into river and drowned. Thousands protested and burned police vehicles. Although there's no media coverage of such incidents, popular usage of cell phones and video sharing sites make information control an even daunting job for the communism government.

Moment of Truth in Communism Propaganda

Recently a Chinese propaganda official told the press that Chinese enjoyed the most freedom of speech as most western website did not allow readers to leave comments while most Chinese website did. Probably so.

Look at this Youtube video on the high profile L.A. police brutality. Even though Youbute does allow visitors to leave comments, actually visitors comments are what makes Youbute the $1.6 billion business, the comment function of this particular heavily visited video is disabled.

Internet has become a main Chinese for Chinese to release their unhappiness on social issues. It seems the government intentionally leaves the channel open so that less people will actually go on the streets. Thanks to cheap labor cost, thousands of Net cops were busy working to delete inappropriate comments. Still, Chinese Netizens get to enjoy moment of shout out on the Internet. On the other hand, although Google's video sharing business model is built on community comments, Google decides it's simply too risky to allow any potential criticism on government that they prohibit comments on sensitive topics. Or maybe, 'censorship' is just too evil a word for Google's taste, and 'shut up' sounds much nicer.

Stated in Google's own Code of Conduct, "..our most important asset by far is our reputation as a company that warrants our users' faith and trust." Google made its name and market share not only by its technically superior search engine, but also because of its 'being different kind of company', evident by clean user interface, and non-commercial rankings of search results, etc. However, the core value of Google has been put into test repeatedly as the company 'evolves'. So one day it may read 'All animals are equal', and the next day it may evolves into '.., but some animals are more equal then others'.

Just another case when the Mafia Nation is laughing at the Police Nation. Google, "Don't be Evil!"