In an article first published on February 25, 2019, The California Aggie reporter Nick Irvin
brought to light UC Davis professor Joshua Clover’s comments regarding, among
other things, “cops need to be killed.” Here’s a link to the article: https://theaggie.org/2019/02/25/a-uc-davis-professor-thinks-cops-need-to-be-killed/
UC Davis professor Joshua Clover, who is still employed by
the University of California, has made the following unacceptable, vile, and
repugnant statements regarding police officers:
“I am thankful that every living cop will one day be dead, some by their own hand, some by others, too many of old age #letsnotmakemore” – tweeted on Nov. 27, 2014.
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| UC Davis Professor Joshua Clover |
“People think that cops need to be reformed. They need to be killed.” – published in an interview on Jan. 31, 2016.
To say that we were shocked, disgusted, and infuriated would
be an understatement. What was truly inconceivable was that the University of
California, after having been made aware of Clover’s comments, chose to keep Clover
in their employment. As you all know, we are staunch advocates of employees’
free speech rights pursuant to the First Amendment to the United States
Constitution (“First Amendment”). In fact, we have often waged many battles on
our clients’ behalf in order to protect their free speech rights pursuant to
the First Amendment. In this case, however, this is not about UC Davis professor Joshua Clover’s ability to enjoy free
speech rights pursuant to the First Amendment. Rather, it is about professor
Joshua Clover’s call for murdering police officers and advising the easiest way
to do it while maintaining a job at the UC Davis campus where he may continue
to spew his filth to young minds eager to learn. Under no circumstances should
the University of California nor UC Davis professor Joshua Clover attempt to
justify his perverse comments by using the First Amendment as a shield or by
suggesting that professors may say whatever they believe for the purpose of
maintaining unrestrained academic freedom.
On February 28, 2019, we sent the University of California a
letter condemning UC Davis professor Joshua Clover’s statements, demanding that
they reconsider their decision to keep him employed, and demanding an
investigation into his “on-duty” activities while teaching at the University of
California, Davis. A copy of the letter may be found here.
Since then, we have been made aware
that numerous law enforcement associations have also sent letters to the
University of California highlighting their concerns with the UC, the plight of
law enforcement, the statistics concerning the recent uptick in ambush-style
murders of law enforcement.
On March 4, 2019, UC Davis released a statement advising, in
relevant part, that since their original statement was released:
continued interest from the broader public requires further clarification.
Members of the public have been questioning why this professor continues to be
employed by UC Davis. Only the UC Board of Regents can dismiss a tenured
faculty member…The status of complaints lodged against faculty members are
confidential personnel matters, so we are unable to publicly comment on the
action steps we are taking at this time…The public expression of opinions, even
those opinions considered controversial or abhorrent, enjoy a high level of
protection under the First Amendment, and tenured faculty at the University of
California enjoy significant employment protections, particularly around
speech…Chancellor Gary S. May has asked the campus legal team to review the
professor’s conduct and provide advice on the application of federal and state
constitutional protections for freedom of expression.
I can’t help but wonder if UC Davis Professor Joshua Clover would still be employed if he had advocated the murder
of any other group of professionals or group of people. We are hopeful that the
University of California will ultimately do the right thing – sever all
employment ties with UC Davis professor Joshua Clover. We are also hopeful that
members of the public will continue to reach out to the University of
California concerning their shock, disgust, and concerns with UC Davis
professor Joshua Clover’s statements.
