Berkeley Says “No Thanks” To Offer of Campus Cops' Help

After that latest spectacle -- in which UC-Berkeley police officers were videotaped violently dispersing a crowd of student protesters on Wednesday -- the city of Berkeley is just fine without the campus cops' help, thank you very much.

Citing free speech violations as well as instances of excessive force predating -- but including -- the most recent fracas, the Berkeley City Council turned down a "mutual aid agreement," in which the campus police force would be one of the agencies responding to an emergency in the city, according to the San Jose Mercury News.

"Some of my constituents believe the right to demonstrate is something we should respect," said Councilman Jesse Arreguin, according to the newspaper. "That's my issue with the UC police department, and I don't know how we address that."

Berkeley's police department will still respond to emergencies in Oakland, and will benefit from the Oakland Police Department's presence if need be, according to the newspaper.

The as-yet-unknown police officer who injured Iraq War vetern Scott Olsen was specifically called out by the Berkeley council. In the words of Councilman Max Anderson: "Someone who aims a tear-gas canister at someone's head, shoots and fades back into the crowd, I have a problem with that."