Wall Street protesters: We're in for the long haul

[derspiess]

I don't understand why you are so quick to sell out your nation. Americans aren't 18th century heathens who have yet to recognize the superiority of English.

Because my nation is predominantly populated by morons.

Oh so edgy. You're like a freshman in college.

What can I say, my idealism has been progressively crushed since Haig '88.

That was all Haig's fault.

[Darth Wagtaros]

OWS needs a coherent message, and some better slogans! And some cool flags would help!   

"Liberté, égalité, fraternité" would do the trick.  And a shitload of guillotines.

To Liberté, égalité, and fraternité I present infantry, cavalry, and artillery.

[Admiral Yi]

"Liberté, égalité, fraternité" would do the trick.  And a shitload of guillotines.

"Take money from rich people and use it to pay off our useless degrees" would get to the point quicker.

[CountDeMoney]

Did the UC-Davis pepper spray incident miss this thread, or did it get its own?

UC to pay nearly $1 million in UC Davis pepper-spray settlement

The University of California will pay damages of $30,000 to each of the 21 UC Davis students and alumni who were pepper-sprayed by campus police during an otherwise peaceful protest 10 months ago, the university system announced Wednesday.

The agreement, which must still be approved in federal court, also calls for UC to pay a total of $250,000 to the plaintiffs' attorneys and set aside a maximum of $100,000 to pay up to $20,000 to any other individuals who join the class-action lawsuit by proving they were either arrested or directly pepper-sprayed, a university statement said.

A video released online, showing an officer spraying seated students directly in their faces at close range during an Occupy rally, had triggered outrage.

And UC's own investigations and a shake-up at the UC Davis police force put the university in a weak position to argue against the students' lawsuit.

The preliminary settlement, which was approved by the UC regents in a closed-door meeting earlier this month, will be paid through the UC's self-insurance program, which officials said has about $600 million in reserves.

[Updated 11:30 a.m. Sept. 26: The settlement also calls for UC Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi to write a formal apology to each of the students and alumni who were pepper-sprayed or arrested.

Fatima Sbeih, a plaintiff in the lawsuit who was pepper-sprayed, said in a statement the incident created a divide between students and campus police.

"Since Nov. 18, students have been afraid of the police. The university still needs to work to rebuild students' trust and this settlement is a step in the right direction," said Sbeih, who recently graduated with a degree in international studies.

Another protester, Ian Lee, who is entering his sophomore year at the school, said in a statement that he participated in the demonstrations because of the "privatization of the university" and rising tuition costs.

"I felt like the university silenced me," he said in the statement.]

In April, a UC task force headed by former state Supreme Court Justice Cruz Reynoso found that UC Davis police had violated policy and that campus administrators mishandled the November 2011 campus protest.

In May, a separate draft report about campus responses to civil disobedience across UC urged administrators to use mediation instead of confrontation in most cases, although it said pepper spray might remain a necessary tool of last resort. A final version was released this month with no major policy changes.

[CountDeMoney]

Oh, and the cop?

Lt. John Pike, the UC Davis police officer who became a focal point of last November's pepper-spraying incident during a campus protest, is no longer employed by the university, a spokesman confirmed late Tuesday.

UC Davis spokesman Barry Shiller said he could not discuss the details of Pike's departure, but in response to queries from The Bee, he said Pike was no longer employed there as of Tuesday.

"Consistent with privacy guidelines established in state law and university policy, I can confirm that John Pike's employment with the university ended on July 31, 2012," Shiller said. "I'm unable to comment further."

Pike, 39, declined to comment when reached by The Bee as he was sitting in a meeting on campus where he said he was being terminated.

Pike's 2010 salary was listed as $110,243.12. He has been on paid leave since the debacle unfolded last year, sparking worldwide outrage, numerous investigations and calls for the resignation of UC Davis leaders.

Pike's leave coincided with an internal affairs investigation into his and other officers' actions on the campus quad Nov. 18, when Pike and at least one other officer used pepper spray on students and protesters who were seated and had locked arms, refusing police orders to disperse.

UC Davis officials have said that because the internal affairs probes are confidential, they cannot not disclose their findings.

As a result of cellphone video showing Pike spraying the students and protesters, he became the primary symbol of the public outrage over the incident as the images spread worldwide on the Internet.

Pike, a former Sacramento police officer, was suspended with pay after the incident along with another officer and then-UC Davis Police Chief Annette Spicuzza. Spicuzza retired in April after an independent panel issued an investigative report that severely criticized her leadership of the Police Department and found fault with much of the university leadership during the crisis.

Pike's future had remained in limbo until now, and at one point he faced harassment that included a barrage of 10,000 text messages, 17,000 emails and numerous items being ordered delivered to his home.

That backlash led, in part, to a judge's order that the names of other officers involved in the incident not be revealed, an order that is currently the subject of a legal battle between the Federated University Police Officers Association and lawyers for The Bee and the Los Angeles Times.

Fired and incurring liability.  Gee, I didn't call that one or anything.

You see his salary?  And you people bitch about fucking teachers' unions.

[garbon]

Who are the posters here who are staunch defenders of cops?

Also, lame. So protest like a bitch and get paid for it.

[DGuller]

Do you want just any schmoe off the street pepper spraying you in the eyes?

[garbon]

Do you want just any schmoe off the street pepper spraying you in the eyes?

Depends on how much they pay me.

[Valmy]

You see his salary?  And you people bitch about fucking teachers' unions.

Pretty sure I bitch about all public sector unions

[DGuller]

As bad as most public employee unions are, police unions have to go right at the top of the list.  They don't just extort higher wages and perks, they also further corruption that's ultimately a conspiracy against the public. 

NYPD union started pouting after some officers (including union officials) got hammered for fixing tickets, officers started writing less tickets in retaliation, and now traffic fatalities in NYC are up sharply for the first time in many years.  All because NYPD brass cracked down on their God-given privilege of "professional courtesy".

[Tamas]

:

[Barrister]

Who are the posters here who are staunch defenders of cops?

That would be me.

[derspiess]

As bad as most public employee unions are, police unions have to go right at the top of the list.  They don't just extort higher wages and perks, they also further corruption that's ultimately a conspiracy against the public. 

Ed's gonna make another Slavic crack at you.

[Admiral Yi]

You see his salary?  And you people bitch about fucking teachers' unions.

Which one is it Seedy: teachers' salaries too low or cops' salaries too high?

I say cut 'em all.  And don't forget the military.

[Valmy]

Which one is it Seedy: teachers' salaries too low or cops' salaries too high?

I say cut 'em all.  And don't forget the military.

Race to the bottom baby.