Berkeley Ban on Aid to UC Police Revised

The City Council here has modified a week-old order that forbids the police chief to send officers to the University of California during anti-apartheid protests.

Under the new resolution, which passed unanimously Tuesday evening, Berkeley police can respond to calls for assistance from university police if Police Chief Ron Nelson concludes that there is “imminent danger to life, imminent threat of serious bodily injury or a serious and imminent danger of substantial damage to private property which cannot be averted by the university police.”

“I think we made a mistake and it should be acknowledged,” Councilman Don Jelinek said of last week’s resolution, which provoked sharp criticism from university officials. Two law enforcement associations also condemned the resolution in letters to Mayor Gus Newport.

In one letter, the Peace Officers Research Assn. of California accused the council of using tactics similar to those of the former Shah of Iran by selectively deciding which citizens can break the law based on their political ideologies.

The original resolution by the nine-member council was designed to pressure University of California officials to sell off assets associated with South Africa, officials said.

Berkeley police were called to the campus three weeks ago during anti-apartheid protests that turned violent. Nearly 150 people were arrested and more than 30 people, including 18 police officers, were injured.