UC Berkeley Police release open letter

BERKELEY, Calif.

It's in response to this incident on November 9 when police in riot gear used batons and grabbed some peaceful protesters by the hair while trying to remove occupy tents at Sproul Plaza. In today's letter the police union says "it was not their decision to engage protesters that day." It goes onto say: "We are now faced with managing the results of poor budget planning. Please know we are not the enemy."

A video clip gone viral does not depict the full story of the facts leading to an actual incident. Not caught on most videos were scenes of protesters hitting, pushing, grabbing officers' batons, fighting back with backpacks and skateboards.

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