University of California System Reaches One Million Dollar Settlement with Pepper Spray Victims at UC Davis

The University of California System and the attorneys for the Victims of the Pepper-Spray Incident announced they have reach a $1 million dollar settlement whereby the University of California will pay $30,000 to each of the victims of the unprovoked pepper-spray by campus police. The settlement still needs to be approved by a federal court judge. In addition, the Chancellor of University of California at Davis will also write an apology to each of the victims who were pepper-sprayed or arrested. The plaintiffs are represented by the ACLU of Northern California,  and civil rights attorneys Mark E. Merin and Meredith Wallis.  

In the infamous and shocking incident which was captured on video and posted on YouTube,  UC Davis police officer Lt. John Pike repeatedly sprayed students who were peacefully "occupying" the UC Davis quad with pepper spray at close range. In their complaint filed with the federal court, the 21 victims and their attorneys accused the police violated the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and other state and federal constitutional protections. In addition to paying $30,000 to each of the victims of the pepper spray, University of California also agreed  to pay $250,000 to their attorneys and set aside a reserve of $100,000 to pay any other individuals who join the class-action lawsuit by proving they were either arrested or directly pepper-sprayed. In addition, University of California will pay $20,000 to the ACLU for its future work with the University on these policies to protect free speech and free expression on campus.

The University also agreed to assist students whose academic performance was adversely affected by the incident in applying for academic records adjustment.

The settlement was approved by the Regents of University of California approved in a meeting on September 13.  The documents for the settlement were filed with the court today. A federal court judge must approve the settlement before it is finalized. 

Fatima Sheih, who was one of the students who pepper-sprayed at UC Davis quad said "I want to make sure that nothing like this happens again. That's the best thing that could come from this. Since November 18 students have been afraid of the police. The University still needs to work to rebuild students' trust and this settlement is a step in the right direction." 

A task force report released  on April 11th had harshly criticized both UC police and university administration for the pepper-spraying incident. That report and legal support by ACLU of North California strengthened victims' case.