A sickening re-confirmation, if re-confirmation was really needed, both that the American legal system is ridiculously litigious, and also that “suffering” now includes being publicly shamed for behaving in an egregiously violent and unnecessarily offensive manner to people who are merely exercising their constitutional rights.
Some points to consider:
- The concept of reasonable force. Was this in any way “reasonable”?
- Americans are supposed to have the right to protest peacefully. Or do they?
We also think it is very helpful to read the full Wikipedia transcript on the incident, which puts this incident in the broader context of unnecessary violence used against students at UC (including being beaten by batons) and elsewhere during “Occupy” protests.
John Pike
Anyhow: according to HuffPost, Pike was fired in July 2012 after eight months of paid administrative leave. Apparently, he and his family received death threats. Needless to say, no-one could, in all conscience, excuse that. Nevertheless, the compensation payout to him is surely yet another example of a world gone mad.
Not to mention $38,000 the University won’t get to spend on education.
Report begins:
Former police Lt. John Pike, who became infamous after cameras captured footage of him using pepper spray on protestors at the University of California at Davis, was recently awarded more than $38,000 in workers compensation from the University for “suffering he experienced after the incident,” SFGate has reported.
In the 2011 incident, students were protesting a tuition hike. Footage of Pike’s actions went viral, resulting in a popular meme, in which people digitally edited photos to include Pike pepper-spraying things and people.
Pike reportedly received more than 17,000 angry emails and 10,000 texts after the incident.
After the ensuing outrage, Pike was suspended with pay.
Citing a database of state employee salaries, SFGate reports that Pike earned $110,243 in 2010. He left the police force in 2012.
In a statement to SFGate regarding Pike’s workers compensation, U.C. Davis spokesperson Andy Fell said, “This case has been resolved in accordance with state law and processes on workers’ compensation. The final resolution is in line with permanent impairment as calculated by the state’s disability evaluation unit.”
Last year, U.C. Davis settled a lawsuit with 21 of the students who were pepper-sprayed during the protest. Each student received a $30,000 settlement.
In discussing the events, Fox News commentator Megyn Kelly called pepper spray a “food product, essentially,” sparking some to hilariously suggest she test her theory by drinking pepper spray on the air.
(Materials sourced from SFGate/Yahoo/Seven News)
Well, This Is What I Think 