A confrontation between police and Occupy protesters at UC Davis ended Friday afternoon with the arrest of 10 students after police officers used pepper spray to force protesters from an encampment in the campus quad, according to protest supporters and a campus spokeswoman.

Police then left after ordering the remaining protesters to take down tents that had been put up Thursday.

"We just successfully booted the police off campus in a non-violent way," said Chris Wong, a student protester who said he was speaking for himself, not the Occupy group.

An Occupy Davis encampment has been in place in downtown Davis for more than a month, but students increased their involvement following an afternoon rally Tuesday. A couple of dozen students were allowed to sleep overnight in the university administration building. They were evicted from the building Wednesday afternoon and began camping in the quad Thursday.

Nick Perrone, a graduate student in history and recording secretary for UAW Local 2865, the union representing graduate student workers on campus, said the union was among those supporting the Occupy protesters. Perrone said they were notified by Chancellor Linda Katehi on Friday morning that they were required to remove the tents by 3 p.m.

Karen Nikos, a UC Davis spokeswoman, said the campers were given written warning to remove the tents by 3 p.m., or police would remove them. She said many of the campers did take down their tents before police arrived.

Shortly before 4 p.m., Nikos said, 35 to 45 UC Davis and city of Davis police officers arrived and confronted approximately 50 protesters. She said the crowd grew to about 200 people, including many spectators.

Police directed the remaining campers to remove tents, and some complied. Nikos said.

Perrone said members of the graduate students union reported that students, mostly undergraduates, linked arms and surrounded the encampment if an effort to keep police at bay. He said police used pepper spray to disperse the crowd and made arrests.

Wong said he was one of the students sprayed, but he looked down and didn't get a full dose. He said students then circled the police and tried to hold their ground. The police eventually left.

Following the arrests, campers were left to dismantle the remaining tents. Nikos said police did not want to confiscate camping gear.

Perrone criticized UC Davis police for what he characterized as a particularly aggressive stance in dealing with the protesters.

"The communication between police and our liaison was sparse," Perrone said. "They were not communicating well with student activists. We had no intention to antagonize the police."

Perrone said Local 2865 has an attorney on retainer to assist the protesters who were arrested.

Perrone said students with ReFund California and the Occupy Wall Street movement also were arrested at UCLA, and the movement continues to spread to other campuses statewide.

The regents have rescheduled the meeting that was canceled this week by threats of violence and now plan to meet Nov. 28.

UC's governing board was never scheduled to vote on a tuition increase at the November meeting, though some groups planning protests distributed publicity material saying it was. Regents canceled the meeting scheduled for Wednesday in San Francisco, citing "credible intelligence" that planned protests could result in violence and vandalism.

The newly scheduled meeting will take place at four campuses - in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Davis and Merced - that will be connected by teleconference. Regents have expanded the time available for public comment, from 20 minutes to one hour. Members of the public can attend the meeting at any of the four locations.

The board is scheduled to discuss several financial matters, including its request for a 2012-13 budget of $2.8 billion.

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