Annette Spicuzza, the police chief of the University of California, Davis campus, was placed on administrative leave Monday — three days after two campus police officers doused student protestors with pepper spray, according to the New York Times.
Students were seated during a demonstration on the school’s campus in connection with the Occupy Wall Street movement, and refused to leave when police attempted to remove tents set up by the protesters.
Police in riot-gear were shown spraying about 12 seated demonstrators with pepper spray in videos now widely-distributed on the internet.
Amid outrage over the incident, the two officers were placed on paid leave pending investigation into the incident.
Linda Katehi, the university’s chancellor, called the removal of Spicuzza “a necessary step toward restoring trust on our campus.”
Katehi also requested the district attorney’s office begin an investigation into the campus police department’s use of force during the incident.