Letter to Chancellor Gillman from the UCI Faculty Association 2/26/20

Dear Chancellor Gillman:

We are writing as UCI faculty to express our concern about the arrest and detention of Shikera Chamndany, a UCI biomedical engineering alumna. Chamndany went to the Registrar in Aldrich Hall on February 20 at the same time the protest in support of UCSC graduate assistants cost of living adjustment was being held outside.  In an event that was documented by a widely circulated video, Chamndany was tackled to the ground and arrested by UCI police officer Trish Harding.  In the video we see her exchange some words with the police before it appears she is assaulted. It is reported by students who then followed her that she was then detained off campus before being released at around 6am the next morning.

Even if Chamndany were related to the protest—which was not the case, evidently—and even if she entered the building after being told not to (we do not know), her arrest is violent and disturbing.  The UCIPD statement posted to Twitter and Facebook describes Chamndany as “forcibly enter[ing] the building” – a statement difficult to believe, due to police presence at the doors documented on video prior to the event. The police claim that she assaulted them requires thorough investigation, as does the entire incident.  Chamndany is Black, and given that racial bias is perceived to be often involved in police arrests, many have commented, such as the BSU on campus, that it was racially motivated.  Chamndany is calm and non-threatening in the video.  Were her arrest and detention racist or meant to intimidate and harass students, as the BSU has suggested?  This uncertainty is itself unacceptable.  Such events contribute to a climate of fear and distrust on campus.

UCI administrators and UCIPD appear to think that a heavy police presence is not only acceptable, but justified for a small, peaceful protest by our graduate students. Tackling and arresting an alumna, and then dragging her off not to the UCI police station but to the county criminal justice system, is the wrong response. This disturbing event requires prompt and transparent investigation.  UCI administration should say at once that tackling and arresting non-violent students is against our policy, and should not be the first and apparently aggressive act of campus police. We feel threatened by the possibility that UCI might sanction such behavior.  To think that any of us and our students can be and have been subject to this violence affects our ability to work and live without fear on campus.  This is particularly true under the current national climate where police intimidation and killings of black and brown bodies and state violence more generally are on the rise.

The current Public Safety Advisory Committee should be replaced with an independent oversight committee with real authority to investigate and work to correct police procedures and actions, including this incident.  If it is found that excessive force or intimidation tactics were used by UCI police, then the officer(s) involved should be disciplined or dismissed.  UCI should have zero tolerance for racism, intimidation, or violence by campus police.

Sincerely,
Eyal Amiran, Mark LeVine, Kristin Peterson
UCI Faculty Association Executive Board