Rest of the Story on MacLean
Editorial staff

The Feb. 16 Orange County Register published an article about an Oct. 26 altercation at UCI involving Councilman Lance MacLean. The Register’s version is an understatement when compared with an online article by Taylor Hudson in New University, http://www.newuniversity.org/checkDB.php?id=6596. Register writers Greg Hardesty, Erika Ritchie and John Crandall described a scuffle, stating MacLean pinned a fellow employee against a wall.

Hudson writes in the New University article, “MacLean pinned a fellow UCI employee against the wall and grabbed his neck before nearby police officers wrestled him to the ground.”

Hudson provides detail from the UCI police report describing the Oct. 26 altercation:

According to the report, four police officers were standing outside the ballroom assigned to the event at about 11:15 p.m., when MacLean, visibly upset, entered the area saying, “Where the [expletive] is Jack. Jack locked up all the restroom [sic] upstairs and I have people peeing all over the place. You need to tell Jack to open the [expletive] doors.”

MacLean then spotted the victim, identified as Jack McManus, director of UCI Hospitality and Dining Services, and began yelling at him. After a short verbal altercation, MacLean then placed his hands around McManus’ neck and shoved him against the wall, then began to lift him up by the neck.

The four nearby officers intervened and ordered MacLean to let go, but he refused, prompting them to forcibly separate the two. MacLean, who is 6-feet-5-inches and 200 pounds according to the police report, resisted their orders several times and continued to struggle until an officer directed him to a prone position and handcuffed him.

An updated version of the OC Register’s story was published in the Feb. 29 Saddleback Valley News. MacLean publicly apologized for his Oct. 26 actions during his council comments at the end of the Feb. 18 council meeting.