[quote]A former US campus policeman who pepper-sprayed peaceful protesters has been awarded $38,000 (£23,400) in compensation for psychiatric damage.
Lieutenant John Pike received threats after footage of the incident went viral on the internet in 2011.
It showed him casually spraying protesters from the Occupy Wall Street movement as they sat on the ground at the University of California.
His award is not much less than that received by the protesters he harmed.
Mr Pike was suspended from his job at University of California Davis after the incident and left the force in July 2012.
An official investigation found that university officials and UC Davis police used poor judgment and excessive force in the confrontation.
In June, Mr Pike filed a worker's compensation claim with UC Davis over the incident, claiming he suffered psychiatric and nervous system damage.
Local reports said Mr Pike had received more than 17,000 angry or threatening emails, 10,000 text messages and hundreds of letters after the video of the pepper-spraying was published.
UC Davis spokesman Andy Fell said on Wednesday that the Division of Workers Compensation Appeals Board agreed on 16 October to resolve his claim by paying him a settlement totalling $38,055, Reuters news agency reported.
The amount of compensation "in line with permanent impairment as calculated by the state's disability evaluation unit," Mr Fell said.
Last year, the university agreed to pay $1 million to settle a lawsuit brought on behalf of the 21 students who got sprayed and later reported suffering panic attacks, trauma and academic problems as a result.[/quote]
So why is this scumbag getting compensation when he isn't even the -blam!-ing victim?
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Protestors were disturbing the peace and the police has permission to act if a college ask them to do so, especially if its a state owned college. They were asked to move but didn't and the video was cut to only show an officer pepper spraying them. If they had uploaded the whole incident then it would show the officer asking over and over to leave. He used a non lethal tool to try and dispered the group. As for those saying he does it casually, running around with a pepper spray is not a good or trained way to do it. Ya'll complain when they use lethal force but when one doesn't ya'll threaten him and traumatize hime for doing his job right. I swear half of America has a mental problem.
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"BBC News" "US - Canada" "Occupy Wall Street" "California" Where the hell is this??
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What he did was justified under the law. They were trespassing and had to be removed. It's that simple.
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Edited by CND AAA Beef: 10/24/2013 3:23:28 PMYou mean those protesters that surrounded the police in a screaming mob for half an hour after being given multiple orders to disperse, and were told multiple times that force would be used if they didn't comply? 30 minutes give a much clearer picture than 30 seconds.
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He's getting it because he has a good lawyer. Honestly who cares anymore? The guys an idiot for being "pepper spray happy", those young protesters probably have jobs and have moved on two years later. Did this reappear in the news? Why are people bringing attention to this again? Honestly discrediting police officers doesn't get them fired. People are actually going to have to do something besides "reposting, sharing, or liking" stuff, to catch these jerks. Truth is, nobody really truly cares enough. It's the sad truth. /thread
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Time to get to twerk...
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damn hippies
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I have to admit, that really doesn't make a bit of sense. Why are they paying him for something he initiated? [quote]nervous system damage.[/quote] How does him, spraying other people in the face, then getting bombarded by digital content, give him nervous system damage?
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Foreign news is trying to report on domestic issues of the U.S. ROFLMAOSFGfdsgegfrlnidethgpdnglwerfnwelfknelfnrelgknetlhgk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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I hope that cop peppers prays you.
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bout time
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[quote]Local reports said Mr Pike had received more than 17,000 angry or threatening emails, 10,000 text messages and hundreds of letters after the video of the pepper-spraying was published.[/quote] That's why he gets the compensation, not for the reasoning you seem to think about.
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Whaaaat? Haha dam
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Edited by ToastyWaffles: 10/24/2013 2:01:09 PM[quote]Local reports said Mr Pike had received more than 17,000 angry or threatening emails, 10,000 text messages and hundreds of letters after the video of the pepper-spraying was published.[/quote] This is why he's receiving compensation. Try not to twist the truth please. Edit: Not saying I agree with the cop's actions, but the title is never-the-less bias.
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Actually no matter how much i hate what he did i agree with the texts and the emails he got it could take a mental toll on him. Would look at more data to understand the issue. Also the settlement is still okay in my view as this is for a different issue.
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Because everyone hates lawsuits, it's not the dumbest thing someone has received a settlement for.
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How about you don't twist the truth?
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Welcome to America, don't become what Camnator was
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Well, if I was the officer there and I'd spent a few minutes spraying the hippies ready for a barbeque and then didn't get to eat them I'd be pretty distressed too. I mean, it's not everyday you get a nice crowd of firey pepper roasted tree huggers. If I'd gone to all that trouble of preparing a banquet and then didn't get to eat it, I'd want [i]at least[/i] £40,000 to cover the terrible mental distress.
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It's a damn shame.
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Victim... Occupy... lol. [quote]Last year, the university agreed to pay $1 million to settle a lawsuit brought on behalf of the 21 students who got sprayed and later reported suffering panic attacks, trauma and academic problems as a result.[/quote] Aww... poor babies. I'm sure they're all better since they got paid. - Der
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Why did they payout? It's ridiculous
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Holding down the button on the spray can was very taxing to his psyche, I'll have you know. He even had to do it while standing!