Police mar Bruin celebration
By Daily Bruin Staff
April 4, 1995 9:00 p.m.
Police mar Bruin celebration
By Joey Gil, Shoshanna Nakelsky
and Judy Tejero
It was such a great day. There were no clouds over the entire
state of California. O.J.’s alleged bloody glove was revealed in
court. And UCLA won the 1995 NCAA Basketball Championship.
We were all peacefully celebrating at the corner of LeConte and
Gayley Avenues, when the aroma of mace wafted through the air.
Without warning, we felt the stinging sensation of rubber shotgun
pellets striking our skin. The once-gleeful crowd ran in terror
from Robocop, who continued forward after us. Like a twisted
Energizer Bunny with a shotgun, he kept going, and going, and going
…
We barely escaped the human stampede and then saw the news
coverage of the Westwood "riots." The news anchor informed us that
the police had been acting for our safety. After all, it must be
written in the penal code that when a guy dances shirtless in the
street, he must be clubbed … for his "protection." Thanks to the
"protection" of the police, however, we were shot at with rubber
bullets, nearly trampled and barred from returning to our
apartments.
In all seriousness, the dangerous situation was caused by the
poorly-judged actions of the police. What happened in Westwood
Monday night was not merely the students’ fault, as it was depicted
by the media. The police immediately used scare tactics to disperse
the crowd instead of attempting to utilize peaceful means, such as
megaphones and verbal communication.
By shooting, shoving and clubbing people with batons, they
created a situation of chaos in an otherwise mellow crowd. By
boxing in the students, the police concentrated the students who
would have dispersed into Westwood to celebrate. While, ironically,
the purpose of the police presence was to deter violence, they were
the prime cause of violence.
Police, cops, pigs? Hmmm … Razorbacks. The moral of the story:
Bruins and pigs just don’t mix.
Gil is a second-year microbiology student; Nakelsky is a
fourth-year psychology student and Tejero is a third-year
anthropology student.
