In her two years as chancellor, Linda P.B. Katehi has pushed for the University of California, Davis, to make its mark, to become one of the nation's best-known colleges.

On Monday, the school's defining moment may have come as thousands of angry but polite students gathered on the quad to demand her resignation over the pepper-spraying of students by campus police last Friday.

In a surreal scene, Katehi waded into the massive crowd and stood silently for about an hour listening as students – including several who were pepper-sprayed – denounced her for sending in the police last week.

"I was blinded for about 30 minutes," 19-year-old Evka Whaley-Mayda told the crowd. "I was in excruciating pain. … I should not feel unsafe at my own university."

Katehi looked forlorn at times as she heard students describe the incident. Then, with students chanting, "Let her speak," she made her way through the crowd, only to be delayed briefly because others were ahead of her in line.

Finally, with some students booing and others shouting, "Be respectful," Katehi walked up the stairs to a makeshift stage and told them she was sorry.

"I'm here to apologize," Katehi said. "I really feel horrible for what happened Friday."

Some students said they were pleased to hear from Katehi, but others in the crowd remained adamant she should resign.

"I don't buy a word of it. She should resign immediately," said Eric Lee, a political science student who was arrested in the Occupy Sacramento protests. He said he would not have let her speak.

"I don't think we should let people who beat us speak," Lee said. "She obviously didn't win hearts and minds."

Katehi made her way into the crowd accompanied by her husband and a few university officials, but with no apparent security.

There was no sign of UC Davis police anywhere near the gathering Monday or elsewhere on campus, and when one student stopped Katehi to tell her she didn't blame the chancellor for the police actions, Katehi reached out gratefully and clasped her hand.

The remarkable sequence played out amid frantic efforts by university officials to quell the damage of a video – distributed widely across the Internet – of officers pepper-spraying students who were sitting peacefully on the ground.

Although Katehi declined to speak to reporters after her brief appearance Monday, university officials moved quickly to distance the administration from the actions of the police.

Campus Police Chief Annette Spicuzza, who claimed Friday that her officers were surrounded and had to use the pepper spray, was placed on administrative leave. Video of the scene did not show officers in peril.

The two officers involved in the spraying also have been placed on leave, and the university has asked the Yolo County District Attorney's Office to investigate the incident.

New tent camp in place

In an interview with AggieTV, a student news operation on campus, Katehi identified one of those officers as Lt. John Pike. Pike, an ex-Marine and former Sacramento police officer, has been commended twice for bravery at UC Davis.

In a 2006 incident, Pike saved two fellow officers from a hospital patient threatening them with surgical scissors, according to a 2007 university news release.

"He decided against using pepper spray, a baton or sidearm, not wanting to hit either of his partners as they struggled with the patient," the release stated.

"You've got all these tools on your belt," Pike said in the news release, "but sometimes they're not the best tools."

Campus spokeswoman Claudia Morain said Katehi never approved the use of force Friday to remove about two dozen tents from the quad that were occupied by students and others.

"She told them to remove the tent encampment peacefully and without incident," Morain said. "She was horrified by what she saw; she was appalled."

UC officials statewide are trying to cope with protests against tuition hikes and gatherings inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement, but the incident at UC Davis has almost certainly ensured that police will not be called in again at UC Davis to remove peaceful protest camps.

By 3 p.m. Monday, a dozen tents had been set up on the site of Friday's incident and students had voted to boycott classes next Monday.

The fallout from the police actions promises to continue on many fronts.

Sacramento civil rights attorney Mark Merin attended Monday's rally and said he planned to file a federal civil rights lawsuit against the university and police as soon as next week. He spoke with organizers and arranged to meet with those who were pepper-sprayed.

The incident was "outrageous," Merin said. "It showed the police had no understanding of their role or the rights of people to assemble and express their views."

At the rally, Cres Vellucci, a political strategist who said he was representing the Sacramento chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, handed out copies of a letter from Sacramento lawyer Jeffrey Kravitz to federal, state and local authorities demanding a criminal investigation and prosecution of those involved in the pepper-spraying.

"Such actions should include initiating criminal proceedings, including the arrest of those who committed the acts of violence or bring the issues before a grand jury," Kravitz wrote.

Tour groups continue

A few blocks from the rally, life went on more or less as normal.

Rajan Rai, a junior, headed for his psychology class. He said he found the videos of students being pepper-sprayed jarring but hadn't felt the need to attend the rally.

"Most people don't want to be there," he said. "They want to go to class and go home. They don't want to be involved in the tension."

Groups of parents and prospective students went on scheduled tours. One group finished up just as the rally got under way at noon.

Debbie Ashburn accompanied her son Kevin Ashburn, 17, on a campus tour. The pair had traveled from their home in Novato.

"I thought momentarily about calling and canceling," Debbie Ashburn said. "The videos were very disturbing."

But they decided to go ahead with the tour. At about 10 a.m., their student tour guide led them through the quad, where news crews were setting up and protesters had started to gather.

Kevin Ashburn said he had driven by UC Davis before but hadn't given much thought to going there. After a tour of the campus, he said, "It's my No. 1 choice."

The rally, he said, held a certain draw for him.

"It's interesting to think about people expressing their opinions," he said. "If it brings a positive energy, that's good. But if it's negative energy, I don't know."

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