Davis Police Officers Attacked By Crowd On Picnic Day
DAVIS (CBS13) - Two officers with Davis Police Department were attacked by a crowd of people during a Picnic Day celebration on Saturday.
Thousands of locals and students celebrated the annual UC Davis tradition. But now police are investigating how the celebration became violent.
"One officer suffered multiple punches and kicks to the face, the head," said Lt. Paul Doroshov, a spokesperson for Davis Police Department. "Another officer was punched and kicked and hit in the head with a bottle."
"Something was bound to happen with the energy level so early on before all of the alcohol kicked in," said Rachel White, who lives close to campus.
The attack happened in the intersection of Russell Boulevard and College Park, just on the border of campus. Investigators are still searching for video of what happened just after 3:30 p.m.
"To have a violent reaction like that is just inhumane and sad," Lt. Doroshov said.
Three officers were driving in an unmarked vehicle. Two of them were plain-clothed while the third was wearing a badge. They only got out of the car to clear the street, which was blocked by people joining in on the celebration.
"They weren't expecting it to turn violent," Lt. Doroshov said. "They figured it was going to be a low-key contact."
As backup arrived, three people were arrested: 22-year-old Alexander Craver, 21-year-old Antwoine Perry, and 19-year-old Elijah Williams.
Craver, from West Sacramento, faces charges of aggravated battery, assaulting a peace officer, felony obstruction of peace officer, and assault with a deadly weapon. Perry, from Elk Grove, faces charges of aggravated battery, felony obstruction of peace officer. Williams, from West Sacramento, faces charges of assault on a peace officer, aggravated battery, assault with a deadly weapon, and felony obstruction of peace officer. The two officers were taken to a local hospital for treatment and are expected to be OK.
But the chaos in Davis didn't end there. Just a mile away, a woman was just getting off work in the Goodwill shopping center. She was in her car driving when she saw more than 100 people standing on M Street. All of sudden they jumped on top of the car, causing the roof to cave in on top of her.
She asked that CBS13 not use her name but she said her car needs an estimated $7,000 in repairs. She was physically unharmed.
"We poked our head outside and saw what was going on," White said. "We could tell that the crowd was just too big for this."
She told CBS 13 she saw people dancing on the rooftop of a nearby house. When the noise became unbearable, she called the police.
"My husband and I were saying we kind of want Picnic Day to be done away with," White said.
UC Davis spokesperson Andy Fell told CBS13 things were not as eventful on campus.
"It was a very mellow day on campus," he said. "So it's very sad that there would be incidents like this off campus."
Davis police are investigating a third incident on Saturday: a gun brandishing. Officers plan to meet with UC Davis Police Department soon to debrief on what happened.
