UC Davis protestors clash with police in attempt to block I-80

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About 300 protestors confronted a blockade of police today in an unsuccessful attempt to march on Interstate 80 in Davis, resulting in one student's arrest.

Tensions erupted when protestors tried to push past shoulder-to-shoulder lines of 120 officers from 10 law enforcement agencies. Laura Mitchell, a fifth-year women and gender studies major, was arrested on suspicion of inciting a riot and resisting arrest and was dragged from the group of protestors into a law enforcement vehicle. Protestors left the scene after police agreed to cite and release Mitchell instead of taking her to jail.

The protest was part of the March 4 Day of Action, a nationwide series of rallies for K-12 and higher education funding.

Officers in full tactical gear fired pepper balls at the ground in front of the protestors. At one point, police used batons to beat back a throng of students pushing forward.

Some police had stun guns, but a UC Davis police spokesperson said they were not used by any officers, despite what many students reported hearing and seeing. A California Aggie photographer captured an image of a California Highway Patrol officer pressing a stun gun to a protestor's neck. The Aggie has not been able to confirm with CHP whether the stun gun was actually triggered.

Protestors encountered three separate lines of police on Old Davis Road and pushed through the first two. At the second line, about 100 yards from the I-80 on-ramp, police began firing pepper balls at the ground. At the last line, Mitchell was arrested and protestors stopped pushing against police.

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