Former Police Lt. John Pike who used pepper spray on U.C. Davis students protesting a tuition hike, was recently awarded more than $38,000 in workers' compensation for "suffering he experienced after the [2011] incident," as reported by SFGate and Yahoo News.
Footage of Pike repeatedly spraying a group of unarmed seated students during the November 18 2011 protest went viral, leading to his dismissal by the police force. However, Pike filed a worker's compensation in August 2013, claiming he sustained a "psychiatric injury" after receiving many angry and threatening emails after the video.
The pa"sends a clear message to the next officer nervously facing off with a group of passive, unarmed students: Go on ahead. Brutalize them. Trample their rights. You will be well taken care of," California attorney Bernie Goldsmith told The Enterprise newspaper in Davis.
Citing a database of state employee salaries, SFGate reports that Pike earned $110,243 in 2010, Yahoo News reported. Pike spent eight months on paid leave before being terminated from the force, reported the Christian Science Monitor
"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," said Andy Fell, the university spokesman.
U.C. Davis had settled a lawsuit in 2012 with 21 students who were pepper-sprayed during the protest. Each received a 30,000 settlement.
"Whether you can get compensation when you're the aggressor varies among states, but there certainly are a number of states [including California] where, even though you've done something that most people would find offensive, the aggressor can still be compensated," John Burton Jr., a labor law expert and professor emeritus at Rutgers University in New Jersey said, as reported by The Christian Science Monitor.
