pepper-spray cop to go to trial

http://rt.com/usa/news/davis-suit-spray-pike-california-999/

"
The American Civil Liberties Union of North California is aiding in a just-filed lawsuit against employees of the University of California, Davis, where 19 students and alumni were sprayed by a campus cop during a protest last November.
Lieutenant John Pike achieved Internet infamy after he was photographed and videotaped delivering a heavy dose of pepper-spray to more than a dozen seated demonstrators outside a UC Davis building last year. Protesters had gathered at the school to demonstrate against rising tuition hikes and campaigned under the umbrella of the then-infant Occupy movement. As protesters sat peacefully, Pike attempted to disrupt their demonstration by debilitating participants with bursts of pepper-spray to the face. Unfortunately for Pike, the incident went viral online which, in turn, only strengthened the Occupy movement as more Americans became outraged by the establishment’s not-so-nice interpretation of the First Amendment."

One amazing thing that OWS has done is expose how militarized the police have become.  The over-the-top reaction to peaceful protests in many cities has shown the need for police departments to learn the difference between free speech rallies and riots.  The only personal experience I've had with OWS was in Denver, where I spent about 8 hours at their camp and marches.  The encampment was surrounded at all times by a minimum of 8 police cars, which generally had 2 cops in each car.  So that was maybe 14 cops there when NOTHING WAS GOING ON.  The Occupiers were standing around talking, napping, or eating.  At times no one even had a sign out.  This was also the city that had already destroyed the encampment once, and did it again not long after I left.  So if OWS accomplished nothing else, we should still be grateful that they shed light on the militarization of our police forces.