In brief: University cops placed on leave

SAN FRANCISCO – A California university placed two of its police officers on administrative leave Sunday because of their involvement in the pepper spraying of passively sitting protesters, while the school’s chancellor accelerated a task force’s investigation into the incident amid calls for her resignation.

The president of the 10-campus University of California system also weighed in on the growing fallout from Friday’s incident at UC Davis, saying that he is “appalled” at images of students being doused with pepper spray and plans a far-reaching, urgent assessment of law enforcement procedures on all campuses.

“I implore students who wish to demonstrate to do so in a peaceful and lawful fashion. I expect campus authorities to honor that right,” UC President Mark G. Yudof said.

Officials at UC Davis refused to identify the two officers who were placed on leave, but one was a veteran on the force and the other was “fairly new” to the department, the school’s police Chief Annette Spicuzza said.

2,000-acre fire nearly contained

RENO, Nev. – Fire crews in Reno are focusing on lingering hot spots and beginning repair work on the hillsides blackened by wildfire that destroyed 32 homes.

Sierra Fire Protection District Chief Mike Brown said Sunday the 2,000-acre fire was 95 percent contained. Fire crews were getting help from a snowstorm that hit the area.

Attorney blames truck in Yale death

HARTFORD, Conn. – A rented U-Haul that struck and killed a Massachusetts tailgater at a Yale-Harvard football game malfunctioned as a Yale undergraduate drove the vehicle into a crowded parking lot, the student’s attorney said Sunday.

William Dow, representing Yale student Brendan Ross, said Saturday’s collision was a “tragic accident that appears to be the result of a vehicle malfunction.” He did not elaborate and said Ross would not be speaking publicly about what happened.

But Ross and his family wanted to express their condolences to the three people who were hit by the truck, Dow said, including 30-year-old Nancy Barry, of Salem, Mass., who was killed. Sarah Short, 31, a Yale student from New Haven, remained hospitalized Sunday with leg injuries. Elizabeth Dernbach, 23, a Harvard employee originally from Naples, Fla., was treated for her injuries Saturday and released.

Ross passed a field sobriety test after the collision Saturday and police said he has been cooperative in their investigation, which remained open Sunday. No charges had been filed.

4 children among shooter’s victims

GREENSBORO, N.C. – A woman killed one person and wounded five more before fatally shooting herself as police approached her on Sunday morning, North Carolina authorities said.

One victim was found wounded in a parking lot of Guilford Technical Community College near Greensboro. The gunwoman shot herself in a car and was pronounced dead at a hospital, said Guilford County Sheriff BJ Barnes. A wounded victim was in the back seat, he said.

Deputies then went to the suspect’s nearby home, where they found one person dead and three more wounded. The victims ranged in age from 9 to 40, and four were younger than 18.