Judge: Officers’ Names to be Released in Pepper Spray Incident

A judge ruled on Tuesday that the names of the officers involved in last year’s pepper spray incident at UC Davis should be released, according to the LA Times. The names of the officers were .  

This comes after the Sacramento Bee and LA Times against the UC Board of Regents in hopes of forcing the release of the officers' names.

Officials rejected the newspapers' California Public Records Act requests, citing the original reasons for the redactions, which was that it would put the officers in danger. (Lt. John Pike received threats in the hectic pepper spray aftermath). 

The lawsuit said, "...The idea that government agents can anonymously plan and execute operations using chemical weapons against protesters in the public square is antithetical to the most fundamental notions of democracy, which depend upon public scrutiny of official conduct. The Regents' withholding of the names of the officers also contradicts California law, which requires officers to wear name tags on their uniforms."

The Federated University Police Officers’ Association initially wanted large portions of the report redacted, but judge Evelio Grillo didn’t allow that. He did, however, allow for the redaction of the officers’ names.

According to the LA Times, “Grillo said his earlier injunction did not apply to information sought under the California Public Records Act and ordered the policy report … released in its entirety.”

The names won’t be released until July 27, so that the Federated University Police Officers’ Assn. can choose whether or not to file an appeal, according to the Sacramento Bee.

Read more about the ruling in the Los Angeles Times or the Sacramento Bee.

What do you think of the judge's ruling? Should the names be released? 

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