Pepper-Sprayed Students Will Receive Settlement From UC Davis

[MADem]

Ten months after UC Davis police doused nonviolent protesters in pepper spray, UC regents have agreed to pay damages to 21 students and alumni who sued the school in February, contending that their civil rights were violated during the infamous incident. The L.A. Times reports that the exact amount the students will receive is unknown, since a judge has to approve the settlement before the details can be made public. "We did an injustice to our students that day at Davis, and some amount of recompense is appropriate," said Jonathan Stein, the UC student regent. "More importantly, it's time for us as an institution to publicly acknowledge that's not the way we should treat our students; we were wrong, and we are moving forward." The officers involved don't work at the campus police department any longer, and presumably their new employers don't know how to work YouTube.

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/09/pepper-sprayed-students-receive-settlement.html

[a geek named Bob]

1. part of the settlement better include free tuition...

[HooptieWagon]

2. I'm thinking it better include mandatory civil rights instruction for the cops.

[a geek named Bob]

3. Someone sprays me...

I'd sue them into multiple bankruptcy. All parties involved would be handing me money by the metric ton.

[backscatter712]

15. I don't think these bastards can be cured of cruelty by making them take a class.

If it were up to me, the cops responsible would be fired, prosecuted and imprisoned for felony assault under color of law.

[MADem]

7. I think they'll get a VERY good payday out of this.

They'll probably be able to pay more than tuition with the cash they receive.

[sabrina 1]

4. Good, the brutal suppression of the OWS movement was reprehensible. Now

we are into the next phase, exposing the ugly coordinated attempt to silence the people and the illegal tactics used by the police to try to do that.

OWS has been winning in the Courts, and then filing lawsuits.

This phase of the movement is super important as the 1st Amendment rights of citizens were seriously and brutally abused by lying cops, false arrests, the near killing of many protesters while the whole world got to watch our Democracy in action.

Now OWS is taking it to the courts so we can show the world that even when these egregious abuses of our rights occur, we will not just walk away and let them stand.

This is good news. So far most of the court cases have resulted in good news although despite exposing the lies and false arrests by cops, we have yet to see any of them be prosecuted.

[malaise]

8. Excellent news

and a great post

[MADem]

9. This is a suit by 21 individuals, pressed by ACLU, for civil rights violations.

It's not under the "OWS" umbrella. The students/alumni will take their checks and do with them what they will--I imagine some of them will be motivated to donate to the ACLU, who supplied the lawyers:

The UC regents, in a closed-door meeting, approved the proposed settlement payment to 21 UC Davis students and alumni who sued the university and contended their civil rights were violated in the widely criticized pepper spray incident.

However, both UC officials and the ACLU of Northern California, which is representing the students in the lawsuit, refused to divulge settlement details, saying the rules of the agreement talks require a federal judge to review the matter before it can be made public. That may happen within a few days, they said.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-uc-pepper-spray-20120914,0,1752264.story

It's also a "settlement" case so who knows who will admit what--if anything. This is likely a hefty "go away" money payment, and no one will be "guilty" of anything. 21 people will have some significant disposable income as a consequence of the stupid conduct of the campus police.

[sabrina 1]

10. The ACLU and the National Lawyers Guild have been working with OWS

from the very beginning. Without them, OWS protesters would have never had a chance against the powerful forces that were gathered against them. They gave legal seminars to OWS all over the country, advised them on how to act and what evidence to collect so that when things reached this stage, it would make THEIR job easier.

The ACLU and the National Lawyers Guild have been champions, and still are, of OWS and we thank them from the bottom of our hearts for all they have done and continue to do to protect the rights of OWS.

OWS protesters took their legal advice seriously, this protest was a perfect example of t he advice given to the protesters, not to allow themselves to be provoked, thereby providing any counter from the police in any future legal proceedings, which were anticipated and planned for.

[woo me with science]

17. "...exposing the ugly coordinated attempt to silence the people"

Thank you.

[rhett o rick]

5. Was there any mention of punishment of the responsible administration personnel?

Of course the low ranking officers get punished but not their supervisors.

[MADem]

6. More detail, fwiw, in this LAT article.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-uc-pepper-spray-20120914,0,1752264.story

...UC Regent Leslie Tang Schilling said the regents decided to settle the case because UC needs to get past the pepper spray controversy and focus on the many pressing budgetary issues facing the 10-campus system. "It was a really unfortunate incident," she said...
Video of the incident went viral. It showed an officer spraying seated students directly in their faces at close range during an Occupy rally. And UC's own investigations and a shakeup at the UC Davis police force put the university in a weak position to argue against the students' lawsuit.

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 bungled the handling of that 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....Additionally, Lynn Tierney, the UC system's associate vice president for communications, was appointed to a one-year position to implement the report and help train campus leaders and police in more peaceful responses to protests. In the past, Tierney has worked for police and public safety agencies.

The funds for the settlement will come from UC's self-insurance program, which officials said has about $600 million in reserves....

[rhett o rick]

12. What happened to Chancellor Katehi? nm

[MADem]

14. Since this is a "settlement" it's just a payment of money. No charges, no convictions. Just cash.

The chancellor is apparently still "chancelloring" at "the Nation's Coolest School."

http://chancellor.ucdavis.edu/

[rhett o rick]

18. Of course. This is an important part of the story that gets overlooked. The line soldiers get

punished and the generals get off. Lt. Calley bites it again. And the money comes from the students/taxpayers and not from the administrators.

[MADem]

19. This is why I am interested in seeing the size of the settlement.

There would be none without the agreement of the 21 complainants. Clearly, the petitioners for redress are finding that the cash on the barrel does, in fact, compensate them--otherwise they'd say "NO DEAL," press forward and go to court.

Time will tell. I'm thinking that the amount is fairly generous, but who knows?

As for the "line soldiers"--in this case I think anyone spraying that bright orange pepperspray shit at the heads of those kids was just a boneheaded idiot who does not belong anywhere near law enforcement. That's just STUPID, and deliberately cruel, and so unneccessary, in addition to being a violation of the student's right to what looked to be very peaceful protest. It's suggestive of a troubling and ready brutality and a complete lack of logical thought. I think a better choice of work in the public sector might be public works or maintenance--they'd probably not hurt anyone if they were responsible for scraping roadkill off highways, repainting a municipal building, or something on those lines.

[rhett o rick]

20. If you are suggesting that the students sold out for cash in lieu of punishment for administrators

I would agree that it appears that way. I dont blame them, they are the ones damaged. Besides it should be the press and public that demands that the administrators responsible be punished.

As for the "line soldiers" I agree with you that they need to be held responsible and not just shuffled off to a different location. They are guilty of assault and it shouldnt have to be up to the students to file. It isnt right that a cash settlement can override criminal actions.

[jberryhill]

27. A result in a civil lawsuit cannot "punish" in any form other than money

While there can be certain forms of equitable relief, such as requiring statements, training, etc., civil suits are not about some form of societal "vengeance", and one might consider the mindset which seeks it.

[rhett o rick]

29. Snap. I should consider my "mindset" that thinks that someone other than the

officers should be punished. "Vengeance"? You think I am seeking vengeance? I want justice for the students. The officers were following directions from the administration. I dont believe that you should be able to buy off crimes with monetary settlements.

The officers committed assault but will only get reassigned. The administration gets nothing, not even a slap on the wrist. No one was punished here.

I guess the officers and the school administration are immune from prosecution because they are part of the establishment. Give the students some cash and make the problem go away. This is America.

[jberryhill]

30. I don't know if a criminal prosecutor ever sought a case

Whether a prosecutor brings a criminal case is independent of the ability of the students to bring a civil case, and to settle it on terms they find acceptable.

The difference between settling a civil case and taking one to verdict is simply one of "Do you want to get paid now or later?"

The case, even if not settled, would not have had the capacity to put anyone behind bars or result in any criminal conviction.

"No one was punished here."

No one was going to be punished - in this action - whether it was settled or not.

The larger point is on a take-it-or-leave-it basis, but it strikes me that most people who do something awful to someone else, generally believes themselves to be getting even for something else.

[rhett o rick]

32. I believe a crime was committed. But since it was by the ruling class it will go unpunished. nm

[jberryhill]

33. Was one reported?

[rhett o rick]

34. Never mind. nm

[dixiegrrrrl]

11. Rec'ing and thanks for posting this update.

[MADem]

13. Anytime--I'm amazed it took so long. That seemed like a clear-cut case of campus cop stupidity,

writ large in bright orange pepper spray!

I'm curious as to the dollar amount--I would hope it was a very good settlement per person.

[DLevine]

16. Good news. n/t

[Sirveri]

21. Hurray for higher tuition rates and larger class sizes and making the school harder to get into!

All while those who are actually responsible wash their hands and walk away free wo/men.

They do something bad, and the students of California get to pay for it. But what else is new?

[MADem]

22. The 21 students making the complaint chose to settle. They could have pushed forward with their

complaint, but I don't think there'd be any different outcome, except maybe the money amount might have been different. The suit was for damages to the students, if I understand it correctly, not for any kind of criminal prosecution of the leadership at the institution.

I suppose the ACLU lawyers will have something to say about their approach after they announce the settlement amount!

[Sirveri]

23. Not blaming the students, more blaming the system than anything else.

Not the students fault that the system is broken. But the admin screws up, and who pays for it, it sure as heck isn't admin.

[MADem]

25. I realize that--I know you're just frustrated at the inability of the powerful to be held to account

in this instance.

The best we can hope for is that they are constrained in future...!

[Trekologer]

24. It will continue until the taxpayers start to demand that police departments stop this garbage

When a majority (or at least sizable plurality) of taxpayers demand that police departments are run truly to "protect and serve" the citizenry and not as small military forces staffed with "heros" who are above the law, you'll see that these incidents stop. Until then, taxpayers better start opening their checkbooks.

[tularetom]

26. Cops would not pull this kind of shit without the implied approval of their superiors

If you believe your bosses have your back no matter how outrageous you act, you will not be restrained in your actions,

It's right that the officers who committed these acts are fired, but they should also be denied their pensions and health benefits.

And it's imperative that the police chiefs and civilian authorities who look the other way when their officers go apeshit are also punished. The campus police chief and university president should have been fired as well.

In this case the only reason there was any retribution was the public outrage at the egregiousness of the cop's response. And probably the fact that the victims were middle class white kids.

[Dawson Leery]

28. They should lose their pensions, certainly.

The FOP can go to hell if they do not like it.

[MADem]

31. Well, the way pensions work in most instances, if you are vested "honorably" in your pension,

you're going to get it--i.e., if you are an Army colonel, and you've got enough time under your belt to retire, and you get promoted to Brigadier General and promptly misbehave, you will still retire at the last rank you held "honorably."

These campus cops have moved on, and if they are old enough with enough vested time, they've retired. To my knowledge, no one charged them criminally with anything.

This was not a criminal case, to my understanding--no one went to the police (the real police, that is) and filed charges, as far as I know. If that does not happen then there's no calling superiors to account. If you have information that anyone did that, it would add to the conversation here.

This was, as near as I can tell, a civil case for damages--the old "I have been wronged and I want recompense in the form of cash to help to make me whole" argument, presented to a court, with the 21 students as plaintiffs, and the school as defendants. Apparently, the ACLU took that civil track and tack and got them a nice payday.