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UC Davis confirms officer at center of pepper spraying controversy no longer on the force
“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,” [UC Davis spokesman Barry] Shiller said. “I’m unable to comment further.”](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m827vwyAU61qg1nf3o1_400.jpg)
UC Davis confirms officer at center of pepper spraying controversy no longer on the force
“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,” [UC Davis spokesman Barry] Shiller said. “I’m unable to comment further.”
As the university does not want this incident to be its defining moment, nor do I wish for it to be mine. I believe in order to start the healing process, this chapter of my life must be closed.UC Davis police chief Annette M. Spicuzza • Revealing that she will step down, five months after an infamous pepper spray incident that most of you guys remember, which involved the Occupy movement. “For the past seven years, I have accomplished many good things for both the Police Department and community here at UC Davis; and am grateful to those of you who have remembered this,” she emphasized in her statement. source (via • follow)
Year-end photos: What made it in, and what didn’t
In the Express newsroom, our year-end photo package always leads to a bit of debate — what should get in, and what shouldn’t? What tells the story of the year at large, and what gets pushed aside due to tough choices and limited room? Whittling it down to six pages and a cover is tough work. Here are a few shots that we put in the package — you might recognize them from covers and stories throughout the year — and a few that just missed the cut. (Hop over to today’s paper to see each of the ones that made the cut.)
- Aiming for Change A rebel fighter cheers as a rocket races toward Moammar Gadhafi loyalists amid fighting west of Ajdabiya, Libya, on April 14. NATO provided air support for the revolutionaries during the nearly nine-month conflict to oust Gadhafi. Perhaps the strongest photo we ran this year, it was one of the last photos taken by Chris Hondros, a Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer who died in Libya on April 20. (Photo by Chris Hondros/Getty Images)
- Norway Grapples With Devastating Loss: Despite this being perhaps the most iconic image of the Norway shootings, several editors didn’t immediately recognize what news event it was from. It seemed like a generic mourning shot lacking the resonance we were looking for. We ended up using an image from Hurricane Irene in N.C., something with much more impact for local readers. (Photo by Emilio Morenatti/AP)
- Protests Hit a Nerve: University of California, Davis, police Lt. John Pike uses pepper spray Nov. 18 on seated Occupy UC Davis protesters. Spurred by the Canadian activist group Adbusters to protest economic inequality, the Occupy Wall Street movement began Sept. 17 in New York City and quickly spread to cities around the world. (Photo by Wayne Tilcock/The Enterprise/AP)
- The Situation Room: We love this shot, of course. But, while it is THE historic situation room shot from Osama bin Laden’s death, it didn’t work well on the page in the mix of photos we had. Too hard to read at a small size and too busy and overwhelming in a larger spot. In the end, the package worked best by playing better images bigger (Sept. 11 mourning, for example!) and nixing the sit room shot. (Photo by Pete Souza/The White House/AP)
- Collateral Damage: A limestone angel dislodged by an Aug. 23 earthquake lies shattered on the roof of the National Cathedral in Northeast D.C. The magnitude-5.8 earthquake jolted much of the Mid-Atlantic region. Officials say the cathedral sustained about $25 million worth of damage, which could take up to 10 years to repair. (Photo by J. Scott Applewhite/AP)
- Meme on ice: We discovered that we had overlooked this local photo about five minutes after deadline. This was probably the picture we gushed about most when it happened (The gelato from the place across the street! In the snow! Whilst wearing a pink shirt!). Drat! Three lovely photo spreads ruined without the Ice Cream Cone Man. (Photo by Ricky Carioti/TWP)
Think we made the right picks?
The Washington Post Express makes a big deal out of its year-end photo packages. And this year was no exception — the paper ran six pages and the cover. Here are a few of the shots we ran, and a few others we passed on. — Ernie @ SFB
The woman is not currently in custody, but could face battery charges, the LAPD said Saturday morning. The incident was one of many disturbing ones yesterday. Also on the list: A shooting in a failed robbery attempt and a near-riot over $2 waffle irons.
Enjoy your Black Friday shopping, everyone!
It only figures that this already existed pre-incident.
I heard screaming and I heard yelling. Moments later, my throat stung. I was coughing really bad and watering up.Porter Ranch, Los Angeles, California Wal-Mart customer Matthew Lopez • Describing what happened after another customer, who authorities say was “competitive shopping,” pepper sprayed 20 people (including children!) in an attempt to beat everyone else at getting stuff. Considering, you know, this incident and this incident, the usage of pepper spray seems incredibly ironic. Authorities are looking for the person who sprayed her fellow shoppers in efforts to buy a new Xbox 360 or something similar. Humanity sucks sometimes. source (via • follow)
Among others, the UC Davis English Department is also calling for Chancellor Linda Katehi’s resignation, as well as the disbanding of the school’s police department. She’s refused to step down in recent days.
As Chancellor, I take responsibility for everything that happens on this campus. At the same time, our campus has policies, and—the only reasons we have those policies in place is to make sure the 32,000 students who are using our campus are safe.UC Chancellor Linda Katehi • After refusing to resign due to the events at UC Davis last week, wherein UCPD Lt. John Pike pepper sprayed a line of seated, peaceful protesters. During the same KQED interview, she also that she needs to “understand what went wrong…why things went so wrong,” which seems to be obfuscating the issue. Isn’t it clear what what wrong? Anyway, the UCPD police chief, along with Pike and another officer, have all been placed on “administrative leave;” 60,000 people have signed a petition calling for Katehi’s resignation. (Note: this interview wrapped up earlier the hour; we’ll let you know when a transcript is available.) source (via • follow)
“You know what my least favorite movie is? Rocky III. Now I know what you’re going to say. ‘Oh its because of Mr T’s character’s name, right?’ WRONG. Its because the narrative fell apart in the second act and just became so trite and deliberately oblivious to the true nature of the Rocky Balboa canonAAAUUAUAUUAAAUAUAAAGGAGAGGHHHHHHH”
Single-Serving Tumblr of the Day.
OK, this is pretty great.
Timely, politically-tinged and effective: What’s not to like about this meme?
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Tumblr this morning. [h/t anne]
#@#$%!.tumblr.com
Here’s a hidden feature that shipped in...
Don’t worry about it, I’m going to spray these kids down.Lt. John Pike (according to a pepper-sprayed protester at UC Davis) • Speaking to fellow officers before the infamous pepper-spray incident on Friday. According to the protester, who spoke at length anonymously to Boing Boing, the pepper spray he used was military grade, and it still hurts, two days later. “It’s supposed to be used at a minimum of 15 feet,” the protester told Xeni Jardin. “But he sprayed us at point blank range.” Highly recommend you read Boing Boing’s photo-heavy account of the incident, which is very informative. source (via • follow)
In addition to being Phoenix Jones. I am also Ben Fodor, a father and brother. I am just like everybody else. The only difference is that I try to stop crime.Ben “Phoenix Jones” Fodor • Talking about his arrest by Seattle authorities — who accuse him of pepper-spraying a number of people. He, meanwhile, claims he was trying to break up a fight. He hasn’t yet been charged, but officials are considering doing so. Either way, the extra attention from the arrest led to the public finding out about his secret persona — a MMA fighter named Flattop. Rather than withering under the extra attention he’s received, Mr. Jones has offered to let the public follow him on his next crime-fighting adventure. However, if you do so, you’ll be going against police wishes. “If you see something that warrants calling 911, call 911,” said police spokesman Mark Jamieson. ”You don’t need to dress up in a costume to do that.” source (via • follow)
Seattle “superhero” Phoenix Jones arrested for allegedly pepper-spraying people: Today in bizarre stories which somehow rival this one for utter weirdness and also share the same basic plot with two different movies released in the past 18 months.
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