Katehi was also criticized for sitting on the board of a textbook company

UC Davis has defended its decision, saying it wanted a 'fairer depiction'

The University of California, Davis, and its chancellor, Linda P.B. Katehi, are under attack for spending at least $175,000 to hide a 2011 incident in which a campus security officer pepper-sprayed peaceful protesters from Google, it emerged Wednesday.

In documents obtained by The Sacramento Bee under the California Public Records Act, the university was revealed to have paid companies to combat what one consultant described as 'venomous rhetoric about UC Davis and [its] chancellor.'

The money was intended to be used to make sure the incident did not appear in Google searches for the university or Katehi herself, among other aims.

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Incident: In 2011 UC Davis campus security officer Lt. John Pike was filmed pepper-spraying Occupy protesters. The result was a furor that the university is paying big money to hide from Google

Chancellor: Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi said she told police not to respond to protesters with force. UC Davis defended its use of social media companies, saying it wants a 'fair portrayal' of its achievements

Katehi took over at the university in 2009; the companies were hired between 2013 and 2015.

She was in charge when campus security officer Lt. John Pike was filmed and photographed calmly walking along a row of peacefully seated Occupy protesters, blasting each one in the face with pepper spray, in November 2011.

She apologized for the incident, saying that police had acted against her orders not to use force, but the incident remained a black spot on the university's reputation after the images went viral.

According to a proposal obtained by the Sacramento Bee, in January 2013 UC Davis started paying Maryland company Nevins & Associates $15,000 per month for the 'eradication of references to the pepper spray incident in search results on Google for the university and the Chancellor.'

The university also awarded three contracts to Sacramento-based ID Media Partners between 2014 and 2015: the first for $82,500, the second for $8,000 a month up to a maximum of $96,000, and the third for $22,500 a month to a maximum of $67,500.

Both companies were hired to affect search results for UC Davis, as well as other communications functions.

The decisions have angered some.

Doug Elmets, a Sacramento public affairs consultant, said it is 'common' for individuals to try to scrub Google of unwanted attention.

'But,' he continued, 'for a public university that is funded through taxpayer funds, who has repeatedly stepped into a vast hole, it is surprising that they thought this could be done without the light of day shining on the act.

'It is one more example of how out of touch the leadership at UC Davis is when it comes to their public perspective,' he added.

Criticism: Pictured is a student protest against Katehi's management at UC Davis from April 1. Katehi also faced complaints after it emerged March 3 she was paid $420,000 to sit on the board of a textbook company

And Assemblyman Kevin McCarty, who chairs the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Education Finance and has previously called for Katehi to resign, is concerned that the uni's communications budget increased from $2.93million in 2009, when she was hired, to $5.47million in 2015.

'It is troubling that the administration chose to spend scarce public dollars and to nearly double its PR budget when tuition soared, course offerings were slashed and California resident students were being shut out,' he told the Bee.

'These findings just raise more questions about university priorities.'

But UC Davis spokeswoman Dana Topousis defended the decision to the paper. 'We have worked to ensure that the reputation of the university, which the chancellor leads, is fairly portrayed,' she said.

She confirmed that the money came from the Communications Department's budget.

'We wanted to promote and advance the important teaching, research and public service done by our students, faculty and staff, which is the core mission of our university,' she added.

This isn't the only criticism Katehi has faced recently: On March 3 it emerged that she had received $420,000 to sit on the board of a university textbook company from 2012-2014, the Bee reported.

She was also a member of board of the for-profit DeVry Education Group until March 3 when she resigned under pressure, The Bee said.

The company is currently under 'federal scrutiny' for allegedly deceiving students about job and income prospects, the paper wrote.

Student protesters have been occupying the reception outside Katehi's office since March 11, demanding her resignation.

Members of the Facebook group Fire Katehi were upset by news of the Google scrubbing contract.

'Lots of us remember,' wrote Dawn Grove of the 2011 incident.

Meanwhile Lawrence M. Wold wrote: 'Katehi should be scrubbed... from her position as chancellor.

'I'm very disappointed that taxpayer/student dollars were used to try to save one individual's reputation - especially when that individual claims to be a proponent of transparency.'

After the pepper-spraying incident, Lt. Pike was awarded $38,000 in 'worker's compensation' benefits for 'psychological pain and suffering.'