Schools

Investigation Continues Into Santa Monica College Pepper-Spraying

The public will get the opportunity to comment on the report once it's released.

A panel investigating the use of pepper spray on student protesters this spring at Santa Monica College continues to meet as it reviews a stockpile of evidence from the episode, including video footage and statements from witnesses.

Campus spokesman Bruce Smith said the panel was scheduled to meet this week. Comprised of campus administrators and a student, the panel has previously met three times, Smith said.

In what one college leader called a "black eye on the college"—reputed for its high transfer rates to the University of California—three were hospitalized and as many as 30 treated for pepper-spray exposure after a campus police officer used the spray to quell a crowd of demonstrators who appeared ready to storm a Board of Trustees meeting.

Find out what's happening in Santa Monicawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

WATCH:

Video footage showed students screaming and reaching to cover their eyes as they fled the Business Administration Building, which was evacuated for several hours afterward. The incident brought national attention to the .

Find out what's happening in Santa Monicawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The plan was later.

The college’s head counsel, Robert Myers, chairs the panel reviewing the use of pepper spray. The other members are Trustee Nancy Greenstein, Student Trustee Joshua Scuteri, nursing professor Eve Adler and Dean of Workforce and Economic Development Patricia Ramos.

"Panel members have reviewed hundreds of pages of documents and have also spent a significant amount of time looking at video clips," Smith said. "In addition, it has solicited witness statements and has received 35 responses so far."

Once the report is released on an as-of-yet unspecific date, the public will get the chance to comment.

It took a task force at the University of California, Davis 1 year and 5 months to investigate, prepare and release a 190-page report on the pepper-spraying of student demonstrators.

RELATED:

Stay connected with Santa Monica Patch throughout the day on Facebook and Twitter. Subscribe to our free daily newsletter for email updates.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here