Lt. John Pike of the UC Davis police sprays UC Davis protesters. (photo: Louise Macabitas)
hen
a man shoots a police officer, he's automatically labeled a cop killer,
and reports describe it as a man murdering another man in uniform. But
when cops shoot and kill
innocent, unarmed black teens, like they've done in multiple cases over
the years, it's always described as an "officer-involved shooting." The
cop goes on paid leave until the outrage blows over, and is given a
comfy desk job to keep him away from harm. If a man walked up to a group
of college students and attacked them with chemical weapons without
provocation, he would rightly be arrested and jailed for aggravated
assault. But when a man with a badge and uniform does it, he gets a
year's salary from the state for free.
Lt. John Pike of the UC Davis police pepper-sprayed a group of sitting protesters in 2011. Amidst an autumn of federally-coordinated,
violent police suppression of the Occupy movement, the incident in
Davis was clearly one of the most heinous cases. A group of students had
linked arms, sat down, and refused to move when the police came to
evict their encampment. Lt. John Pike then casually exhibited a red can
of military-grade pepper spray, nonchalantly strolled past the
protesters, and doused them in orange gas, which led to the
hospitalization several of the students. International outrage ensued. "Pepper Spraying Cop"
became a widely-shared meme, and Pike was originally put on paid leave
and eventually fired. The students sued, and a $1 million settlement was
split between all 21 of them. Pike was just awarded $38,058 in disability payments, after claiming he suffered "emotional and psychological damage" from his attack on UC Davis students.
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