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Katehi, who has publicly apologized for the incident, would be required to issue a formal written apology to each of the plaintiffs, who are current students or recent alumni

It was felt that the proposed settlement was in the best interest of the university

UC and plaintiffs represented by the American Civil Liberties Union filed the preliminary settlement in U.S. District Court in Sacramento. The agreement, which was approved by the UC Board of Regents in mid-September, is subject to the approval of a federal judge, and parties have the right to appeal.

The settlement also calls for UC to set aside $100,000 to pay other individuals who can prove they were arrested or pepper-sprayed. The university would give the ACLU up to $20,000 for its work reviewing free speech and protest policies at UC Davis.

“It was felt that the proposed settlement was in the best interest of the university,” said UC spokesman Steve Montiel.

UC officials believe the cost of going to trial would be more expensive than the cost of settling the lawsuit, Montiel said.

Plaintiff Fatima Sbeih, who recently graduated with an international studies degree, said she suffered panic attacks and nightmares after she was pepper-sprayed on the UC Davis Quad.

“I want to make sure that nothing like this happens again,” Sbeih said in a statement. “The university still needs to work to rebuild students’ trust and this settlement is a step in the right direction.”

A task force report released in April blamed the incident on poor communication and planning throughout the campus chain of command, from the chancellor to the pepper-spraying officers, and concluded the situation could have been prevented.

“The settlement should be a wake-up call for other universities and police departments,” said Michael Risher, staff attorney with the ACLU of Northern California. “If the First Amendment means anything, it’s that you should be able to demonstrate without being afraid of police violence.”

Last week, Yolo County prosecutors said the UC Davis officers who fired the pepper-spray won’t face criminal charges because there is not enough evidence to prove the use of force was illegal.