The California police officer who was filmed blanketing a group of peaceful Occupy protesters with pepper spray has filed for worker's compensation after experiencing psychiatric problems when footage of the incident went viral.
John Pike has a settlement conference scheduled for August 13 in Sacramento, according to the California Department of Industrial Relations.
The video of Pike spraying protesters during a 2011 demonstration at the University of California was quickly posted to social media and soon became a rallying point for international Occupy movements. The images depict Pike calmly dispersing pepper spray on roughly a dozen protesters who are seated in a line on the ground and seemingly presenting no threat to police. Multiple other officers are shown pushing back protesters. Demonstrators can be heard emitting a sudden gasp as Pike brandishes the pepper spray can in a dramatic flourish.
Pike was placed on administrative leave before being fired in July 2012 - eight months after a task force found that his action was unwarranted, according to AP. The Oakland police first described the pepper spray incident as a "non-confrontational strategy."
Pike is expected to now claim that he was subjected to internet threats and psychological injuries after the footage was published online.
Protesters can be heard on the video shouting "What's your name?" before turning the camera on Pike's name tag and identifying him for the audience. Hackers then publicized Pike's personal information and shared it widely across the internet.
The Los Angeles Times and Sacramento Bee have pressed the police to reveal the names of the other officers shown in the video, after their identities were redacted from two reports on the incident. An Alameda County Court judge ruled against disclosing the names, however, in order to avoid putting the officers in potential danger.
This week, a California state appeals court ruled that media organizations are entitled to learn the identities of the officers who were interviewed about the use of pepper spray in the 2011 rallies.
Annette Spicuzza, then the UC Davis police chief, was also forced to step down in the wake of public outrage following the incident. She told the local Fox affiliate that it would be unnecessary to release the names of officers who were interviewed about the incident but not responsible for Pike's action.
"I didn't make that decision, I didn't know it had occurred," she said. "If I have any regret out of the entire situation it's that we never had an opportunity to make it right…I had to leave the state for a month because of death threats and fear for the safety of my family. I've lost my home, lost my name, lost insurance. If these people wanted me to suffer they got their wishes." http://rt.com/usa/pepper-spray-cop-psych...ation-657/
"The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways. The point, however, is to change it." Karl Marx
"He would, wouldn't he?" Mandy Rice-Davies. When asked in court whether she knew that Lord Astor had denied having sex with her.
“I think it would be a good idea” Ghandi, when asked about Western Civilisation.
Turning the whole thing upside down and back to front seems to be vogue these days.
The shadow is a moral problem that challenges the whole ego-personality, for no one can become conscious of the shadow without considerable moral effort. To become conscious of it involves recognizing the dark aspects of the personality as present and real. This act is the essential condition for any kind of self-knowledge.
28-07-2013, 09:43 AM (This post was last modified: 28-07-2013, 10:22 AM by Jim Hackett II.)
I know quite a few people shall I say less than receptive to the concept of fascism in America's face.
Supporters of the Bu$h Crime Family - those kinds of people.... even they were revolted by the face of Fascist Empire.
No longer could it all be seen as a velvet glove on the fist of "enforcement" of "law".
Nobody changed political concepts as I would have had to do, but many see the danger of the Empire and it's "law and order" agenda.
I know of NO ONE but PIGS that support the surveillance government we have allowed the system of governance to become.
Then again I know too that many don't care. Most are joined at the wallet to the Empire one way or another.
As in the conscription of young men, it is easy to support the law when you know ahead that you and your sons or daughters will never be drafted.
We now employ an economic draft, but we are not supposed to be aware enough to know this FACT. Nor expose it to other citizens.
That is an extremely cynical, short sighted and selfish view of life, revealing a sick spirit that should NEVER EVER be involved in "representation" of governance.
This concept in practice will doom the Republic to fascism.
America can do better than this excused brutality by COLOR OF AUTHORITY.
That color of authority thing is central to abuse of citizens.
The Blue Gang is "authorized" by criminals in OFFICE.
On the other hand all this is to be expected in fascist states - the total control of information, and the attempt to control perception of reality.
P.S. That pig deserves nothing more than to learn how to cope with the consequences of bad choices made.
Like any citizen would have to do....
So quit your f*/king job - ya chickenshit SOB, stop crying and deal with your internal moral compass.
He was not uncomfortable abusing citizens - only at being identified by viral video.
Then he became upset at exposure,
not at the psychological consequences of abuse of citizens,
nor the consequences on the abuser,
nor even of the damage to the sight/lungs of the abused.
His actions speak of selfishness and self focus.
Like John Lennon sang of "I, Me, Me, Mine ... everyone's saying it....."
Where I come from that is a CHICKENSHIT PUNK PIG.
Hiding in anonymity to abuse citizens was his desire thinking to himself 'I am so powerful. I am so Kool'.
Hiding behind the "color of authority" as punks do....
Dollars cannot ever make a wrong into a right.
But two Wrights make an airplane.
Take hope....
A hoosier and a buckeye changed the world when all the "universities" insisted it could not be done.
Read not to contradict and confute;
nor to believe and take for granted;
nor to find talk and discourse;
but to weigh and consider.
FRANCIS BACON
Large sections of the files are blacked out, including names of those believed by the FBI to be plotting the deaths of Occupy activists in Texas, perhaps nationwide.
"I...could've been shot and killed by a sniper just a little over a year ago." wrote Carl Gibson in an open letter to FBI director Mueller. "Your offices knew of this plot, yet none of us who were at risk of assassination were informed."
An identified [DELETED] as of October planned to engage in sniper attacks against protestors (sic) in Houston, Texas if deemed necessary. An identified [DELETED] had received intelligence that indicated the protesters in New York and Seattle planned similar protests in Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and Austin, Texas. [DELETED] planned to gather intelligence against the leaders of the protest groups and obtain photographs, then formulate a plan to kill the leadership via suppressed sniper rifles. (Note: protests continued throughout the weekend with approximately 6000 persons in NYC. "Occupy Wall Street' protests have spread to about half of all states in the US, over a dozen European and Asian cities, including protests in Cleveland (10/6-8/11) at Willard Park which was initially attended by hundreds of protesters.)
Remember, the Occupy Wall Street protests began in September of 2011, and the FBI was aware of a plan to kill Occupy leaders in October of that same year. How did they get such early news of these deadly plans? The documents do not say. Paul Kennedy, a Houston attorney who represented several Occupy Houston members arrested during protests, was concerned. In a story at TruthDig he says about the plot
"f it is something law enforcement was planning," Kennedy said, "then nothing would have been done. It might seem hard to believe that a law enforcement agency would do such a thing, but I wouldn't put it past them."He added that the phrase "if deemed necessary," which appeared in the bureau's report, further suggests the possibility that some kind of official organization was involved in the plan.
So, what are we to believe? We can't say that we both believe and disbelieve the FBI. Their report, in black and white, details the fact that they were aware of a plot to shoot and kill leaders of Occupy Wall Street groups in Texas, and perhaps across the nation.
The mainstream media does not seem to have much interest in this story. Information at the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund includes links to the FBI documents themselves, so their authenticity does not seem to be in doubt. Why has a plot to kill peaceful demonstrators in major US cities not been worth the notice of the corporate press?
Both Kennedy and Gibson are scheduled to appear on a Spartanburg South Carolina radio talk show Monday, July 29th, between 5 and 6 PM. The program, "Occupy The Microphone,has been broadcasting on WOLI since March of this year. The show is very unusual for the area as it takes a left-of-center approach to the issues, especially when compared to most of the offerings on local talk radio in the Upstate of South Carolina. Readers who would like to know more can listen to the show live at five east coast time by visiting the show website at OccupyTheMicrophone.com or listen to the live stream at the show Talkshoe stream or the radio station's streaming broadcast.
"Let me issue and control a nation's money and I care not who writes the laws. - Mayer Rothschild
"Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience! People are obedient in the face of poverty, starvation, stupidity, war, and cruelty. Our problem is that grand thieves are running the country. That's our problem!" - Howard Zinn
"If there is no struggle there is no progress. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and never will" - Frederick Douglass
Magda Hassan Wrote:Still blaming other people for his being a fascist idiot. Wont take responsibility for the consequences of his stupid actions.
Why is Pike not in prison?
His actions clearly and incontrovertibly constitute an assault against multiple victims.
An assault conducted with the body language of a uniformed bully who considers himself untouchable.
Quote:Oakland police first described the pepper spray incident as a "non-confrontational strategy."
Strange that, because the video reveals a strategy of confrontration and assault.
Quote:Pike is expected to now claim that he was subjected to internet threats and psychological injuries after the footage was published online.
So, if you committ multiple assaults and then are named as the assailant, you are entitled to damages for psychological harm?
"It means this War was never political at all, the politics was all theatre, all just to keep the people distracted...."
"Proverbs for Paranoids 4: You hide, They seek."
"They are in Love. Fuck the War." Gravity's Rainbow, Thomas Pynchon
"Ccollanan Pachacamac ricuy auccacunac yahuarniy hichascancuta." The last words of the last Inka, Tupac Amaru, led to the gallows by men of god & dogs of war
I took a pretty good tumble last Thursday that left me with some nasty scrapes and bruises.With help from my son,we patched up the scrapes,even using some scotch tape after running out of the good stuff.Now,It just so happened that "Occupy Medical",made their first venture out of Eugene,and drove their bus into this town Yesterday.I can only offer my Thanks and Praises to the staff who helped clean and re-dress my wounds.They not only offered medical care,but also nutritional advice,foot care,and haircuts.I hope they can continue to travel to other rural towns to help those that need care,and can't afford it.
This is how you win the hearts and minds of "We The People".I no longer think that street protests are going to change anything.I mean,if you can't at least get 100,000 people into the streets,you are not even in the game,or maybe not even the parking lot.And then,the sadist shock troops will proceed to fuck you up anyway.They get on the job training with these street protests.Enough!!!!
Haven't cut my hair since 1969 so didn't need that service....
[/SIZE][size=12]
[size=12]David Crosby
"Almost cut my hair"
[/SIZE][/SIZE][size=12]Almost cut my hair
Happened just the other day
It's gettin' kind of long
I could've said it was in my way
But I didn't and I wonder why
I feel like letting my freak flag fly
And I feel like I owe it, yeah ... to someone, yeah [ Lyrics fro[/SIZE][size=12]
Well, must be because I had the flu this Christmas
Oh, yeah and I'm not feeling up to par
Oh, I tell you baby this increases my paranoia
Yeah, like looking in my mirror and seeing a police car
Well, well, I'm not, I'm not giving in an inch to fear
Well, you know I've promised myself this year
Well, I feel oh, like I owe it, I owe, I owe it to someone
Oh ... like I owe it to someone
Oh, yes when I get myself together
Yeah, you can find me in that sunny southern weather, yeah
I'm goin' to find a space inside a laugh, yes
Separate the wheat from the chaff
Oh, and I feel ...
Like I owe it, yeah ... to someone
"You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.â€
Buckminster Fuller
Once oh so long ago my parents thought I was only into "my music" for a while and to irritate them.!?
Until after I moved out and didn't change my choices or lifestyle.
Waylon Jennings was still garbage to me, but I liked Cash, no Johnny not money.
After I saw Neil Young do Needle and the Damage Done on his TV show.
I cannot be the only one CSNY touched. I know I am not.
Deja Vu is a great album and "Almost cut my hair" is a great song.
I cut my hair about 2006, for comfort as it got hot that year.
I haven't since.
Don't never have to cut it 'cos it stops by itself.
Stay well Keith.
Best to you and yours from Me and mine.
Jim
Read not to contradict and confute;
nor to believe and take for granted;
nor to find talk and discourse;
but to weigh and consider.
FRANCIS BACON
Glad to know you are all patched up again Keith. And hair intact. And that your son and Occupy Medicine were there to help. I share your views about protests, though right to assembly is still some thing worth exercising for principle alone and the streets and public spaces belong to us all. But I like what Bucky suggests in your signature best. Take care!
"The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways. The point, however, is to change it." Karl Marx
"He would, wouldn't he?" Mandy Rice-Davies. When asked in court whether she knew that Lord Astor had denied having sex with her.
“I think it would be a good idea” Ghandi, when asked about Western Civilisation.
By Constanza Heller Buenosairesherald.com
If he is proud of one thing, it is certainly that he did not vote for Barack Obama neither he campaigned for the US president. He goes by what he calls and learnt from his grandmother the "hermeneutics of suspicion" that taught him to be alert rather than paranoid. "I don't care he is an African American. I care about his socio-politic agenda that responds to the ruling class which you did not see attacking Obama. You have to be suspicious and say this does not smell good," Luis Barrios, a 61-year old Puerto Rican Episcopal priest tells the Buenosairesherald.com during an interview that does not take place at a Christian temple. We met at the At-Tauhid mosque in the Buenos Aires city neighborhood of Flores. A history of activism
He might have got some notoriety in media when he joined the Occupy Wall Street Movement in New York City along with other religious leaders, -"a Muslim, a Jew, a Buddhist, a Christian." He got arrested four times and four times he got back to protest at the financial district.
"We joined the movement because we understood we had to be there to stress there was a political and economic crisis in the US but also a spiritual crisis," Barrios explains as suspicion gives him a second thought. "The movement expanded to other places because not everybody could make it to Wall Street. Wherever you are, occupy something; that was the motto: federal buildings, schools, military bases, whatever you want but let your message be seen. It is a movement that has given some headache to the US government. However, as I tend to say, it makes no heads or tails. Are we going to take over power or not?," this anti-imperialist priest that responds to the Liberation Theology developed by Latin American scholars puts the question. He answers to himself: "Such has been part of my criticism (to the Occupy Wall Street movement). But I always join in because there is not better way to criticize than doing."
Luis has been doing. He says he is the result of three institutions. First, his grandmother who did not know how to write or read but had a different way "to see the world." Second, already mentioned, the Liberation Theology. "Since I was 13 years old, I have been exposed to a phenomenon saying that religion must be relevant and reverent to people's struggle; people are the thermometer. And also that if there is a great beyond, nobody reaches there without passing by here. I learnt that it is good that we all have a home; that everybody can eat and have a job, a decent salary." And then it was Luis' activism in the Puerto Rican Socialist Party that turned him into a "Marxist" of "historical materialism." His everyday challenge, following the Book of James, chapter 2, became "make people see God in what you do, in what you write, in what you say." Obama and the Obamacare
By the time Luis Barrios grants the Buenosairesherald.com the interview, there is the ongoing conflict regarding the US government shutdown and the Republican defiance to Americans' budget already with a history of a financial turmoil that started in 2007 with no clear great finale ahead.
As he describes how he sees the government of Barack Obama, Luis seems to have his reasons to state that the current leader of the United States is "worst" than his predecessor. "I thought Bush's government was the worst in the country till Obama came. This one is special," he assures.
For Luis, it was banks and not people that the Barack Obama administration helped when the bubble burst and the sub-prime mortgage crisis broke out. "He did not finish his first month in office that he gave a first round of subsidies to banks, subsidies that were bigger even to the ones Bush had given. We are talking about billions; not thousands or millions. Meanwhile, the people were left without jobs, they could not pay their 200,000 dollars mortgages with banks immediately taking away their houses. Obama, do you know banks are doing this? At least, set a clause that says since I am giving you this money, which I am already gifting to you, don't take houses away from people who fell behind in payments. Because why did they fell behind? Because they can't pay. And why can't they pay? Because they don't have a job."
And for Reverend Luis the Obamacare is simply a "capitalist project" in a country where "80 millions have no access to health services because they are privatized."
"So he said I am going to come up with a medical insurance for poor people so that workers can also pay corporations. There is no way to implement the Obamacare without touching pharmaceutical and hospital corporations and Wall Street. Then you have 22 million in the Latin American community that won't qualify for this plan. And when you sum up all the minority groups that will be left out from it you realize it is a disaster and has no use," he explains and adds that if the medical system in the United States was to benefit all Americans with or without the Obamacare, then there would not be "buses taking white old people" crossing the borders in the South and in the North.
"You have a lot of people crossing the borders to get medical services in Canada. And in the South they go to Mexico but that does not come out in the news." Yet to come
An answer to everything. Luis says that the worst is "yet to come" in the US as the shutdown and budget crisis deepens.
"What is going on now is that the national deficit continues to increase reaching trillions. Now comes the debate about how to deal with the deficit. And there, Republicans and Democrats definitely do agree. To cope with the deficit you have to cut social investment. Those are the neoliberal policies, the policies of capitalism. You don't try to take subsidies out from banks or Wall Street. You don't take money away from the weapons industry, the Pentagon or the CIA."
Barrios does not only like to give answers, his own, of course. He says he also likes to "make parallels" after he travels to different countries and gets the chance to compare those realities with Americans' every day. Now that he is in Buenos Aires for a quick visit invited by the PIA Periodismo Internacional Alternativo news agency International Alternative Journalism in English-, before he takes a bus to the province of Misiones to give some conferences, he gets the chance to say that "in Argentina there is more social investment that in he US."
"There is more respect to people's access to medical and educational services in Argentina than in the United States. I teach in a public university where students have to pay. It was supposed to be free, but they have already semi-privatized it and want to keep on privatizing education," Luis Barrios, who is also a professor at the John Jay college of Criminal Justice in New York
"Let me issue and control a nation's money and I care not who writes the laws. - Mayer Rothschild
"Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience! People are obedient in the face of poverty, starvation, stupidity, war, and cruelty. Our problem is that grand thieves are running the country. That's our problem!" - Howard Zinn
"If there is no struggle there is no progress. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and never will" - Frederick Douglass
A little more than two years ago the NYPD arrested 732 demonstrators on the Brooklyn Bridge in what would be the largest mass arrest of the Occupy Wall Street movement in New York. But how many of those chargesmainly for disorderly conduct or obstructing governmental administrationstuck? The current tally: 680 dismissals (195 at the request of the City, 40 by judges, and 445 more ACD); 21 cases where charges were dropped; 6 guilty pleas to disorderly conduct; 2 acquittals; 1 plea resolved in another case, and 17 no-shows. Five protesters were convicted of the charges levied against them.
"From an administrative and justice perspective, this was obviously a challenge," Manhattan DA Cy Vance told Colin Moynihan. "I'm proud that the office handled the cases in a fair and evenhanded way."
The cases were handled by the DA's "mass arrest coordinator," with the help of three prosecutors and four paralegals. The National Lawyers Guild, which represented 662 of the protesters, assigned 45 volunteer attorneys who made 1,500 appearances in court.
A class action suit filed by the protesters against the City, alleging that the NYPD lured them on to the Brooklyn Bridge to be arrested, is still working its way through the legal system.
It's unclear how much the arrests and their ensuing prosecution cost taxpayers, though the NYPD spent $17 million in overtime on Occupy-related events in 2011 (the department budgeted $614 million for overtime this year [PDF]).
Mass arrests during demonstrations are regarded by experts as having a profoundly chilling effect on free speech [PDF].
1,806 people were arrested during the 2004 GOP convention, and around 90% of those cases were dismissed. Taxpayers shelled out at least $8.2 million for the City to defend the ensuing lawsuits, but the real number is likely much higher: the most recent figure available is from 2008.
"Let me issue and control a nation's money and I care not who writes the laws. - Mayer Rothschild
"Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience! People are obedient in the face of poverty, starvation, stupidity, war, and cruelty. Our problem is that grand thieves are running the country. That's our problem!" - Howard Zinn
"If there is no struggle there is no progress. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and never will" - Frederick Douglass
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