LOS ANGELES (LALATE) – The UC Davis John Pike Pepper Spray video 2011 has prompted an immediate investigation. UC Davis officials want to know why allegedly UC Davis Police Lt. John Pike used pepper spray against non-violent, non-moving students this week. The video has drawn national attention since being posted to YouTube yesterday.

In the shocking video, a series of students are seated in a passive, non-moving position while others watched. The demonstration was during a Friday afternoon Occupy protest. During the UC campus demonstration, John Pike slowly walked up to to the protesters None of the protesters moved. Reports claim that none of the protesters were even speaking. Suddenly, standing on top of them, Pike began to spray.

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People watching nearby shouted “Shame on you”. The YouTube video has now listed the officer’s name, email address and phone number.

The video carries the description as follows “During peacefully Occupy Movement, police came in to tear down tents and proceeded to arrest students who stood in their way. Once students peacefully demanded the release of the arrested, a police officer unnecessarily pepper sprays the students to open a path for the rest of the officers.”

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Ironically, the video has attracted some criticism and some peculiar remarks. One person wrote “How are people at all shocked by this? This is type of violent, aggressive behavior is exactly how the police have always acted.”

UC Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi has denounced the conduct. “The use of pepper spray as shown on the video is chilling to us all and raises many questions about how best to handle situations like this.

“To this effect, I am forming a task force made of faculty, students and staff to review the events and provide to me a thorough report within 90 days. As part of this, a process will be designed that allows members of the community to express their views on this matter. This report will help inform our policies and processes within the university administration and the Police Department to help us avoid similar outcomes in the future. While the university is trying to ensure the safety and health of all members of our community, we must ensure our strategies to gain compliance are fair and reasonable and do not lead to mistreatment.

“….Through this letter, I express my sadness for the events of past Friday and my commitment to redouble our efforts to improve our campus and the environment for our students.”