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Just before Turkey Day we passed the second anniversary of that notable mass-media event, the internet debut of the meme forever after to be known as the “Pepper-Spray Cop.” Having covered the warp-speed rise and spread<\/a> of this instance of citizen journalism and citizen op-ed commentary, I thought I’d provide an update.<\/p>\n Should\u00a0you need to refresh your memory of this notable event, fast receding into the dim recesses of history (it’s so<\/em> 2011), I recommend the version at\u00a0SwitchCam<\/a>,\u00a0homesite of a remarkable new image-editing technology, where you can\u00a0watch the entire incident<\/a>\u00a0from multiple camera angles and with a selection of audio tracks. You’ll find my own coverage of and commentary on this situation here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Working Definition of Chutzpah Dep’t.<\/strong><\/p>\n Leo Rosten, “The Joy of Yiddish” (1968), cover<\/p><\/div>\n In his 1968 book The Joys of Yiddish<\/em>, Leo Rosten\u00a0defined chutzpah<\/em> as “that quality enshrined in a man who, having killed his mother and father, throws himself on the mercy of the court because he is an orphan.”<\/p>\n In that spirit (though he’s not Jewish), John Pike, formerly a lieutenant in the campus police at the University of California, Davis, filed a worker’s compensation\u00a0claim with the State of California\u00a0for “psychiatric injury<\/a>,” which can result in\u00a0post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).\u00a0And he received a lump-sum settlement of $38,056\u00a0from the university \u2015 much less than he’d hoped for, certainly, but more than any of the students received as their share of the settlement<\/a> for the pain he inflicted on them.<\/p>\n Still from video of Lt. John Pike pepper-spraying peaceful protesters at UC Davis, 11\/18\/11<\/p><\/div>\n You’ll recall Pike as the swaggering, beer-bellied dude who, dressed in riot gear, illegally doused peacefully\u00a0seated students staging an\u00a0Occupy demonstration\u00a0with a military-grade chemical irritant on November 18, 2011.\u00a0Thanks to ample evidence provided by citizen journalism and digital imaging, UC Davis subsequently fired Pike, though it took them 8 months to do so, during which time, relieved of duty but placed on “paid administrative leave,”\u00a0he collected some $80K or more in salary and benefits.<\/p>\n Totting up everything UC Davis\u00a0has paid out before this for its expenses related to this 2011 berserker moment of Pike’s\u00a0and a previous episode of homophobic racism<\/a> directed at a fellow officer (settled by the university for $240K), I calculated that Pike had cost the university upwards of $4.3 million<\/a> as of last year. That’s aside from his salary and benefits while under their employ. This final $38K represents a comparative drop in the bucket, surely worth it to get shut of him for good.<\/p>\n I Pity the Fool, But . . .<\/strong><\/p>\n “Anonymous the Squirrel vs. Lt. John Pike,” photocollage by A. D. Coleman, 2011.<\/p><\/div>\n Internationally notorious since that afternoon as the “pepper-spray cop” whose image went viral and turned into a meme within hours of his attack, Pike obviously\u00a0wanted UC Davis to feel his pain. He\u00a0asserted in his claim that the scorn, derision, vituperation, and harassment to which he’s been subjected since that debacle have resulted in his “experiencing psychiatric problems” that\u00a0entitle him some reward for his discomfiture. (Click here for his sworn account of his ordeal<\/a>, and here for my coverage of the explosion of the\u00a0“pepper-spray cop” meme<\/a>, and my own contribution thereto.)<\/p>\n Pike, who told the press last year that he was “relieved” to learn that no criminal charges<\/a> would get filed against him by the Yolo County District Attorney, has since become the aggrieved victim in this debacle \u2015 at least in his own mind. This despite the fact that,\u00a0according to one participant in and witness to the demonstration (identified only as “William” in this\u00a0Vimeo video interview<\/a>), “Our line that they pepper-sprayed was … one-person-deep. One of the officers began to remove us physically without the use of weapons. And Lieutenant John Pike ordered them to stop, raising his pepper can and saying … ‘Leave them. I want to spray these kids.'” (Civil suits against him were discussed but not pursued by his victims.)<\/p>\n Lt. John Pike with pepper spray and Lolspeak caption.<\/p><\/div>\n California’s Department of Industrial Relations was set to review Pike’s claim on August 13, at a mandatory settlement conference in Sacramento. According to\u00a0ABC News 10<\/a>, “If no settlement [was] reached [at that hearing], Pike’s case would [have gone] forward to trial or move[d] on for further hearing.”\u00a0Had the state granted him what he asked, Pike, now 40, would have received “disability benefits covering income, health and other benefits until age 65. Currently, he is only entitled to retirement credit for his years of service on the UC Davis police force,” according to this report by Emily Smith<\/a> at Opposing Views.<\/p>\n However,\u00a0Melissa Brown, a worker’s comp attorney not involved in the case, told ABC News 10<\/a> that\u00a0due to recent cutbacks\u00a0made by the California Legislature, “a 50 percent permanent disability for instance, would entitle Pike to $62,000 in lifetime cash benefits, but medical treatment for life.” Unclear who’s got their facts straight; either way, not chump change.<\/p>\n \u00a0. . . No Pity Party for John Pike<\/strong><\/p>\n That isn’t how it played out. A summary of what ensued:<\/p>\n Lt. John Pike with Socrates. Anonymous photocollage.<\/p><\/div>\n \u2022\u00a0A January 5, 2013 report by Richard Lieberman, a Piedmont psychiatrist acting as the agreed-upon expert, rated Pike\u2019s disability as “moderate.” (This doesn’t breach confidentiality; California law required public release of this report.) According to Lieberman<\/a>,\u00a0Pike\u00a0faced “continuing and significant internal and external stress with respect to resolving and solving the significant emotional upheavals that have occurred” in his life and had not shown evidence of substantial improvement, and his social functioning has been “significantly handicapped because of the events at work.” Pike\u00a0was “still dealing with intense anger, self-esteem issues and depressive reactivity” resulting from the fact that he “has not felt guilty about any actions that he did [sic], but was in fact unhappy about the unintended consequences which followed.”<\/p>\n \u2022 Upon learning that Pike had filed this claim, Occupy UC Davis promptly set up a Facebook page calling for a demonstration outside the hearing, described as an “Officer Pike Fiesta of Emotional Support and Caring”<\/a>\u00a0to “show him that we’ll always be there for him, ready to remind him of all the wonderful things he has done to us.”<\/p>\n Lt. John Pike waves pepper-spray can, 11-18-11<\/p><\/div>\n \u2022\u00a0The August 13 hearing got cancelled<\/a>\u00a0by Pike and his attorney<\/a>.\u00a0The state\u2019s Disability Evaluation Unit determines permanent disability ratings based on doctors’ reports. Psychiatrist Richard Lieberman’s report as noted above, with its clear indication that Pike felt no remorse for his actions, would have weighed heavily against him.<\/p>\n \u2022\u00a0Instead, Pike and UC Davis went into private negotiations, as the result of which\u00a0the state Division of Workers Compensation Appeals Board agreed to settle his claim with a one-time payout of $38,055, according to Reuters<\/a>.<\/p>\n Lt. John Pike in Donald L. Robinson’s “Ali Defeats Liston,” May 25, 1965. Anonymous photocollage.<\/p><\/div>\n \u2022\u00a0Administrative Law Judge Harter approved the settlement agreement<\/a> between Pike and the University of California on Oct. 16.\u00a0The settlement “resolves all claims of psychiatric injury”\u00a0related to Pike\u2019s employment with the university.\u00a0In a written statement,\u00a0UC Davis spokesman 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.”<\/p>\n That $38K represents approximately four months’ worth of Pike’s UC Davis salary, meaning that he received a full year’s salary after getting suspended and then fired. (He was being paid an annual salary of $121,680 at the time they gave him the boot.) He\u00a0will also receive retirement benefits for his 11 years of campus employment.<\/p>\n Backstory\/Going Forward<\/strong><\/p>\n John Pike, ex-UC Davis Police officer<\/p><\/div>\n Pike’s distress over his\u00a02010 bankruptcy<\/a>, the resulting seizure of his house and property (pickup truck, handguns, wine refrigerator, wife’s wedding ring), his ensuing 2011 divorce<\/a> from his wife and loss of custody of his children (which preceded his actions on November 18), may have played some role in his rash decision to attack the unarmed and seated students. Since his suspension\u00a0Pike has repeatedly changed his phone number and e-mail address. He’s also lived in various locations; presently he resides with his parents.<\/p>\n Finally, according to a story by Cory Golden<\/a> in the November 29 edition of the UC Davis Enterprise<\/em>,\u00a0Pike has been “taking part in an EMT program, scheduled to be completed in January [2014], and said he would pursue classes as a nursing assistant and registered nurse.” (His demonstrated compassion and empathy with others, along with his decision-making skills in crisis situations, surely qualify him for such a role.)<\/p>\n I’ll have some suggestions for alternative career moves that Pike could consider in my next post.<\/p>\n \u2022<\/span><\/p>\n For an index of links to all posts related to this story,\u00a0click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2022<\/p>\n![\"Leo](\"http:\/\/www.nearbycafe.com\/artandphoto\/photocritic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Leo_Rosten_TheJoyOfYiddish.jpg\")
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