Riot police pepper-spray peaceful student protesters, inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement, at the University of California at Davis.
Police arrested 10 protesters and pepper-sprayed a dozen more on Friday night, according to the University’s student newspaper, The Davis Enterprise.
The police moved in on the demonstrators after the protesters refused the University’s request to dismantle their camp.
The students, who were protesting tuition fee hikes, locked arms and refused leave their tent encampment.
In a letter to the protesters, University Chancellor Linda Katehi said they had given the University “no option but to ask the police to assist in their removal”.
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“We deeply regret that many of the protestors today chose not to work with our campus staff and police to remove the encampment as requested. We are even more saddened by the events that subsequently transpired to facilitate their removal.”
Around 35 police offers wearing helmets and carrying batons and pepper spray were met with chants of “Shame on you” from 60 or more protesters.
Officers warned the protesters that they would be sprayed, before spraying many directly in the face with a heavy stream of pepper spray.
The move sparked anger from the surrounding crowd, which swelled to almost 150 people, forcing the police to retreat.
In the final minutes as the deadline to remove their camps approached, a dozen tents were pushed into a circle and ringed by protesters linking arms.
Eight men and two women, all but one a student, were arrested for failing to disperse and for disorderly conduct.
Paramedics later treated the eyes of 11 protesters, while two were taken to a nearby hospital.
The video footage (above) of the incident has been shared online across the globe.