Student Who Bit Agent Was Held in 2nd Case

Kristen Crabtree, the UC San Diego honors student who bit the finger of an FBI agent during a campus protest last spring, was detained and searched by campus police during a demonstration last month.

Campus officials Thursday refused, however, to confirm reports that Crabtree now faces a charge of student misconduct stemming from the incident.

“Our policy is to not discuss disciplinary actions of this nature,” said Joseph Watson, vice chancellor for undergraduate affairs at the university. “I don’t want to really begin to discuss her case or her situation at this point. If she wants it to be a public matter, that’s up to her.”

Crabtree, who has left the area for the Christmas break, could not be reached for comment. Her attorney, Barton Sheela III, confirmed that Crabtree was detained by campus police during a Nov. 19 protest of a talk given by Contra representative Leo Lacayo.

Sheela said the student, a resident adviser at UCSD’s Third College, was among a group of protesters stopped by police. Officers talked to Crabtree and searched her purse, finding a can of Mace and a key chain that they felt “looked like a pair of brass knuckles,” Sheela said.

“I know Kristen has carried a can of Mace in her purse for a while and that she has a permit for it,” Sheela said. “And I’ve seen her key chain. It didn’t have any brass knuckles on it that I could see.”

Campus police tell a different story. John Anderson, chief of the UC San Diego police force, said Crabtree was detained by officers after she and another student rushed Lacayo during the talk.

“When she was stopped, she attempted to kick one of our police officers and was restrained,” Anderson said.

After searching Crabtree, officers found the Mace and a key chain “with a brass knuckle device” attached to it, Anderson said. He described the metal object as similar to a sword handle with two protruding spikes, adding that it fit “the Penal Code definition of brass knuckles.”

A report was written charging Crabtree with possession of brass knuckles and attempted assault on a police officer, Anderson said.

Though the case could have been submitted to the San Diego city attorney for review, Anderson said he chose to turn it over to the university’s student conduct review system.

“It just didn’t seem to me to be of that level that we needed to follow through from a criminal aspect,” Anderson said.

Under the student conduct review system, a student services director looks into the charges and decides whether the case merits further investigation by a college dean. During the process, the student can request a hearing on the charges before the dean or a committee made up of fellow students and staff members.

Another Case

The incident was Crabtree’s second scrape with authorities during a campus protest in 1987.

Crabtree was charged with assaulting a federal officer after chomping on the finger of FBI Special Agent Marene Allison when the agent grabbed at her camera during a May 14 protest. Crabtree was taking pictures for a leftist student newspaper. Allison said she suspected the young woman was trying to provoke her or create a confrontation.

In August, U.S. District Judge Gordon Thompson Jr. threw out the case. He chided Crabtree for biting Allison, but said the agent initiated the episode through her use of force. The judge saved his harshest language for prosecutors, saying they never should have filed the charge against Crabtree.

Earlier this month, however, the U.S. attorney’s office filed an appeal of Thompson’s ruling, saying the judge exceeded his authority in dismissing the case.

The episode involving Crabtree attracted the attention of Rep. Jim Bates (D-San Diego), who met about three weeks ago with FBI officials to discuss the motives for the prosecution, which he calls “a petty deal to be wasting the taxpayers money on.”

At the conclusion of the meeting, Bates said, a high-ranking FBI official told the congressman that “we got her on another deal,” referring to the Nov. 19 incident involving Crabtree.

Proving a Point?

Bates said he was puzzled that the FBI had learned of the latest episode and plans to meet again with officials at the agency to discuss it.

“It intrigues me a little,” Bates said. “My question is this: How did they know about this? Are the campus police in collusion with the FBI? Is this spying?

“They’re spending an awful lot of time on this little girl,” Bates concluded. “It’s like they’re trying to make a point.”

Anderson, the UC San Diego police chief, said he did not know who had notified the FBI of the latest incident involving Crabtree.

“I know that we have discussed it with the FBI,” Anderson said. “I’m not sure who initiated that, but, as a law enforcement agency, we will certainly share information with the FBI regarding cases.”